Hope United Methodist ChurchTulsa, OK

A Guide to Worshipping at HomeMay 17, 2020

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 1

Hope United Methodist Church, 12424 E. 31st St., Tulsa, OK 74146 (918) 622-8703 info@hopefortulsa.com

Hope United Methodist ChurchA Guide to Worshipping at Home, May 2020

This Guide to Worship is designed to be used by individuals and families who are staying at home during these unusual times.

Online worship has been helpful to many; however, not everyone has access to the Internet or can easily navigate the technology required. Also, many persons enjoy watching, listening or observing online or television worship, but do not feel like they are worshipping.

As an alternative, home Guides to Worship offer you and your family an effective way to experience worship, especially because it requires your participation. The four services contained here are designed to take you through the month of April; more resources will be offered if we are required to shelter in place past April. These are designated for Sundays but can be used on any day that is convenient for you. Some persons would like to worship more than once during the week; therefore, daily Bible readings are also included, and these can also be read on any day of the week.

Sometimes you will be directed to additional resources. If you have an Internet connection, these will usually be made available on our new website, www. hopefortulsa.com. You will also notice that there will be different versions of the Lord’s Prayer and the Affirmation of Faith. You can always use the traditional versions found in the first week.

What about kids? Youth and children will likely enjoy the candles, the rituals and the family participation. They will, however, act according their age level—which is very OK. The provided reflection will not be as meaningful for them, so you may want to just read the scripture with them and then talk about it together as a family. We also are offering some great online children’s worship videos provided by LifeChurch, and you might decide to have your own children’s church with them. But please worship together! (And if you need more ideas, contact Debbie Gant at (918) 770-3735.)

Please contact Pastor Thomas Hoffmann at 918.346.9972 or thomas@hopefortulsa.com if you have any questions about this resource, or if you need pastoral conversation or prayer.

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 2

The Week beginning Sunday, May 17, 2020

Sermon: “Don’t Get Lost in Lake Shore Heights, Old Prue, Oklahoma!”

What you’ll need for this worship

a. A quiet place to worshipb. Comfortable chairsc. A Bibled. This Guidee. A candle and lighterf. An expectant spirit!g. Optional: A laptop or computer with speakers. Go to

www.hopefortulsa.com for these additional worship resources for this week, or use the direct links provided in this guide.

=======================================================

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 3

The Week beginning May 17, 2020

GATHERING

If you have family worshipping with you, give everyone a hug. If you are alone, take a moment and imagine the arms of the Loving Lord

wrapped around you. Send thoughts of love to those most important to you.

Then, find a spot at your chosen place of worship. Light your candle(s). Be silent for a moment, asking God to open your hearts to every good gift

that God has for you today.

OPENING PRAYER (if possible, please pray out loud):

Holy Lord, thank You for Christ's example of One Who worked the works of God and Who used every precious moment to carry out Your will through His life. We pray that we may follow His example and live our lives in complete submission to Your indwelling Holy Spirit. Give us the opportunity to share Christ’s gospel of good news with others. I pray that you will finish the good work that You start in all of us. AMEN.

PRAISE: “God Can Do Anything” VaShawn Mitchell, ©2019Sing along online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ET2_dpakfQ

THE CALL TO WORSHIP (Adapted from the Women of the ELCA)(If possible, read out loud. If you are not alone, take turns reading the lines)

Come; gather in Christ’s presence, Christ, our savior and healer.In our worship together, we yearn for hope and comfort.Are any among us weary, heartsick with heavy burdens?In our worship together, we find a place of rest.Are any among us feeling brittle and broken, thirsty for the gospel?In our worship, we find Jesus, the Living Water.Are any among us feeling hollow and empty, hungry for truth?In our worship, we find Jesus, the Living Bread.Together, we are welcomed, loved, and cherished.Together, we encounter our Lord, who makes us whole.Together, we find the heart of Jesus.Together, we are the people of God.Let us rejoice, giving thanks and praise to God, who delivers us!

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 4

PASSING THE PEACE

If you are with others in your home, give each other a hug, and pray for those who will not have any human touch today.

If you are alone, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind at least one person you will call or email or write to, as soon as this worship service ends. (Others in your household can do this, too).

THE READING OF THE SCRIPTURES: JOHN 9:1-7 (The Message, Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson)

 (If possible, read these verses put loud)

1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”

6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw.

++This is the word of God for the children of God:  Thanks be to God!

PRAISE: “I Once Was Blind” by Tommy Walker and Friends © 2018Sing along at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eeLNly2tiQ

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 5

TESTIMONY

“A Way Through”By Rick Stockwell, Connecticut

Ryan Hall, the American record holder in the half-marathon, stated that we shouldn’t think about the next hill ahead of us but instead focus on the next step ahead of us. This sentiment dovetails nicely with our scripture reading for today. We may worry about monthly bills, a wayward child, a bully, retirement, our health, or what we will eat, drink, or wear. Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Each of us can prepare for the future. However, worrying about the future can cause us to lose focus on the important tasks that we have before us today. Whatever problems we may face, we can take those problems to God in prayer. The Bible gives us many examples of when God has answered prayers — Hannah’s prayer for a child (1 Sam. 1:1-20), Hezekiah’s prayer to spare his life (2 Kings 20:1-6), Jonah’s prayer for a second chance (Jonah 2:1-10), and a leper’s prayer to be made clean (Matt. 8:1-3). God is capable of doing the same for us. Even when things seem desperate, with no way out — God has an answer waiting for us.

SERMON: “Don’t Get Lost in Lake Shore Heights, Old Prue, Oklahoma”Pastor Thomas Hoffmann

Sermon Series: Are You Surviving or Thriving?Scripture: John 9:1-7 (8-41)

You can watch this sermon at https://youtu.be/Zgcpysnx4Zk

Nancy’s aunt died several years ago. We were quite close to her—in fact, Nancy was named after her. We were going through her estate and in the bank safety deposit box we found the deeds to two properties, two lots. There was some remembrance in the family that when they were getting ready to develop Lake Keystone, there were developments that started taking place, and Nancy’s aunt had bought into one. Lake Shore Heights, the deeds indicated. On beautiful Lake Shore Drive: two lake front lots on Keystone!

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 6

We were jazzed! We were curious about why she never mentioned them or took us there in the summer, but that wasn’t unusual for Nancy’s aunt. One day, while Nancy was at work, I decided to start the process of establishing our summer location by finding the lots. They were located near Prue. I stopped at the local convenience store on the highway near there, and the owner knew everybody and everything about the area. No, I wasn’t looking for Prue, he told me, I was looking for OLD Prue—the Prue that they flooded when they put up the dam and made the lake. Lake Shore Heights? Sure! He said. I couldn’t miss the sign right on the highway, just a few miles further.

Encouraged, I headed out. But there was no sign. After traveling more miles than felt right, I did a U-turn on the highway and backtracked. There indeed was a sign, but no wonder I didn’t take notice of it. In rusty, fading letters, I made out Lake Shore Heights, and for some reason immediately thought of the Bates Motel. Dutifully I turned and headed toward the lake, looking for Lake Shore Drive. The paved road I was on turned into dirt and gravel. I would occasionally come across unmarked intersections with no street signs. Eventually I was at the lake itself, and at the abandoned high school, which looked like it had some squatters living in it. I was completely confused, and lost!

I finally found a lake side farmhouse, and asked the owner about Lake Shore Heights and Lake Shore Drive. He sent me back the way I came from, telling me to take the first right I found. The next thing I knew I was in the backwoods. I passed an occasional rickety houses or trailers, with signs on them that said, “Beware of Attack Dog” and “We Shoot First and Ask Questions Later” with a picture of a gun barrel pointing at you. People peeked at me through their blinds. Dogs barked. I kept my cell phone ready to dial 911, and then discovered there was no service. And no Lake Shore Drive, either! No nothing except the stars of Deliverance! I stopped the car, got out the original map, and discovered that the dead end dirt road to my right had to be, from the look of things around me, Lake Shore Drive. I followed it and finally located the two adjacent lots that Nancy’s aunt had owned—and now, apparently us. Since we had just experienced that Oklahoma ice storm that destroyed thousands of trees, I thought I was looking at a war zone.

Later on we figured out what had happened. An original plan for the expansion of Keystone would’ve set those lots close to the lake front, and they might have

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 7

been two valuable pieces of property. But they changed some of the development parameters after the lots had been sold, and the lake shore was set farther back—by miles. Lake Shore Heights quickly went under, and almost all of the lots went undeveloped because, frankly, you almost have to get lost to find them.

Let’s pray: Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, for you are our rock and our redeemer.

It’s easy to chase after the wrong thing. Couldn’t we say that this is what the ministry of Jesus was all about: preventing us from losing our way? I mean, if you and I weren’t losing our way all the time, always searching after the next pipe dream or the next promise of easy street, always tripping ourselves up, there would be no need of a savior. No need for Jesus to come into this world. No need for his sacrifice, or his gift of salvation. But we always get lost. Try as we might, left to ourselves, we mess it up time and time again. We are all spiritually ADD: the next new thing or idea comes along, and we’re after it. Or the people we should be trusting we don’t, and the one’s we just met we give them everything we got. This isn’t a new thing—this is our human dilemma. The Apostle Paul confesses our common humanity in Romans chapter 7:

“I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 8

21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

And brothers and sisters, that’s what we have right here in John chapter 9. The story is much longer than the few verses we’ve read together, and I commend the whole chapter to you. Because the story has lots to teach us, lots of players in this story, lots of lessons, I just want to stick with the first few verses because they really focus on the disciples—in other words, you and me, the ones that are always getting lost, getting tripped up.

We read about it right from the first in this passage: they see someone who is blind. Now, there was a lot of blindness in first century Palestine. Most were born with sight but suffered blindness for some reason or another. Some were born blind which was considered extremely unfortunate, and thought to be caused by some act of sin. This means blind persons were prevented from becoming priests. Most blind persons became beggars and lived hard lives. In the OT there’s even a warning against mistreating a blind person, presumably because it happened so often.

So this is who the disciples see and this is what they know of that person, and yet this is what they do: they start a theological discussion about the man. Jesus, that man there, yes, the blind one, the one who is poor and begging on the streets, yes, the one who has probably had his eyes cut into to try and heal them, yes that man there who has no future at all, tell me, Jesus, how do you think this happened? We know it was sin, but whose sin? The parents’ sin, visited on the child, or did this man himself sin while he was still in the womb? Tell us, Jesus, what is the correct answer to our philosophical and theological query about this man who if he had eyes could see us standing and talking about him this way?

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 9

You know, this is me a lot of times, because I’m always trying to learn things, think things through, figure them out. And to my shame sometimes I get too abstract and miss the reality of things. But this week I don’t think I’m alone, because I have been bombarded with emails and Facebook posts and messages and videos and the list goes on and on about the coronavirus, about COVID-19, and who started this thing. And it sounds like its coming right out of John chapter 7:

Jesus, see that person over there, sick with the virus? How did it get to him anyway? One disciple says, Jesus, did the virus escape from a Chinese lab or was it spread by the Communists? Another disciple says, Jesus, was the virus a man-made Chinese biological weapon? Yes it was, says another disciple, but it didn’t come from China. It came from some place known as the US military and they took into China first! Another disciple says, No, not from the military—it came from the US secret Deep State as a plot to kill their own leader—headed up by a physician named Anthony Fauci and someone named Obama. Yes, says another disciple, and they’ve spread the virus around with GMO-modified crops! But I heard, said another, that this man became sick because he was blasted with 5G electromagnetic waves through his cell phone, and that’s why we all may become sick! And the last of the disciples finally said, “But is he really sick with a special virus? I mean, doesn’t everyone get sick sometime? I think it’s the Romans just looking for an excuse to take away his freedom to work!”

And Jesus said to all of us, his disciples: Just stop it! All of you! Right now, stop! None of that matters! It doesn’t matter how this thing started. And BTW--you’re probably all wrong anyway! What matters is that there is someone in front of you who is sick and needs your help. Doesn’t matter how they got that way! There is someone right in front of you who this moment could start walking in the beauty and love and freedom of God’s Kingdom! When will you start thinking about and doing something about THAT?

In the scriptures Jesus says it like this: “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.”

Think of the word COVID. You hear it all the time. But how about if we change its meaning, so that everytime we hear it we are reminded anout doing the works of the One who sent us Jesus?

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 10

C stands for CONNECTING. Reach out by phone or text or email or Facebook to someone who needs a connection today.

O stands for OFFERING. Make an offering to your church or to another non-profit so they can minister to the ones you can’t.

V stands for VOLUNTEER. There are so many ways you can volunteer from home, right from your computer. And if you have a sewing machine, help us make masks.

I stands for INTERCESSION. Prayer is powerful, and anyone can engage in this ministry no matter their limitations.

D stands for DISCONNECT. Why not start disconnecting from the things that don’t matter to God, and start focusing on the one’s that do?

Brothers and sisters, it is easy to go looking for something that you think will just make everything fall into place. But most of the time, it just gets us lost in the boonies of Lake Shore Heights. I’ve been there, and it gets us nowhere. Especially when it doesn’t matter at all to God how we got into this situation. What matters to God? There are people all around you are hurting, right now, and there a dozen ways that even those of us who are the most homebound and the most frail can reach out and offer Gods Kingdom to them. And if you cannot think of a way, please contact me and we will seek God together. But I implore you, today, while you still can, put aside all of your philosophies and theories and spend your time doing the works of God who has sent to us Christ Jesus.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SILENT REFLECTION

(take one minute to consider today’s scripture. Here are some questions to help: Are you a thinker or a doer? How much time have you spent listening to the news or Facebook or the Internet? Who do you know might need a phone call today, or some other kind of help? If you are feeling lonely or sick or isolated, sometimes reaching out to another person to help them will be healing for us. How much time are you spending in prayer for others?)

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 11

PRAYERS (with a 9th century version of the Lord’s Prayer)(see Barbara’s email prayer list for congregational requests)

God, today I (we) pray

for the people of Hope United Methodist Church, and especially ... for those who suffer and those in trouble, and especially... for the concerns of this local community, and especially... for the world, its peoples, and its leaders, and for the earth that you have

given to our care. And,

For all who have contracted coronavirus, We pray for care and healing.

For those who are particularly vulnerable, We pray for safety and protection.

For all who experience fear or anxiety, We pray for peace of mind and spirit.

For affected families who are facing difficult decisions between food on the table or public safety,

We pray for policies that recognize their plight.For those who do not have adequate health insurance,

We pray that no family will face financial burdens alone.For those who are afraid to access care due to immigration status,

We pray for recognition of the God-given dignity of all.For our brothers and sisters around the world,

We pray for shared solidarity.For public officials and decisionmakers,

We pray for wisdom and guidance.Father, during this unusual time may your Church be a sign of hope,

comfort and love to all. Grant peace. Grant comfort. Grant healing. Be with us, Lord.

Amen. (from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops)

for the Church universal—its leaders, its members, and its mission. We especially pray for Bishop Nunn, for District Superintendent Cindy Havlik,

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 12

and for our new Superintendent coming this summer, Connie Gibson. We also pray for those serving in medical missions around the world. We also pray for . . . .

in communion with the saints, remembering all those who have gone on before us, and now form part of the great Hall of Faith which encourages those of us who remain on earth.

For my (our) needs today, which include . . .

Help me (us) remember, Lord, that you are merciful and good, and quick to act in times of need. I (We) thank you for all of your many blessings that you graciously give to us and to the world you love.

Therefore, as your child (children) on earth, I (we) pray the prayer that our Brother Jesus taught us to pray:

Father, in your tranquil world above,may your kingdom come,reveal your nourishing light.Let your clear will be doneon earth and in heaven.What is needed for life today,the substance of holy bread,provide to us soon.Forgive countless debts of our wicked errors,no different than we pardon our debtors.Oh, keep temptation of the devil far away,and likewise raise us up from evilto light at your right hand. Amen.

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

Please take a moment to remember all the many blessings God has given you, and to write a check to help support the ministry of your church. You can also go to https://www.hopefortulsa.com/give/ to make an online donation. Thank you for your support!

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 13

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: (The World Methodist Social Affirmation)

We believe in God, creator of the world and of all people;

and in Jesus Christ, incarnate among us, who died and rose again; and in the Holy Spirit,

present with us to guide, strengthen, and comfort.We believe; God, help our unbelief.

We rejoice in every sign of God's Kingdom; in the upholding of human dignity and community; in every expression of love, justice and reconciliation; in each act of self-giving on behalf of others; in the abundance of God's gifts entrusted to us that all may have

enough; in all responsible use of the earth's resources.Glory be to God on high; and on earth, be peace.

We confess our sin, individual and collective,by silence or action: through the violation of human dignity based on race, class, age, sex, nation, or faith; through the exploitation of people because of greed and indifference through the misuse of power in personal, communal, national, and international life; through the search for security by those military and economic forces that threaten human

existence; through the abuse of technology

which endangers the earth and all life upon it.Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy .

We commit ourselves individually and as a community to the way of Christ: to take up the cross; to seek abundant life for all humanity;

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 14

to struggle for peace with justice and freedom; to risk ourselves in faith, hope, and love, praying that God's kingdom may come.The kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen .

PRAISE and BENEDICTION: “We Are the Hands of Christ” (Salvation Army Hymnal, TUNE: “This Is My Father’s World”)

Sing along or experience this online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=hMetHPTjXHk

FOR KIDS WORSHIP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQjadzHWU0c&list=PLx2fZKbNiHsO172_RZCffrAWh0mjRKD_N&index=2&t=0s

(Thanks, LifeChurch!)

Hope UMC April 17, 2020, At-Home Worship Guide, pg. 15