2024-08-04 – Rev. Dr. Ryan Sato
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*Read transcript below*
“Walk this Way”
Ephesians 4:1-6
Intergenerational Sermon
Paul. . . a prisoner for the Lord!
Here he is. . . (Ryan does a drawing of Paul)
Paul. . . Looking out from his guarded room
He’s not sad. . .
Yes, it’s challenging
But from other stories
About Paul. . . we know
That he believed in God
He believed in Jesus
And he knew that
He was never alone
And he knew that
Spirit of God couldn’t be locked
Up in a room
And that the Spirit and presence
Of Jesus was “on the loose”!
Out there. . .
The Spirit of Jesus!
making a difference
And encouraging God’s people
And the friends of Jesus.
[ yay! ]
And Paul had 2
Messages that
He wanted to share
Whether he was in
A guarded room,
sailing on a ship,
riding a horse,
spending time
In the local shopping mall. . .
2 messages:
a) GOD LOVES US!
You children hear this from Dawn,
our children’s minister. .all the time!
God’s love. . .
And how nothing, no one,
No, not ever!
Can separate us from the love Of God shown to us in Jesus!
And then Paul’s 2nd favourite Message is this. . .
b) GOD LOVES WITH US
God loves it
When God’s love
Spills out of us. . .
Into the world around us
We love people
We love creation
We love animals
We love to
Help God
Heal the world
And Paul
in what I like to call
his “love letters”
Tells his friends
(and us!)
How to put
Love into action
I’m going to re-read
[ and write ]
A few of his ideas:
–be humble
–be gentle
–be patient
–be LOVING
–be AT PEACE
And now,
With my coloured pens,
I’m going to ask us all
To bring these ideas
To life!
How can we. . .
Be humble
Gentle
Patient
Accept w/ LOVE
Held together with PEACE ??
[ jot down answers]
*******
And let’s not forget
The reason we can do this
Is NOT because we’re
Doing it all by ourselves
It’s not about us
forcing ourselves
to feel or be a certain way–
(ie. when you’re sad,
You can’t just automatically
Be happy. . .
You have to feel what
You feel!)
So when we are
Wanting to be humble
Or to be at peace. . .
And we can’t do
It by ourselves. . .
Invite someone to
Help you!
Mom, Dad, friend,
Sister, brother, auntie, uncle
HELP ME BE GENTLE!
Or Help me be ______ .
And we can also
Ask God. . .
God. . . help me be
Peaceful. . . help me
Practice peace
(we’ll do that later
In the service when
We pass the peace
Before our time a the
Communion table)
**********
Paul knew
That when God’s love
Flowed from hearts
That were loved by God
Things would be good
And the world would be
A better place. . .
Shaped and blessed
By our hands and our hearts
Because our hands
And our hearts
Are being shaped
By the Spirit of Jesus
*I offer you these
Pictures of Jesus
(That I’ve printed
And mounted on foam board)
To you today. . .
So that you might be reminded
Of God’s love. . .
As you love the world
Around you this day!
WORDS FOR THE TABLE:
(adapted from the “Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd-Jones)
Jesus picked up some bread and he broke it.
He gave it to his friends.
He picked up a cup of wine and thanked God for it.
He poured it out and shared it.
Jesus said: My body is like this bread. . it is given for you.
Jesus said: this cup of wine is like my life being poured out for all of you.
This is how God loves and rescues the whole world.
So whenever you eat and drink, remember,
(Jesus said,) I’ve rescued you!
Jesus also made another promise. .
that God’s Spirit will come to you and fill you with a “forever happiness”
God’s spirit is like a helper!
Jesus says:
I will never leave you!
Don’t be afraid. . . you are my friends And I love you.