4th Sunday in Lent March 22,2020

grace and peace to you From Zeb, Yah Lin and

Concord United Methodists on the fourth Sunday of lint Today

is March 22nd 2000 and 20.

Our scripture reading today comes from Ephesians five versus eight

through 14.

Here The reading of God's were for once you were

darkness. But now in the Lord you are light live

as Children of light for the fruit of the light

is found in all that is good and right and

true Try to find out what is pleasing to the

Lord. Take no part in unfaithful works off darkness but

instead expose them for it is shameful even to mention

what such people do secretly But everything exposed by the

light becomes visible for everything that becomes visible is light.

Therefore, it says sleepers awake rise from the dead and

Christ will shine on you Let us go to the

Lord in prayer Gracious and loving God we come before

you today, Lord, Some of us are lonely and at

home alone others air gathered together with their family in

their private residents.

God, we're trying to be good stewards of of our

body. This vessel that you have given to us so

that we may be in service of you and in

service of others.

But, Lord, as we are taking ah, time to be

good stewards of all that you have given to us,

Lord, we are spending this time isolated or or in

a good distance from others.

Lord, it has caused us to feel as if the

light or the flame from are being is nowhere near

is bright is it could or should be so, God,

we pray that you be with us, that you share

with us and that you share through us to others.

Lord, may we kindle each other's fire in your love

and in your light but God as we come before

you Today, Lord, we pray for those that are weak

and weary.

Those that are sick those that Lord that have fallen

ill due to this virus that is around Lord, and

those that have lost their loved ones and their friends

due to the virus.

God, we pray that you will be with each one,

made you comfort them.

May you put a hedge of protection around them, but

you give them much peace and grace on Lord May

you carry them through this time of struggle.

But God, may you be with each one of us.

May we be faithful into you?

May we be faithful in our study time in our

time of Scripture, in our time of prayer and in

our time of worship, his friends as family and his

loved ones apart and also together the Lord.

Now we unite together today and pray as you taught

us to pray.

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as

it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us

our trespasses as we forgive those who trust past against

us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil minus the kingdom the power and the glory

forever. I'm in.

As we were looking at the Scripture today, it was

talking about us being, ah, part of the darkness that

we are the darkness.

Until we come into the light into the light of

God is in us through our faithfulness through our time

of being one with God, our time of setting aside

our own self desires our own self will and way.

As we look in Scripture, we see so many place

where it talks about keeping our mind from the darkness

where you know, what we need to remember is that

darkness never dispels light.

But light always dispels darkness.

You know, if you've ever entered into a room that

was completely pitch dark and you take light into it,

you can find your way.

But if you enter into a room with that is

full of light, darkness can never take over as long

as light is there.

And so God lets us know through the reading of

the scripture, What was those who called, um evil good.

And then those who call good evil.

Those of us who pay partake of of the light

are the light in the darkness for the darkness.

You know, God tells us to come unto him, and

as we come on to him as we yield our

bodies and our minds and our lives, when we love

God with all that we are and we give everything

over to God, we give ourselves over to be light

to be the light in the midst of the darkness

of the world.

And at this time, we are sincerely in a place

where darkness seems to just keep casting over the lives.

But we are to remember that we have the light

of God in us and that we're the light unto

the world.

God tells us right in the very beginning that he

said, Let there be light on.

We read that in Genesis.

He lets us know that he is our light and

that he lets us have that light through the death,

burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The light of God came into our lives into the

darkness of who we are and that that light takes

over our darkness so that we can seek out what

is good and what is right and what is true.

You know, I love when it tells us that we

bear the fruit of God's light.

I mean, you know, a pear tree bears pears.

A grapevine bears grapes.

You know, we have to look at that.

We, whatever we are bearing whatever we are casting out

over to others, that is who we are.

That is who is in us.

God bless us.

No, I am in you and you are in me

today I pray that you are in Christ and that

Christ is in you.

I pray that you yield over your life every day

that you yield over your words, your deeds, who you

are, what you're looking at, what you're talking about, what

you're hearing I love Ah, I saw the other day

at the dollar store.

Well before we were all kind of cast in.

I was at the dollar store and they had these

three little pigs to put out for the like this

time of the year.

And they were really cute.

And one had his hands over his eyes and the

other one over his ears, and the last one had

over his mouth.

And God lets us know that whatever we hear, whatever

we see and whatever we speak, that's the fruit of

who we are.

And so I pray that you are bearing much root

that is the light of Christ and the grace of

God in you.

You know, God's grace is greater than all the sins

and us.

So let's say that you've never given your life sincerely

over to Christ that you didn't wake up this morning

and humbly bow before him.

It is never too late.

There's never a moment when God says, Well, not today,

not now.

I mean, remember yesterday he tells us that each day,

each moment is a new moment given by him for

grace and peace to us for forgiveness and life.

I mean, he lets us know that we are life

because Christ lives in us because we've accepted that gift

because we've received his forgiveness because we've given ourselves over

to being the light of Christ into the world.

I mean, when I think about all that God is

called on us to be and to do, I think

about the times when I've fallen short.

And then I think about the times when Jesus when

I've gone to him for forgiveness and he's taken it

unto the father and the father has been so gracious

to forgive me and make me new again to say

Begin again.

Now, Arianna, begin again, this moment to live.

For me, there's been times when even in this this

time of lot down, when everything in me just wants

to scream because I'm a social person, you'll know that

about me If you know me.

I love to visit with my church members.

I love to socialize.

I love my Wednesday night with my, uh, three young

men who are going through confirmation.

Guys, I miss you all so much.

I miss our time together.

I miss our worship together.

I miss our learning together.

I pray that as we have our trip planned for

the end of April, that all this will go away

and and calm down and we'll be able to go

to Epworth and spend time together and catch up on

all the things that we should have been doing these

last few weeks.

And and, of course, as we know that, we won't

be able to meet again for several more weeks, right?

Only in through April I pray that by Easter Sunday

that's our day of light and grace, where we all

get to get together even if we just meet out

into the great wide open a separate and far enough

apart, but that we gather together and watch the sun

come up.

Even if we gather together at home one together and

watch the sun rise and thank God for his great

gift of grace and forgiveness given to us But light

and fruit is who you are.

You are the evidence of who God is each and

every day.

You know, as we begin this new week a CZ

we begin this day starting a new week and a

new life of obedience to Christ.

I want you to remember this.

I want you to remember that you need to do

good and to live in the light.

Light is the nature of who we are.

It is the identity of the one that lives in

us and the one that determines who we are.

And by the walk that we have And by the

light in the words of life that we are to

others how we live and what we think and how

we feel and what we say and what we do

like in Ephesians.

The writer describes them as this that says that this

is who we are.

The writer says that we are the fruit off the

light. Who is the light?

Christ in us who are we were the evidence of

his light.

May you live your life today.

May you make the phone calls to encourage one that

you know is alone.

In this time of isolation, may you call 1 May

you send a message through Facebook?

Too many that speaks of Christ.

None of this virus, but of who got he is

in us.

May we remember to keep sharing scripture to keep sharing

our prayers, to take time to pray with others?

May you receive my phone calls And may I receive

yours so that we may pray together so that we

may praise together so that we may continue to be

the light of the fruit of the God that is

in us.

Maybe bear much fruit made the grace in peace and

Christ that lives in you breathe new life into others.

May God bless you and keep you and may you

understand. And through the understanding of Christ, keep your hearts

and your minds in Christ Jesus and in God, our

father grace and beasts to you Today and every day

in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray for all

things and God's blessings be with you.

I'm in

4th Sunday in Lent March 22,2020

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