Week of September 11, 2022

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Luke 15:1-10

Worship Service may be seen here

To be lost is terrible, for both the seeker and the one who is lost.  Have you or a friend of yours had kids that wandered off (sometimes at a run) in the store?  Hiding under a close rack?  Or sitting in a corner at the zoo gift shop playing with a toy they were hoping to get (my family knows those stories…)  It is the worst feeling when you can’t find them.  And when they realize they can’t find you either?  Distress all around.  This feeling of relief when they are found is what Jesus was trying to get across in his parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin.  We may be lost, but he desperately wants us back.

Randy told us yesterday that he’s a “dog guy”.  It’s great to come home and have someone be so excited that you’re there.  A dog doesn’t care if you’ve been gone 10 minutes or 10 hours, it’s still just fabulous that you’re back.  A friend of mine has often talked about going home to be a rock star to her dogs because they are so excited to see her at the end of the school day.  Some dogs, such as Shelties, are bred to be herders.  They keep track of the sheep that wander away and encourage them to come back to the group.

People wander away from God just as little kids wander away from their parents and sheep wander away from the herd.  “I’ll skip church this week, no one will miss me.”  “I’m not going to read my scripture today, I’m tired…”  God asks us to seek those who have wandered and bring them back, including ourselves.  This is not an easy job, although it is easier than the job God gave Jeremiah.  Jeremiah had to go to a foreign land and tell them they’d messed up.  No one likes to hear that from anyone, especially not a stranger.

God has a task for all of us.  It will not be easy…the bible never said it would be.  But God is forever, He is sustaining, He is asking us to do our task and be more than we were before.  Strive for that Christ-like life…it’s not about us anymore, it’s about God.

Thank you Randy Lee for sharing the message with us yesterday.

Announcements

Thank you to everyone who supported our Touch-a-Truck event!  It was fabulous!

Hospitality Committee — There will be a hospitality committee meeting Sunday after church.  If you’d like to be on the committee or even just have ideas you’d like to share, please join us after the worship service.

World Communion Sunday is October 2.  We will be recognizing this important day in the life of the United Methodist Church with a special offering.  Pew cards will be available next week explaining how this special offering supports the church’s mission in the world.