The Sermon on the Plain - Luke 6:17-26

1. Who was in the crowd that gathered at that level place with Jesus? His disciples and people from Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 
2. Why did they come? Some came to hear Jesus; others came for healing or for the casting out of unclean spirits. Everyone was trying to touch Jesus, “for power came out from him and healed all of them.
3. To whom in the crowd did Jesus direct this teaching? Jesus’ teaching was directed to his disciples.
4. Note the many uses of the pronouns “you” and “yours” that emphasize the focus on these followers. Last week, we read that Simon, James, and John left everything to follow Jesus. Consider that leaving finances, relationships, and more could lead to poverty, grief, tears, and ostracism.
5. Imagine Jesus delivering this sermon from the pulpit of your church during a Sunday morning service.
   1. What would you think and feel as you heard this sermon? Why?
   2. How do you think your congregation would react to hearing these blessings and woes from Jesus? Why?
6. The kingdom that is offered is a community, a relationship of healing and hope. That relationship is, of course, first and foremost with Jesus the Christ, the author of hope, the source of healing. But it is lived in the here and now, in the everyday, with the human community we call the church, a place of acceptance and inclusion.
   1. How can knowing that the “here-and-now” kingdom of God is yours embolden you to rejoice and consider yourself blessed when you suffer loss or hardship because of your discipleship to Jesus?

Our Mission Statement 

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Please remember to send your joys and concerns to the office so we can continue to pray throughout the week.

 February16, 2025 10:15 a.m. 6th Sunday after the Epiphany

 Welcome and Community Life

 Prelude

 Call to Worship

      Leader: How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

     People: All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

* Opening Hymn God of Grace and God of Glory UMH 577

 Opening Prayer

 Children’s Message Pat Mosley

 Prayer Hymn Close to Thee, vv. 1-2 UMH 407

 Prayers of the People

 Prayer Response Hear Us, O God UMH 490

 Choral Anthem Clare Benediction Chancel Choir

 Prayer of Illumination

Happy are we who study your word, O God, who walk on your very path.
In your Word, may we hear life. In your teaching, lead us to delight.
May your Word be planted in our hearts that our lives may bear the fruit of your work and your worth. Amen.

 Scripture Reading

  Psalm 1

Blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked;
Or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
But their delight is in the law of the lord,
And on God's law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water that yield their fruit and season, and their leaves do not whither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment; nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

   Luke 6:17-26

17 He came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

  Leader: The Word of God

  People: Thanks be to God

 Sermon “Rejoice in that Day”

 Apostle's Creed UMH 881

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 Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;* the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at 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 Spirit, the holy catholic** church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

 Lesser Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right and good and a joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
You know the minds and the hearts of your faithful people. Blessed are those who put their trust in you.
Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. He shared the secrets of the kingdom, blessing the poor, the hungry, and the brokenhearted. He brought judgment upon the wicked and for that he was killed.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here that in all things we might be found faithful.
Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit to give ourselves for others in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

 Offering our Gifts to God  

   The Doxology

   Prayer of Dedication

Gracious God, who blesses us in our brokenness and rejoices with us in our joy, we bring these gifts as an offering of hope and love. May they be used to heal the hurting, feed the hungry, and welcome the weary. Help us to be a community that reflects your kingdom, where all find acceptance and grace. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

* Closing Hymn Trust and Obey   UMH 467

 Breakthrough Prayer

 Dismissal with Blessing