First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake

Get Up and Go Acts 8:26-40 America has known some great evangelists. The most influential preacher of the eighteenth century was the Anglican clergyman George... Whitefield, who first came to the Georgia colony in 1738. Whitefield was small in stature but had powerful preaching skills. He brought scripture to life with descriptive details and powerful emotion. He preached in fields or on hillsides under the open sky, at times crying, dancing, and even screaming. Over the course of his career, historians estimate that George Whitefield preached 18,000 times to ten million listeners, earning him the title The Great Itinerant. During Whitefield’s 1739 evangelical tour of the colonies, 23,000 people came to see him speak in Boston, perhaps the largest gathering of the colonial era. Today Whitefield is credited as the spark of the first Great Awakening and a founder of Methodism. America’s leading revivalist of the nineteenth century was Presbyterian minister Charles Grandison Finney. Ordained in 1824, Finney was hired by the Female Missionary Society of the Western District to preach the gospel on New York’s northern frontier from Utica and Rome to Rochester. Finney’s training as a lawyer before becoming a clergyman was key to his preaching style. With a voice that was described as a fire, a hammer, and a sword, Finney made the case for Christ and wouldn’t relent until his listeners expressed their devotion for the Lord. At the height of his evangelical efforts, Finney preached 98 sermons over six months in Rochester that were so compelling that shopkeepers would close their businesses to encourage people to attend. During Finney’s Rochester itinerancy, the population swelled by 2/3 and crime dropped by 2/3, both facts attributed to his preaching. Viewed as the father of modern revivalism, Finney’s book Lectures on Revival is still in print and used as a text in college and seminary classrooms. Undoubtedly, the twentieth century’s greatest evangelist was Billy Graham. The son of North Carolina dairy farmers, Graham was licensed to preach in 1940. His preaching style was simple and direct with a focus on sin and salvation. Graham’s influence on American Christianity exploded when he traded parish ministry for itinerant evangelism. Billy Graham launched his first Crusade in September 1947 in the Civic Auditorium of Grand Rapids, Michigan with 6,000 people in attendance. Over the course of his long career, Graham held 400 Crusades in 185 countries and territories on six continents and led millions to the Lord. Widely acknowledged as perhaps the greatest evangelist ever, Graham used radio, television, video, film, books, and webcasts to reach out with the gospel. Those stories of America’s great evangelists can be both inspiring and intimidating. Most of us would like to see our family, friends, and neighbors know more about the joy, mercy, and new life that we have found in Jesus. But we lack the oratorical gifts of George Whitefield. We can’t make the case for Christ like Charles Finney. And the very thought of speaking to 6,000 people puts our bladders in an uproar and our kidneys in a downpour. Perhaps we could use some faith sharing lessons from one of the first century’s greatest evangelists: Philip. Last week, we heard about Philip reaching beyond the borders of Israel to share the good news with their traditional enemies, the Samaritans. Philip was still engaged in this revolutionary ministry when the Holy Spirit called him to a special new mission that would be every bit as groundbreaking. Get up and go, the Spirit said. Philip listened, immediately leaving his new Samaritan friends and embarking on a long journey south and west on foot toward Gaza. In his book 5 Prayers that God Loves to Answer, Larry Selig writes that God works to build God’s Kingdom through the nudges of the Holy Spirit. These nudges are the leadings and promptings that inspire us to reach out to others, like the Spirit did with Philip. When we feel the Spirit’s invitation to do something right now, it’s easy to rationalize it away and do nothing. But if we put the Spirit’s nudge to the test and make a phone call, write a note, or stop by for a visit, surprising things happen. A hurting friend is comforted. A colleague in an ethical bind chooses a different path. A troubled family member finally has their come to Jesus moment. Larry Seligand the Apostle Philipremind us that God’s Kingdom is built by the Holy Spirit through our small daily responses to God’s nudges to assist others with simple acts of love and care. The Ethiopian, a royal official in the court of the Candace, was impressive. In an age when an affluent person might ride a camel or horse, the Ethiopian rode in a chariot. As his driver guided the coach toward Gaza, the Ethiopian read a precious and costly scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. This man was a eunuch. He had been castrated before puberty to prepare him for his position of trust and responsibility in the royal household. Although the Ethiopian had traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, his castration would have barred him from participation in Israel’s sacred rites. Deuteronomy 23:1 banned people like him from even entering the Lord’s House. On the Gaza Road, the Spirit again nudged Philip, saying, Go and join the chariot. Philip may have felt fearful at the prospect of meeting the wealthy, educated, high status, and very foreign Ethiopian, yet he knew how to ask questions that opened the door to conversation, deep listening, and growing understanding. Philip’s question Do you understand what you are reading? launched a life-changing encounter. Then after climbing into the chariot, Philip simply talked about his friend and master Jesus, who seemed to spring from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah to bring God’s saving love to the world. For many of us, a major roadblock to acting on our nudges is fear. We don’t want to be perceived as Bible-thumpers, who bully others into belief. Or, we think we lack the expertise and eloquence to speak about matters of faith. Philip’s encounter reminds us that it’s not about us. The Holy Spirit is in the driver’s seat, and our evangelical efforts get a lot easier when we allow that to happen. Faith is best shared in the asking of open-ended questions that draw people out and in the relating of our personal experience with Jesus. Philip’s words convinced the Ethiopian that the love of Christ was for him. Almost 2,000 years later, we can still hear the hope and excitement that the Ethiopian man felt as he pointed to a roadside stream and asked, What would keep me from being baptized? Yet, if we listen closely across the centuries, we also hear the concern and vulnerability that underlie the man’s question. After all, he had been excluded from the Temple, thanks to his sexual status, so he had every reason to fear that Philip might politely remind him of Deuteronomy 23, which banned him from the rites of Israel and the assembly of the faithful. Among the biggest impediments to our efforts to reach out are judgment and legalism. We quench the Spirit’s leading to be more welcoming by plucking prooftexts from scripture that condemn and exclude others. We stymie the inclusivity of the Lord by clinging to the traditions of the elders. We refuse to simply love as the Spirit leads because prejudice limits our vision. Judgment and legalism have inspired Christians to deny the leadership gifts of women, to tolerate the de facto segregation of our churches, and to exclude our LGBTQ neighbors. Philip reminds us that Jesus valued love and mercy above purity and tradition. The Spirit’s leading is to let go, climb down, suspend judgment, and loosen our death grip on Bible verses that emerge from a 4,000-year-old the cultural world. The Spirit dares us to welcome in ways that we never imagined before. Philip didn’t allow the letter of the Law and the traditions of the elders to overrule the leading of the Holy Spirit and put an end to his mission. The driver reined in the horses. The chariot stopped. Philip and his new friend waded down into the water. Soon, Jesus had his newest disciple. The stamp of the Spirit’s approval was clear as day as the Ethiopian went forth rejoicing to share the gospel with his sisters and brothers back home. Christianity found a strong foothold in Ethiopia. In the year 331, it became one of the first kingdoms of the world to make Christianity a national religion. Today the Ethiopian Church is the largest in the tradition of Eastern Orthodox Christianity with thirty-six million members. That’s what I call some great evangelism. Don’t you? America has known some great evangelists. We may not have the oratorical gifts of George Whitfield. We may never make the case for Christ like Charles Finney. We can’t preach to thousands with ease like Billy Graham. But we can be evangelists in our own right because we can be like Philip. We can act on those nudges of the Spirit. We can ask door-opening questions that lead to earnest conversation and deep listening. We can speak simply of our own experience of Jesus, of the mercy, joy, and new life that we have found in the Lord’s company. We can suspend our judgment, cling less tightly to tradition, and trust that the Holy Spirit always knows better than we do. The twenty-first century needs a great evangelist. Could it be you? Amen. Resources: Miller, Kevin. George Whitefield: Sensational Evangelist of Britain and America in Christian History, Christianity Today. Accessed online at christianitytoday.com. --. Charles Finney: Father of American Revivalism in in Christian History, Christianity Today. Accessed online at christianitytoday.com. Biography.com Editors. Billy Graham Biography in Biography, April 2, 2014. Accessed online at biography.com. Baker-Fletcher, Karen. Theological Perspective on Acts 8:26-40 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Taylor, Barbara Brown. Homiletical Perspective on Acts 8:26-40 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Walaskay, Paul W. Exegetical Perspective on Acts 8:26-40 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

God's steadfast love endures forever! Join us for Sunday worship at 9:45am - in the Great Hall or online.God's steadfast love endures forever! Join us for Sunday worship at 9:45am - in the Great Hall or online.

Our tenants, who are moving out this summer to their own space, are currently having an online auction with many wonderful local items up for bid. Please check it out if you are so inclined. Bidding ends Sunday, May 2 at 9:00 pm.

Welcome to midweek prayer with the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake. Your worship leader this evening is Rev. Joann White with a guided prayer for wholeness, "In God's Hands."

We are excited to share that the church now has an online giving portal, where you can make safe, secure, one-time or recurring, tax-deductible electronic donations... https://www.eservicepayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps

Bucs or Chiefs? We'll celebrate the Souper Bowl of Caring on Feb. 7 with donations of soup or dollars for the soup pot to beneifit the Saranac Lake Interfaith Food Pantry. Everyone wins!

Welcome to midweek prayer with the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake. Your worship leader this evening is Rev. Joann White with a Guided Prayer for Protection and Strength, based upon Psalm 91.

Reluctant Disciples Jonah 3:1-5, 10 At this week’s inauguration, country singer Garth Brooks walked to the podium in his blue jeans and boots. He took off hi...s big, black cowboy hat and sang with humble conviction that best known of hymns, Amazing Grace. Garth, a registered Republican, drew criticism for participating in the ceremony that ushered a Democrat into power after a brutal political battle. For the third verse, Brooks invited folks to sing along, not just those gathered in front of the Capitol, but all of us everywhere, whether watching from home or in our workplaces or viewing on our cell phones. If you were like me, you sang with tears in your eyes for all we have been through in this past year. It was a brave act of unity that, at least for that fragile moment, bound us together as a nation. Amazing Grace was written by Anglican clergyman John Newton in 1772. Long before he became a preacher, Newton’s first calling was that of a slave trader, transporting human cargo from West Africa to the slave markets of the Americas. On the African coast, kidnapped men and women were purchased, chained, and packed like sardines into the hold of Newton’s ship. Through the Hell of the Middle Passage, their shouts of grief and pain fell upon Newton’s deaf ears. Newton himself related that he was utterly indifferent to those bitter cries. Instead, his thoughts were focused on the lucrative payoff that awaited him at journey’s end. Newton would have remained a scoundrel if the weather hadn’t intervened. One evening, as Newton sailed mid-Atlantic, his ship was caught in a storm unlike any that he had encountered in all his years at sea. The fury of the wind and waves threatened to rip the ship apart. Amid thunder and lightning, Newton plied every mariner’s trick to keep his vessel afloat, but he eventually succumbed to exhaustion, expecting to sink before the night was through. Most of us are familiar with what happened next, facing death while the wind shouted and the waves surged, John Newton was overcome by the glory of God. Gripped tight in the fist of the storm, Newton knew himself to be an utter wretch, undeserving of God’s love and mercy. Humbled by God in the heart of the storm, Newton repented, regretting only that his imminent demise would cut short his resolve to live a new life. Like John Newton, the Prophet Jonah knew what it was to rebel and encounter God in the heart of the storm. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, instructing him to go to Nineveh and do some challenging preaching. God called to Jonah, Get up and go east to Nineveh! In response, Jonah ran, hopping a ship for Tarshish, far to the west at the very limits of the known world. In Jonah’s defense, there was good reason for Nineveh to be a highly undesirable preaching gig for a Hebrew prophet. One of the oldest and greatest cities of Mesopotamia, Nineveh was the capitol of the Assyrian Empire, the greatest superpower of the day, whose wealth and dominance encircled the Mediterranean world from modern-day Turkey to Iraq, Iran, and all the way to Egypt. In the 8th century BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrian army and the Southern Kingdom of Judah had become a vassal state. While every other Hebrew prophet was called by God to denounce the sinfulness of Israel, Jonah was called to face the evil of Nineveh with a prophetic message that seemed certain to enrage his audience and get him killed. Given the impossibility of his calling, Jonah’s urge to run instead of preach seemed like a good idea. But it’s not so easy to escape God’s purpose for our lives. No sooner did Jonah’s boat get out into the open water than a great storm arose. The fury of the wind and the pounding of the waves threatened to tear the boat apart. As the ship was about to founder, Jonah’s companions resolved to toss a human sacrifice overboard to appease the rage of whichever god had been so terribly offended. They did things democratically, drawing lots to determine who would go over the side. The short straw rightly fell to Jonah. Without further delay, into the water he went. As Jonah’s body sank into the blue depths, the winds dropped, the sea stilled, and Jonah’s shipmates celebrated. Jonah, on the other hand, learned there are worse things than drowning, like being swallowed whole by a very big fish. Bound in the smelly, dark, wet belly of the beast, Jonah finally returned to God, praying, I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you, O Lord; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the LORD! Hearing Jonah’s prayer, God had a word with the very big fish, which swam to shore and promptly vomited Jonah up on dry land. It is here that today’s scripture reading begins, as God called to Jonah a second time, Jonah, get up and go to Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I tell you. God can work wonders with even the most reluctant and rebellious of folks. Jonah got up and headed east into the belly of an entirely different sort of beast - Nineveh. Beneath the mighty walls of the city, 100 feet high and broad enough for three chariots to ride abreast. Jonah listened for God’s message, and it came, brief and terrible, Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown. The Hebrew word for overthrown - nepak - means to be utterly destroyed, razed to its very foundations. Tired, footsore, fishy, Jonah was certain that this was the last sermon that he would ever preach. But a curious thing happened as Jonah walked the labyrinthine streets of the ancient city. People come out to stare at this strange bedraggled foreigner. They listened to his simple message. Then, convicted of their sin and self-interest, they bowed with repentant hearts before the judgment of Yahweh. Like wildfire, word spread until even the king admitted his wrongdoing, humbling himself before God and declaring a day of atonement. Jonah, that most reluctant of disciples, saved an entire nation with a five-word sermon. How is that for a second calling? When I left the story of John Newton, he was lamenting that his imminent demise would put an untimely end to his newfound ardor for the Lord. But the self-confessed scoundrel woke in the morning to find the storm past and the sea calmed. It didn’t seem to matter that John Newton had lived a rebellious life, wasted in the pursuit of money and despicable evil. John Newton was as undeserving of mercy as the people of Nineveh had been, and yet he found God’s amazing grace. At the age of 40, John Newton found a second calling as an Anglican priest. He served the people of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he was known as a kind pastor, wonderful musician, and ardent abolitionist. With the help of Newton’s vivid testimony and tireless advocacy, public opinion began to change in England. Abolitionists drove crucial legislation through Parliament to end the slave trade. Newton was instrumental in shutting down the sinful institution whereby he had once hoped to become a very rich man. How is that for a second calling? On this Sunday morning, as we struggle to flatten the COVID curve, and we begin to get immunized, and a new administration makes a fresh start, and we tremble in the wake of our bitter political division, we are given a second calling, my friends. It doesn’t matter whether we are Republicans or Democrats. It doesn’t matter if we have been buying into the latest conspiracy theories or we are hellbent on impeachment. God can work wonders with even the most reluctant and rebellious of folks. Even though we are as undeserving as Nineveh or Jonah or John Newton, the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for us. Reluctant disciples can always turn their lives around and serve God’s purpose. This morning, we hear that second calling. God says, Jonah, get up and go! God says, John Newton, get up and go! God says, Joann, get up and go! God says, Scott and Karen, get up and go! God says to us all say it with me - Get up and go! Let’s stop running in the wrong direction. Let’s stop pointing fingers. Let’s stop casting blame. Let’s stop the hate. Let us be united in God’s purpose, preaching God’s amazing grace to all people. Perhaps we could even sing together in a brave and fragile moment of unity, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found Was blind but now I see. Amen. Image: Garth Brooks | CREDIT: ROB CARR/GETTY accessed online at People.com Resources: Moyers, Bill. Amazing Grace. Acorn Media, January 17, 2012. Schifferdecker, Catherine. Commentary on Jonah 3:1-5, 10 in Preaching This Week. Accessed online at workingpreacher.org. Plunkett-Brewton, Callie. Commentary on Jonah 3:1-5, 10 in Preaching This Week. Accessed online at workingpreacher.org. Wood, Lawrence. Homiletical Perspective on Jonah 3:1-5, 10 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008

Welcome to worship with the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake. Your worship leaders this morning are Rev. Joann White with the message "Reluctant Disciples" and Music Director Scott Smith and Karen Smith with special music.

Here are some of our young tenants, helping to fill the pack basket for the food pantry. Thank you Northern Lights School!