welcome to worship i'll of faith united
methodist church i'm pastor will clark
we're glad you're joining us wherever
you are i have three or four
announcements for you we are continuing
to look for volunteers for our pumpkin
patch that's
less than a month away or right at a
month away
and that's a wonderful experience if
you've never been a part of that you
really want to volunteer for the pumpkin
batch
see theresa or call the office for more
information and of course
the website we have our charge
conference coming up
our yeah annual supercharged conference
it will be virtual this year online this
is where we
vote on the few things of the church
we're required to vote on
at the district level for the book of
discipline so you'll have opportunities
later
to watch that online but if you would
like to participate
and that is november 7th
and there will be you must reserve a
spot in advance and to do that
as soon as worship is over today or
tomorrow morning
if you would like to watch the charge
conference participate on it contact
allison because she will send in all the
reservations at once to the district
so thank you for that we have
two more things one is very important we
mentioned it briefly last week
but next sunday the 13th we will
open the sanctuary back for worship on
sunday morning very limited this is just
try to get our feet wet make sure we can
protect everyone and have
safety precautions in place so we're
taking up to 50 individual reservations
we didn't we do not have 50 chairs in
here
room for that for social distancing but
if you're going to sit together please
go on the website iofumc.org
you'll see a link click here to reserve
a spot for worship
and for every person in your party that
is coming to sit together
in your family then you need to make an
individual reservation if possible
also i know we're tempted to go ahead
and the
program allows you to reserve many weeks
in advance
we want to be respectful of opening
spots for other people that maybe
aren't as quick on the computer as you
are so try to limit it to one or two
weeks at a time
and then the next monday you can get
right back on first come first serve
uh again limited worship in here we will
also
be broadcasting as we are on wednesday
nights
to the parking lot for our drive-in
church and
we will live stream so you can watch it
as always at 9 30
sunday morning in your home this is the
first step of us coming back together as
a church
being safe recognizing the dangers to
our vulnerable populations and that's
very important
also part of this slow roll back into
the church
we will only have worship that morning 9
30 to 10 30
and we'll try to get out in orderly
fashion and wave at each other and be
safe
but on that first sunday and maybe a few
others after that we still are not
having small groups or sunday schools
meeting inside the building
we're still uh working that out with cdc
and with our powers to be as far as
cleanliness and
how we can social distance and our
sunday school rooms just really aren't
large enough to support the size of our
sunday school classes which is a good
thing but we will be back shortly
so thank you i'm excited to see you in
person some of you
and we will see those that don't make
you this week we'll see the next
uh the last announcement today we have a
very special
worship opportunity the bishop of the
florida conference
ken carter and the bishop's cabinet are
providing us
a worship service today that's a way to
say thank you to the hard-working
staff of the churches that are working
so hard to produce sunday
services over and over again and also
it's just a wonderful opportunity for
we the people of the united methodist
church to
just hear from our bishop and hear from
the leaders of the conference
and be blessed by their message so sit
back
say a little prayer let everything fall
away they can
interrupt your worship time together and
let's worship the lord
grace and peace to you in the name of
god the father the son and the holy
spirit
our creator our savior our
sustainer my name is ken carter
and i serve have the joy of serving as
the resident bishop of the florida
conference
of the united methodist church we are
offering this worship
service to you we the appointed cabinet
uh
on labor day weekend it's intended to be
uh offered by churches on september 6th
but you may
decide to share it on another day and
you may be worshiping on
another day exodus 20 verse 11
tells us that god made the heavens
and the earth in six days and on the
seventh day
god rested literally on the seventh day
god caught god's breath
that is the origin of our sabbath day
the sabbath is a day of rest and
recovery
and so we hope this service is a gift
to musicians technicians
worship leaders pastors who have
faithfully been
offering worship to the lord over these
several months of the pandemic
we hope that this is a time for you to
catch your breath
and we want to thank you for your
faithfulness
as we think about catching our breath
we also pause to remember
in this time those doing essential work
on our behalf to make our lives
and and uh our everyday lives possible
uh sometimes that essential work is
risk taking work we also
pause to remember in this pandemic
those who are on ventilators
and who suffer greatly florida
our state has had over 500 000 persons
to test positive for this virus and over
8 000 persons
to die from this virus and we pause to
reflect
uh on the words this summer
i can't breathe words that
remind us of the racism that is a
reality
and the work of anti-racism that is
our journey and so we offer this worship
service to you
to glorify god to allow you to catch
your breath
and to reflect on the goodness the mercy
the providence and the salvation of god
the waters of northwest florida call me
to a place of sabbath rest and peace
i live on lake talking outside of
tallahassee fed by the oklahoma river
that eventually runs into the gulf of
mexico
this combination of river and lake
brings
peace to my soul hear these words from
one of my favorite hymns
when peace like a river attendeth my way
when sorrows like sea billows roll
whatever my lot thou has taught me to
say
it is well it is well with my soul
let us pray patient lord we schedule our
lives down
to the very second we crowd in
as much activity as we can and then
wonder why we are
so stressed out and tired
we are afraid to miss out on anything
and when it comes
to the time we can be with others or
with you
we spend our time worrying about the
details
rather than longing for the visit
forgive us when we get so caught up in
the details and miss the opportunity
to sit and be with you
to sit at your feet to listen to learn
to grow together in our faith help us to
place ourselves o lord
in your care slow us down lord just
a bit so that we can see the wonders you
have placed before us
and truly enjoy and share the blessings
you have given to us
all we ask this in the holy name of
jesus
our savior and friend amen
and now hear these words of assurance
on the seventh day of creation god
rested creating a sabbath
a time set apart for rest to learn
to listen to be quiet and at peace
let sabbath take root in your heart and
in your life
be at peace and god's love for you
amen and amen
our scripture lesson for today comes
from the old testament book of isaiah
chapter 58.
i'll be reading verses 13 and 14 from
the new revised standard version
hear now the word of the lord if you
as we come to our prayer time i want to
lead us in a
call and response prayer i will say lord
in your mercy
and you will respond by saying hear our
prayer
let us pray oh god we pray for the
church
throughout the world and in our local
communities
that her members ministers and
ministries may be agents of
transformation
maybe agents of forgiveness
and agents of grace
lord in your mercy hear
our prayer we pray for our nation
our leaders and all who labor to make
this country free
all who labor to make this place a haven
of blessing a place of
justice and where we can all
experience peace throughout the land
lord in your mercy hear
our prayer
we pray for the world that you would
pass
through our lands and once again
bring freedom once again bring
hope once again bring
for all your children lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
we pray for the sick the suffering
those who are fearful
and all who live in the wake of
terror lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
lord jesus we give thanks for
for the work that you have for us to do
hear our prayers on this day of
rest we pray that you would be present
with those who work by day
and those who work by night
that you would be present with those who
work nearby
and those who whose work carries them
far away and we pray for those
in this uncertain time
those who have no job
those who have no shelter
those who have no security
all who suffer directly and
indirectly from the coven 19 virus
lord hear our prayer and may you come
and bless us guide us
teach us reveal to us
how we can be the church in our time
in our places come holy spirit come
mold us we pray amen
and now as we come to this time of
receiving
our offering i want to share with you a
story about a
little boy in our community he just
started coming to
worship here at cypress lake just a few
weeks before we had
to all shut down back in march
and as i pulled up to the front doors of
the sanctuary i noticed
this young boy and he was carrying a
palm
from like this one and as i pulled up he
was
running around the circle in front of
the church and he was running with this
and he was holding it up and as he came
by and i was standing there i called him
over and i learned his name
it was matthew and as i was saying
matthew come tell me what are you doing
and he said i remember that you taught
us
that we are the light of christ and
we're supposed to carry the light of
christ
and i was just practicing
what a great story see that's what we
are called to do we're supposed to
practice carrying the light of christ
out into the world in which we live
to shine the light of christ into the
dark corners of our communities
to bring hope and peace love and joy
and so let me just say thank you thank
you for the ways that you have been
supporting
the life of your congregation thank you
for the ways that you have reached out
to your communities
to feed the hungry to clothe the naked
to bring
shelter to those who are homeless these
are uncertain times
but this is the time that god has called
us to be the church
to love and to rejoice in knowing that
god's call upon our lives is to practice
carrying the light
for the world and so may you give of
your offering at this time
so that we can continue to build the
kingdom of god
here there and everywhere Amen.
our second scripture reading comes from
the old testament book of exodus
i'll be reading chapter 20 verses 8
through 11
from the new revised standard version
before i get started i wanted to add the
heart emoji to this second scripture
reading
often times we send a heart emoji to
remind someone that they are loved
so today remember you are loved
god loves you we love you and we are in
this together
hear now the word of the lord remember
greetings and happy lord's day to all
who are joining us for worship this
morning
we are good to have you with us i'm rev
june edwards i'm the superintendent of
the north central district home of some
of the most beautiful natural resources
that are found in the state
as well as of course the great
university of florida and gator
wesley campus ministry the warren w
willis youth camp
and the life enrichment center as well
as 86 fabulous churches
who are serving faithfully in mission
throughout the various contexts in which
they are located
as bishop carter shared in his
introduction we are providing this
worship service as a way to offer a time
of rest
to all of the pastors and musicians
staff technicians and others
who have been faithfully serving week
after week
in order to bring worship to you in this
time of global pandemic
we know it has been exhausting and we
are glad to
help provide this support as a cabinet
to each of you
and so it seemed a theme of sabbath was
especially
fitting for this worship service today
you know sabbath was so important that
it was included in the law or the torah
the ten commandments
by which the people of israel were to be
defined
the text this morning that you heard
read already
is a part of the torah instruction
if you look closely you will see that
the first three commandments have
everything to do
with god that there's only one god
that you should have no other gods or
idols or anything that you value
more than god and that whenever you
speak the lord's name you should speak
it with honor and reverence because
just being able to say god
is the most precious gift that we can
have and so then you find the the last
six commandments
that tell us about ourselves and how we
are to live
and how we are to treat others we're to
honor our parents
we are to not commit murder or adultery
or to lie or to steal
or to have be wanting
other people's goods and belongings
the linchpin in my opinion is
the fourth commandment which is to
remember the sabbath
and keep it holy you see if we remember
the sabbath and keep it holy god knew
that if we took time and stopped
that we could focus ourselves and our
lives back on god
and then as we heard god and listen to
god and found our life in god
then naturally we would turn toward how
we are treating
others in fact um you by honoring our
parents
and and treating one another well it
puts our lives
back in order you know jesus summary of
the greatest commandment was that of
loving
god and neighbor and of course he was
right on
point there and so to honor the sabbath
and keep it holy puts our lives in
right order in fact in god's design the
sabbath is the critical piece for living
out our lives as god's people
in the world for the people of israel
keeping sabbath was about as serious as
one could get
in fact if you read closely you will see
that to violate the sabbath
the punishment was death if you have
participated
in the summer in the scripture reading
through the gospels with bishop
carter this summer you can't help but
notice
that a big point of contention between
the religious leaders
and jesus was what could and could not
happen on the sabbath for jesus was
healing
people on the sabbath and whether it was
in a
in a home on a roadside or in the
synagogue
and they took great issue and exception
because they had their own rules and
regulations and had determined
exactly what was appropriate for our
behavior
on the sabbath and so
jesus response to this was remember
the sabbath was made for humankind not
humankind
for the sabbath and it was a reminder to
us that the sabbath is god's
gift to us i once wrote an article
about the purpose and function of
architecture it was during a time when i
was serving
a church that was undergoing a big
building and expansion
project maybe because my my husband's a
contractor that it really caught my
attention but i really had never
thought before about what an architect
does
and the article went on to say that an
architect takes empty space
air and designs a building and a
structure
in such a way that it defines the space
and the purp and the building for a
particular purpose
where life is to be lived out
meaningfully and purposefully and
productively
there i would say god the the architect
of our world in our lives and in fact
all of life
has defined the space of sabbath in a
particular way
it's the space that we enter into to
learn how to live with god
and with one another sabbath says stop
pay attention to your life to your
relationship with god
and with one another and your connection
with the world around you
and all of creation in fact the beauty
and wonder of creation which
which is what helps us name the context
of our lives literally this
this space and this structure of sabbath
defines how we live
and move and ultimately directs us
toward the one
that gives our life meaning
sabbath is the means by which we are to
stop
to look around to remember that it is
god
that made us that we're not create the
creators of our own
lives in fact that god is the one that
said to stop and in fact the scripture
tells us
that god god self stopped
and rested so sabbath for us is to
remember
who is god and we are not
god and in fact it tells us that god is
not a workaholic
god worked six days and rested on the
seventh
we should take note and we miss that
important point at our peril
so sabbath is a means by which god helps
us get a hold of
ourselves and our lives and thus we
become the healed
whole and holy people that god
intended us to be so within the
structure of sabbath we discover that it
is sacred and holy space
that god invites us to enter into so
that we can find
rest and renewal and refreshment so that
we can be refocused for the next
six days to come you know i can't
imagine that any architect would
design a building for people to just
stand outside
and look at and observe rather
they invite us to come in and this
the same is true with god and even worse
can you imagine uh architect designing a
building
that is not even noticed and that we
pass on by
what a waste and what a complete
dismissal
of the means by which we could enter
into a space and discover the beauty and
wonder of its
perfect intention and that is god's
use of sabbath place
i've just returned from renewal leave
myself
an extended sabbath of sorts and i
recognize i'm grateful for the time
in the space to be able to do this
and i also came to see how much
i needed rest and renewal
we spent good time with our children and
and grandchildren and did it
by safely distancing and following all
of the guidelines that we have to follow
right now
but i was able to hold and feed and
change and and bathe and sing to our
infant granddaughter and how
life-renewing
that is i prepared and we shared
meals together with family and and
friends
i sat on the porch in the mountains and
listened to the water seeing
in the stream nearby and the most
beautiful bird song
i would say of my favorite bird that i
have never laid eyes on
before and watched in amazement
the constantly changing view of the
mountains
depending on the position of the sun and
the sky or the size and the number of
the clouds
we found time to be at the beach and and
i watched as a
a dog being released from its leash
jumped and ran
and left with just pure unleashed
joy i watched the dolphin roll
offshore and children who set up the
most amazing
ice cream shop in the sand and a dad who
needs to get first
prize the golden cup for eating every
last exotic ice cream sundae that they
prepared for him my husband looked over
it to me
and and he said did you know sand moves
i said what he said yes at first i
thought
that there were insects in the sand
causing it to move
but as he laid there and just watched
the clumps of sand as the
water evaporated from him they began to
crumble and fall apart
and he just said and the sand is moving
out there all the time
that's being able to stop and rest
and notice my mind and my spirit and my
body found healing
as i soaked in the life-giving water of
the ocean
and as i became connected again to
creation
one of the most powerful ways to
experience sabbath
finding and entering sabbath is the
means that god gave
us for entering fully into the space of
the life that god designed for us that
that structure if you will it is truly
the pivotal connection between our
relationship with god
and neighbor in the jewish tradition
sabbath begins on friday evening
with worship the jewish theologian and
philosopher
abraham heschel said of of the people of
god and of sabbath it was as if a whole
people were in love with the seventh day
that's our challenge as a people of god
to be in love with the structure and the
idea and the space of
sabbath that god has given us
as as the people of israel and in jewish
tradition when they gather together they
they remember and they are remembered
back together
and each of our lives individually and
communally
are put back together you know there is
intention about observing the sabbath
the the words in scripture say remember
the sabbath and keep it holy
in these strange times we are all
yearning
to be back in a physical
structure a building this place we call
a sanctuary
but do not forget that that is
not the space that i'm talking about
here the space that i'm talking about
that god has created for us cannot be
defined by just a building
it's the space we enter into as we focus
our lives upon god
so yes we want to get back to church
but god has given us this gift this gift
of time
to discover that we can worship
differently
and in many different ways whether it's
virtually
whether it's outside or whether it is
spaced
far apart inside a building
god has said that there is far more to
worship
and sabbath than gathering in a building
god has given us the space and the time
of sabbath and it is a good gift
and now especially we have the
opportunity to reclaim that gift
and to learn what it means to sit with
god and
family and friends whether in person
safely
or virtually through the miracle of
technology
so that we can listen for god and watch
for god
in order that we can learn to love
like god on this labor day weekend we
honor
and pray for all of those who work long
hours to provide food and shelter and
protection
and resources for us all and we pray for
those
who struggle to find sabbath rest
this day and we pray for those who have
been displaced
through loss of their job and their
income
yet we have this promise for us all
that as we remember the sabbath and keep
it holy
as we draw close to god and one another
we find that healing and wholeness
and holiness that is god's gift for all
of us
so on that seventh day when god rested
may you
on the seventh day find rest and may
your sabbath
be full and blessed this day
amen
as we come to this time of receiving the
sacrament of holy communion
i invite you to push pause and just
go to your kitchen and pick out maybe a
piece of bread or cracker or whatever
you have
water juice whatever and then come back
to the
to the television or to the computer
whatever you're watching this service on
and come and be ready to receive
this blessing this passage of
encouragement knowing that your past is
forgiven and your future is restored
and prepared for what god has in planned
for your life
as we celebrate the sacrament of the
lord's table
on this labor day may we remember the
laborers
in the fields the harvesters of
wheat and grapes those who transform
wheat into bread and grapes
into juice bless their hands and feet
as they labor at farms and gardens
in trucks and warehouses
after laboring on the streets of
jerusalem
doing justice loving kindness
and walking humbly with god jesus
clutched bread
in his hands he blessed the food
gave thanks and heartfully expressed to
his friends
that this was the bread of life
so as you eat this bread
jesus said remember me
and after supper jesus grasped the cup
filled with the gift of the vine
in his blessing he reminded all of his
friends
whenever you drink of this cup remember
me spirit of wisdom
and of wonder be present
to us in these elements
may they stir us from stagnation
into actively loving god
to actively loving our neighbor
to actively loving ourselves
may our participation at this table
transform us
into the people god is calling us
to be with gratitude
we gather at this table
as we take a piece of bread
let us experience the love of god
as seen in jesus christ
as we receive the cup let us remember
the grace that comes from
god alone
my friends the body of
christ broken for you
for all take
and eat this in remembrance of him
the blood of christ poured out for you
so as we gather in multitude of places
in multitude of ways we receive
the sacrament the body of christ
broken for us the blood of christ poured
out for us
take eat and drink in remembrance
of him
let us pray
lord we your humble servants lay our
lives before you
come and stir within us
see those dark places of our lives
shine your light into them
and may we walk from this place forward
with confidence knowing that you are the
light
and that you are the love for all
humanity
may our light your light shine through
us
to be a beacon of hope for a broken
world
and we offer this prayer in the name of
jesus christ
who lived who taught and who died
for us amen
in my heart
teach me
comes above
is
one
of god
oh
find my wandering is
sisters and brothers go in the peace of
christ
go into a hurting world a world that
needs you and go with god on your hearts
and your hands
go to serve god in your neighbor in all
that you do
go in the peace of christ amen
