Sermon – August 24, 2025 “Where God and Neighbor Meet”

An abstract image with warm light filtering through a window, symbolizing gathering, rest, and renewal in sacred community.

Where God and neighbor meet.

In the stillness of Sabbath and the practice of justice, beloved community takes shape.

Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 24, 2025

Bulletin-08-24-2025
Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14 | Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a sermon titled “Where God and Neighbor Meet.” Drawing from Isaiah 58, he reminded us that true Sabbath worship is not escapism but engagement—where delight in God is inseparable from care for our neighbor. When we lift the yoke of oppression, feed the hungry, and honor each other’s dignity, our light breaks forth like the dawn.

Pastor Chris wove in the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who taught that to deny another’s worth is to wound God’s very image. Worship, then, is not confined to liturgy but lived out in acts of justice, compassion, and community. The sermon invited us to reclaim Sabbath as resistance to busyness and as a holy rhythm that re-centers us in God’s justice and joy.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

Prelude: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” – arr. J. Mansfield
Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14
Sermon: “Where God and Neighbor Meet” – Pastor Chris
Silent Meditation: Time of shared stillness with singing bowl
Communal Songs: “Gather Us In” | “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
Postlude: “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” – arr. M. Sedio

We are grateful to our ushers, greeters, and hospitality team for nurturing a spirit of welcome and care throughout today’s service.

“All human beings are created in the image of God—each one infused with priceless and intrinsic worth. To deny that worth to another is not merely unjust, it is blasphemous.”
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu