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    Sep 22, 2019

    Worship in Every Circumstance

    Worship in Every Circumstance

    Passage: Acts 16:16-40

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: Paul, the Apostle

    Paul’s First Missionary Journey began in worship. Early in the second journey, Paul baptized a single woman and her household and later experienced a time of suffering where he and Silas witnessed to their faith through praise!

    Part One: Worship and Baptism

    Read Acts 16:11-15

    Today I invite you to remember your baptism.  There are bowls of water in several places around the sanctuary, and the prayer that Rev. Hamilton uses to begin his day as he steps in the shower is in your bulletin.  Take your bulletin and spend a few moments – however long you like – pray the prayer, at least touch the water, take a shell if you want, make the sign of the cross on your head – whatever helps you to remember.  And then take the prayer with you so you can recite it each day as you bathe.

    When you have finished your own ritual, return to your seat and take the opportunity to pray and reflect.

    Lord, as I enter the water to bathe, I remember my baptism.  Wash me by your grace, fill me with your Spirit, renew my soul.  I pray that I might live as your child today, and honor you in all that I do.  Amen. 
     

    Part Two: Worship in Every Circumstance

    Read Acts 16:16-40

    There is no one here this morning who hasn’t experienced something hard.  You may not have been imprisoned because of your faith, but you have experienced something that made you suffer.  Some of you are suffering right now.

    Paul wrote this in the letter to the people in the city that imprisoned him in this story – Philippi:

    4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

     

    Rejoicing – praising – always is another of those sacramental ways of reminding ourselves of what God has done for us.  As communion and baptism rehearse God’s mighty acts on our behalf, worship helps us focus, helps us remember, reassures and fills us. 

    There are so many hymns – so many songs – that praise God for what God has done for us.  Songs about Jesus and what Jesus did for us.  Songs pouring out gratitude for the beauty of creation and the human family.  Songs about God’s faithfulness even when we sin.  Songs that can sustain us when times are hard.  Songs that assure us that, no matter what, God is and God is with us.  I sometimes need reminding, and often, that is why I sing.