{"id":3642,"date":"2020-11-06T14:51:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T03:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3642"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:43:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T00:43:34","slug":"sunday-sermon-08-11-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3642","title":{"rendered":"Remember the Lord your God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><i>Hymn suggestions<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 111: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 107: Sing praise and thanksgiving, let all creatures living<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 159: God whose farm is all creation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 168: For the fruits of all creation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 130: We plough the fields and scatter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TIS 626: Lord of creation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>O God,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You are holy\u2026yet you reach down to us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You, the Creator of the Universe, cradle us in your loving arms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>May we be ever mindful of your goodness to us, and the many ways you continue to bless us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Give us good and strong memories, so that we do not forget, so that we are not tempted to say that you do not care.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Remind us of your ways when we stray; through Scripture, through our faith families past and present, and through our own family and friends.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Help us to remember our daily blessings, through this prayer by Emerson:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018For each new morning with its light,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For rest and shelter of the night,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For health and food,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For love and friends,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For everything Thy goodness sends.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We thank you for the many gifts of the harvest; for our daily food.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As we eat our meals, at times we should just stop and be overwhelmed by the miracle of food.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for the variety that stops us being bored, and keeps us healthy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We give thanks for those involved in food production, especially farmers, who often do it tough, reliant on the weather.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>May we use their example, and be dependent on you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As we marvel at your gifts to us, we recognise that we have not always been quick to give you thanks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Forgive us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At times we have taken our daily food for granted, even complained about it, or wasted it, in a world where many go to bed hungry.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Forgive us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Forgive us when we overlook the miracle that exists in a seed, or in a bud, or in a person\u2019s heart.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Make us grateful, thankful people, giving you the credit for life\u2019s bounty and our life\u2019s many blessings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in a time of silence we remember other things for which we seek forgiveness<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(<i>silence<\/i>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>God is love.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Through Christ, our sins are forgiven.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(<i>Thanks be to God<\/i>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Take hold of this forgiveness and live your lives in the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Bible Readings<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Deuteronomy 8: 1-18<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matthew 13: 1-9<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Sermon<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A farmer brought a load of wheat to the grain elevator in a nearby town.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He stopped at a caf\u00e9 and sat down near a group of young men who were acting up, shouting at the cook, and annoying the waitress.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When his meal was set before him, the old farmer bowed his head in prayer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>One of the young upstarts thought he would have some fun with the farmer, so he shouted in a voice that could be heard by everyone: \u201cHey, does everyone do that where you\u2019re from?\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Calmly the farmer turned towards the young man and replied, in an equally loud voice, \u201cNo, the pigs don\u2019t.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNo, the pigs don\u2019t.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Deuteronomy 8: 17: \u2018Do not say to yourself, \u201cMy power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.\u201d But remember the Lord your God\u2026\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-remember the Lord your God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To remember God, to give thanks to God for the harvest, is the most natural thing to do at the end of a good season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I know it is not harvest time, but I thought my sermon and service could address this theme today.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Indeed, during lockdown we have, I hope, been mindful of the many blessings we have received.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>To just consider a simple piece of bread-how it has got to you-a miracle in itself.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There is a show on tv called <i>Inside the Factory.<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Each episode explores a product from that factory-how the ingredients gets there, how the product is made\/packaged etc over a 24 hour period.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I watched the one on biscuits, which was interesting, and the one on bread.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Each time we say grace before a meal, we are thanking God for the miracle of food.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harvest time.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When I was minister in a small country town, having a harvest festival service was expected.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was a time for the farmers to relax a bit; crops were in, or lambs\/calves had been born.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Harvest also applies to craft, to knitting or sewing\u2026not only to crops and food production<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>BUT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>there is always a danger attached to harvests, to any creative work, actually.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The danger is pride.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pride in the human.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>There is no such thing as a \u2018self-made\u2019 person-other people have played a role in shaping that person\u2019s life\/standards\/morals\/view of the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-even birth-physical and spiritual birth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>There is a danger that we easily slip into the \u201cI did this all by myself\u201d mode when we see the fruits of the harvest.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Perhaps some farmers are rescued form this, because of having to rely on others for help: sowing, reaping, shearing, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yet, instead of the \u201cI did it all by myself\u201d cry, it could easily become<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe humans can do anything.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe humans can do anything.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Too often we humans forget that we are in partnership.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>God cooperates with us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This is one of the beauties of a harvest festival-remembering that God\u2019s hand is in all our work, indeed God\u2019s hand touches and caresses every part of our lives, including our work.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So a harvest thanksgiving helps to stem the real danger of forgetting God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The reading from Deuteronomy was addressing the same problem, warning the Israelites that prosperity can lead to forgetfulness, can turn them away from God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thanksgiving, to give thanks, is part of the equation: the other part is remembrance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You need both: thanksgiving, and remembrance.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let us pause for a moment and see how this is stressed in the reading from Deuteronomy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The people are urged to obey the commandment which is declared to them, in order that they might prosper in the land promised by God to their forefathers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They are to obey and within this theme of obedience, two topics are interwoven:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>To remember, versus to forget,<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>and<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>The wilderness, versus the promised land.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>They are to be aware, and to live out, their history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To remember prompts obedience to the covenant law, for it brings to the forefront of the mind the reality and faithfulness of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To forget is the same as to disobey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-to forget is the same as to disobey, for the self and the human concerns have pushed into the background of the mind the reality and claims of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We tend to push ourselves away from such a story, saying we are living in very different times from that of the Old Testament<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>BUT<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>we need to imagine ourselves in between-when the promise of the future on the land had not been realized-dwelling between the wilderness, or desert, and the time of richness, of fulfilment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Throughout the 40 year journey in the wilderness, from the Exodus from Egypt as slaves, to the promised land, God tested Israel\u2019s loyalty, and showed Israel the full extent of her physical dependence on Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Seems harsh-but it was necessary-for they were going to enter the land of Canaan, a rich land where Israel might be tempted to forsake her God, and to rely solely on the new found wealth for protection.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>But this possession of land was due to God\u2019s grace alone.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It is the covenantal relationship with God which sustains Israel, and gives her life, NOT the material wealth of Canaan.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Deuteronomy 8: 3: \u2018He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>40 years- a very long time for testing, for disciplining.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It probably isn\u2019t exactly 40 years in length; rather, \u201840 years\u2019 means \u2018a long time.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why the wilderness?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The desert?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The wilderness or desert is a good testing ground:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Here the natural props and supports which people by nature depend on are removed-water, animals, and crops.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It cast the people back on God, who alone could provide strength to survive the wilderness<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>and<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>The severity of the wilderness period undermined the confidence of those who were not truly grounded in God.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>We all know that hardship makes or breaks a person.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Haven\u2019t we been through that during the past 10 months?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But the strength provided by the wilderness was not the strength of self-sufficiency<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>BUT the strength that comes from a knowledge of the living God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-the strength that comes from a knowledge of the living God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This time of testing and discipline, of instruction and teaching, conjures up a picture of God as a parent, and Israel as the child.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This time of discipline is for Israel\u2019s own good.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Earlier in Deuteronomy we hear of God\u2019s tenderness and protectiveness:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Deuteronomy 1: 31: \u2018and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child\u2026\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-just as one carries a child.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But this time of testing is probably more like being the parent of a teenager (remember those times?)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Limits are set, discipline is stricter, testing is needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The danger of forgetfulness, feeling you have achieved everything on your own.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Discipline from God-is prompted by the love of God for his people-as is the discipline of our own children.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>V 5: \u2018Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Israel\u2019s teenage years-hardships, trials, testing, BUT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>beyond the growing pains, the struggles, there is the good land promised by God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The teenager usually reaches maturity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Israel will reach the promised land, knowing she cannot rely on her own efforts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As a result, Israel is strengthened by the trials and testing, more mature.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(hopefully our teenagers remember that we parents were there to help them through the muckiness of life, those rough teenage years).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Israel learns that God does provide; manna and water in the desert, clothing and physical strength.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Verse 4 is beautiful, dealing with God\u2019s provision.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This tradition of divine care does not appear in any of the stories told about the wilderness, except in Nehemiah 9:21.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Vs 4: \u2018The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-wouldn\u2019t that be handy during lockdown!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>My track suit bottoms are wearing thin!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Israel learns, through the wilderness experience, that they cannot survive on their own.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>They were given nourishment and LIFE by God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A lesson from the past.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The past-a lesson.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It is interesting to remember that when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, he quoted from Deuteronomy Chapter 8.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus, through his temptation, learnt to rely on God for the provision of life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His testing about which was better: spiritual or material nourishment, was secondary; the primary goal was how to rely totally on God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-how to rely totally on God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We experience the blessings of God<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>but do we sometimes forget this, need to be reminded of them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harvest festivals are a way to do this, to make sure we do not give ourselves credit \u2013but give credit where credit is due-to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So, the lesson for us today, is to remember God\u2019s blessings, to rely on God, knowing that God is the source of life, and of our well being.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If we doubt God\u2019s trustworthiness, God\u2019s record-we can look back through our faith history, through Scripture, and examine our own lives and the lives of others.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Remember: our shoulders are only so wide; God\u2019s shoulders are without end.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What comfort that is!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We do not need to take the weight of the world on our shoulders, indeed, we cannot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harvest thanksgivings remind us that we are stewards of the earth; that we are to use resources wisely and with care.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We can pray for the people who work on the land, those involved in transport of the goods, and those involved in the processing\/manufacturing of the products.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It is a shame that, among all our public holidays, we do not have a Thanksgiving Day.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the United States, Thanksgiving Day was instituted to express gratitude to God for his blessings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The earliest Thanksgiving was celebrated in mid-October, 1621 ten months after the Pilgrim Fathers had landed in New England.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They gathered to give thanks to God for their first harvest after a time of great hardship, which included illness and many deaths.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In 1863 President Lincoln made it an annual holiday, and he invited all to set it apart and to observe it \u2018as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Couldn\u2019t we use one of our designated public holidays as a day of Thanksgiving?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I know some say that Australia Day is that day, but it has its own marred history.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Couldn\u2019t we substitute the Grand Final holiday, or the holiday set aside for a horse race for Thanksgiving instead?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, I know it won\u2019t happen, but we can at least observe it in our own homes and hearts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I opened the sermon with a story about saying grace; let me close it with a grace:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Back of the bread is the flour<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Back of the flour is the mill,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Back of the mill is the wind and the rain<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And the Father\u2019s will.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Prayers of the People<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Creator God,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We thank you that you have invited us to pray for the world, and for others.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We give thanks that some of our covid-19 restrictions have been eased, yet we are mindful of the millions world-wide who are suffering, and dying, and who need our prayers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We pray for the people in France, and this week those in Vienna.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We ask for your peace as they navigate their way through terrorist attacks and uncertainty about more attacks in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We pray for world leaders, that they will be endowed with wisdom and compassion.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We pray for the ill and the grieving in our own church family, and in our own families and among our friends.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Be with them, especially in the quiet hours of the night and early morning, when sleep can evade and the thoughts and \u2018what ifs\u2019 hammer at their brains and shatter all hope of returning to sleep.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Help them to rest in your arms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We pray for farmers, agricultural workers, factory workers, those involved in transporting produce so that it reaches the grocery shelves, and then finds its way onto our tables.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We pray for those in the world who are starving, or are malnourished.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Help us to support charities that work to eradicate hunger.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We know there is enough food in the word to feed everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As we were taught at an early age, help us to share.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a time of silence, we bring before you other matters that need prayer: concerns in our own lives, or in the wider world<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(<i>silence<\/i>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Loving God, as you have listened to our prayers, and the sighs of our hearts,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>we are grateful you have taught us a prayer that we can pray, that we often cling to when we cannot find our own words:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>\u2018Our Father in heaven\u2026<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Blessing<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Take my life, and let it be,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>consecrated, Lord, to thee.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Take my moments and my days,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>let them flow in ceaseless praise.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(from the hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Have thankful hearts,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>live gratitude-filled lives,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>for you are blessed, and loved, by the Trinity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-Rev Barbara Allen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>8.11.20.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bible Readings<\/p>\n<p>Deuteronomy 8: 1-18 &#038;<\/p>\n<p>Matthew 13: 1-9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Barbara Allen","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/barbara"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?cat=24\" rel=\"category\">Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Bible Readings Deuteronomy 8: 1-18 & Matthew 13: 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