Keeping Up with the Joneses

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Sermon: “Keeping Up with the Joneses” by visiting Rev. Lisa Williams

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

God of Love, you show your people how to be truly rich in faith, through the gifts you give when least hoped for or expected. Come to your people today with the words of life that we may serve with justice and mercy. We pray this in your holy triune name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God Mother of us all. Amen.

[A time of silence is kept between intercessions — please use that time to lift those on your heart this day.]

Confident that God hears us and knows our needs, let us be in prayer together. Gracious healer, you visit us when we are in pain and worry. You spread your hands on our wounds. You bring peace and freedom. Visit your churches and synagogues, mosques and ashrams, monastic cells, temples, dojos, and places of prayer in every land. For the well-being of all people, make us one as we lift those without faith who are on our hearts this day.

Creator of beauty and surprising complexity, we long for the wisdom we need in order to cherish this earth. Give us the vision to see what you have made — vast expanses of prairie, forests dark and thick, oceans full of wondrous creatures, and the heavens bigger than our imaginations. Show us how to shepherd your creation as good stewards even as we lift in prayer those places suffering from storms of wind and flood. Liberator of the captive, you know the failings of the nations when we turn our friends and neighbors into enemies. Free our lands from despotic rulers, tricksters, people who lie for personal gain, and those who wield hate speech. Give courage and perseverance to those who are weary of the struggles for justice so that new life and strength will infuse their tired bones. We lift in prayer, those places still at war with one another as we name them now.

Savior, we see the desperation of our siblings as well as ourselves, and knowing your love for what you have made, we humbly ask for your promises to be fulfilled: waters in the desert, healing in the time of death, protection from whatever is frightening, restoration for those who are without help. This day, O God, I lift in prayer …

Holy God, we pray for those who grow our food and keep our water clean, of politicians who make good laws and judges who rule with compassion, for children, for elders, for parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends and strangers. Amen.

Holy God, whose Spirit comes to us in moments of both strength and weakness, come now into our midst that we might be able to hear your word in fullness and in truth, through Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17 ¹My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? ²For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” ⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? ⁸You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Those who are generous are blessed, through the good name of Jesus from whom we have been shown the love of God. For the abundance of God’s love, let us present our gifts of gratitude, that we and these gifts may be a blessing to our community. Amen.

Generous God, thank you for these gifts we bring from your abundance. Bless these gifts and magnify their impact upon our community, that we might show love to all of those in need in our community. Amen.

Our Generous God has blessed us and surrounded us with favor forever, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves. Share your bread with those in need, advocate for the afflicted, show your faith in acts of kindness, and may we go forth to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Amen.