Today is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. Pastor Ben will bring the message, “Bible Study”. Our Scripture passage comes from 2 Timothy 3:10-17 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 119. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 119)
Leader: How can young people keep their way pure?
People: By guarding it according to your word.
Leader: With my whole heart I seek you;
People: Do not let me stray from your commandments.
Leader: I treasure your word in my heart,
People: So that I may not sin against you.
Leader: Blessed are you, O Lord;
People: Teach me your statutes.
Leader: With my lips I declare
People: All the ordinances of your mouth.
Leader: I delight in the way of your decrees
People: As much as in all riches.
Leader: I will meditate on your precepts
People: And fix my eyes on your ways.
Leader: I will delight in your statutes;
People: I will not forget your word.

Questions for Further Reading:
In this passage, Paul encourages Timothy to remain faithful to the things he’s been taught.
How can reading the Bible help you deal with difficult times?
How can treating it as a discipline help anchor you?

Today is World Communion Sunday. Our guest speaker, Dr. Curtis Freeman, will bring the message, “Knowing Christ”. Our Scripture passage comes from Philippians 3:4-14 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 100. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 100)
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
People: Worship the Lord with gladness;
Leader: Come into his presence with singing.
People: Know that the Lord is God.
Leader: It is he that made us, and we are his;
People: We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Leader: Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
People: And his courts with praise.
Leader: Give thanks to him, bless his name.
People: For the Lord is good;
Leader: His steadfast love endures forever,
People: And his faithfulness to all generations.

First of all, don’t worry. I’m not working while I’m on vacation; I wrote this article ahead of time! It would be silly to preach a whole sermon series on taking time to rest and then refusing to rest, wouldn’t it?

More importantly, however, this coming Sunday is World Communion Sunday. This tradition was originally started by Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA all the way back in 1933 by Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr. The Presbyterian Church (USA) adopted it as an annual celebration in 1936 and in 1940 the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) endorsed it and began to promote it to other denominations all over the world. Thus, on the first Sunday of October every year, churches all over the world, across denominational lines gather to celebrate Communion. It serves as this wonderful moment of unity among a church that can sometimes get so caught up in our differences, we forget that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and are united by our belief in his grace and his gospel.

And while here at Hope Valley Baptist Church, we will celebrate with grape juice and bread, I remember a professor of mine once telling my class at Duke Divinity a story about a unique style of communion she took years ago. She was in Southeast Asia (I don’t remember where exactly, but I believe it was either Indonesia or the Philippines) on a mission trip. She and her group were there to provide services to local communities and connect with some of their Christian brothers and sisters living on the other side of the world. They were there one Sunday and so they went to church with the Christians in the area, singing, praying, and worshiping together.

Toward the end of the service, they took communion—though the communion in that
Southeast Asian community looked a little different than ours. When my professor went
forward, she was presented with a saltine cracker and a glass of milk to dip it in. She gratefully took the cracker, dipped it in the milk, and ate it, but after the service she talked with one of the locals who they’d been staying with. She explained to them that in America, we typically use bread and either grape juice or wine for communion and asked why it was saltines and milk here. The local told her, “The reason we use the saltines and milk
is because those things are precious here. They are not easy to find! So, since we want to offer our best to Jesus, we use the saltines and milk.”

On this Sunday, all over the world, our brothers and sisters in Christ will be taking
communion. Some will use bread and grape juice. Some will use a wafer and a chalice of wine. Some will use saltine crackers and milk. But all of us will be united in our common belief that this table was set by none other than Jesus Christ himself and that anyone who would like to lay down their burdens and take up his goodness may come to it. Eat the bread. Drink the cup. Rejoice with your church family all over the world.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Define ‘Unfair’”. Our Scripture passage comes from Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 25. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 25)
Leader: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
People: O my God, in you I trust;
Leader: Do not let me be put to shame;
People: Do not let my enemies exult over me.
Leader: Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
People: Let them be ashamed who are treacherous.
Leader: Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
People: Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
Leader: For you are the God of my salvation;
People: For you I wait all day long.
Leader: Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love.
People: Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions.
Leader: Good and upright is the Lord;
People: Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
Leader: All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
People: For those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, the people accuse God of being unfair.
First of all, are they correct?
Second, how does God respond to their claim?
Third, how does the gospel depend on unfairness?

Today is the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Worthy of the Gospel”. Our Scripture passage comes from Philippians 1:21-30 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 145. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 145)
Leader: I will extol you, my God and King,
People: And bless your name forever and ever.
Leader: Every day I will bless you,
People: And praise your name forever and ever.
Leader: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
People: His greatness is unsearchable.
Leader: One generation shall laud your works to another,
People: And shall declare your mighty acts.
Leader: On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
People: And on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
Leader: The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
People: And I will declare your greatness.
Leader: They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
People: And shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
Leader: The Lord is gracious and merciful,
People: Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Paul talks about being “worthy of the Gospel of Christ”.
What do you think he means by that?
Are any of us “worthy” of the gospel?

Have y’all ever had a musical crush? Now, let me be clear, have y’all ever had a crush on a musical artist cause they themselves are attractive? I mean, have you ever listened to a new artist’s song and thought, “Oh! I need to hear more of their stuff!”? You get a hold of their record, start listening, and realize that there’s just something about their music that makes you want to do nothing but keep listening. They can do no wrong; their music hits you in just the right way. Have y’all ever had that?

Well, of late, I’ve had a musical crush on Olivia Dean. If you’ve listened to any radio station that plays Top 40 songs, you’ve probably heard either her song, “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” or “Man I Need”. Dean sings this wonderful kind of pop-jazz-soul music that is easy to listen to, but I appreciate her lyricism as well. The two songs I just mentioned are fun and flirty, with one of the lines in “So Easy” being, “There’s Heaven in my heart, and we could find you some space.” But there’s one song later in her record, The Art of Loving, with a line that has haunted me (in a good way) since I heard it.

The song is called, “A Couple Minutes,” and it’s this slow, nostalgic song about an encounter the singer has with an ex of hers. She’s surprised by some of his changes at first (“Since when are you smoking now?”), but eventually she and her ex connect over some of their shared memories, the feelings they had for each other, and it becomes clear that while the ex has moved on, the singer has not. She’s trying to, but there is a part of her that he knows and she wishes they could linger in their memories and their shared knowledge (“Back on your sofa/Of course, I still care…And although it’s over/I’ll always be there/Only have a couple minutes, then we’re going back to real life”). But the line that gets me, that prompted this article is buried in the middle of the chorus, “Love’s never wasted/When it’s shared”. The singer, despite the pain the breakup caused, is still able to look at the love the two of them had and see it as a good thing.

As a pastor, I think about that line not in the sense of a breakup, but in the sense of why the church does what it does. Why do we reach out to people and help them, knowing they can never repay us? Cause God calls us to love our neighbors and help those in need as a reflection of God’s love for us. Why do we host events and pursue mission projects even if we don’t achieve “success” as church consultants might define it? Cause God calls us to be joyful people who love others the way God loves us. And so, we reach out. We draw people in. We meet needs. We offer joy. Because God has loved us and has called us to share that love. And love is never wasted when it’s shared. It is always a good thing to love others. I think that’s an idea we could all stand to keep in mind in the days and weeks ahead. Loving our neighbors is never a waste. Loving those who are struggling is never a waste. Loving our enemies is never a waste. Cause God loves us and has never seen it as a waste. Thanks be to God!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Seriously?!”. Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 18:21-35 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 103. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 103)
Leader: Bless the Lord, O my soul,
People: And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Leader: The Lord is merciful and gracious,
People: Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Leader: He will not always accuse,
People: Nor will he keep his anger forever.
Leader: He does not deal with us according to our sins,
People: Nor repay us according to our iniquities.
Leader: For as the heavens are high above the earth,
People: So great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
Leader: As far as the east is from the west,
People: So far he removes our transgressions from us.
Leader: As a father has compassion for his children,
People: So the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
Leader: Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
People: Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus reminds us of the radical nature of God’s grace.
What is Jesus’ point about God’s willingness to forgive?
What barriers do we think prevent us from forgiving others?

Today is the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Waiting on God. Our Scripture passage comes from Isaiah 40:21-31 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 147. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 147)
Leader: Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God;
People: For he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
Leader: Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
People: Make melody to our God on the lyre.
Leader: He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth,
People: Makes grass grow on the hills.
Leader: He gives to the animals their food
People: And to the young ravens when they cry.
Leader: His delight is not in the strength of the horse
People: Nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner,
Leader: But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
People: In those who hope in his steadfast love.
All: Praise the Lord!

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, the prophet sings of a God who is steadfast.
How does God’s strength allow us to rest?
What can you change in your own life to rest more fully in God?

We are entering my favorite time of the year. Collectively known as the “-ber months” on social media, September, October, November, and December are popular with a lot of people. There are the holiday folks who look forward to the fact that three major holidays happen seem-ingly back-to-back-to-back: Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. There are the cooking/baking types who look forward to the particular dishes and flavors that come in vogue during the “-ber months”: soups and stews, pies and cookies, cinnamon, ginger, clove, etc. There are also the, what I’ll call, “activity people” who love this time of year for the unique things that come around: ghost tours, hayrides, county/state fairs, caroling, etc. It seems like everyone has some special way of engaging with the “-ber months.”

The church also, obviously, has big events that hap-pen in the “-ber months”. Most churches have some sort of Fall Festival (including us—Saturday, October 31st this year) in October. A fair number will have some sort of Thanksgiving service or mission—whether they open it up to the community, partner with another church, or encourage church members to volunteer that week. And, of course, every church’s December is dominated by Advent and Christmas, for good reason! It is never a small thing to celebrate the birth of our Savior, nor is it something we should take for granted. But you’ll notice that still leaves one “-ber month.”

September has no major church holidays in it. We take a day off for Labor Day, sure, but there’s not really anything on the church calendar that demands the church’s attention. Which I think means September becomes this wonderful time of reflection and rejuvenation. Fall is not quite in full swing yet, meaning we still have longer days and higher temps that encourage us to be outside. Hallow-een is not dominating the airwaves yet, even though you can already buy Halloween candy. Children and youth are back in school, football is on again, and soon baseball will be entering its playoffs. September occupies this interest-ing space in the church calendar. It feels like a moment to breathe.

So, as our sermon series, “Come Away from Rush and Hurry,” comes to an end this
Sunday, I would encourage you all to see September as a month-long moment to catch your
breath. Take it as a time to slow down once more before the hustle and bustle of the other
three “-ber months” begins. Have a slow, easy supper on the back porch a few more times while the days are long. Watch—or go to—a football game and let that be your whole day. Let September be a month of preparation so that when October 1st comes around, you’re rested and ready!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “A Place to Lay Your Head”. Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 8:18-27 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 4. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 4)
Leader: Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
People: Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
Leader: How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
People: How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
Leader: But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
People: The Lord hears when I call to him.
Leader: When you are disturbed, do not sin;
People: Ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Leader: Offer right sacrifices,
People: And put your trust in the Lord.
Leader: There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
People: “Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
Leader: You have put gladness in my heart
People: More than when their grain and wine abound.
Leader: I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
People: For you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus tries to find some rest.
Where does he ultimately find his resting place?
How can his resting place help us live more faithfully?