Pastor Matt Stone presented the lesson on Sunday on "Sacraments". In the United Methodist Church, two acts of worship are considered to be sacraments-- Baptism and Communion. What makes these sacraments? These two acts are ordained by Jesus himself. Jesus was baptized by John (Mark 1:9) and told his followers to go and baptize people "in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion, instructing his disciples to partake of his body and blood- the bread and the cup- "in remembrance" of him (1Corinthians 11: 23-26). Since these two acts are outlined in Scripture as practices that Jesus commands us to do, the United Methodist doctrine defines these as sacraments.
Baptism- In the United Methodist Church we baptize people of all ages. We believe in infant/small children baptism as an affirmation of God's prevenient grace-- the grace that goes before. Parents take the vows on their child's behalf. In our church, we affirm that "children are born into the brokenness of the world and should receive the cleansing and renewing forgiveness of God...." ("By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism"). Baptism is a sign of God's grace and that God's grace is at work in a person's life even before that person responds to God's grace by professing his or her faith. Not only do parents accept the vows of baptism for their child but the entire congregation does too. We also believe that a person only needs to be baptized once. Since we believe that God does the work in baptism, we also believe that God does it perfectly and therefore there is no need to baptize a person more than once. There are 3 ways to baptize: sprinkling, pouring and immersion. At KUMC we traditionally do baptisms by pouring or sprinkling. The reason being more about convenience, we don't have a baptismal pool, rather than any other reason. In an immersion baptism, the dunking in the water is very symbolic-- dying to your old self when you go under the water and being raised to a new life in Christ when you are brought out of the water. Not all Christian denominations baptize infants. Some practice believer's baptism meaning that a person can be baptized only when he or she is old enough to make a profession of faith. In the United Methodist Church, we call this time Confirmation. Confirmation is a time when a person is old enough to accept for himself the vows of their baptism. They don't get re-baptized but they confirm that they are now ready to accept God's love and grace and the responsibility of seeking a life in Christ.
Communion- Christians may and should partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion frequently. Through Communion, we are nourished by God's saving grace and reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Communion is done most of the time in community. Celebrating communion not only draws us closer to God, but also draws us closer to one another. In the United Methodist Church, all are invited to receive the bread and cup. This is called an "open table". In the UMC Communion litergy, the invitation is to "all who love Christ and earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another." Other denominations who practice closed Communion believe that being worthy to take Holy Communion means being in a right relationship with the church and/or sharing the church's understanding of Holy Communion.
The sacraments are more than just rituals. They are practices ordained by Jesus himself as ways for us to more fully experience God's forgiving love and grace. They are ways in which we live out our faith and come to know God better.
(Notes taken from: Credo Confirmation Curriculum)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Moving on to Perfection- Jan. 13, 2013
Several weeks ago Rev. Welch talked to us about "Way of Salvation" and he mentioned Wesley's 3 general rules: 1. Do no harm; 2. Do good, and 3. Attend to the ordainances of God or in other words, love God. He also mentioned that we should strive or move on to perfection which is a belief that Wesley emphasized in his sermons. John Wesley believed that we move toward a perfect faith, a perfect love. Wesley insisted that "a believer daily grows in grace, comes nearer and nearer to perfection, and that we ought to be continually pressing after it and to exhort (encourage) all others so to do." In Philippians 3:12 Paul writes, "Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me."
So how do we do this? How do we move on to perfection, or a perfect love. The way to consistent Christian living and true holiness has remained the same (Ellsworth Kalas, Being United Methodist): Wesley's 3rd general rule-- attending to the ordainances of God-- prayer, worship, studying the Bible, celebrating communion, and serving others.
But doing these things are hard, right? Why? Besides being something we have to make time for or something we have to remember to do, Kalas says that he would argue that the hardest part about attending to the ordainances of God is doing it in the right spirit. Doing these because we want to advance ourselves is the wrong way and we'll miss the mark. Doing them to please and glorify God and to bless others is doing them in the right spirit. If we can think of praying, studying the Bible and praising God daily because He loves us and calls us to be in relationship with Him, doing these things would somehow be easier to do. Starting each day by renewing our day for the Lord would help us to do those things to be in relationship with Him.
True Holiness = Pure Love (love of God and love of others)
Matthew 5: 43-48 describes God's perfect love-- loving the good and the evil, sending rain and sun for both, and asking what is the reward to love those who love you? Verse 48 says: "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Loving those that aren't nice to us, who are different than us, who you may think look weird or act weird is not easy. But it's what Christ describes as "pure perfect love" and it's the love that He wants us to have and show. Everyday we need a new commitment to a Godly life and renewed love for God and others. Everyday you have to "put on love". 1 John 4: 18-21 says that there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... the one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says , "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul tells us, " Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Philippians 3:12-- we're not perfect yet, but we should take hold of that which Christ has taken hold of us and keeps pursing us daily. Who wants to be imperfect, when Christ's goal is for us to be perfect? Remember our new verse (the one you should memorize): John 13: 34-35- "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
So how do we do this? How do we move on to perfection, or a perfect love. The way to consistent Christian living and true holiness has remained the same (Ellsworth Kalas, Being United Methodist): Wesley's 3rd general rule-- attending to the ordainances of God-- prayer, worship, studying the Bible, celebrating communion, and serving others.
But doing these things are hard, right? Why? Besides being something we have to make time for or something we have to remember to do, Kalas says that he would argue that the hardest part about attending to the ordainances of God is doing it in the right spirit. Doing these because we want to advance ourselves is the wrong way and we'll miss the mark. Doing them to please and glorify God and to bless others is doing them in the right spirit. If we can think of praying, studying the Bible and praising God daily because He loves us and calls us to be in relationship with Him, doing these things would somehow be easier to do. Starting each day by renewing our day for the Lord would help us to do those things to be in relationship with Him.
True Holiness = Pure Love (love of God and love of others)
Matthew 5: 43-48 describes God's perfect love-- loving the good and the evil, sending rain and sun for both, and asking what is the reward to love those who love you? Verse 48 says: "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Loving those that aren't nice to us, who are different than us, who you may think look weird or act weird is not easy. But it's what Christ describes as "pure perfect love" and it's the love that He wants us to have and show. Everyday we need a new commitment to a Godly life and renewed love for God and others. Everyday you have to "put on love". 1 John 4: 18-21 says that there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... the one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says , "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul tells us, " Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Philippians 3:12-- we're not perfect yet, but we should take hold of that which Christ has taken hold of us and keeps pursing us daily. Who wants to be imperfect, when Christ's goal is for us to be perfect? Remember our new verse (the one you should memorize): John 13: 34-35- "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Worship- Jan. 6, 2013
If someone asked you what "worship" is what would you say?
The dictionary meaning says, "Worship is reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power-also an act of expressing such reverence - or a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual - extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem."
For those who worship the Lord, it is honoring God through our words, our prayers, our songs and our actions. It is recognizing that we can have an encounter with the living God.
People have worshiped God since the beginning of time. Cain and Abel brought to the Lord their best. Abraham built an altar to the Lord; Jacob set up stones to mark the place where he had an encounter with God; the Hebrews built a tabernacle for a place to worship the Lord; Solomon built a Temple; people gathered to honor and adore the One who had saved them from their enemies, the One who sustained them in times of trial and tribulation, the One who knew them intimately.
Jesus worshipped at a synagogue - a place where the people gathered to hear the Word read and proclaimed and offered their prayers and sang hymns or psalms of praise.
In the Christian community, worship is something we do together to honor and show our devotion to Christ.
Worship, or "The Service" means the work of the people. We are not suppose to be spectators or a passive audience in worship, but instead, we gather to collectively realize the presence of God in Christ, and to respond together in adoration, in sung praises, in prayer, hearing His Word, and in the dedication of our lives. Worship is the Christian community concentrating on God so that God's presence may overflow into the activities of our lives in the entire week to come.
What does our worship look like?
Our worship service is basically built around the form represented in the worship experience of Isaiah found in Isaiah 6: 1-8. In the scripture, seraphs are gathered around the Lord, singing praises, a person confessing their sin, an assurance of pardon, the Word of the Lord spoken, and a response to the Word. In our worship services we have many of these same elements: the Gathering, Praise, Adoration & Thanksgiving, Confession, Assurance of Forgiveness, Hearing the Word (anthem, Scripture, sermon), Responding to the Word, Going forth into the world to spread the Gospel. Special parts of the service are Holy Communion and Baptism.
The way that the church is laid out and the items in that place are very important for it's people to experience the story of God as known in Jesus. In the Old Testament Moses is given instructions by the Lord for the layout of the place of worship. The altar is a place of offereng to ask God to forgive sins. The altar represents the grace that Christ offers to us through the sacrament of Holy Communion. Candles remind us of Christ who is the Light of the World and the Holy Spirit whom we ask to join us in our worship. The empty cross in our church reminds us of the resurrection of Christ and His victory over sin and death. The pulpit is the place where the Word is proclaimed. The baptismal font is the basin of water used in baptism. The communion rail is the place to kneel before the Lord showing humility and honoring God. The paraments are the colorful cloths on the altar and serve to remind us of what we are celebrating and observing in worship. These paraments center around the Liturgical year, which tells the story of our faith year after year and helps to structure our worship.
The Liturgical year is as follows:
-Advent- Prepare for Christ; 4 weeks before Christmas Day; color is purple
-Christmas- Celebrate Christ's birth; 12 days; color is white
-Ephiphany- Celebrate Christ's divinity and we learn about Jesus; Until Ash Wednesday; color is green
-Lent- A time to think about our lives and Jesus; 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter; color is purple
-Easter- Celebration of Christ's resurrection; 50 days; color is white
-Pentecost- Remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church; longest season; color is red
-Ordinary Time- time to reflect upon doing the work of God's Kingdom and to grow spiritually; lasts until November; color is green
Thank you Rev. Tefteller for this informative lesson.
The dictionary meaning says, "Worship is reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power-also an act of expressing such reverence - or a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual - extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem."
For those who worship the Lord, it is honoring God through our words, our prayers, our songs and our actions. It is recognizing that we can have an encounter with the living God.
People have worshiped God since the beginning of time. Cain and Abel brought to the Lord their best. Abraham built an altar to the Lord; Jacob set up stones to mark the place where he had an encounter with God; the Hebrews built a tabernacle for a place to worship the Lord; Solomon built a Temple; people gathered to honor and adore the One who had saved them from their enemies, the One who sustained them in times of trial and tribulation, the One who knew them intimately.
Jesus worshipped at a synagogue - a place where the people gathered to hear the Word read and proclaimed and offered their prayers and sang hymns or psalms of praise.
In the Christian community, worship is something we do together to honor and show our devotion to Christ.
Worship, or "The Service" means the work of the people. We are not suppose to be spectators or a passive audience in worship, but instead, we gather to collectively realize the presence of God in Christ, and to respond together in adoration, in sung praises, in prayer, hearing His Word, and in the dedication of our lives. Worship is the Christian community concentrating on God so that God's presence may overflow into the activities of our lives in the entire week to come.
What does our worship look like?
Our worship service is basically built around the form represented in the worship experience of Isaiah found in Isaiah 6: 1-8. In the scripture, seraphs are gathered around the Lord, singing praises, a person confessing their sin, an assurance of pardon, the Word of the Lord spoken, and a response to the Word. In our worship services we have many of these same elements: the Gathering, Praise, Adoration & Thanksgiving, Confession, Assurance of Forgiveness, Hearing the Word (anthem, Scripture, sermon), Responding to the Word, Going forth into the world to spread the Gospel. Special parts of the service are Holy Communion and Baptism.
The way that the church is laid out and the items in that place are very important for it's people to experience the story of God as known in Jesus. In the Old Testament Moses is given instructions by the Lord for the layout of the place of worship. The altar is a place of offereng to ask God to forgive sins. The altar represents the grace that Christ offers to us through the sacrament of Holy Communion. Candles remind us of Christ who is the Light of the World and the Holy Spirit whom we ask to join us in our worship. The empty cross in our church reminds us of the resurrection of Christ and His victory over sin and death. The pulpit is the place where the Word is proclaimed. The baptismal font is the basin of water used in baptism. The communion rail is the place to kneel before the Lord showing humility and honoring God. The paraments are the colorful cloths on the altar and serve to remind us of what we are celebrating and observing in worship. These paraments center around the Liturgical year, which tells the story of our faith year after year and helps to structure our worship.
The Liturgical year is as follows:
-Advent- Prepare for Christ; 4 weeks before Christmas Day; color is purple
-Christmas- Celebrate Christ's birth; 12 days; color is white
-Ephiphany- Celebrate Christ's divinity and we learn about Jesus; Until Ash Wednesday; color is green
-Lent- A time to think about our lives and Jesus; 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter; color is purple
-Easter- Celebration of Christ's resurrection; 50 days; color is white
-Pentecost- Remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church; longest season; color is red
-Ordinary Time- time to reflect upon doing the work of God's Kingdom and to grow spiritually; lasts until November; color is green
Thank you Rev. Tefteller for this informative lesson.
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