Today we
worshiped at Little Hill United Methodist Church, 2350 Magee Road, Ext.,
Sewickley, PA 15143, Pastor Tom Fodor.
Scripture
– NIV
Psalm
37:1-40 –
Do
not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for
like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die
away.
Trust
in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight
in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit
your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your
righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be
still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people
succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain
from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those
who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the
land.
A
little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they
will not be found.
But
the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.
The
wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord
laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.
The
wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to
slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own
hearts, and their bows will be broken.
Better
the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the
power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The
blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will
endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine
they will enjoy plenty.
But
the wicked will perish: Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the
field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
The
wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the
Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed.
The
Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may
stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
I
was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or
their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their
children will be a blessing.
Turn
from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord
loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers
will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish. The
righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
The
mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The
law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.
The
wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death; but the
Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned
when brought to trial.
Hope
in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the
wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
I
have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not
be found.
Consider
the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. But
all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked.
The
salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time
of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the
wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Colossians
1:1-14 –
Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To
God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We
always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have
for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up
for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of
the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit
and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you
since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it
from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on
our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
For
this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for
you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through
all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a
life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every
good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and
patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has
rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the
Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Bob’s
thoughts:
I
have felt led to revisit this church for a while, but we were headed elsewhere
when a forgotten obligation delayed us so we opted to visit here.
We
were early, the door was open, but we found no one in the sanctuary. The heat
and humidity was somewhat oppressive and we decided to visit when it was
cooler.
While
driving aimlessly looking for a church, we came across what turned out to be a
sister church and the pastor met us in the street. He explained this service
was early but he was headed to Little Hill and we followed him back here.
We were
greeted when we came in, there was a delightful breeze, the windows were open,
and the ceiling fans running.
There
is a large wooden cross on the wall; I didn’t notice any signage but everything
else is downstairs or in the adjoining building.
The
sermon, “A Life Well-Lived,” was supported by Scripture and I believe was God’s
answer for me through the pastor who told of his aunt, at end of her life, saying
“When I die, it will be like I never lived.”
The
last of my mother’s sisters died last year, and I couldn’t remember a time when
she seemed happy. She professed a faith in the Catholic Church, but none of us
truly knows who believes in Christ.
I
almost never smiled before Christ claimed me, though I don’t believe I realized
it. During a particularly low point in my life, I was wearing a Christian shirt
in public and a man chastised me, asking where was my smile to go with the
shirt. I admit my reaction was not cordial, but the question later gave me
pause to think, if we are only joyous when things are good, what kind of faith
is that? Though it still takes a lot of effort, it is a necessary part of my
message, part of a legacy of love.
The
pastor quoted a comment on the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23, “You can’t
have a shadow unless there is light.”
I
enjoyed the pastor telling of being called to help someone with a flat tire
late in the evening and how God used him in that situation. I always regret
those times when I thought only of grumpy old me, then later realized I missed
an opportunity for God to use me. It was all about and for God.
One
man was so moved to meet a Marine that he had to have a hug, and others thanked
me for my service. We also got to talk to a member who was facing rotator cuff
surgery and, I hope, eased her fears somewhat.
Jan’s
thoughts:
This
morning we had a church in mind, and we arrived very early. We found no one in
the sanctuary, but we noticed there was no air conditioning, all the windows
were closed, and it was humid and stuffy which we both have trouble tolerating.
So we decided to find another church.
As
we left the parking lot, asking God to guide us to where He wanted us, we drove
around some and found a little church we had not seen before. It looked like
there were people inside, so we parked and as we approached we saw people
leaving. So we got back into the truck and were prepared to continue our search
when the pastor flagged us down. After identifying himself, he explained he was
late getting to the other church he pastors, but that service would start soon
and we were welcome to come there instead. Since he literally was just leaving,
we followed him and his wife to their other church – the one we originally
stopped at. By now the windows were open and there was a delightful breeze, and
since this was apparently where God wanted us today, we stayed.
We
were welcomed warmly, given directions to the restrooms, then quickly found
seats as the service had just gotten underway.
The
Joys and Concerns sounded very much like a family discussion of prayer needs,
and I so appreciated singing one of my favorite old hymns, “A Mighty Fortress
Is Our God.” The words hit home for me every time.
The
message, entitled “A Life Well-Lived,” began with a story about the pastor’s
aunt who, as she waited to die, commented, “When I die, it’ll be like I never
lived.” The deeply haunting nature of this comment weighed heavily on his heart
and he pondered it greatly, deciding that it came down to faith: the body dies,
but love continues.
He
told about a call he received the night before for assistance. He and a young
policeman ended up waiting together for AAA to arrive, and as they waited, they
talked. It was a talk between a young man who did not know how his life would work
out and a man who had been there and could offer words of encouragement and
hope, assuring the young man that people would come into his life and help him
when he needed it. I couldn’t help but think that clearly God had placed this
pastor exactly where he was needed most.
He
concluded with a reminder to seize the opportunities we are given and asked, “Are
we listening?”
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray Your people in this church experience a life well lived and know joy in
serving You. Amen.