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2330 South Jefferson Street
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2330 South Jefferson Street
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THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY FEBRUARY 1, 2004
As Christ cares, we care… we care
about all people.
ORDER OF SERVICE-11:00
A.M. + Indicates the people standing ENTRANCE
Gathering Music +Indicates the people standing THOSE SERVING TODAY:
The Altar Flowers are Given *CHILDREN (AGES 3 through 1st GRADE), may meet the acolyte to recess to Children’s Church. Please ask your child to line up behind the acolyte who will lead all children out together. After the worship service, parents must pick up their child in the Children’s Department; children will not be allowed to leave the room until their parents arrive. WELCOME! We're glad to have all who have joined us for this time of worship. Especially to our guests and visitors, we welcome you to South Roanoke and to our fellowship. We invite those who have no church home to make South Roanoke your church and add your witness to ours. NEXT WEEK’S SERMON, Have You Seen God?, will be based on Isaiah 6:1-8. Please read and study the text this week. YOUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY FOR WORSHIP will be Wednesday, February 4 at 7:00 p.m. for the Contemporary Worship Service. The speaker will be Austin Mundy. PLEASE SEND ARTICLES for the March issue of the Tower Times by February 15 to Joe Kennedy, or email to joesrumc@aol.com. THE ADULT FELLOWSHIP GROUP will meet for a catered lunch in the Fellowship Hall on Thursday, February 19 at 12:00 p.m. All adults of the church (of every age) are welcomed. Sign up on the list on the board by the church office if you would like to attend. DINNER GROUPS: New dinner groups will be forming by February 15. If you would like to join a dinner group or need to change your dinner group status, please call Colleen Marston, 989-0623 or Terry Wilkinson, 772-0490 by February 10.
YOUTH NEWS: 2004-05 PRESCHOOL/MOTHERS’ DAY OUT REGISTRATION began January 26th for all currently enrolled students and SRUMC members. Registration for the public opens February 9th. Call the preschool office at 982-3707 for more information. THE ROANOKE DISTRICT VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL WORKSHOP will be held Sunday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m. at First UMC, Salem. All VBS teachers and leaders are encouraged to attend. THE DISCIPLE BIBLE STUDY CLASS began meeting on January 20th. This study will continue every Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m. in the Wesley Class. Three spots are still available. To date there are eleven participants. If you are interested please call Patty Oshida, 989-4880. A NURSERY WORKER IS NEEDED for Sunday evenings from 4:45-7:45 p.m. and Wednesday evenings from 6:45-8:00 p.m. Pay is $10.00 per hour. If you are interested, or know someone who might be interested please call Colleen Marston, 989-0623. THERE IS A new greeter sign-up calendar on the bulletin board by the church parlor. Please check your schedules and sign up to serve as a greeter one or more Sundays during the year. THE ROSE ON THE ALTAR is in honor of the birth of Charles Nolan Clifton who was born on January 26, 2004 to Curt and Laura Clifton of Annapolis, MD. The proud grandparents are Don and Carolyn Nolan. THE VIRGINIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE will sponsor a Spring Laity Spiritual Growth Retreat at the Assembly Center in Blackstone April 17-18. The theme will be Come Unto Me and Take My Yoke. If you would like more information please call the church office, 344-4437. YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN the Aldersgate Sunday School class as we begin a new study of the book, Forty-Sixty: A Study for Midlife Adults Who Want to Make a Difference. The book combines information about aging (Yes, we admit that we’re getting there!) with biblical and personal reflection. Issues addressed in the study include children and grandparents, spirituality, aging parents, losses, and giving back. You will find us in the room above the kitchen each Sunday morning. ___________________________________ SERMON February 1, 2004
4th Sunday after the Epiphany Well, for most of us,
when we are awake, relating to people and making decisions right in the
middle of life we still pray but we offer different prayers; prayers like
this: No wonder this prayer of the waking Christian resonates so much with us. Can you do this? Can you do good things with only the purest of motives? Can you really live this love? The Scripture says, no, you can’t. You are not capable in and of yourself to love like this. Paul uses one of three Greek words for “love” here. Of the three Greek words for love, two humans can do, one humans cannot do. Of the three words in the Greek language that translate into English by the word “love” only two of them are within the human capacity. Those two are “eros” (romantic love) and “philia” (friendship). When it comes to “eros” and “philia” (romantic love and friendship), those are well within the human capacity to love; we can handle those. But there is another Greek word which is translated into English as “love,” and that is the Greek word that Paul uses here. Every time the English word “love” appears in the text, it is not “eros,” nor is it “philia.” It is that third Greek word which is translated as “love;” it is “agape.” “Agape”—love that asked nothing in return. Only God can love like that. Only God is capable of still loving when humanity continually rejects God throughout the generations. God is the only one who never gives up but loves again and again. Only God is capable of giving up an only Son in love. God is love. Love is the very essence of God. Only god can love and ask for nothing in return. Agape. You can’t love like
that—not in and of yourself. No matter how many behaviors your seek to
emulate; no matter how hard you try to How can you get this
gift from God? Listen to the Scripture as the prophet Jeremiah overhears
God: You can only love
like this to the extent that the image of God in which you were created is
held, cherished, and nurtured at the very center of your life. That’s
what Paul means when he says, “…it is no longer I who live, but it is
Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). That’s the point of coming to
church; serving Christ in the world; You see, this love is not so much something you do as it is who you are. This is not a valiant attempt to change your behavior but a submission of your soul. It’s not behavior modification, it’s spiritual formation. It’s not simply a matter of behavior; it’s a matter of the heart. It’s not what you do but who you are. It is a gift of God that grows in you as you grow in your relationship to God. Paul calls this a
more excellent way. If you had a choice between working real hard just
trying to behave yourself everyday or growing in loving relationship with
god, which would you choose? As he describes this more excellent way he
shifts to lyric language--almost a poem. That’s the only way you can
adequately express heart language. What Paul presents here is not a list
of behaviors to be emulated but the flow of life in relationship to God—a
life growing ever closer to the very essence of God, an essence that is
restored more and more each day at the very center of your heart. It’s
not what you do but who you are. This can only be accurately expressed in
heart language. Heart language can only appropriately be expressed
lyrically, maybe only in a poem, or in a song. The prayer of the waking
Christian ought to be each and every morning of life more like the 25th
Psalm:
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