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Children’s time

original picture

What is this? <Let them respond>

Do you like getting mail? <Let them respond>

How do you get the good kind of mail?

<Let them respond>

When I was young, my mother told me that the way to

get mail is to send it. Sometimes to be part of a

relationship, like pen pals, we have to be the ones

who start it.

What happens if one of you does not reply to the

other? <Let them respond>

Are you in a relationship with God? <If so> Who

started it? <Let them respond>

God showers us with love in very many ways, every

day, in things like sunrises, flowers, and the

beautiful things we see in this world. How are you

replying to that love? <Let them respond>

Jesus taught us that we should love one another,

because God first loved us. How do you show your love

for other people, even those you do not like?

<Let them respond>

Go in the love of Jesus, sharing that love with all

of God’s people.

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<HYMN – “Jesu, Jesu” UMH #432>

Gospel lesson

Today’s gospel lesson concludes Jesus’s instructions

to His disciples as He commissioned them for

ministry.

Picture from https://

unchangeablechanger.

blogspot.com/2018/04/

the-characteristics-of-

jesus-apostlesst.html

Matthew 10:40-42

40 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever

welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a

prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever

welcomes a righteous person in the name of a

righteous person will receive the reward of the

righteous;

42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one

of these little ones in the name of a disciple --

truly I tell you, none of these will lose their

reward."

The word of God for the people of God

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Message: See All the People

picture from https:// www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/open-our-eyes/fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-a-lectionary-planning-notes/fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-a-graphics

Please pray with me?

Gracious Jesus, Holy Spirit, loving God, as we take

time now to further consider today’s scriptures,

please

- speak Your words through my mouth,

- open our ears to hear Your message, and

- abide in our hearts,

that we may make Your love manifest in all that we

think and do. Amen.

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We conclude our sermon series today with “Love All

the People.” The summary for today states:

“Our series began on Trinity Sunday, where we

celebrated the communal God who calls us to become

a community and then to go out into the wider

community to make disciples of Jesus Christ for

the transformation of the world. And we do that

first by “seeing all the people.” So, in the

second week of the series, we asked the sending

God to open our eyes that we may see. And then

last week, we asked that sending God to open our

ears that we may hear.”

“So, what is the word for our final week of the

series? Love all the people. That’s where we’re

going next with this series.”

Remember the song “Seasons of Love” from the show

“Rent”? The building question posed by the song is,

“How do you measure a year in the life of a woman or

man?” The lyrics go on to give a variety of quality

of life indicators, landing on love as the ultimate

indicator. Our lives are measured by the love we

share with others.

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picture from https:// www.wailana.com/lifestyle/ articles/tips-healthy-living/get-healthy-helping-others

When we talk about loving others, we typically think

of showing love to people we like, or to people we

can feel superior to in some way – usually because

they are needy and we can help without much effort or

cost to ourselves.

But when we look at the Bible, we see much more

effort involved in love. It is not a lackadaisical

afterthought, but an active choice you drive to the

benefit of the one you love, even at great cost to

yourself.

Look at the story of Abraham today. The greatest

commandment is to love God with everything you have

and are, holding nothing back. Abraham did that. And

because the relationship goes both ways, God

protected what Abraham held dearest, providing the

ram for Abraham and Isaac to use in worshipping God.

God tested Abraham not for God to see, because God

already knows our hearts. God tested Abraham for us

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to see that we can trust God even with what is the

very most precious to us.

picture from https:// gracememorial.net/ wp-content/uploads/ sermons/2019/05/5.26.19-typology-parallels-with-abraham-isaac-and-jesus.pdf

God took it a step further, and reciprocated that act

in giving His only son Jesus to die for us. Through

Jesus’s death and resurrection, Abraham’s descendants

were freed from worrying about the letter of the law

into focusing on their relationship with God. All of

the world was freed from the bondage of sin and

selfishness into the joy of living for love.

But this requires an active choice on our parts,

requires us to be thoughtful in what we do. Paul

talks about it in his letter to the Romans.

If we are truly free from sin, why would we go back

to it? Does a prisoner on being freed seek to return

to their jail cell? They know at least some of the

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consequences of breaking the law versus following it.

They know that they still have to follow the basics

of the rules they followed in jail – mostly summed up

as not hurting anyone and not hurting any thing – but

now they are free to do more, to build a life in

society from which everyone can benefit.

We know at least some of the consequences of giving

in to our self-centeredness versus following what

Jesus taught. We know the basics of the law still

apply – summed up by Jesus as loving God and loving

one another – and now we are free to do more, to

build a life in the family of God from which everyone

can benefit eternally. So we decide to follow Jesus.

picture from https:// www.dcourier.com/photos/ 2018/jun/06/984960862/

In a book for CEOs, Mark L. Feldman and Michael F.

Spratt posed the following question:

Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump

off. How many are left? Answer: Five. Why? Because

there's a difference between deciding and doing.

Jesus was very clear on what following Him meant.

Before Jesus told us to go out and make disciples, He

told us to love: Love God. Love one another. Love

your neighbor as yourself.

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I ask for stories of God moments – those times when

you see the hand of God at work in your life and in

the lives of those around you. I adore hearing about

God’s love in action! But here’s the challenge: how

often do you make God moments possible for other

people?

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever welcomes you

welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one

who sent me.” Are we welcoming those whom Jesus sends

into our midst? Are we giving those to whom Jesus

sends us any reason to welcome us? What does that

look like?

picture from https:// www.nytimes.com/interactive/ 2020/us/new-york-coronavirus-cases.html

Governor Cuomo, in his daily coronavirus and civil

unrest updates, used lots of data to qualify what the

changes look like. But at the end of every update,

before he took questions, he talked about being

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loving as the final characteristic of New Yorkers in

dealing with the pandemic.

People showing respect and love for one another did

what they could to keep themselves and others safe:

wore masks, stayed apart from other households,

sanitized hands frequently. As a result of that

caring, the infection and death rates in NY went

down, the reverse of what happened where people were

not as careful.

How about we make a similar thing happen with regard

to sin? Before we interact with anyone, take a

breath, pray, and ask God to guide you. Look at them

through the lenses of God’s love, seeing them as

beautiful souls. Consider how you can nurture them to

flourish in a deep relationship with God. Decide to

teach everyone about God’s love as a living example,

and then actually do that in Jesus’s name. Think of

how we can reduce the spread of hatred, of broken

relationships, of sinful behavior if we all follow

Jesus’s commandments!

Note that nurturing does not mean simply giving

handouts to all who ask. Sometimes it means having

the person learn how to get what they want for

themselves, so that they can then grow to help others

in turn. Sometimes it is a trade where each helps the

other, that both can then nurture more people. It

becomes a nurturing network.

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Picture from https:// www.goalcast.com/ 2017/04/15/keys-happiness-creativity-service-physicality/service-and-happiness-helping-others/

Do you see? It is not just the individuals that God

loves; it is the society of humanity that God loves

as well. When we love one another as God calls us to

do, not only do we as individuals thrive, but all of

society does better as well – which in turn means

more available for helping others.

It is the reverse of a downward spiral to destruction

– it is an upward and outward spiral of wellbeing. We

need to consciously work toward this, to encourage

others for it as well.

The psalmist sang, “I trusted in [the Lord’s]

steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in [the

Lord’s] salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for the

Lord has dealt bountifully with me.”

As a community in Christ, we can replace those I-s,

my-s, and me-s with we-s, our-s, and us-es. We can

share that joy vastly further than just celebrating

for ourselves. God makes it possible when we love all

His people.

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Now let us respond with

The Nicene Creed UMH #880

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day He rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son

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is worshiped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in the one holy catholic* and apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism *universal

for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

<Doxology>

<Prayer of Dedication and Pastoral Prayer>

Let us pray:

Lord of love, help us to share Your love with all

people, that each person may love You more dearly and

societies across the world may be more beautiful.

We ask that You take the portions that we give back of

our money, time, and talents, and use them to restore

the earth with love to what You intend it to be.

We also ask for Your help and wisdom as we raise up

these concerns on our hearts today:

• Healing touch and comfort for all who are ailing.

➢ Coronavirus victims – isolated; school; out-of-work; health care workers (especially: Marie Curri, Laura

Davis, Nicole Marshall, Vince Marshall, Heidi Newton,

Jennifer Tibbens-Scalzo) & those serving critical needs

➢ Wenda West – continued back problems

➢ –

➢ -

➢ -

➢ –

• Thanks for

➢ -

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➢ -

➢ –

• Hold those who cannot be with us in Your loving

embrace until we see them again.

➢ Travelers

➢ Family far off

• Social unrest – end racism and reform problem systems

• Guide our Leaders – local, state, federal,

international, and especially of Your church.

All these things we pray, as you taught us to pray.

<Lord’s Prayer>

<Benediction>

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Go now in God’s grace, opening your hearts to all of

God’s people, that the Spirit of God may be known to

all and the love of Jesus may be shown to all through

your words and actions.