The Promise of God’s Presence
Announcements
Marta: Good morning, everybody. It's so good to be together. I love seeing a little tiny baby Bobby in the front row, the youngest all the way to the oldest of us. Welcome to the table. We are a community that practices the ways of Jesus making space for all to belong and beloved. So whether this is your first time here or your 111th time here, we hope that that is true for you and we hope to know you and love you. The way that we do that is by spending a lot of time together in community. And so this is the point of the service that we have announcements to tell you what we've got going on, all these different ways that you can plug in.
You may notice on the aisles of your pews, there are name tags. Maggie's holding them up, old fashioned name tags and a Sharpie. You should all have them in your row. If you want to pass them down, write your name and your pronouns that you use. We have them this week because it is new member welcome Sunday.
So the number one way we start to know each other and to be known and to belong and to be loved is to know each other's names. So this also is a sneaky Sunday. If there's that person that you've been talking to for six months and you introduced your names a long time ago and you're too embarrassed to ask, now's your time to learn their name.
We have lots of different organizations that work in this building besides us. And one of them is the Park Place. It's a Latina after school program. And they have asked us to help volunteer in several different ways. So if you go on our website, there are different ways that you can sign up to volunteer, work with kids, be a lot of fun, low commitment or not a reoccurring commitment for this one, just specific asset they've asked us to plug in throughout this month and next.
Speaking of kids and ways to plug in, we are having our annual pool party at the Kellers on August 1st. If you need that address, you can RSVP and it gets sent out to you. This is for kids of all ages. I do cannonballs upon request. Maybe one or two. I don't want to advertise that now. I'm going to be like, I'm going to get really swole thighs doing cannonballs. But we are going to hang out. We're going to get a good chance for parents to get to know each other and cool off because Lord knows we need it this summer.
New Member Welcome
Marta: So we've alluded to it a couple different times. Today is new member welcome Sunday. So I want to call up Angela Barberg, Alec Barberg and Amy Frantell. Yeah. Yeah, we have space.
So we are so grateful that each of you are here this morning making this commitment to join us as a part of the table community. Whether you came here through a quiet search for community or a bold step of faith or maybe a mix of the two, know that you are seen, known and deeply welcomed. The table is more than just a place. It's a community practicing the ways of Jesus, creating a space for all to belong and to be loved. This means that you are not just joining a congregation. You're entering a living, breathing expression of grace, growth and belonging. And we on behalf of everybody at the table are so excited to walk, learn and grow together as we journey together in faith and love.
Debbie: Is it on now? There we go. I have a few questions for you, Angela, Alec and Amy. Will you commit to practicing the ways of Jesus through prayer, service, learning and love, both in your personal life and within this community? And if so, say we will. Awesome.
Will you promise to be an active part of this community, showing up regularly, engaging with others and building relationships of mutual trust and care? If so, say we will.
Will you commit to being a safe and inclusive space and presence for people from all walks of life, helping to actively create a culture where all people are seen and welcomed and as beloved, if so, say we will.
And lastly, will you join us in living out the love of Christ beyond the walls of this church, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God in your lives, in your neighborhood and in our world? If so, say we will.
Let me pray: Holy and gracious God, we thank you for each person standing here, for the stories that brought them, for the faith that sustains them and for the courage it takes to say yes to community. Pour out your spirit upon them that they may be rooted in your love, strengthened in hope and surrounded with companions for the journey. Bless their gifts, their questions, their longings and the beautiful way they will shape and be shaped by this community called the table.
May they always know you're welcome, always feel your presence, always find there's a place to belong, to grow and to be loved. And may we as their community be faithful partners, walking together in grace, learning together in humility and living out your love in the world. In the name of Christ who gathers us, guides us and goes with us. Amen.
Marta: Similar to how we respond in baptism, there is a community part of this that we're not just having you guys make promises, but we as a community also will reaffirm our commitment to this church and to each other. And so if you will join me and read these words together as a congregation?
Congregation: In the name of Jesus Christ, the son of love, we welcome you into this family where our joys are multiplied and our pains are divided together in our work and in our worship. We pledge to be with you and for you as we love and are loved. We pray that all of us united in faith may grow into the likeness of Christ. Being faithful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Let's join and welcome these three friends into our community. And so today after the service there's coffee and donuts. Take your name tag, meet these three beautiful people and each other and make sure you say hello. Again, let's give another round of applause.
Sermon
Debbie: Oh boy, that's always a good way to start the morning off. Well, good morning everyone. I am Debbie Manning, one of the pastors here on staff, part of the table team and we are not just continuing on, but finishing up our series that we've been in all month on awe and we've been paying attention to those moments that catch us by surprise, that cause us to pause, to experience that feeling there is something far bigger than ourselves going on.
And it always ends up being the greatness and the nearness of God that sort of grips our soul. Last week Justin led us through Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God. And what Justin did was he invited us to lift our eyes up to be paying attention to the beauty of creation. The stars, the trees, the mountains, the change of season. They all tell us something about who God is. One of the things that Justin said that really stuck with me throughout the week is he reminded us that it's Christ who holds all things together. And that is the good news of the gospel. Because it's Christ that holds those things, not us, not me. And I know I need that reminder because our calling isn't to carry the weight of the universe. Our calling is to join creation. To join creation and praising the one who does carry all that. And we get to participate in God's work of bringing life and flourishing and health and to the world. Awe and wonder. The moments that leave us speechless.
They're always sacred moments. I found myself this past week thinking about all the things we've talked about the last Maggie kicked us off, then I spoke, then Justin spoke. And we were talking about those, you know, the things in nature and creation and new babies where we experience God's nearness, God's greatness.
But I was wondering if like the greatest wonder of all is that our creator looks back at us. What if the greatest mystery isn't that the mountains exist or the galaxy stretched beyond anything we could ever imagine. But what if the greatest wonder is that the God who made the mountains, the God who made the galaxies is the God that calls us by name. The God that names us and claims us and loves us. I don't know if there's anything more awe inspiring than that.
When Justin and I started planning this series last spring, the very first thing that came to my mind was Isaiah 43. It's one of those passages that has accompanied me in my ministry over the decades. I bet I've read it hundreds of times at hospital bedsides and memorial services with people entering a new chapter of life, with people certain that they wouldn't have another chapter of life. I've read it with people in the midst of their fears, in the midst of illness, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of hope.
And every single time without fail, when I've sat in those spaces with people and we've read those words from the prophet Isaiah, not only have the tears come, but I've had an experience of God's faithfulness and God's love that has left me in complete awe and wonder. Because what I hear is a God who loves us personally and deeply and extravagantly. And it is that, it's an experience.
I think to appreciate maybe how remarkable Isaiah's words are, it's important to take a quick look at who Isaiah was speaking to. Because Isaiah is a long, I think it's like the sixth word count wise chapter in the Bible. It's deep and rich and complex and it follows Israel's history. It covers a few centuries and it starts with a monarchy that's stable. And then it goes to a nation that's collapsing and then to exile and then eventually to this place of hope and restoration. Now scholars divide Isaiah up into three sections. There's, they call it first Isaiah and that talks a lot about the judgment on Israel and warnings about the fall of Jerusalem. And the third section speaks to an audience that has already gone back home and is rebuilding. But the second Isaiah, which is where we land today, speaks to a community in exile.
Imagine what that would have felt like. Jerusalem was gone. The temple had been destroyed. This place where people encountered God was ruined, was in rubble. Families had been uprooted and were located hundreds of miles away in Babylon. And some of the generation had never even been there. The only thing they knew about home is what they'd been told by their grandparents around the dinner table. Then after decades of exile, the political landscape is starting to change and there's finally a possibility that they could return home. But there's a problem with that. They're not returning to the Jerusalem they knew. They're returning to broken Jerusalem.
And the other problem is that they're pretty comfortable where they are, no matter how hard it's been, how oppressed they may have been. It's a hard space to be but sometimes walking into uncertainty can be harder than following God to where He's leading us. Sometimes what's familiar is where we want to stay simply because it's familiar and fear could have a way of convincing us that it's safer to stay put than to actually go where God is calling us.
That is uncertainty as to what is what Isaiah is speaking into in the text we're into today. We're in Isaiah 43:1-7.
But now God's message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the one who got you started Israel, don't be afraid for I have redeemed you. I've called you by name and you are mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you, all of Egypt with rich, cush and Seba thrown in. That's how much you mean to me. That's how much I love you. I'd sell the whole world to get you back. Trade creation just for you. So don't be afraid for I am with you. I'll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from the east and the west. I'll send others north and south, send them back.
Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from far away places. I want them back. Every one, last one who bears my name, every man, woman and child whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.
Notice what God does first. He doesn't start with any sort of instructions or strategic plan for rebuilding Jerusalem. He doesn't explain every step of the journey ahead. Instead, God begins by reminding them of who they are. Do not fear. I've redeemed you. I've called you by name and you are mine. I love that. God's not saying anything about where they're going, but God reminds them of whose they are. Identity before mission. And throughout this beautiful poem, that theme repeats itself over and over and over again. I created you. I formed you. I redeemed you. I called you. You are mine.
The poem closes almost exactly where it began. Everyone who's called by my name, whom I've created for my glory, whom I've formed and made. It's as though God wraps up the entire passage with this one truth. Never forget who you are. Babylon had spent decades telling Israel that they didn't matter anymore. That they were a people that had been abandoned, defeated. They'd lost their place. The voices around them had actually reshaped their identity.
And I imagine that's something that every person in this room can relate to to one degree or another. Because aren't the voices in our culture often trying to shape who we are? Trying to tell us that our value is in our appearance. Or our value is in our success. That it's about those things that the world values. Our income, our achievements, our influence. If we're not careful, we start believing those voices.
But you know what this text does? God interrupts all that. I created you. I formed you. I called you. You are mine. Everything else is secondary. I think one of the most beautiful lines in this passage is one of the simplest. I have called you by name. Isn't that part of our human nature to just want to be known and seen?
And here we are, the God who scattered galaxies across unimaginable distances. Who carved out oceans. Who spoke stars into existence. That God knows your name. Knows my name. God knows our stories. He hears the prayers. We whisper. The fear that we hold. The grief that we carry. The hopes and the dreams that we have. God knows all of it. He knows all of it and he still says, you are mine.
I think that should leave us speechless. And if there's a center in this passage, I think it's in verse 4 when we hear about God's love for his people because the prophet tells us that God will do anything to get us back. Anything. That's how much he loves us. That's how much we mean to him. I'm trying to imagine hearing those words after years of exile. After years of wondering whether God had forgotten them. After living with shame and loss. After questioning whether your failures had finally pushed God so far away that there was no way back. But God speaks directly to those fears.
And Israel hadn't even rebuilt Jerusalem yet. They hadn't earned God's affection. They hadn't gotten everything right. Israel was still in exile. And after all the uncertainty, all the wounding, God's word to them. Our words of love and restoration. And that's good news for all of us as well.
But I think the part for me, the part that I've experienced the most is God's promise. A promise that many of us have held in difficult situations. When the outcomes aren't what we hope for. And that's the promise of God being with us.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. God doesn't say if. God says when. And when you pass through those deep waters, when you walk through the fire, what God's promises us is his presence. And the promise isn't that there won't be rivers. The promise is that you won't cross it alone. And the promise isn't that there won't be fires. It's that the fire doesn't have the last word.
These words would have reminded Israel of their own story. Their ancestors had passed through the waters of the Red Sea. And many years later, they crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. The journey was long and it was hard and neither happened without fear. But God was with them.
Again and again throughout scripture, those words echo to Abraham, to Hagar in the wilderness, Joshua at the edge of the promised land, do not fear to Mary, to the shepherds, to the anxious disciples after the resurrection. Do not be afraid. And it wasn't because there wasn't danger or because there wasn't uncertainty. It was because God was with them. People still suffered. People still died.
And today the church still experiences conflict. We'll have relationships that fracture. Cancer still happens. Grief will still come. Isaiah doesn't deny any of that. But he offers something far more enduring. God's presence with us. That's the promise. And it matters.
I, oh, I'll get teary. I struggled a bit about what to say today. Because this is near and dear to me, this text. I've had that privilege of being in those spaces with many people over the years. But in my experience, which the more experience I have, the more I realize I have a very limited experience. But it is the God with us moments that have stirred the deepest, richest, awe and wonder in me. While it's true, the mountains in my grandkids and all these other beautiful things stirred that as well. It is the intimate experience of God with us that has been so beautiful even in the hardest of moments.
And I've had a lot of them. A lot of them with a lot of you. But one that kept coming to mind was that of my friend Lynn Giovannelli. Lynn, for those of you who are new, was a huge part of this community for a lot of years. She's one of those people, a lot of people were drawn to Lynn. She dealt with, navigated, battled, I don't even know what the word, ALS for about three and a half years maybe. I got to know her over the three and a half years in a deeper way than I could ever plan.
She became a dear friend. A really close friend. We met on Fridays toward the end of her life that last year. We met every Friday and we'd read this scripture text along with others and we'd talk and death and living fully and all those beautiful things. But there was one moment a few months before she died that stands out as one of those God with me moments. And you know what? It was hard and it was so beautiful. But we sat at her kitchen table together and I'd love for you to hear this song. And I'll tell you the rest of the story after we've listened.
[Lauren Daigle’s “Rescue” plays]
One of the most intimate moments of my life because I sat at a kitchen table looking into the eyes of someone who'd become a very dear friend playing the song on the little boombox I would bring every week when I came singing it to each other with tears streaming down our face holding hands knowing she didn't have much longer here on earth and the experience of God's love God's witness was something that you have to experience to understand it.
It's something that has shaped me and transformed me into ways that allow me I was telling Lori earlier to love bigger and it's those moments those holy and hard and at the same time beautiful moments where we experience awe and wonder. And maybe that's exactly what some of us need to hear this morning, because the reality of life is there are those moments, seasons when it's hard and maybe you might feel a little bit like you're standing in knee deep water right now. Or like you're walking through a fire. Maybe you're navigating illness or carrying anxiety or grieving someone that you love. We might feel like we're living in exile from time to time
But hear God's words, not mine: I have called you by name. You are mine. I am with you. Not just at the end of the journey, but every step along the way. Because Isaiah isn't offering a mathematical guarantee that faithful people will have a great life and never suffer. He's painting a picture of a God whose presence is greater than exile, stronger than exile, stronger than fear, stronger than uncertainty. Israel would eventually return home and they'd rebuild.
And I'm betting that what transformed them was not so much the moment that they got home, but the journey on the way. That that's where transformation happens. That's where we experience the awe, the wonder of God.
The passage ends with a beautiful image. God promises to gather daughters and sons from the north, the south, the east, the west. Everyone who bears God's names will be gathered home and no one, no one is forgotten. No one's too far away or beyond God's reach. And I love how expansive God's vision, God's love is for us.
And when we keep reading Isaiah past this text, we see that even Egypt, and enslaved the Israelites are eventually called God's people. Because God heals and God's love keeps reaching farther than anyone ever expects. And that's still the story of the gospel. God's love always moving outward.
Last thing I wanna say before we close is here's part of the beauty of this God with us, this truth, this promise that we hang on to is that we're called into that. We get to be in those moments, to stand in those spaces, no matter what someone is going through. And that's all in one or two.
Earlier this week, I'll show you a little picture of one of those, some of my grandkids, that's Sammy and Tommy and baby Bobby. But earlier this week, if anyone who knows Tommy, Tommy's something and he, and apparently he licked something off the floor and they were a little bit concerned that it might have been dangerous. So there was some talk about what was it he ate and do we need to go to the hospital? Well, of course it ended up being some food and it wasn't in my house, but there was some food on the floor. And I'm actually kidding, because my house has lots of food on the floor, lots of little grandkids in it now.
But my daughter, Annie, sent my husband and I this text the next day. This little Sammy had written a note and left it on Bobby's or on Tommy's bedside: “Tommy, if you have to go into the hospital, I will be right by your side.”
And here's what makes me maybe a little bit of awe and wonder about this community, is these little kids are being shaped by all you. They're watching you show up for people. They're watching you sit by each other's sides. Some of the bigger kids, I'm watching them love the little ones. And that is a beautiful thing. And I know that I'm so grateful for that.
I hope this week you continue to see the sunsets, sunrises. I hope that you do stop and admire the stars. Maybe listen to the birds. Because all those things point to God and they're beautiful. But don't stop there. Because the one who created the mountains calls you by name. And the one who hung every star looks at you and says you are mine. And the one who holds all things together. The one who conquered death says, I love you and I will be with you always.
So whatever lies ahead for all of us, whatever uncertainties are on the corner, those things don't define you. It's God that does. You belong to the one who created you. The one who formed you, the one who redeemed you, the one who calls you by name, the one who says again and again, do not fear. Because we are God's beloved. And God is always with us. I cannot imagine a greater source of awe and wonder than that. Amen.
Words of Institution
Maggie: Thank you, Debbie. I needed that reminder of the presence of God, the way that God's presence is with each and every one of us. And as you were speaking, Debbie, I was thinking that one of the reminders of God's presence with us happens in this next part of our service. We are moving into a time of communion. And this is a moment in our service. We do this every week at the table. And we say to each other as you come through that communion line, you hear those words: This is the body of Christ given for you and the blood of Christ shed for you.
And what a beautiful reminder of God's presence with us that we remind ourselves of every week. In the scriptures it says that Jesus gathered with his friends in an upper room to celebrate the Passover. And he had them all around the table and he took a piece of bread and he gave thanks to God and he broke it. And he said, "This is my body given for you. Whenever you eat it, remember me."
And in the same way, he took a cup and he poured wine into it and he said, "This is the blood of the new covenant. I'm doing something new. It's poured out for the forgiveness of sins for everybody. So whenever you eat the bread and whenever you drink the cup, remember me until I come again." And so that is what we do during communion. We are going to remember Christ. Remember Christ's presence in and among us and remind each other of that too.
The way we celebrate communion at The Table is through intinction. So if you look on the side aisles here, you'll see a piece of orange tape. And if you're in front of the orange tape, you'll come up to the front station. And if you're behind the orange tape, you'll go to the rear station using the aisle on your left, my right. And you'll take communion by taking a piece of bread. It's all gluten free and dip it into the cup, which is grape juice. And then you'll use the other aisle to return to your seat.
Additionally, we have a member of our prayer team who's available to pray with you in the back. Brad will be there. If you have questions and you have things you want to bring before the God who is present to you, Brad would love to be able to pray with you. And so now I invite you to stand in body or in spirit as together we pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray, saying, "Our God, who art in heaven…”