Sunday Worship
Lessons: Matthew 10:24-39
Message: “How do we handle fear”
Is there any more pervasive or powerful and motivating force in human experience than fear?
From birth, we learn to fear the world around us, certainly to fear the stranger, sometimes to fear even those who are closest to us. Political leaders have long recognized the power of fear in insuring our conformity to the structures of this world, even when doing so does not serve our best interests.
Jesus recognizes that fear will also cause the failure of discipleship. Matthew describes how the disciples courageously leave the security of their families and friends to follow him as they proclaim God’s reign. But they too ,will know and ultimately bow before the power of fear.
How Jesus continues to warn the disciples of the resistance and potential violence they may encounter seems like a stark difference from his pledge to bring peace. This particular scripture has befuddled many a scholar. I invite you to join me in digging a little deeper into his message.
Music:
Prelude: “Morning Song” Kentucky Harmony, 1816
Meditation: “Musette in G” J. S. Bach
Postlude: “Bealoth” Kentucky Harmony, 1843
Live Stream InformationWe will continue streaming our worship on both Zoom and Facebook Live. Please share these links with your friends. Bear in mind that we cannot share the Zoom links publicly (to keep from being Zoom bombed), so please share it person to person rather than posting it on Facebook/Twitter, or other public social media. It’s fine to share the Facebook link broadly and publicly. For Zoom login information please contact Pastor Cheryl at cheryl@newtonchurch.org
Note: that we continue to work on streaming as we make improvements to the sanctuary sound system.
Zoom Link: UPA Sunday Morning Worship
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81334929545?pwd=S1lsRlRmSnlkTUE0cHRlWWQwWUJndz09
Facebook Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/upanewtonma/live