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OPENING SONG – audio available on the church website
Make Me A Channel of Your Peace arr. Larson
Michelle Maiers and Meg McGarry, duet
CALLTOWORSHIP
Different people, different lives, different histories.
Yet all children of the same Parent.
Created lovingly by the Source of all life!
Different people, different lives, different histories.
Yet one people with one God, one faith, one baptism.
Let us open ourselves to the presence of God.
OPENING PRAYER
Eternal God, we join with the Risen Christ as a community of broken but hopeful believers: loving what He loved; living what He taught; and striving to be His faithful servants in our time and place. On this World Communion Sunday, we remember Jesus, His promises and the price paid for who He was, what He said, and what He did. Amen.
GLORIA PATRI
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son
And to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
Prayer Hymn #263
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, I can feel his mighty power and his grace;
F I R S T C O N G R E G AT I O N A L
U N I T E D C H U R C H O F C H R I S T 235 South Kenilworth Avenue, Elmhurst, IL
Partners in Christ’s Service since 1890
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
At Home or Small Group Worship for October 4th
2 I can hear the brush of angels’ wings,
I see glory on each face;
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. Silent Prayer
PASTORAL PRAYER – audio available on the church website Rev. Mike Daly Gracious God, we come together on this World Communion Sunday to celebrate your love and share the bounty of your table. We gather to share the cup of blessing and the bread of life that provides strength for our journey. There are many ways to worship you, Lord. And yet, in our diversity, there is unity. Nowhere else are we made more aware of how interconnected we are than at your table.
The bread and cup, symbols of Christ’s broken body, speak to us of the broken bodies and broken spirits in the world today that yearn for a healing touch. As your humble people, we offer our lives knowing that you can use our brokenness to bring about healing and wholeness in your name.
Hear our prayers O Lord, for our global neighbors, especially those living in fear or poverty. Be with those who have lost hope and give us the courage to recognize other’s needs and reach out where we can. We lift prayers for the earth, a planet we all share. We have not used the land and water wisely. Precious live-giving resources should never be depleted or destroyed because of greed, or carelessness, or mismanagement. And yet, that is happening. Help us find the urgency we all must have to face this environmental crisis.
God of Love, hear our prayers for those we care about and those close to us. We pray for new chances and new joys in life even as we give you thanks for the many blessing we already have. Help us to bring your healing presence to those who are sick, grieving, lost, or abused. May they find comfort in your embracing arms. Free us from all that would trap us or distract us, Lord. Free us from the wants of a material world and help us learn to receive and give with equal joy. For the blessings in our lives and for the promise of your grace, we lift our prayers with praise and thanksgiving. In the name of the One who teaches us to love, Christ, our Lord. Amen.
OUR LORD’S PRAYER – audio available on the website Michelle Maiers, vocals Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us
3 our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE – audio available on the church website Martha Mendoza
SCRIPTURE – audio available on the church website Mike Hennel
Joshua 5:9-12 NIV
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.The manna stopped the day afterthey ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
SERMON– audio available on the church website Rev. Mike Daly
Why Did the Manna Cease?
Seattle Sutton, Blue Apron, and HelloFresh are companies that offer home delivery meals. Simply sign up, and a box of fresh ingredients will arrive each week. You can whip up gourmet meals at home without ever leaving your house. Pretty convenient. The ancient Israelites had a similar meal service, at least for a while. It was called
Manna Delivery Service. Every morning, they would wake up to breakfast, bread from heaven, delivered by God, and ready to eat. But then one day, the manna stopped. As we ponder that change….. let me ask you…
Where is your next meal coming from? Are you picking vegetables from your garden to make a salad? Will you cook up some groceries you bought at the store? Will you use Uber Eats or Door Dash to get delivery from Livia or Chipotle? Quick delivery services are more and more popular. And, thanks to UPS and FedEx, companies like Blue Apron or HelloFresh can deliver easy to prepare food, fast and fresh right to your front door, week after week.
4 Perhaps, it is no surprise that there was a meal-delivery service like this way before our time. The Hebrew people were freed from captivity in Egypt and left to wander the desert. Moses, their leader, had no time to prepare everyone for their release. They had to leave town quickly before Pharaoh could change his mind. So, they were in the desert with very little provisions, and it didn’t take long before they were at the point of starvation. Then one morning, God heard their cries and sent bread from heaven! They called it manna, and like the Seattle Sutton boxes, it came on a regular basis, not once a week, but every morning!
This went on for years! The manna didn’t include extras, such as butter or jam. But without fail, each meal of flaky bread had ‘the taste of wafers made with honey’ (Exodus 16:30). And, best of all, it was delivered in the most eco-friendly way possible. No carbon emissions from delivery trucks. There were no shipping boxes, freezer packs, insulated liners, or microwaveable plastic containers. The manna arrived every morning like morning dew gently shimmering on the front lawn. The only catch was there was no stockpiling it for the future. The expiration date was the “same day.” Since God delivered a fresh supply each day, there wasn’t much to worry about.
That is how God works. God delivers - what we need when we need it. It was true then, and it is just as true today. When Moses was lost, God guided his people with a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night. When they were thirsty, God had Moses strike a rock with a stick, and water came out. Each night for dinner, quail would enter into camp.
Sometimes what God offers us isn’t always clear in the moment. The Hebrew word “manna” literally means “What is it?” That was the first question they asked themselves when first they saw this flaky substance on the ground. The Bible tells us that manna arrived for 40 years, an entire generation. Manna was a daily gift that God gave the Hebrews to preserve their lives.
The miracle of manna from heaven is another beautiful way God demonstrates love. Well-known preacher and writer, William Sloane Coffin, explains the subject of miracles in the Bible this way. He writes: “Miracles do not a messiah make. But a messiah can do miracles. If you ask me if Jesus literally raised Lazarus from the dead, literally walked on water, and changed water into wine, I will answer, ‘For certain, I do not know. But this I do know: faith must be lived before it is understood, and the more it is lived, the more things become possible.’ I can also report that in
5 home after home I have seen Jesus change beer into furniture, sinners into saints, hate-filled relations into loving ones, cowardice into courage, the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of hope. In instance after instance, in life after life, I have seen Christ be ‘God’s power unto salvation,’ and that’s miracle enough for me.”
Our story today speaks to God’s providence - life must be lived forward. A reminder to keep an eye out for God’s pillars of cloud and fire. But isn’t it so often the way? That in times when we feel trapped by some dreadful situation, we easily get lost in dead ends of our own making. If we lose a job, or a relationship fails, or an illness comes our way, or we simply lock the keys in the car. It may be easy to think, at the time, that God isn’t that close to offer a guiding hand. But then, a miracle, just like manna delivered to a starving people, we discover that we are given what we need.
(It might be a good practice for us all, to wake up each morning, and say a simple prayer for the day ahead with the words, “What is it?” What is it Lord? What manna have you provided today?)
Such experiences are our manna moments. They may not always seem so at the time, but later on, with a little distance to reflect back on the situation, a pattern of loving care emerges. We come to see the providential hand of God active in our lives in the most remarkable ways. The feeling of wilderness turns out to be a place of blessing. (Homiletics, 2019)
There comes a time, however, when the manna ceases. In today’s passage from Joshua, that is what happens. On the day the Israelites gather their first harvest in the Promised Land, they wake up in the morning to discover that is no manna on the ground for the first time in 40 years, that there is no manna the ground - with one very important exception. Manna does come every morning of the Sabbath.
Why does the manna cease? It’s not because God has ceased to be caring. It’s because God’s people no longer need such charity. It’s not that God has stopped providing for them. God has merely started to provide for them (and us) in a new and different way.
We are all called to be living partners with God - God’s co-workers – and like Christ, called to serve, not be served. We are not created to be pampered or catered to for everything. However, there are times - and seasons - when we may need that manna, so accept the gift! There will always be times when we need to be in the loving, caring arms of loving friends and family. Sometimes we need the generosity and mercy of God.
6 When we are ready and in a good place, we are capable of creating our own harvest. Ultimately, God’s purpose is to bring us to the place where we no longer need manna to survive. God stands ready to bring us back to the place of freedom and restore us to a place of honor.
From time to time, we gather at the place we call the Lord’s Table. At Christ’s table, we don’t consume manna and quail, but bread and wine. A meal, like manna in the desert, we receive. At his table, we give thanks to the One who provides what we need to sustain life and the One who calls us to new life through him. It is a sacred meal that we share with our Savior. A savior who reminds us, whenever you break bread and pour the cup, to remember him. Amen.
OFFERTORY – audio available on the church website
God provides for us in ways that we do not always recognize.
Bread of the World arr. Elliot
Chancel Quartet
DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN – audio available on the church website Meg McGarry, vocals Dave Benziger, guitar
#39 Just As I Am
Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bid'st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
7 Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, thy love unknown, hast broken ev'ry barrier down; now, to be thine, yea, thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
BENEDICTION
Go forth and be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. Render no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted. Honor all people. Love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you, amen.
