THE GREAT ENDS OF THE CHURCH (Part Two)

“The Great Ends of the Church”

Second of Two Sermons

September 29, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Micah 6: 6-8

What God Requires?

⁶ ‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
⁸ He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 16:  13-21

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ¹⁴And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ¹⁵He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah,* the Son of the living God.’ ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter,* and on this rock* I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was* the Messiah.

*

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

 

I.

 When I was a kid I used to go down to the basement and dig around in my dad’s toolbox.  This was a large wooden box – like an oversized but very heavy trunk.  I recall this box was never moved because it was too heavy—filled with all sorts of tools.  And boy did I like digging around in this box…..and the trouble I would be in when my dad caught me playing with his tools! L

On the top section of this box were basic tools we could all identify….hammers and screwdrivers and pliers and tape measures and chisels—you know it’s hard to break a tape measure but I somehow managed to get it all jammed up! 

Deeper in the toolbox were items I didn’t understand.  The “wood plane” was something I once broke….somehow I twisted a knob that held the blade in place and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to put this thing back together once I took it apart.  Gee.  I wonder why my dad was always yelling at me for getting into his tools.  The word “spanking” also comes to mind.

My dad, in my mind, had a tool for every project.  Through the years I probably managed to use and lose and mangle or break a good number of them.   And I was always trying to re-organize them…..I knew gbetter than my dad where he should keep his tools!  

So what is my professional toolbox look like

in doing my work today?

The bible is the most important resource/tool I have in my toolbox—our toolbox in doing Christ’s mission in the world.  <It’s hard to break the bible! J >

Last week I went digging into this tool box for scripture and identified two texts from Matthew 25 and Matthew 28 to help us in defining our mission as a church.  These texts:   Matthew 25 talks of mission in terms of serving the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger, the naked the sick and the imprisoned—the disenfranchised of the world.  Matthew 28 that talks of mission in terms of making disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy spirit.

As I suggested last week, both of these “CO-MISSION STATEMENTS” work together to help us in defining our identity as a church in doing Christ’s work in the world.    

While scripture is our primary resource in defining our mission, we also have a book in the Presbyterian Church called the “Book of Confessions”.  Many of these creeds of confessions are pretty old.  The Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creeds are two examples of ancient creeds we still use to help us understand not only what we believe but also in defining what we are called to be doing in the world.

So in our toolbox of resources we have the Bible.  We have the Book of Confessions.  We also have a book that guides us in the use of all these tools…..the Book of Order or the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church.  Within the constitution are principles that date back to the 1700’s in helping us understand our mission.  They are timeless.  Called the “Great Ends of the Church”, these six statements have continuously helped us define our mission in doing Christ’s work. 

Today it’s time to dig down deep into the toolbox of resources to look once again at these “Great Ends of the Church”.  I would like to think of these “Great Ends”, placed next to scripture and the confessions of the church, as “Mission Objectives” for the church.  These are useful tools for a reformed church always growing and changing and reforming and tweaking where we are now in the 21^st century in doing Christ’s work as Christ’s church.  

II.

What are the Great Ends or as I like to call them, Great Mission Objectives of the Church in defining how we are to go about doing Christ’s work?

“The great ends of the church (and there are six of them) are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;  the shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;  the maintenance of divine worship;  the preservation of the truth;  the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

This comment on the Great Ends from church historian and theologian J. Houston Hodges,

“The church {simply} doesn’t have a singular mission.  Our mission is pluralistic—not one purpose but six (in the use and affirmation of the Great Ends of the Church)!  The great leaders of our church have stubbornly refused to single out any of the tasks as paramount or to suggest they’re written in ascending (or descending) order of importance.”[1]

For a thumbnail review of the Great Ends of the Church:

1.     “The proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind;”  This is my primary calling as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.  This is what I teach and preach as a “teaching elder”.  I proclaim the gospel for the salvation of all people!   “Jesus came into this world to save us and free us from sin” so we can have a healthy and enriching experience with God.  This is the heart of all worship and mission and evangelism in sharing what we know about Christ with others.        

2.     “The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;”   God’s mission is to take care of everything God has entrusted our care.  In the name of Jesus Christ, we are called to be a compassionate, nurturing church in sharing the love of God -- with all people and in everything we do as Jesus’ disciples. 

3.      “The maintenance of divine worship;”    We gather weekly to worship God.  Every time we gather whether it is fellowship or a meeting, we begin with worship and prayer.  From our mission statement, this is our “REACHING UP TO GOD” in worship and praise in thanking God for all blessings received.

4.     “The preservation of the truth;”   We must always be honest/truthful with each other.  The truth we know about ourselves, our world and God is held close to our hearts with sensitivity for the feelings of others.  We all want an honest, truthful, relationship with our all knowing, omnipotent creator—God of all time and creation.    

5.     “The promotion of social righteousness;”    Deep, deep down we all want things to be “right” with God.  In our community, in this church and in the nation and world – in our families – we want what is “just and right” for all God’s children.  This is why it is so hard to sit by in doing nothing while others are suffering.  At the core of our being, we want to “right the wrongs”.  The phrase I like to use:  We are called to be “aligned” with God in everything we do. 

6.     “The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.”   We pray for God to be with us, on earth as in heaven.  Perhaps this is why I define myself a “practical theologian” – a minister and preacher who believes we find God in relationships and experiences.  To catch a glimpse of heaven is to look into the face of our neighbors, our experiences with our neighbors…..to see we are ALL created in the image of God—and this image is always good.    

These Great Ends of the Church present a timeless vision of all that we can be and become in our personal lives and as Christians and as Christ’s church. 

III.              

So what’s the point?   Simply, we are a “Christ-Centered & Biblically Grounded Church”.   We are also a Presbyterian church that believes in doing some serious work in the world with the tools God has given us making us in my mind (an I am not speaking politically) a somewhat progressive church when it comes to mission.   Again, not talking politically in using the term progressive, our being progressive simply means we believe in moving forward, in growing, maturing -- progressing in using the tools (solid, ancient time tested tools) God has given us in order to be relevant in the world today.   

Some Presbyterian churches have gone so far as to call themselves “Micah 6” churches.  These are churches that lift up this scripture:

“….and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

As we ask and affirm in our ordination vows, “we will be instructed by the confessions and creeds of the church”.   Mission statements of affirmation along with scripture and ancient creeds and confessions and “The Great Ends of the Church” help us place our ministries, in the future, next to those things we truly value. 

Honestly, as I contemplate my future and as you contemplate your future personally and as a church, the challenges we all face in our lives and as a church, it’s important to keep our eyes and hearts and minds focused on what God would have us do and become lodged in what we believe to be our mission anchored in God’s presence with us—scripture – confessions and Great Ends of the Church—and with scripture that calls us to affirm Jesus is Lord, Son of our Living God.  Let us take a moment to read through the GREAT ENDS once again….and stand and read them together.

AMEN

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[1]   Houston Hodges, June 2, 2010 , the GREAT ENDS OF THE CHURCH – a paper

 

THE GREAT COMMISSION (Part One)

“The Great Co-Mission”

Next week focus on the GREAT ENDS OF THE CHURCH

First of two Sermons

September 22, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Isaiah 61: 1-4

The Good News of Deliverance

61The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
³ to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins,
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations.

INTRODUCTION TO GOSPEL TEXTS September 22, 2013   Recent statistics indicate that 95% of Protestant pastors agree that caring for the poor is mandated by the gospel.  90% of pastors report that their churches have directly engaged and cared for the poor.  77% of pastors indicate they preach about poverty from the pulpit several times a year.*   I join with the 95% who agree that a significant component of mission in the church is in caring for the poor.  For example, ecumenically, I would agree with the statement of Pope Frances “that to not care for the poor is to steal from them.”    Today I am going to preach on the Great Co-Mission of the church that consists of two texts.  They may seem different but all come together in my talking about the Great Co-Mission of the church….as I read now from Matthew chapters 25 and 28:      Matthew 25: 31-36 now gives us this missional directive: 31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 28: 16-20, the end of the gospel that gives us what is formally called the Great Commission of the church. 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’* *Statistics from Sojourners, September-October 2013, pg 32-33, Author Ed Stetzer, Life Way Research

I. 

William Willimon, a retired United Methodist Bishop and pastor at Duke University, said at a recent conference[1]: 

“Jesus was nonchalant about organization

but relentless about mission”.

When you think about it, Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time doing what we would call in the modern world – “administrative work”.   We all know the truth.  Jesus was not a CEO but rather, our LORD and our SAVIOR.        

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we are a church with a mission.  

To quote a Presbyterian colleague from Pittsburgh, Randall Bush[2], the issue for the church is that the word “mission” is routinely misunderstood.   If asked to define mission you are likely to quote one of the texts read this morning that point in two distinct directions when it comes to defining mission:

The first direction in defining mission:  Mission in the name of Jesus Christ is going into the world to serve the disenfranchised of the world.  The biblical grounding is the calling from Matthew 25 that says, “.....for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

The second direction in defining mission is in proactively making disciples.  This is the charge found in Matthew 28 that calls the church to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…..”. 

To again quote from Randall Bush:[3]

“Now at the risk of over-generalization, the first option is strongly emphasized in progressive churches while the second option is commonly found in more evangelical churches. The first puts an emphasis on “faith is what we do,” and encourages us to be active in living out our faith as evidenced by our good works for those in need. The second emphasizes “faith is what we believe” and challenges us to be active in articulating our faith to others, so that they too may come to possess a faith that is easily articulated and shared with others.

I have given this sermon the title “The Great Co-Mission of the Church” in order to bring an emphasis to the two Matthewian texts that have helped us through the years define our mission as the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church.  I am guessing/predicting that these same texts will come in to play upon my departure as your pastor as the church continues to define its future.

Two important texts.  But what about where we are in this church today in the context in which we worship and do Christ’s work right now? 

II.

While I have been your pastor, now for over a quarter century, this church has had the opportunity to organize itself under the umbrella of three mission statements. 

The first mission statement, more of a slogan, was created #40 years ago by an Evangelism Committee chaired by Jean Lyon  (by the way, Avis and Yvonne had a delightful visit with Jean this past week) -- approved on June 14, 1973.    

This slogan was simply:  “Church Creating Community!” 

I really like this slogan….and shortly after I arrived as your pastor what seems like a really long time ago, the church session built upon this short phrase with a mission statement endorsed on December 11, 1986.

This second statement:

“The Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church remains in downtown Saginaw by choice as a church creating a sense of community.  We are committed to using our human, physical and spiritual resources to enrich the lives of our members and those in our community.  We seek God’s will for us as we strive to be a church where differences are welcomed and nurtured. We will continually encourage others to join with us in our mission.”

This is easily a mission statement that encompasses both of the Matthewian texts and what has become, over the years, the basis in which we have been able to nurture collaborative relationships with our neighbors within the community.

The third mission statement, adopted eleven years after I came as your pastor  was approved by the Session on August 14, 1997 – that was sixteen years ago. 

REACHING UP – REACHING IN – REACHING OUT”

“The Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church remains in downtown Saginaw by choice as an urban church serving Christ in the community around us.

•     We REACH UP in reverence and thanksgiving for the many ways God has blessed us as Christians and as a church.

•     We REACH IN to use our human and physical resources to nurture, through fellowship and educational programming, the lives of our members, neighbors, and friends both near and far.

•     We REACH OUT with historical determination to share Good News of the gospel in our church, neighborhood, city, and world.

We seek to discern the will of God as we continue to serve the living Christ as a diverse, inclusive, and caring congregation.”

III.

In making plans to leave this ministry with you in a few short weeks, I feel good about this mission statement in the context of the scripture lessons read this morning.  As your pastor I have tried to strike a balance between

(1)  Reaching Up to God in worship.  Worship on Sunday has always been my highest priority as we gather each week to give glory to God for blessings received!

(2)     Reaching In to nurture through fellowship and education our lives as members of the Body of Christ.  I’ve said it before:  We love church dinners and opportunities to be together in fellowship.  

(3)     Reaching Out to share the Good News of the gospel, with historical determination, within this neighborhood, city and world.  The record speaks for itself in all the things we have been able to do over the years in serving this neighborhood with this church building, the playground, and in supporting a host of programs whether they be the Underground Railroad or East Side Soup Kitchen or Habitat for Humanity or Women of Color’s or the Youth Center – just to mention a few.     

With what God has entrusted our care, I/we have tried to be faithful to this mission. It seems, from my perspective, that the identity of this church is linked intrinsically to this location in this neighborhood.  This church has nurtured healthy collaborative style of doing ministry that has made it possible to use this building – this building being one of our greatest assets – to meet the needs of children in this community.

IV.

What is our greatest asset?  Faith, Hope and the Love of God known to us through Jesus Christ!  As I started out this message:  Jesus may not be our CEO but he surely is with us every day as our Lord and our Savior.  I pray we want nothing more than to put our lives in his hands.  

With the challenges that stand before us, we must always keep faith in Jesus Christ!  God has held us in leading us through the challenges in the past.  God will always stand with us as important decisions are made about the future.

V.

Finally, with scripture in hand, the HALLMARK for us in doing Christ’s mission is in --

Sharing our faith and in doing Christ’s work!

My prayer:  May God continue to fill us with love and Christ’s spirit in all that we do as a church.  May God continue to enrich our lives as we search, together, for ways to do Christ’s work in the community and around the world. 

 

May we always remember God never abandons us.  

May God bless us in the mission work and service we have been called, together, to do. 

Amen.

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[1]  Speaking at the PCUSA BIG TENT conference in Louisville in August of 2013.

 

[2]  Dr. Randall Bush. Pastor of the East Liberty Presbyterian church in Pittsburgh, recently wrote a short article on MISSION these two different directions….., Pastoral Message, October

[3]  Ibid.

RALPH AND I MEET AGAIN!

“Ralph and I Meet Again!”

                                  September 15, 2013
                                       ©Thomas B. Cundiff

Psalm 139: 1-6  and  23, 24

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
³ You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any wicked^* way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.^*

Romans 12: 3-5

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

Ephesians 4: 1-7

¹I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.   ⁷But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

 

I.                    

 

Ralph!  Who is Ralph?  I don’t recall any church members named Ralph.   There are no “Ralph’s” mentioned in the Bible.   I don’t think I know too many people named “Ralph”.  SO WHY WOULD WE MEET AGAIN?     

 

Simply, “Ralph” is not a person.  Ralph, for me, is a name given to a small trinket—a small piece of jewelry I have been holding onto for 40 years.  I don’t know what else to call this.  Along with some of my college friends, this was given to me over forty years ago.  We named this small item “Ralph”.  I just had a chance to meet “Ralph” again a couple of months ago.    

 

Honestly, though I have kept this small piece of jewelry for all these years, I had forgotten about Ralph.  While I may have forgotten the name, I have never forgotten what this small symbolic piece of jewelry has meant to me through the years.  On the front of this jewelry a small dove ascending into what looks like flames symbolizing the Holy Spirit.  For me this is a symbol, not unlike the Phoenix, of God leading me through the flames of trying times.  

 

For some more explanation:  I was a student at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska in the early 70’s.  As a pre-theology student I was active in chapel programming.  I belonged to a small worship group we called the “Road Crew”.  This is the name we were given because we would go off campus to lead worship services, along with our chaplain Chuck Messinger, in different churches more or less promoting the college with local congregations.  While I don’t remember much about the tours, “Social Media” has recently reunited four[1] of my “Road Crew” friends through Facebook…..three of us are now Presbyterian Pastors.  It is through Facebook and in renewing these friendships that we were re-introduced  to “Ralph”.    I’m not sure, but several of us still have this small piece of jewelry symbolic of that time we spent together.

 

The year was around 1972.  I don’t have a lot of memory about what took place on this particular retreat except that we shared in what was called an AGAPE MEAL -- the breaking of bread simulating communion around a large table – much like Jesus did with his disciples.   

 

I recall we were near a small lake.  I remember this because we had a “Trust Walk” after dinner – blindfolded – led to the shore of this small lake and into a boat.  This is quite an experience being blindfolded while led by someone else you trust.  I recall walking on a sandy beach approaching the shore of the lake and then, to my surprise, being led onto a small board – all while blindfolded.   These were called “Trust Walks” because you really had to TRUST those who were leading —symbolic of Jesus leading us in living our lives – our walking into the future without a lot of knowledge or information about where God is leading!  For it often seems, through much in life, we are blindfolded not knowing where God is leading. 

 

So with news that I will be leaving as pastor of this church, this is somewhat like the trust I have had to place in God about going into a phase of life I had never thought would come…..the same trust you will need to place in each other and God as you identify new leadership and as you determine your path into the future.  The caution I have personally received from the Committee on Ministry and the Presbytery – step back—to let you, the church do it’s work trusting in God.  Trust in God to lead you as you envision and plan for the future.

 

II.

 

Back to “Ralph” – this small red triangle with an ascending dove on the front.  On the back are the words that have had an impact on me my entire ministry.  These words—hard to read:

                                    “Come Holy Spirit, Enlighten Me!

 

Working from memory, I believe we were told on this retreat some 40 years ago that this glossy red stone with the ascending Spirit was to remind us of something known as Gestalt Psychology—the kind of psychology that maintains the principle that the “human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts, suggesting the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Again to repeat this:  The human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts, suggesting the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

 

It is like my looking at the church.  We see the church building.  There are lots of working parts…..people and programs.  We are a worshipping community. 

 

I think back to the wonderful time we had last Sunday – almost fifty people in attendance in worship and the luncheon—almost completely filling the Geneva room.  In reflecting on last Sunday I am now seeing the whole experience – more than all the individual parts that came together to make for a successful day.  This is seeing the WHOLE before perceiving all the individual parts—the personalities and YOUR hopes and ambitions and dreams for this church that make up the whole.  THIS CHURCH IS MORE THAN A BUILDING FILLED WITH PEOPLE!  THIS CHURCH IS MORE THAN SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS.  WE ARE IN FACT THE LIVING BODY OF CHRIST—THE WHOLE THAT IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ALL IT’S PARTS.  WE ARE CHRIST’S CHURCH!

 

More than a group of congregants – we are unique and special and gifted children of God with interests and talents and longings and needs.  The sum of all of who we are is so much greater than the TOTALITYH OF ALL OUR PARTS.  We may be 40-50 active members worshipping together today—but who we are and what we are doing is so much greater than the sum of all we do….all we have done in the past and all we will do in the future.   For together we become and we are the living, vibrant Body of Christ – THE CHURCH! 

 

There is so much more to this church than what meets the eye!   We are more than any one individual or leader or pastor.  The Gestalt in our experience as a church:  “The human eye sees the church in its entirety before perceiving or understanding the intricate working of all the individual parts that make us who we are – a church that is truly greater than the sum of all our parts.” 

 

To put this personally:  my leaving should be for this church but a bump in the road when it comes to all that God has planned for this church as a whole….the mission of this church isn’t dependent on any one individual or leader or pastor….but rather, God working with that which is greater than all the little things we do.    

 

III.  One more thing in reflecting on “Ralph”.

 

One more thing I would like to share this morning.  The decision to leave this pastorate has not been easy.  For months and even years I have thought I could go on forever.  My prayers these past weeks and months has been: 

 

Come Holy Spirit, Enlighten me.

Reflecting the Psalm 139:  Search me.  Know me.  Help me with this decision.  Enlighten me. 

Come Holy Spirit, guide me and show me Your path.

 

 I would like for this to be your prayer.

  

Come Holy Spirit, Enlighten us.

Guide us and show us your path.

Reflecting the Psalm 139:  Search us.  Know us.  Help us with the important decisions that will need to be made….we all have known we would eventually reach this point in needing to ask important questions about the future.  The time has come—God’s time has come!

Come Holy Spirit, Enlighten Us!

 

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[1]   Doug Waldbaum, Rev. Kitch (Brock) Shatzer, Rev. Bill Nottage-Tacy and myself..