SERMON NOTES:

PRAYER REQUESTS
AUGUST 28, 2011 Y Pray for Barb & Lee Bliss neighbor, Mavis, who will be meeting Jesus soon. Y Pray for Dave Nelson who will be having back surgery this week. Y Pray for the Moore familys trip to NY is safe and fun. Y Please keep the Birkholtz family in your prayers. Christine (mother) died and their three kids were injured in a tragic accident. The two youngest kids are home now, but the 10 year old is still in ICU. Y Pray for a six year old boy named Carter Olson who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer.

they struggle with infertility and limited resources to treat it. Y Donna Mc Cullen, Ken Mc Cullen's wife as she goes through more intense chemotherapy treatment.

DEVOTION
September is the month that ushers in a new season. A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight. Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the earths axis relative to the plane of evolution. (Wikipedia) I love the season of autumn. In California, we had one season year round. It is a distinct blessing to be back where the change from summer to winter ushers in such awesome beauty and pleasant days. September is also a time of transition for the church. I like to call the seasons The Rhythm of Life. Each season for the church is a unique time to celebrate the gifts God brings to worship and to proclaim the love of Jesus Christ. September, for the church, and for most of our culture, ushers in a new season. The young start school; the adults close their cottages and prepare for a new approach to the work week; the stores begin to display new designs for fall and winter; some areas prepare for different weather patterns. The church recognizes a new rhythm of life, a time to settle down to worship and glorify God. So our devotions this week are written for us to usher in this new rhythm of life, as our call to establish once again our patterns of worship and praise of God. Monday, September 5 Labor Day was first observed on September 5, 1882, in Boston, by the Central Union of New York, the nations first integrated major

Y Pray for Ankur Chopra as he finishes army training. Y Pray for Dwight Zvorak as he recovers from the disease of alcoholism at Hazeldon. Y Pray for Paul and Amys friends Katie & Greg Hansen. Y Pray for persons and process involved in property purchase for COL. Y Pray for Ben Simmer, a young man just graduated from college and has MS. He is currently receiving advanced treatments. Y Pray for Angelica Van Iperens friends, Paula and Ruben, and

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trade union. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, when President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. This was in response to the number of deaths of workers at the hand of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the famous Pullman Strike. As we celebrate Labor Day in 2011, it is interesting how far we have come. Today Labor Day is a day celebrated as the symbolic end of summer and the beginning of new school and work patterns, We are all called to work. For all of us it is a question of how we see our work as a call from God to serve others. Ask how your occupation becomes a way to labor on behalf of God to enrich the lives of others. Praise God for your personal gifts that God has used to touch the lives of others with love. Tuesday, September 6 Read Exodus 3:1-11 How difficult it is at times to relate the gospel news to our daily routine. We get up, go to work, perform regular tasks, go through the same schedules, and return home to some ordinary after work events. What a joy it is to read about Moses. He was a settled shepherd going through the days routine of leading his sheep to areas to eat. But, he saw some-thing he never saw before, a burning bush. As he encountered that new image breaking into his life, he encountered God. Is that not like all of us? If God is revealing Gods love and purpose all the time, maybe we need to catch a glimpse of the burning bushes in our midst and see what makes the ground holy where we stand. This week, look around you and locate the burning bushes where you live and move and have your being. I love the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning when she states: Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with

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God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes This week, pray that God will give you eyes to see burning bushes and then praise God that you are standing on holy ground. Wednesday, September 7 Read Exodus 4:1-6 What is a symbol that would describe your work? It might be a shovel, a hammer, a pen, a ruler, a light bulb (the mind), etc. You can think of many things that would define your occupation. When Moses was confronted by God, he came up with the normal excuses that crowded out the demands God was making on him. Moses was a fugitive, a murderer, a failure. He was a husband and father, a shepherd. People depended on him. If he left to go to Egypt he was certain no one would listen. Besides, he couldnt speak in public and he wasnt sure he had enough faith to tackle such an enormous task. And what did God say to all of this? He said, Whats that in your hand! It was a simple shepherds staff. God used that and Moses to bring people out of slavery. Amazing! Grace! Our question today is a very practical one. Whats that in your hand? Or, what is the symbol of your occupation? Whatever it is we are called to be honest, helpful, healing and loving in our dealings. We are called to risk in order to serve others and enrich the lives of those around us. Pray today that God will use your gifts to advance Gods kingdom and enhance the living of those around you. Thursday, September 8 Read John 15:12-17 We are constantly being encouraged to give ourselves to specific causes. Join this group or that. Participate in this organization or that. Give to this need or that. Every time

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the television presents me with a picture of the emaciated bodies of children, a deformed lip of a child, the need to support a library or a university, it touches my conscience and calls me to provide wherever I can help. All these things are good and it speaks to our sense of being responsible agents of Gods kingdom. But God calls us beyond even these good efforts. God calls us to share the excitement about the love of Christ. God calls us to be evangelists who want to share the gift of eternal life and salvation. In the Gospel of John, Jesus reminds us that he chooses us as friends who will work in his kingdom. He said we are chosen to bear fruit. Every act of goodness we perform is a way to bear fruit in Gods kingdom. When we give to support our ministry, or teach VBS, or be a liturgist, or attend worship, we are building up our call to serve, to see ways to share the love of Christ, the salvation of people. Think today how you use your personal gifts and your financial resources to bear fruit for Gods kingdom. Friday, September 9 Matthew 5:13-16 What an elaborate identity Jesus gives to us. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Wow! Jesus really expects a lot from us. We might say Jesus expects a lot from us because he gives us the full power of his love. We are called to be salty Christians. What we do with the power of the Holy Spirit brings a new fresh taste to life. It brings hope and joy. We are also light to the darkness of the world. Let your little light shine is a great spiritual song that calls us to boldly fill the darkness of the world with the love of Christ. So pray today that God will use you in a multitude of situations to bring a new idea,

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a new hope or a new light to one small portion of darkness. Praise Jesus for choosing you to bring that new message of love to hungry minds and hearts, to bring hope to hungry bodies, and to bring light to any who are caught in the darkness of life. Saturday, September 10 Read Galatians 5:22-25 And finally, look at the potential we have through the gifts of the Spirit. Could you ever imagine that Gods love for the world (John 3:16) would include you in such a visible way? The Spirit endows you with gifts far beyond the skills of your labor, out of any proportion to the daily work you perform, greater than any achievement you could imagine you could accomplish. Gods gifts of the Spirit are the very substance of happiness and joy in this life that exceeds our personal skills or our gifts of labor. In faith, you have the fruits of the Spirit. You are the reality of love, the presence of joy, the peace maker in strife, the patience in frustrations, the kindness in selfishness, the goodness in evil, faithfulness in idolatry, gentleness in anger, and self-control in envy. So pray today that the gifts of the Spirit will endow you to move into your world with the love of Jesus Christ. And may the peace that passes understanding keep you in Christ, today, tomorrow and forever.