Punctuated by Prayer

Jesus found respite, relief, and empowerment in prayer, and we can, too. His miracles, preaching, teaching, and healing were often punctuated by intervals of prayer. Jesus often withdrew from even his closest friends to spend substantial amounts of time praying. Sometimes he shared these moments with a few others, but usually, they were spent in solitude. These were personal focused times apart with God, in addition to the ongoing constant communion Paul referenced in First Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” 

Prayer is at least as much about our listening as about our speaking, about what we hear, at least as much as about what we say. At the Transfiguration, Jesus’ disciples heard God speak from heaven during their shared prayer time with Elijah and Moses, as worded in The Message, “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.”  Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount just before giving the Lord’s Prayer that God already knows what we need before we ask, so we don’t need to “use a lot of meaningless words,” as it says in the Good News Translation.  

We know that God already knows what we are thinking about, but do we know what God is thinking about – what God is trying to communicate to us? Prayer is an opportunity for us to engage with our Creator and receive the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised she would give us. Listen for the “still small voice.” Perhaps if our activities were more punctuated by prayer, then “oh ye of little faith” might become “oh ye of a little more faith.”

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Excerpt from the manuscript of the sermon preached by 
Rev. Bill Lawson on August 13, 2023, at Briensburg UMC.
11th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 85:8-13, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33

Complete Sermon with Bibliography and Notes:
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More Than Enough for Everyone

God has provided more than enough food for everyone in the world to have plenty every day, and yet world hunger is a persistent issue. It doesn’t matter how much food is available if those who control the distribution refuse to allow it to be shared fairly. What if we think about sharing the world’s food resources as being sacramental, perhaps as an extension of the Sacrament of Holy Communion?  

World hunger is, and never ceases to be, a spiritual issue. It only becomes political when it is used as leverage to deprive people of their fair share of the world’s nutritional resources. In the Judgement of the Nations in Matthew 25, the nations are gathered and divided according to how they have treated their most vulnerable populations. The pronouncement of the One sitting on the throne of glory begins as phrased in the New Revised Standard Version:

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. (Matthew 25:24-35 NRVS).

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Excerpt from the manuscript of the sermon preached by 
Rev. Bill Lawson on August 6, 2023, at Briensburg UMC.
10th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 55:1-5, Psalm 145:8-9 & 14-21, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21,

Complete Sermon with Bibliography and Notes:
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What do These Have in Common?

Sower, tares, mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, pearl, net, scribe – What do these have in common?  Each is one of eight parables presented in succession in Matthew 13. These, along with all the other parables of Jesus, are short figurative analogies similar to fables, which, like the lengthy allegories and legends throughout the Old Testament, are intended to communicate timeless spiritual messages. The enduring nature of Biblical teachings is owing in general to their inspiration by the Holy Ghost and in particular to their innate quality of universal, eternal application. They are as old as old can be, yet fresh and new each time they cross our minds.

The wisdom of the Scriptures is in the discernment by which they are applied to any present situation. The imagery of the Bible provides a limitless cache of metaphors through which the Holy Spirit continuously speaks as she guides us, as Jesus promised, “into all truth.” God’s love, as demonstrated in Jesus, invites the broadest possible perception, in contrast to any efforts to narrow and restrict our understanding of the Scriptures to arbitrary boundaries. What do these parables of Jesus have in common? They are like windows into Heaven. 

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Excerpt from the manuscript of the sermon preached by 
Rev. Bill Lawson on July 30, 2023, at Briensburg UMC.

Complete Sermon with Bibliography and Notes:
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