Celebration of Aging- May 4, 2025

[Music] You too. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thank you, Jubilate Bell Choir. You are magnificent. Thank you so much. Only in a church can you be welcomed into worship with that sound. Isn't that beautiful? Well, I'm so glad that we are all here together to worship the Lord today. This

is a beautiful day and I hope that if you have not done so already that you will find the red friendship pads that are either on the inside of the pews or sometimes they are in the middle of the pews. Please sign your name to that so that we will know that you are here worshiping with us. And if you have any changes to your information, please make sure you let us know about any new addresses, phone numbers, emails, all of all of that kind of contact information. I hope also that you will take the time,

if you have not already done so, to check out the back of your bulletin as this has highlights of all the many opportunities for you to get involved in the life of the church. Now, I'd like to highlight one of these right now, and that is, first of all, I'm looking at Dell Madson, who's sitting over here in the pew. Hi, Dell. Um, we are so thankful to Dell and all of the volunteers who helped with the Blueberry Festival parking event. You know, people who come to the festival will use our parking lot. And so several of you have

volunteered to help welcome them and and uh take their money for using our parking lot. I would like for those who did help Dell with that parking lot event, will you please raise your hand so that we can thank you? I know we have quite a few of you here and thank you all so much. Um yes, absolutely. I know it's a lot of fun. It takes time though out of their day and we appreciate your your time and your volunteering for that and we appreciate the fact that what is earned at that particular event helps to pay for our

corn boil meal that we will be sharing today at noon. So, please remember after church today, head on down to Barry Hall where we will be sharing in some fresh sweet corn, I believe, some barbecue and some coleslaw. And I did see the desserts that look absolutely wonderful. You will not want to miss it. And that is all because of the efforts of those who helped with that parking event. So, thank you all so much for that. I also want to highlight this coming Tuesday, please don't forget that Presbyterian

women will have their end of the year uh banquet I think is what you call it and it's a wonderful time, lots of fun. I also would like to thank Alberto Montes who uh headed off headed our very first Shiakqua Chapel lunch and learn about how to take a great picture. We had a marvelous attendance for that. I believe we had 22 people. Lunch was fabulous. And we all learned something about taking a great picture. And I think Alberto's mantra was if you see it, it looks good. Just take the picture. You

can always edit it later. So just take the picture. I've been walking around all the time. I'll just say, "Look, just take the picture." So we're going to have more picture than than we'd ever know what to do with. Now, this coming Shiitaka event at the end of May, we're going to have Emily Lewis showing us how to bake an awardwinning pie. Those of you who don't know, Emily Lewis is a nationally recognized pie baker. Who knew? We have wonderful talent in this congregation. So Emily will be showing us how to bake that

award-winning pie. And she has promised that she will bring samples with her as well. So if you're interested in joining us for that, please sign up at the welcome desk. We have so much going on here at First Presbyterian Church. And all to the glory of God and all to learning to to know one another better. We are so thankful that we are here together to worship. Let us worship God. Good morning. I'm Ruth Brothers. Um I'm the elder of of the worship committee and I'm here to welcome you. Also, if

you would uh take your bulletins, please. Uh we will be reading um the responsive wor call to worship and together we will do the prayer of unison. We gather together to worship the Lord the creator of all people. The one who walks with us through every stage of life and sustains us with his grace and mercy. As we reflect on the years we have been given, we honor people of all ages. But today we honor the wisdom of those who have walked through this journey into their senior years. In your presence, we find peace and joy.

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever more. Amen. Let us pray. Oh God, we come before you today with hearts full of gratitude. We thank you for the gift of life for the years you have granted to us and for the faithful ones who have paved the way for us. May your spirit dwell richly among us as we worship you. Bless our time together that we may grow in faith, hope, and love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. might be amazing and silent as the

morning justice mountains. My soul is our mountain to all our towel and glory. His time is on the tree. The river of God in glorious night and all praise be all the Please be seated. The Psalmist tells us, "The Lord is near to all who call on him." to all who call him in truth. In the quiet of this moment, we acknowledge that we are in need of God's mercy, no matter our age. For we all fall short of the glory of God. Let us now in unison confess our sins to our gracious and forgiving God. And then we'll take a time of silent

prayer. Let us pray. Oh loving God, we confess that we have not always honored you in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we have sometimes neglected the wisdom of those who have walked with you longer than we have. Forgive us, Lord. Grant us your live abundant gratitude for every season of life and to care for one another as you have cared for us. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. My friends, we serve God who created us, who loves us, who gave us

everything, and most especially has forgiven us of our sins. So, my friends, it is our joy to be able to remind ourselves that in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. And God's people said, "Thanks be to God." Glor to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World end. Let us now proclaim what we believe with the Apostles Creed. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was

conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. On third day, he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From then he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Please be seated. You walk in the

light. Beautiful light. Come where the drops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus the light of the world. You walk in the light. You take the light. Come where the new of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus the light of the world. those who walk with thee. Jesus, the light of the world. In Jesus is our king. Jesus, light of the world. Walk in the light. Beautiful light. Somewhere the D of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and

by night. Jesus the light of the world. Daily walking close to thee. Jesus light of the world. Granted Jesus is my king. Jesus light of the world. Walk in the light. Beautiful light. Come where the new drops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus light the world. Walk in the light. Somewhere you drop of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by our night. Jesus the light of the world. Jesus the light of the world. Jesus the light of the world. The scripture, the Old Testament

scripture is taken from Psalm 92 and it can be found on page 854 in the Pew Bible if you'd like to follow along with me. This is the last section of this psalm. Um it starts at verse 12. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no wickedness in

him." The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Prayer is an amazing thing when you think about it. The very fact that the creator of everything, Almighty God, has invited us to communicate with him through prayer. And so this is a very special time in our service when we can join our hearts and our minds in prayer together, harnessing the power of Almighty God as we join in these prayers. I know that everyone came here this morning with special prayers in your heart. Prayers for your family, prayers for your friends, prayers for

your community. prayers for this nation and the world. And we will lift all of those up to the Lord, even in silence, as we come together to pray. I invite you now to please join me as I pray the prayers of the people of God. Let us pray. Almighty God, you bring to this world your mercy, your kindness, your love. You gave your only son because you love the world so much. And so we are bold to pray in his name, seeking your help in our lives and in the lives of all your children. We pray for nothing short of peace in

our world. Yes, Lord. Peace. Move among us by your Holy Spirit, breaking down barriers of fear, suspicion, and hatred. Heal the human family so our divisions will be gone and we will be united in the pursuit of what is right. and good and just for all. Through it all, oh God, enrich our common life. Strengthen the forces of truth and goodness among us. Move us to give where we are prosperous that the impoverished may pass from need and despair to dignity and joy. Move us to speak where we have voice

that the silenced and the ignored may come to flourish. Move us to seek the benefit of our neighbor near and far that a spirit of mutual concern and care might come to characterize our character as individuals and as a nation. We pray for our country, for those in leadership caring for your people. We pray for our churches who seek to share the guiding word of the Lord. We pray Lord for those who suffer. The sick, the lonely, the grieving, the worried, the anxious, the overworked and the out of

work. We pray Lord for our families, for those whom we love near and far, frequently in touch or long out of touch. Protect them, we pray. Support them. These times can be difficult and filled with anxiety. So help our families to grow together in mutual love and understanding. Lord, we pray for the people in our congregation who need your healing touch. Be with them, Lord. Help them to know your presence. Help them to know your peace that surpasses all understanding. For we pray all these things in the name

of our Lord and Savior Jesus, our friend and Savior, who taught us all how to pray by saying, "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 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. My friends, we know that God has called us here this very day that we might hear

God's word and make a difference as we continue to help build God's kingdom here at our church and through our church and through our denomination in service to the Lord around the world. So, it is our privilege to once again be able to give of our time, our talents, and our treasures. If the ushers will please come forward for the collection of our tithes and offerings. Great is thy faithfulness, oh God, my father. There is no shadow of jour with thee. Thou changest not my compassions they fail

not as thou has been thou forever will me. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning my body. New mercies I see. All I have I am who I am. Great is thy faithfulness Lord to me. [Music] Summer and winter and spring and harvest. Sun, moon, and stars in their forces above. Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. heart and for sin and a peace that endureth. Fine, oh dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

Blessings are mine with 10,000 beside. Great thy faithfulness. Great thy faithfulness. Morning my morning. Mercies I see. All I have in thy hand have no wide in. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. [Music] Lord [Music] unto me. [Music] Praise God. Praise him [Applause] all. Praise him. Praise son and holy. Will you please join me in a prayer of dedication? Lord God, we do thank you that we have this privilege to return to your service a portion of the blessings

that you have given to us. We do pray Lord that these will be used wisely that you will multiply their benefit in service to your kingdom around this world. We thank you for allowing us to participate in all that you are doing near and afar. We thank you for this and praise your holy name. In Jesus we pray. Amen. Please be seated. An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, their friend's house, and after eating, the ladies got up and went on into the kitchen, and one of the gentlemen turned to the other one and

said, "We had the best dinner last night." And the other man said, "What what was the name of the restaurant?" And he said, "Um um um what's what's the name of that flower that you give to someone you really love? It's it's red. It has thorns." He said, "You mean a rose?" He said, "Yeah." He shouted into the kitchen, "Rose? What was the name of that restaurant that we ate at last night? Well, today is celebration of aging Sunday and I thought what a great time for us to have a little smile about

this wonderful gift that God has given to all of us. I know that there since I I've heard this ever since I've been in the church, but people will say, you know, I'm just old. And I'll say, well, you are older. We are all older. We are all in the process of aging. Well, this Sunday is the celebration of aging Sunday. But in fact in the United States, you may not know this, the entire month of May is considered celebration of aging month. And so many of our retirement communities will have lots of extra

special activities going on. I know when I was chaplain at Westminster Towers, many of the residents would wear t-shirts that said we celebrate aging. And they had all kinds of senior Olympics. They had a senior prom. You can see where we go with that. It was just so much fun to celebrate the age that God has allowed us all to achieve. Well, why should we even bother with the subject of aging? Well, I think because it helps us to understand something that is very natural that is has been going on for

centuries and also something that we really don't have any control over. We know that as we get older, things start to change. I can honestly say if I got down on the floor right now, it would take a long time for me to get back up. There are certain things we used to be able to do very quickly that we can't do so quickly any longer. Think about when you were 17 years old. Could you do some things then that you can't do now? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. Uh Paul Maize was an administrator of a

senior living facility and and he was uh on his way to the dining hall and there was a a really well put together woman, her name's Bonnie, that was walking in front of him and as he came up to her, he said, "Hey Bonnie, how's it going? Anything new?" and she said, 'Well, it's as good as can be expected, but I guess it's better than the alternative. She said, getting older is not for sissies. Well, Bonnie kind of expresses, I think, a sentiment that I have heard over and over again, that getting older is not

always something that we just relish. We look forward to except for perhaps if you're 12 going on 13, then you're really excited about becoming older. But think about it. From the day we are born, actually from the moment we are born, we are beginning to age in our life. Now when you think about aging, what do you think about? You may think about um what comes to mind when you think of an older man or an older woman. you know, wrinkles, sickness, bone loss, loss of independence, changes in our personality. All these things that we

have observed around us, things that perhaps none of us look forward to, whether they come to us or not. In fact, many of us go to all kinds of lengths, don't we? To try to mask those signs of aging with hair coloring and creams and and Botox, elective surgeries. We dress to look younger. You can always look that one up. It always is a highlight to show people that we're really not as old as they might think we are. Americans, you may or may not know, spend $4 billion on things to help them not look

older. But you know it's interesting when you study other cultures for instance in Asia, Japan, Korea, China, India, even the Mediterranean and Latin cultures. Many of them revere the older persons in their community. They rever them. They have a very special highlighted place because of their age, because of the wisdom that they bring from their life that they can share then with those who are younger than them. I even recently read that in Scotland they rever their older people as well and have a very special place

for them in their community. It's so funny or not that in the US we struggle so much with aging. This whole idea that we should look young forever and yet there's a beauty that comes with aging. When I was in college I worked for some of our cosmetic companies uh Estee Lauder and Lancome. Some of you may be familiar with them. And I would have older women come up to our counter and look in the mirror and go, "Oh, all these wrinkles. I'm not sure you have any cream that's going to help me out." And yet I would point out, "You

are beautiful. You are not supposed to look 17 years old your entire life. You are a beautiful woman and you need to take care of yourself and be thankful for the years that God has given to you. But we have this pressure from cosmetic companies, from television, from movies, even from perhaps even the government that talks about aging as though it is somewhat of a bother. It's a drain on our economy, our social security system that we have, our health care system, especially with all of us baby boomers who are now

starting to need help as we are getting older. With all these negative images, who wants to get old? Probably no hands are going to raise right away. But really, is our understanding of aging an accurate image? Is this the real picture of aging and growing old? Or should we change our focus and our understanding? Well, I think we get to hear today from our scripture from someone who himself was old. The apostle Paul when he wrote to the church in Corenth had these words to say. I'll share with you now our reading for the

day. 2 Corinthians 4 16-18. Therefore, we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal victory, an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. Since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. Martin Luther was once quoted as saying, "What I have, what I can see in my hand, this material, this material joy will

disappear, but what I hold in my heart will last forever." You see, we need to perhaps gain a different perspective. We need to develop a a different mental image of what it means to be growing older. This privilege that we have, which really is better than the alternative, right? We have the gift of another year of certainly when you're young. I know with my granddaughters, when they have a birthday party, they get super excited and that continues through what age 21, 22, 25, then 29 and then we

start the and holding jokes because we come more become more fearful of what this aging process means. There was an elderly gentleman who had serious hearing problems for a number of years and he went to his doctor to get a hearing aid and the doctor fitted him and his hearing became 100%. The elderly gentleman went back home and when he came to the doctor again a month later, the doctor said, "Your hearing is still 100%. I bet your family is thrilled about that. He said, "Well, oh, I haven't told

the family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've only changed my will three times. So much of our understanding about aging really depends upon our attitude and our expectations. The Apostle Paul says that we are to set a goal. We are to set a goal. Aging does not keep you from doing things in this life, but it has to be something appropriate for the place in life where we are now. I have this forever challenge to try to get in shape. And so a friend of mine said, "You really ought

to try boot camp." She was going to boot camp. She was my manicurist. So I thought, "Okay, great." So, I went to boot camp. Oh my goodness. They began by having us do 20 burpees. If you're not familiar with burpees, do you remember squat thrust in gym class? Yeah. Oh, yes. I hear the moan. Yes. And I join you. We were expected to do 20 of those. Down. Squat thrust. Stand up. Down. Squat thrust. Stand up. No. Next, we were to grab these giant ropes. Now, these ropes, every one of them probably weighed three or four

times what I weigh. And we were to slam them down on the floor. I don't know why, but that's what we were supposed to do. I kind of moved mine around a little bit and then I let go. Next, we were to jump up onto platforms. Nope. Not going to happen. And then they let us outside where they had these giant tires like you would see on a huge tractor and we were supposed to lift those up and walk so many feet and then throw it down. H no, this is not going to happen. So there are some things we have to

realize that do not happen after a certain age and that my friends I consider wisdom. Knowing what is appropriate for our age. But to set a goal is really what the apostle Paul was saying to us. He says, "Fix your eyes on what is unseen, not what is seen." Thinking about setting a goal is so important for us at any age really, but especially as we get older, as we are searching for that meaning in our life, especially when we feel like we're so out of control because of things that happen in our body and in our life.

setting our eyes on a goal. I think about the Masters. Anybody watched the Masters this year? If Rory Maroy stood up to that tea and didn't have a goal for which which he was going for, which hole he was aiming for, he would have definitely ended up either either in the trees or in the lake or in the sand. He had a goal and he was able to win. Every one of us has a goal. A runner has a goal. Even though their body is hurting as they're running, the goal is that I will finish this race. Every one of us when we wake up in the

morning, first of all, after we thank God for another day, we need to ask the Lord, what goal do you have for me today? How can I serve you today? How may I share your love with someone today? Today. Serving God is our goal. Think about the privilege that we have to focus our attention on developing our relationship with the Almighty. Think about the privilege that we have to know personally the creator of the universe. You, me, we have friends in high places, my friends. Our creator wants to have

this relationship with us. That is what separates Christianity from every other world religion. We know that the God we serve loves us with a neverending love and wants to have a personal relationship with you and me. And how do we achieve this? Through prayer, talking to God. You can't have a relationship with someone that you don't talk to, right? through studying the word of God to understand God's nature to understand the Lord's plans for us to give us ideas by the power of the Holy Spirit that

speaks to us when we read our Bible when we pray when we come together for worship. The Lord is here right now with us speaking to you, talking to you about how you might develop this relationship into a much more productive, goaloriented relationship of love. Think about these things as we are getting older. What a joy it is that God wants for us for the time that we have been given. Think about it that out of all eternity, God has carved out this period of time for you to be here. When you put it into that eternal

perspective, you realize that you are very special to the Lord and the time should not be wasted. What joy it is that we may celebrate the gift of aging in our life and together in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Will you join me in prayer? Lord God, we do thank you for the gift of years. We thank you for putting us together in families and communities as churches that we might share with one another your love and your purpose for your kingdom. We thank you Lord for all of this and the years that you give to

us. For we pray all of this with gratitude in Jesus holy name. [Music] Amen. Heat. We areing in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We are in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We are in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We areing in the light of God. We areing. We areing in the light of God. We areing. We areing. We are in the light of God. We are praying in the light of God. We are in

the light of God. We are in the light of God. We are in the light of God. We are We are We are in the God. We are praising. We are We are in the light of God. We are sing of God. We are singing in the light of God. We are sing of God. We are singing in the blood of God. We are singing. We are singing. We are singing in the singing of God. In Jesus first sermon, the sermon on the mount, he told his disciples, and this did not have an age specification to it, you are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. We are to

bring true flavor to this world. So let us remember that we take this light and this salt out into the world. No matter what our age, may we be focused on serving our Lord this day and every day. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [Music] [Applause]