July 14, 2024

Eightieth Sunday after Pentecost

10:00am

 

 

WELCOME

 

OPENING PRAYER

God the creator, God of the cross,
you show your power
in whirling galaxies and unseen forces.
You show your love
in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Drive out the evils that threaten to break our spirits
and help us to rely on your all-sufficient grace,
for we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

God calls
God gathers
God challenges
God moves
God liberates
God saves
Guide us and our lives, O Holy One, so all creation might flourish.

 

*HYMN No.610                    “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”

O for a thousand tongues to sing my dear Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of God’s grace!

 

The name of Jesus charms our fears, and bids our sorrows cease,

Sings music in the sinner’s ear, brings life, and health, and peace.

 

Christ speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive;

The mournful waken to rejoice; the poor in heart believe.

 

My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,

To spread through all the earth broad the honors of thy name.

 

To God all glory, praise and love be now and forever given

by saints below and saints above, the church in  earth and heaven.

 

*CALL TO CONFESSION

The truth is liberating. Let us honestly examine our hearts and confess our sins before God.

 

*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

Holy God, we belittle ourselves in the face of overwhelming problems. We tell ourselves we are powerless to create positive change. We tell ourselves peace is impossible as we invest billions in weapons of war. We refuse new ideas, new solutions, new voices. We are stuck – trapped! – in our comfortable ways. Forgive our reluctance, God. Forgive our ignorance. Forgive our excuse-making. Turn us to all that is possible through you. Amen.

 

*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION

 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Christ has set us free. Claim your forgiveness. Rejoice in God’s grace. Respond with bold, courageous love. Amen.

 

*RESPONSE No. 581                        “Gloria Patri”

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.

 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us forgive one another.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

And also with you.

 

SPECIAL MUSIC

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Please join me in the unison prayer…

Prepare our hearts and minds for the hearing of your Word, Holy God. Open us to your truth. Humble us to your way. Amen.

 

SCRIPTURE              Mark 6:14-29

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’s[a] name had become known. Some were[b] saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

 

17 For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod[c] had married her. 18 For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed,[d] and yet he liked to listen to him. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22 When his daughter Herodias[e] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” 23 And he swore[f] to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25 Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 The king was deeply grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s[g] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

 

Pause…

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!!

 

SERMON                  “Beheaded”

From Dallas to Mad Men to Gray’s Anatomy to Yellowstone, TV evening soap operas have nothing on the Bible. There’s political intrigue, seduction, religious zeal, and enough behind-the-scenes plotting in the story of John’s death to satisfy the most avid mystery fan.

The scene begins with Herod getting word of Jesus’ deeds of power. Interestingly, we don’t quite know what it was that Herod heard, only that Jesus’ fame is spreading. We looked at Herod’s guilty conscience earlier; now we learn more about where his guilt came from. All in all, it’s actually a minor twist in tightly woven story of dynastic struggle that rivals anything in Game of Thrones.

But it can get confusing. Herod, you see, is the name used by eight different rulers of the Herodian dynasty who live in the generations just before, during, and after Jesus’ ministry. Today’s story revolves around Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great. He has married Herodias, the former wife of his younger brother (also named Herod), because this marriage gives him a stronger claim to his father’s throne.

But the form of Herodias’ divorce from her former husband and her marriage to Herod Antipas was criticized by many, including John the Baptist. This is embarrassing and politically dangerous to both Herod and Herodias, and so Herod has John arrested and locks him up. But then a funny thing happens. Herod can’t bring himself to eliminate this threat to his power. He is afraid of John, Mark reports, because he knows John is righteous and holy and, as it turns out, he likes listening to John.

Herodias, however, shares neither her new husband’s fear of, nor affinity for, John. An opportunity for Herodias to act arises when Herod throws a banquet for some of his courtiers and local leaders, and her daughter (also named Herodias – I told you this gets confusing!) dances for and entertains her stepfather. Herod, caught up in a moment of exuberance, promises to give her anything, up to half his kingdom. When Herodias’ daughter asks her counsel, she prompts her daughter to ask for John’s head on a platter and Herod, afraid to default on a promise made before all these VIPs, consents.

 

While it’s always tempting to look for “the moral of the story” in biblical accounts, it’s rarely satisfying. The Bible wasn’t written to teach children to behave or help you get ahead in business. It’s a book that tells the truth, the truth about humanity in all of its glory and shame, and the even greater truth of God’s love for humanity and passionate commitment to redeem and save us, even from ourselves.

Unfortunately, we still get hung upon on the earthly model 0f wealth and control.  The church, too, continues turning away from the message of John and ultimately Jesus.  A recent example comes from the Southern Baptist Convention.  Russell Moore, former top official for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) who is now the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, said (during an interview aired on NPR’s All Things Considered) that Christianity is in a “crisis” due to the current state of right-wing politics.

Moore has found himself at odds with other evangelical leaders due to his frequent criticism of certain political leaders. He resigned his position with the SBC in 2021 following friction over his views on the current state of politics and a sex abuse crisis among Southern Baptist clergy.

In his NPR interview, Moore suggested that the political landscape has been transformed in the U.S. to the point where some Christian are openly denouncing a central doctrine of their religion as being too “weak” and “liberal” for their liking.

“Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching—’turn the other cheek’—[and] to have someone come up after to say, ‘Where did you get those liberal talking points?'” Moore said.

“When the pastor would say, ‘I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ’ … The response would be, ‘Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak,” he added. “When we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we’re in a crisis.”  Maybe the church has always in crisis because living out the Beatitudes and many of Jesus’ other messages is very difficult.  Following Jesus, care for the downtrodden or proclaim a new kingdom – where the first will be last and the last will be first – this can be a hard message to proclaim and a hard message to accept.

 

So if you want to find a moral in our text for today, it’s probably this: as in the soap operas today, so also in the political dramas of this current season – the rich and powerful are used to getting what they want; are willing to do most anything to keep or advance what they have; and those who stand up to them, advocate for the oppressed, or dare to inspire people to imagine that life can be different usually get trampled or killed. That’s what happens to John. And, as we’ll see, Jesus’ clash with this same Herod isn’t all that far off.

It’s not much of a moral, I know. But at least it’s true.

And, more importantly, it’s not the end of the story.

Jesus will have the final word – the kingdom of God

 

Commentary and Liturgy from the Book of Common Worship (PCUSA), “Call to Worship” Website, PCUSA Book of Confession, The New Interpreter’s Commentary, Teri McDowell Ott, and David Lose.

 

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH          The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.  Amen.

 

*HYMN NO. 438                  “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”

1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.
Let the water and the blood
from thy wounded side which flowed
be of sin the double cure,
cleanse from guilt and make me pure.

2 Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s demands.
Could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone.
Thou must save, and thou alone.

3 Nothing in my hand I bring;
simply to thy cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress,
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

4 While I draw this fleeting breath,
when my eyelids close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee

 

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

God of heaven and earth, in these days of scorching summer sun and cool evening breeze; of terrorizing wars and vacations at the beach; of discouraging national news and nourishing church potlucks; we live lives of contradictions. We notice the disparities. We feel you tugging at our hearts to heed Christ’s call of discipleship, of care, of service, and of delighting in blessings bestowed.

 

On this Sabbath day, we pause to pray for those who are suffering, those who are close and known to us as well as those who live in far- away foreign lands. In your mercy, God, hear our prayers for:

 

People seeking to survive enduring violence in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan

People seeking a home to call their own, a place of safety and refuge

People seeking escape from record heat waves, tropical storms and natural disasters

People seeking a cure for disease or the easing of physical pain

People seeking relief from endless waves of grief

People seeking spiritual peace to cool the anger burning within them

People seeking healing from mental or physical illness

 

God, we know we are not powerless. We recognize the power we hold to make this world more just, more equitable, more right. Equip us, teach- er, with the wisdom to know what is best, and the courage to do what is right.

 

Now, as the Body of Christ, hear us as we pray the prayer our Savior taught us, “Our Father”:

 

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. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

OFFERING OF TITHES & OFFERINGS

In gratitude to God for all our blessings, let us bless others with a portion of all we have been given. Let us present our offerings to God.

 

OFFERTORY

 

*RESPONSE N0. 607           “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Christ, all people here below;
praise Holy Spirit evermore;
praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Most generous God, you have blessed us with gifts to serve and share. May the offerings we present today be used to promote the peace, jus- tice and healing you desire for us and your world. Amen.

 

*HYMN No. 39                     “Great is Thy Faithfulness”

1 *Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not; thy compassions they fail not.
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

2 Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
(Refrain)

3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow:
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
(Refrain)

 

*BENEDICTION

God calls Christ loves Spirit guides

Just as God gathered us for worship,

God sends us out

— redeemed, renewed, ready to live and love faithfully.

May the grace, hope, peace and love of God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer

be with us all, now and always. Amen.