Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
   his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
   let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing,
   making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
   he adorns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
   let them sing for joy on their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
   and two-edged swords in their hands,
to execute vengeance on the nations
   and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters
   and their nobles with chains of iron,
to execute on them the judgement decreed.
   This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!
– Psalm 149

Each Wednesday a small group meets on Zoom to talk about the Scripture readings for the following Sunday. It is an open group and you are all invited to join us. When we read through this Psalm together, we agreed that we liked the first part, but were a little uncomfortable with the implied violence of the second part.

Indeed, we all like the idea of praising God with dancing and singing, and celebrating God’s goodness in giving the victory. Right now, in our time of being safer at home, many believers quite literally on Sunday mornings “sing for joy on their couches.”

But we have seen the horrors of people using the excuse of faith “to execute [their own] vengeance upon the nations and punishment on the peoples.” We would rather not get caught up in that.

It is tempting to want our faith to be purely personal and inward, with no outward action required. I have often stated that I think the phrase “spiritual but not religious” means “I want all the good feelings but I don’t want to have to do anything about it.”

But love and faith are meant to be verbs. Our relationship with God does require action. Our concern for others often means that we must, in all humility, take action. “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). Right now, for example, we must not only pray for a cure or vaccine for the Coronavirus, but we must wear masks, observe distancing, and wash our hands regularly.

Sometimes we must confront evil and speak out on behalf of others. This weekend we celebrate not only the value of good hard work, but the justice wrought when workers organize.

And sometimes the people must work together to bind the kings and fetter the nobles. In our blessed country the powerful are limited by the will of the people through the means of elections. In less than two months the people will again execute our judgement upon many of those who lead us. By the grace of God, the wisdom of our forebears, and the courage of those who defend freedom, we have this power and will be able to exercise it.

Did you know that there are fifteen people running for three City Council seats in Huntington Beach? That’s a lot to choose from! You have less than two months to learn more and to act.

You’ve got this!

Dear God, we feel out of control. It seems that we have so little power and that we can’t make a difference. Yet we know that your strength is shown in our weakness, and that you bring change through simple means. Help us to let go of that which we cannot control, and to focus instead in acting where can make a difference. Instead of screaming in the darkness, let us walk in the light. Help us to speak kindly and firmly. Subdue our pride that we may be channels of your grace and mercy. Give us wisdom, that when we take the opportunity to choose, we might choose the path of righteousness. This we ask in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions for Sunday’s message:

1. What is the difference between justice and personal vengeance?

2. How do you usually handle conflict?

3. How can this congregation constructively address injustice?

I am going to tag onto what Marty wrote about in her Daily Blessing, even thou I haven’t read it yet.  While there have been many things that COVID has taken away, COVID has also forced us to think creatively in how we do church and how to be in connection and ministry with each other.  We have learned to use Zoom for meetings and fellowship and while that is not the same as in person, it does allow us to reach out to people father away.  Because of Zoom, folks who have moved away are now joining us for worship and for studies, which is pretty awesome.

While back in the day when we had in-person worship it was difficult for people to invite someone to church, now it is a lot easier for folks to share our worship service on their Facebook page and all of a sudden we are reaching your friends and family.  We have several people who have joined us who have never stepped onto our campus.  Facebook can be a blessing if we let it be.  Streaming services and zooming groups will never take the place of in-person worship and meetings, however it can be use in tandem with in-person (once we can safely do that again) to reach more people and to stay connected with folks who have moved out of the area.

We are starting a new book study group on our Facebook page Cumchb Book Study.  The book is “Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People” by Nadia Bolz-Weber. Nadia is a Lutheran pastor who has used her background and struggles to reach many people who are disillusioned with Christianity.  Accidental Saints is an amazing book about how God can show up in people you least expect.  We will read a chapter a week of this book and start commenting on what we read on Wednesday, September 9.  One of the blessings on being on FB is that there is no “meeting time” so you can post your thoughts on our book study FB page at any time.  This is a great format that makes it easy for anyone who is on FB to join in our group.  You just have to like our Cumchb Book Study FB page and join in.

Blessings can come in many disguises and sometimes we don’t realize them when we receive them, but when we look back, we see them.  While COVID is certainly NOT a blessing, we can see the blessing in some of the adjustments that we have had to make because of COVID as blessings.  Thinking outside the box and creating new ways for people to participate here at CUCMC is a blessing.  Calling and connecting with people you would not normally be talking to at church is a blessing. Having time to clean out stuff around your home is a blessing as is learning that you can live without all that stuff is a blessing.

We need to remember that God is with us and gives us hope, even when we do not feel very hopeful.  One of the ways he gives us hope is through our minds and creativity, let us use this that gift and reach more people in new ways while we help each other in living out our faith in our daily lives. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.        Jeremiah 29:11

Gracious and Loving God, we thank you for the gift of thought and creativity.  You created such a beautiful and vast universe with a planet with wonderous diversity for us to live on.  Help us to learn to think outside the box of we have always done it this way to find new ways of living into our faith and creative ways to help others discover your love for them.  Help us to remember that nothing separates from your love and help us live into our faith that we may share the gift that we have found in you.  Amen

Stay safe and be the hope you wish to see in the world.

Suzanne

But you, Lord, are my shield! You are my glory! You are the one who restores me. I cry out loud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down, sleep, and wake up because the Lord helps me. Psalm 3:3-5 CEB

Sometimes I struggle to find a topic or a thought for the daily blessing that I think would be of any importance for you to hear. Well, it’s been one of those times. I would ask God what possibly could I say? Nothing really is happening in my life to draw from, just the same everyday of being at home like all of you. Maybe there isn’t anything other than the most important thought to be reminded of, and that is God is our shield and our glory who restores our tired soul, and settles our restless thoughts.

There is a chorus of this scripture,

“Thou O Lord, are a shield about me, you’re my glory, you’re the lifter of my head.

Thou O Lord, are a shield about me, you’re my glory, you’re the lifter of my head.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, you’re the lifter of my head.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, you’re the lifter of my head.”

There have been some hard and difficult times in my life, some have been very long stretches that have almost broken my spirit. During those times God would always remind me (many times through music) that God is still there. This is one of the many choruses would come to me, I would sing it throughout my day and I would be reminded that God sees all that I’m going through. Through all the hurts and pain and uncertainty, God is there.

We right now have all been going through the same emotional rollercoaster during the uncertainty of the pandemic and social distancing. Many are alone and feeling lost and removed from physical contact. I wish to remind you that God is always there with you, knows all that you are feeling and experiencing. I encourage you to pray this scripture Psalm 3:3-5. Ask God to be your shield from all that you are dealing with from the tiniest to the greatest, from the uncertainties and the fears. Allow God to restore your soul, to be your sustainer and glory to lift your head above all the distractions. May you rest in the assurance that God is with you and comforts you.

Comforting God, remind us that you are there in our midst, sustaining, comforting, restoring our brokenness. Shield us from fear and the unknown, lift our heads to see your glory. May you give us strength and endurance to continue to be and show your love, joy and grace to all whom we encounter. Amen

Blessings,

Brenda

You alone are the Lord.
You alone made heaven, even the heaven of heavens, with all their forces.
 You made the earth and all that is on it, and the seas and all that is in them.
 You preserve them all, and the heavenly forces worship you. Nehemiah 9:6

These days it can be so easy to fall into being a “Negative Nellie” so at the end of each day I reflect on where the blessings have been by answering these two questions.  Where have I seen God’s work happening today? Where have I felt God’s presence? Each day brings different answers to my questions but there has been one reoccurring theme that comes up.  People are creative. God is the creator of new things and I many times see God in people’s creativity to clear the newest hurdle that COVID has placed in their paths.

Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to take a webinar with other leaders in the church looking ahead to the Advent season wondering how we will prepare and celebrate the birth of Jesus in these times. The creative ideas were flowing…pop up pageants, ornament exchanges, delivering candles to homes for the candlelight service. 

Zoom has allowed our youth to continue to meet weekly throughout the summer but with the start of the new school year, which means even more time on Zoom, it was time to conquer the next hurdle. Is there another way we can meet and still be safe? Well if you bring technology outside, you can bring people together in person with those still at home. 

God is showing up in all parts of the world not just in the church.  Look at the creativity of the NBA. They have created an entire bubble in which they can all be together and play the game of basketball and today I learned the rock band, Metallica, will be performing live in a drive-in concert. We have had drive-by birthdays and graduations. Parking lots have been turned into restaurants. Creativity abounds. God is all around us in the ordinary of our lives. God continues to make things new when we use the creative gifts that God has given us.

Creator God, we don’t always see Your work being done when we get caught up in the negative thinking that we can sometimes fall into.  Please forgive us. Creator you have given us creative minds that help us to clear the hurdles that life throws into our paths.  Thank you for this gift.  We pray that we can use this gift to do your work in the world so that others will feel Your presence.   Amen

Marty

Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.  Psalm 54:4

When Ashley and I get together to work on commUNITY yoga, we always start by sharing what is going on in our lives and the world. We often find that we’ve been experiencing similar feelings and that sometimes guides us to where we land on a theme. This month we were both lamenting about how much uncertainty we’ve been feeling and how it’s so easy to feel lost when faced with the many changes and decisions being thrown at us on a seemingly daily basis. Ashley is a small business owner exploring creative ways to keep her livelihood going while being socially responsible and keep her clients safe. I’ve been struggling with all the decisions associated with heading back into a classroom in the middle of a pandemic. It seems as though everyone is struggling with change and their own uncertainty right now.

As we talked about coping with this uncertainty, our conversation led us to the one thing that is certain, the one thing we can always be confident in and that is God, and God’s love for us. God is steadfast. We have an anchor, and a guide. We are safe, we are held, and we are loved. Sometimes when life becomes especially chaotic or overwhelming, we forget this certainty. We get caught up in trying to figure everything out and worrying about all the details and if our decisions are the best we can do. We can end up feeling lost…and a little ungrounded. We forget that God always has our back.

Ashley took this theme and weaved it beautifully throughout our physical and spiritual practice reminding us often that God has our back. We can let go of the fear, because we are safe in God. When we are feeling blown off course, God is our anchor. We were also encouraged to breathe…to let go and enter God’s flow…a stream of love, grace, compassion, peace, healing and strength. Knowing that God has our back and living in that flow gives us the courage to move through the world with confidence and to be sources of strength for others.

Over the past two weeks, friends have shared their wisdom, love and grace through conversations that have helped me make the decision I’ve been struggling with for awhile.  The practice of yoga has also helped.  Through this physical form of prayer, I’ve found peace and discernment by taking moments to breathe deeply and re-connect my breath with God’s flow. I am confident that whatever happens next, God has my back and will take care of me. 

In this time of uncertainty the one thing that is certain is that God gives us the things we need and will take care of us. My hope is that you can find confidence in the midst of all the change and uncertainty knowing that you are loved and you are held. God has your back!

Dear Loving God,

Thank you for having our backs.  You are steadfast and unmovable in our lives despite the storms that blow through bringing so much change.  Our souls are anchored in you. We find comfort and confidence in knowing we aren’t alone and you are always with us.

Thank you for freely giving us grace and love.  Because of this, we can live confidently in the world, sharing your grace, love and compassion with others, and ourselves, easing the struggles we may have of making choices and decisions during this uncertain time.

We know Your desire is for our wholeness and well-being.  Help us find ways to connect and stay in the moment drawing on your peace to settle our minds, our bodies and our spirits. Let us draw from the confidence we have in You so we can be a source of strength and healing for those around us.

Amen

Leyla