06/14/2026
Sadly, this is the last worship service our Pastor Diana will be doing with the congregations of the Claflin United Methodist Church and the Bushton United Methodist Church. She has been given a new church assignment. We will miss her so much, but we wish her nothing but the best in this upcoming new ch apter in her life. God Bless!!!
Welcome to Worship! In a roundabout way today, we are going to explore our UMC vision to Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully, and Lead Courageously as scripture leads us into our mission to Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. Letâs begin our worship in prayer: Lord, in this silence, as the Light of Christ enters our space of worship, help us to be open to your possibilities for us. We pray this because of who Jesus is. Amen.
*Call to Worship: Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into Godâs presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, who made us, is God.
We are the Lordâs; we are the people of God, the sheep of Godâs pasture.
Enter Godâs gates with thanksgiving, and Godâs courts with praise!
Give thanks and bless Godâs name!
For the Lord is good;
Godâs steadfast love endures for ever; Godâs faithfulness to all generations.
*Hymn of Praise: This Is the Day #657 (twice)
Praises & Requests
Prayer Hymn: Through It All #507
Prayer of the People: Gracious and loving God, we praise you for your unending love and faithfulness to us that knows no boundaries, that is offered without price, and that lasts beyond forever. We confess that we often take advantage of your goodness to us and become complacent, expecting to be blessed because you love us. Forgive our selfishness, Lord. Help us to let you work through your gifts to us so that others are healed and given new hope in life. Use us to break the chains of poverty and bigotry, racism and hatred, pride and arrogance that bind people and separate them from you. Use us to enable people to come back to right relationship with you so that your kingdom comes near, even in our tiny corner of the world. Thank you for jobs, food, clothing and shelter, beautiful and safe places to worship together, and people who love us and pray for us. Thank you for always being available for us, no matter the day, time, or situation. Jesus, we are gathered today to celebrate eight years together, but we are apprehensive about our future. Give us the courage to trust you to work through these times ahead of us, so that we may continue to glorify your name wherever we are. Be our rock and our fortress, our very present help in time of need. Be our Shepherd and lead us to the food we need, and the living water that will carry us forward. Prepare a table before us even as we live with our enemies of doubt, fear, and impossibilities. May our cups overflow with blessings, and may we share these blessings with others because of who you are. Jesus, according to your will, we ask you to be present with these as we name them now: Victims of natural disasters & war; OUR COUNTRY, OUR WORLD, the family of Dan, DARYL, JOY, Gavin, a grieving family, our incoming pastors, Roger, Judy, RANDY & Vickie, A HURTING FAMILY, CHILDREN IN DETENTION CENTERS, A STRUGGLING FAMILY, Cherlyn, SHIRLEY, JAMI, Christina, Matt, CAROL, BRENDA, A MOM, a sister church, Lucile, SCOTT, Alvin, Joe, Jim, JENNA, Aiden, ROSS, Sara, addicts, Rachelle, Jordan, Rick, a Mom, Les & Barbara, Kay, Sherry, Nancy, Kathe, residents in care facilities, and especially our children. And now, in this silence, we offer prayers for ourselves. In your mercy, Lord, hear us: And now, as forgiven and dearly loved Children of God, we offer you, together, the prayer you taught us: 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 trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen!
Childrenâs Time: In our Bible story today, Jesus sends his disciples out to heal people and lead them back to God. You and I canât do these things very well, but we can love people. What are some ways we can love people? (being nice, etc.) When people are hurting, or sad, or upset, can we love them by being with them? ( ) Grownups sometimes call this walking with people through the hard times, and itâs a good way to love people. Can working with people also be a way to love them? ( ) What are some ways we can work with people to show them that we love them? ( ) Thereâs a song about walking with each other, hand in hand, and working with each other, side by side. Do you suppose we could get the adults to sing this song for us so we can walk around with each other and work with each other as we take up the offering? [FWS #2223, verses 2 and 3, and we will bring up the offering as we sing]
Offering Hymn: Theyâll Know We Are Christians #2223 FWS, v. 2, 3
Offering Prayer: Dear God, thank you for being able to walk and work with people through our offerings. We ask you to bless this money so it can help other people know that you love them, too. We pray this in Jesusâ name. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9:35-10:8
Narrator: Last week Jesus said, âFollow meâ to a tax collector named Matthew, and he did. A leader in the local synagogue asked Jesus to bring his young daughter back to life, and Jesus did. And he also healed a woman who had been a medical and social outcast for 12 long years. In nearby towns, Jesus continued to heal people, make blind people able to see, and release people from the power of demons. He and his disciples went to villages and cities, healing and teaching in the synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven wherever they went.
Jesus: Look at all these hurting people! I have so much compassion for them because they are harassed and helpless. They are just wandering through life like sheep without a shepherd! Look at them! They are desperate for leadership, but there are so many of them, and just one of me. (pause) People, you know, and I know, that you need God, but there are so few leaders to guide you! Ask God to send out more kingdom workers to lead you!
Narrator: Then Jesus called his disciples together.
Jesus: Simon, the one we know as PeterâŚ
Peter: Here, Lord.
Jesus: Andrew, brother of PeterâŚ
Andrew: Right here!
Jesus: James, son of ZebedeeâŚ
James: Here, Jesus.
Jesus: John, brother of JamesâŚ
John: Iâm here.
Jesus: PhilipâŚ
Philip: Here.
Jesus: BartholomewâŚ
Bartholomew: Yep.
Jesus: ThomasâŚ
Thomas: Iâm here, too.
Jesus: Matthew, (former) tax collectorâŚ
Matthew: Present and accounted for, Lord.
Jesus: James, son of AlphaeusâŚ
James: Back here.
Jesus: ThaddaeusâŚ
Thaddaeus: Right here, Lord.
Jesus: Simon from CanaanâŚ
Simon: Iâm here.
Jesus: JudasâŚ
Judas Iscariot: Iâm still with you, Jesus.
Jesus: Iâm glad youâre all here, because I have a job for you. I hereby give you authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and donât even enter a Samaritan town. Go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come near. You are to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons, because this is what the kingdom of heaven looks like.
You did not pay for this power and authority; it was given to you freely. Therefore, you are to heal everyone without payment. And, you are not to take anything with you. Just go in my name, and you will be taken care of.
Peter & Andrew: No extra sandals? But ours are almost worn out! They wonât last another month.
James & John: No cash? What if people donât like us and refuse to feed us?
Philip & Bartholomew: No extra clothes? (snicker) Weâre going to smell right pretty in a few days!
Thomas & Matthew: What about extra coats for the chilly nights?
James & Thaddaeus: Canât we even take a staff with us to defend ourselves from the wild animals?
Simon & Judas: We really should carry at least one credit cardâŚwe have no idea when weâll be home again, and anything can happen out on the roadâŚ
Jesus: No, nothing extra. Just go. I told you that you would be taken care of, and you will if you trust in me. You have what you need; you have the authority to bring health and order back to Godâs people. Now, get going; you are the laborers, and your harvest is waiting.
Narrator: When Jesus had finished instructing his disciples, he went on from there to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of heaven in other towns and cities.
This is the word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!
*Gloria Patri: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end! Amen! Amen!
Sermon: To God Be the Glory!
Itâs test time! According to Matthewâs gospel reading today, what does the kingdom of heaven look like? (audience participation, please) âBring them back to life, heal their diseases, clean up their dirty lives, and break the powers that keep people from right relationship with God. And tell them, tell them that this health, wholeness, and life is what the kingdom of heaven looks like. Spread this good news everywhere you go!â says Jesus.
But then he tells his disciples to go only to their own people, and I want us to think about this. If we start preaching the kingdom of heaven among our friends and relatives, how welcome are we going to be in about an hour? ( ) And if we work diligently on healing dead relationships or even physical ailments, are they going to love us for it? ( ) In my family, Iâm pretty sure they would let me know that Iâve overstepped my boundaries and make sure I find the door out. Preaching to my congregations on Sundays mornings might be OK, but trying to heal them? I think most of them have enough pride to be insulted by my even thinking that they might need Jesusâ help.
But thatâs what Jesus sends us out to do!
And we are sent without any kind of help. All Jesus gives us is the âauthorityâ to make people whole again. Remember how the Pharisees made a really big deal about where Jesus got his âauthorityâ to give sight to the man who had been born blind? They wanted to know who Jesusâ power source was. Jesus claimed his power came from God, but because Jesus had healed the man on the sabbath, the Pharisees were sure his power couldnât be from God, because in their minds, God would never allow something that wasnât a life or death matter to be done on the sabbath. So, the Pharisees decided that Jesusâ power must have come from Satan!
In our reading today, Jesus gives his disciples the âauthorityâ to heal and bring people back to life and cast our evil spirits. But what does âauthorityâ mean? It means that Jesus gives his disciples the very same power Jesus has to heal and cast out and give life. And he says, âThis is all you need.â
Iâm sure most of us are thinking, âThat was back then, and Jesus needed to get things started in a big way before he left this earth. But this is now, and we donât just go around raising the dead, healing diseases, and casting out demons anymore, because we have what they didnât have back then. We have modern medicine and therapists and drugs and all that sort of stuff. God doesnât need common people to do these things anymore.â
WellâŚ.maybeâŚbut what if we donât take this quite so literally? What if we see this as Jesus telling us to carry on his work of healing and restoration by meeting people where they are and addressing the needs they have? And what if we understand that our âauthorityâ comes from allowing Jesus to work through us? Remember that Jesus himself said, âThe Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewiseâ (Jn 5:19). And what if we also understand that our âauthorityâ is bound up in allowing Jesus to provide for our work through the power of the Holy Spirit?
This is easier, right? Jesus is really the one who does the work; we are just the conduit through which the Holy Spirit heals and restores and releases people from all the things that bind them. That makes us feel a lot betterâŚuntil we remember that Jesus sends us to our own people firstâŚand if youâre like me, we donât want to go there. This is too hard. We need to keep the status quo among our families and friends because they are our safety net. They are the ones among whom we find our identity and acceptance. But Jesus says go, to your own first. Learn to be real disciples among them. And I think Jesus does this at least partly because, if we can remain loyal to Jesus among people who know who we are, then we will have the courage and the faith in Jesusâs âbeing with us through it allâ to do kingdom work among strangers.
So what do we do? Remember what we learned about prayer in our Childrenâs Time during April? First we praise God. (Thatâs why we started with Psalm 100 this morning.) Second, we confess. In this case, our confession might be about not wanting to take Godâs message of healing and reconciliation to our families and friends; or it might be that we are afraid they wonât listen to us or take us seriously; or that theyâll abandon us and weâll be left with nothing but Jesus. But, we might have other things to confess as well. Third, we thank God. Today we can thank God for Godâs steadfast love and faithfulness to us, especially for all the years God has sent us pastors and teachers and leaders. We can thank God for how weâve grown as churches, both individually and together. And we can thank God for each other, and be thankful that we donât walk into our future alone, because we have each other. And last, we pour out our needs to God, and I donât need to spell them out to you because you already know them. But we pray this way in the faith that God does have our backs, that God wants good for us, and that God chooses to use us, even us, for Godâs kingdom work of healing, restoration, and getting rid of things, and even spirits, that hinder people from enjoying the relationship with God they were created to have.
But after weâve prayed, what then? We hang out with our families and friends and wait for the Holy Spirit to direct us. Usually, the Spiritâs guidance feels very natural, and takes us by surprise as much as it does anybody else. It might be words we are given, or ears to hear what weâve ignored before, eyes to see what weâve been blind to, or the heart to love what weâve avoided.
I have been told that I âalways know exactly the right thing to say,â or that I seem to know when someone needs a visit or call or text, or that my sermons really reach people. I canât take credit for any of this. Itâs been the Holy Spiritâs work the whole way, and Iâm always amazed at what the Spirit is able to accomplish through ME! All I can say is, âTo God be the glory!â
Friends, if you want to be holy, donât hide yourself in a room in order to protect yourself from all the evil out there. And donât try to protect God, either! God doesnât need protecting. Be out among people, among your friends and families, but be who Jesus gives you the authority to be at that time and in that place. And as you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, Godâs kingdom will come near. Our job is to tell people that this is what the kingdom of heaven looks like â God working through us to bring the kingdom to people.
As we sing our Sending Hymn, I want you to remember at least some of the ways that the kingdom of heaven has come among us, individually, as a church, and as the blended church family we represent today. Remember these things, and give God the glory. So, turn in your hymnals to #99, My Tribute, and letâs praise God together in song. (Letâs sing it through twice to give us time to remember several things.)
*Sending Hymn: My Tribute #99 (twice)
*Take-home: Jesus gives us the âauthorityâ to Love boldly, Serve Joyfully, and Lead Courageously, even in circumstances we would not choose, as we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
*Benediction: May the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit bind us together in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen and Amen!
Pastor Diana Webster [email protected]
620-603-3118 cell; 620-587-3505 office
Church Office â PO Box 315, 120 3rd St., Claflin KS 67525 [email protected]
