What does Jesus have to say about hell? It all depends on what and how we read the gospels. A sermon by Rev. Brenda Loreman presented on February 20, 2022.
Scriptures: Matthew 8:5-13
Series: The Difficult Words of Jesus

INVITATION (Joy)

Good morning, all. As we prepare to celebrate communion. Please gather something to eat and something to drink. If you're online, I encourage you to switch to gallery view so you can see one another. When we get to the words of institute, I invite you to raise your bread and cup as Pastor Jeff raises his bread and cup to minimize the amount of time people gathered in the sanctuary spend with their masks off. Please wait until both bread and cup have been blessed before eating and drinking. Today we come to the table as one community sharing sacred hybrid space, some in-person in the sanctuary, some online in our seemingly separate rooms. We are not constrained by geography or by walls, and we are invited to bring our whole selves to this table, to God's table. Come to a table with a global guest list. A table where our bodies are fed, fed and our spirits nourished by a sense of belonging, which is the most vital of all foods All are welcome at this table. And no matter where you are on your life's journey, you are welcome here now, just as you are,

PRAYER (Joy)

Let us lift up our hearts and our minds in prayer. Holy stillness, gentle comforter, good shepherd who gathers all even those cast by then themselves or others into outer darkness. There is no place beyond your reach for you created are in most being woven together from the fabric of the cosmos formed us from the dust of the earth and then scribed yourself upon our hearts when we feel lost and alone. Help us to remember that even in the darkest times, there is a joy that no power on earth can ever destroy. For you are with us. Always divine mysteries fill us with gratitude for your presence with us. For this life you have given to each of us. Bless our memories of food shared and our hopes for food justice for all. Bless the peace of our common cup and the pieces of our broken bread. Bless the food we've prepared for this shared table. Food for our individual journey and for our journey together in this community that we may feel our connection to you and to each other. Always. Amen.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION (Jeff)

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (Jeff)

Please join with me in giving God thanks eternal God. You have called your people from east and west, from north and south to Feast of the Table of Jesus Christ. We thank you for Christ's presence and for the spiritual food we have received by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Keep us faithful to your will. Go with us into the streets, to our homes, to our places of labor and leisure. Whether we are gathered or scattered, we may be the servant church of the servant Christ in whose name we pray amen.