Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. This is the final Sunday of our Stewardship Theme: From Bread and the Cup to Faith and Giving. We will conclude our Stewardship Month by gathering around God’s Table in celebration of World Communion Sunday. Our focus will be faith and the meaning of the communion as expressed in 1 Corinthians 10:14-22.
Thanks to all who helped with and attended the Community Forum on Homelessness!
Thank you to all who donated items for the dental kits and packed the dental kits. We will be sending 25 dental kits to the Festival of Sharing in Tipton, MO.
If you would like a home visit, conversation, or home communion, please call me at 573-437-2779 (church) or 573-832-2475 (cell).
Announcements:
- Walker/Ellis Wedding on Saturday, October 1 at 3pm.
- We still have apple butter for sale!
- The Youth are selling butter braids and more beginning this Sunday!
- Please turn in your Time and Talent sheets and Pledge Cards.
- Hand Bell Choir at 4:15 on Wednesday.
- Wednesday Confirmation Class Wednesday at 6:30
- Choir Practice on Wednesday at 7pm.
- Gasconade County Bible Society on Sunday, October 2 at 2pm
We will need folks from St. Peter’s to help with refreshments and greeting our guests. - Gasconade County CROP Walk on Sunday, October 9 at 2pm
Please take a CROP Walker envelope table in the back of the sanctuary and sign up to walk. 25% of the money raised by the CROP remains in our community.
Prayers and Blessings,
Pastor Stephanie DeLong
Scripture Lessons:
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, Luke 17:5-10
Sermon: Sharing Jesus
There is a human tendency to hang on tightly to the good things in our lives. This is fine in some circumstances, but troublesome in others. Holding our small children closely in love keeps them safe, but not allowing them the freedom to try new things keeps them from gaining the confidence that comes from new experiences. There needs to be a balance between holding on in love and exerting overwhelming control. Having Jesus as your savior is a good thing, but sharing Jesus is better.
Paul tells us that we are sharing in the blood and body of Christ when we take communion. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) Jesus shares of himself with us. We are sharing together in Jesus. We are called to share Jesus with the world.
Paul warns against the worship of idols. We may feel that we are far distanced from the idols unlike the people of Paul’s time. We do not have temples filled with golden statues where animals are sacrificed. The idols of our time practice subtly in ways in which we are tempted to abandon sharing God’s love. (Take a moment to think about what distracts you from God.)
There is a story about a king who built a marvelous castle. The King invited all his subjects to visit the castle where he would meet them and greet them with love. The people gladly came to see the King. Upon seeing the marvelous castle, the people rushed in the castle door with the intention of finding the King. The castle had many rooms filled with amazing delights. Some people were amazed by how they looked when reflected in the hall of mirrors. Others gathered beautiful objects and became greedily possessive of these bejeweled piece of art. The food and drink in the kitchen kept many a visitor enthralled. Groups of people began fighting over which part of the castle belonged to them. Sadly, the people forgot to look for the King.
Then one day the King’s son returned home after a long journey. He looked at the Castle and all the people in it. He then burst out laughing when he discovered the King sitting on the lawn in front of the marvelous castle waiting to greet his guests. The King had been there the whole time.
Modern idols work this way. They distract us from seeing God on the lawn in plain sight. Idols cause us to behave in destructive ways towards ourselves and each other. Following the way of Jesus moves our perspective away from idols and destructive behavior. The way of Jesus the son encourages us to see God and to share in all God’s blessings.
As we celebrate this holy meal on World Communion Sunday, may the bread and cup of Jesus inspire us to share. For it is in giving that we celebrate what we have received from God’s holy table.
Prayer: God, we give you thanks for giving to us the Bread and Cup. May we keep our eyes and hearts on you and all that you have done for us. Save us from the powers that plot to take our focus away from you and encourage us to behave destructive ways. Inspire us to lives of faithful living, sharing and caring. Amen.
Prayer list: All who have been on our list in the past and Elizabeth, Cheryl, Dave, David, Ken and Evelyn, Jason, Paulette, Jaqueline, Friends of Shelby, Bobby, Kevin, Jim, Darryl (doing better!), Marilee, Beverly, Jim, Jenny, Dixon’s daughter, Barbara, Melvin, Mitchell, Mahala, Maybelle and Mary, La Rae, Lynda, and for peace in troubled and war-torn places. Those who have been impacted by the recent hurricanes.
