God's Elegant Plan- June 1, 2025

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Here we go. [Music] Are you ready? [Music] Good morning. Good morning. You did it. You all passed the test. you were able to set your alarms so that you could be here for the 10:00 service today. This is wonderful for us all to be able to worship together in the house of the Lord. I am so glad that you are here. I hope that you have, if not, please do so, take the red friendship pads that are located either on the inside of each of these rows or perhaps in the middle of the row. sign your name, pass it

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down, and make sure that you get a chance to look at who is worshiping with you this day. I would like to begin by announcing that playing the part of Mike Cantrell today for liturgist is my husband Mike Loyal. So, I think we've got a Michael thing going on this morning. So, so thank you, Michael. We appreciate your being here. I hope that you all will stay on top of the many activities we have going on throughout the summer months, although a little bit different. We had a fabulous Shiitaka Chapel lunch and learn. I know several

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of you were there. Emily Lewis did a great job. You know, our awardwinning, nationally award-winning pie baker showed us some of the secrets behind baking an award-winning pie. I haven't had a chance to try it yet. that I hope maybe you have and it was a wonderful time and we will be back with Shiakwa Chapels at the end of August, the final Wednesday of August. So watch for an announcement about that coming up. But we also have the final Sunday school class that Pastor Tom Barry has been leading down in our multi-purpose room.

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He wanted me to remind you all that after this service, go ahead, get a cup of coffee and something to to snack on and then head down to the multi-purpose room for the final uh class today. So, I know it's been marvelous. Every time I've peaked in, the room is completely filled and so you won't want to miss this final session as well. Well, we are blessed to be in the house of the Lord, to be able to worship God together. And I hope that you will take a look at your friends and neighbors around you. And if

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you will, please stand and let's greet each other in with the peace of Christ. Peace be with you. And also with you. Sleep. It's so good to see everybody together and to hear everyone greeting one another. That's all right. As you are returning to your seats, I'd like to invite Bill Karen to come up. He has a quick message for us today. If you did not remember, Bill Karen, one of our elders, is also one of the chairpersons for our building and grounds committee. Why don't you come on up to the microphone, Bill, if that's

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okay, or do you want me to come to you? Okay. Good morning. I want to talk to you about keys and the security system. And just so there's no confusion, Randy, the keys, I'm talking about unlock the door. Have nothing to do with piano or music. So, we have a a list that shows that we have 58 people that have signed out for keys. We know that's not exactly accurate. So, what we have asked to do is we have a form and if you have a key, please stop by. The forms right now are in the conference room next to Ry's office and sign that

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so that we know whether or not you have a key. If you have a key and you're ready to turn it in, there's a not place on that form that where we will take it and keep it and get get your name off the list. All right. The alarm system. We have an alarm system for all the perimeter doors on the buildings. That system automatically sets at 10:00 at night until 7 a.m. in the morning. If you come in, when that alarm system is set, you'll set off the alarm. The people that respond from our side will come and also the police will show

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up. So, my suggestion is if you can come in after 7 a.m. and leave before 10:00 a.m., it would be simpler because if you come in when the alarm is set, you have to come in through the glass doors by the office because that's where the control button is on the side of the wall and you would have to be able to disarm it. There's a code that goes with that if you think you're going to need it. I will be in the conference room for a few minutes after that and I can help you fill out the form for your keys and

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I can give you the code and I can answer most of your questions. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Bill. Good morning again. Please join me in our responsive call to worship. The Lord is king. Let the earth rejoice. We tremble at God's awesome works. The heavens proclaim God's righteousness. The Lord is our guard and protector. Light dawn and joy fills our hearts. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh my god. I awome all the words I have made. I see the star. I hear the holy

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thunder. I know you. I hear the voice my soul. I'll break. I'll break my soul. to me. How great are they and the world and glory I wonder and the world is right and feel my soul to me. I break my heart. I break my heart. This is my soul. I see you. Oh great. Oh great and I might spare with me on the cross. My body to take away my [Music] soul, my love to me. I'll break the wall. [Music] I [Music] s and take me Oh, what joy shall fill my heart and I shall bow in the adoration and proclaim my God with

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Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Please be seated. Please find the call to confession in your bulletin. I'll be reading it and please follow along and then we'll be joined together in unison our prayer of confession. Let us pray. We worry if we confess what rests heavily on our hearts. We will be judged and condemned. Yet God desires we come close and open ourselves to the possibility of transformation and grace. When we confess our sin, we acknowledge God's love for us and Christ's prayer

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for us. Opening ourselves to forgiveness and new life. Trusting in this love, let us confess our sins. Merciful God, we confess we are often too blinded by the glittering temptations of this world. We turn over your way, hurting the very ones we were called to serve in our action and our inaction. We grow frustrated with each other, seeking to silence anything besides our own desires. We fail to see your righteousness and champion greed and discord in the name of power and popularity. Forgive us,

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melt us, and mold us into more faithful disciples, seeking your light, reflecting your mercy, and sharing your grace. Amen. My friends, who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ. And yet Christ died for us. Christ was raised for us. Christ reigns at God's right hand and pleads for us. It is my privilege always to remind us that in Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. And all God's people said, thanks be to God. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it in the beginning is now and shall

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be world without end. Amen. Please be seated. Oh, I may sing with great and have the gift to all and not [Music] My brothers are a sounding homeless day. Oh, I may give all I possess and striving so my love [Music] profess my love within the prophets. strange. Come spit our hearts with our spirit to be made whole. As it were every day, by this we worship and are free. Amen. It is so wonderful that in the Presbyterian style of liturgy, we have a special place to join our hearts together in prayer. We read in the Bible that we

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have all been asked to pray. How amazing that is that the creator of the universe who is with us in the power of the Holy Spirit who prays for us even when we don't know how to pray. We have been asked to come before the Lord's throne and to share our most intimate thanksgiving, our worries, our hopes, our dreams, and our requests. We've been asked to pray not only for ourselves, but also for others, even the others we don't even really know. And so we have this special time in our worship service that we might share our

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prayers for the world. So I invite you now to please join me in the prayers of the people of God. Let us pray. Dear Lord, we do pray for the church, the church universal, your church. Teach us to seek the unity we have in your son, our Lord Jesus, while delighting in the diversity of your created world. Make us a light to the world, reflecting your love in our work and our worship. Give courage to those who answer your call to serve near and far, our peacemakers, the missionaries and congregations everywhere in this

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world. May we be a beacon of hope to this hurting world. We pray for those who work and for those who long to work. Protect those who work and lead them into your places to serve you by sharing their gifts, their abilities. Make our schools, our stores, our churches, and places of work safe and fair. May all people find their place in the fabric of community, finding places where their gifts are celebrated and used for building up this world. Give courage, Lord, to those who struggle to make their pay stretch

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enough to feed and shelter their family and lead them to places of plenty and help. Be with those Lord around the world who are struggling, who do not have the food that they need to survive. Please Lord, send to them the help and the resources that they need for just the common dignity for which you created them. We pray for those who are in places of power. Fill them with wisdom and compassion that they may never lose sight of the humanity of those that they lead. Where we lead, give us grace to

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recognize that you are the one we proclaim. You are king of our lives and this world. and give us courage to be an active part of your kingdom, sharing in the ways that you would have us share. Give us an imagination to dream of a world united and courage to make it so. Holy God, shine your light in the corners of this world. Illumine the hope we have in you and strengthen us to be bearers of your light for all the people of our community, our nation, and the people of this world. All this we dare ask in the name of our

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Lord Jesus 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 are called to be the light of the world. So I invite the ushers to come forward for the collection of our financial gifts so

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that we might participate in building God's kingdom here in this church and through our denomination and in service to the whole world. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Applause] Praise God. Praise to Praise. Praise God. Will you please join me in a prayer of dedication? Let us pray. Lord, we are grateful for the opportunity to return to your service, but a portion of the many gifts that you have given to each and every one of us. Lord, we pray that these will be used to your purposes

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according to your will and that you might share them with everyone in this world. For this we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Our scripture today is taken from the book of Acts. I will be reading from Acts chapter 1 verses 6-2. If you would like to follow along in your pew Bible, please do so. Uh you will find it on page 1549. I ask you to hear now the word of the Lord. Then they the disciples gathered around him and asked Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?"

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He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do

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you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day walk from the city. And this ends our reading of God's holy word. May God add to our understanding and application of its truth in each of our lives. Will you join me in a prayer of illumination? Let us pray. Oh, holy God, we are thirsty for your good

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word. As we hear your word read and proclaimed, open our hearts to hear what you have to say to us. Fill us with a light of your love that having heard your word, we will be ready to go live more faithfully and love more deeply in all the earth. For this we pray in Christ's name. Amen. 20 years ago, I fell in love with physics. I know it sounds funny. I did take science in high school and a little bit of science in college. kind of tried to stay away from it because I was one of those that preferred history and

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English and writing and all of that more than math and science. But 20 years ago, I was watching a public television Nova special from WGBH Boston. It was called Einstein's Big Idea. And I thought, well, this would be interesting. I might learn something about Einstein and what do they call it? Physics. The documentary featured Albert Einstein. Yes. But also talked about the contribution of Michael Faraday, Antoine Lavosier, James Clerk Maxwell, Emily Dhatille, and Lisa Mitner. Now, for some of you, those names may

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mean something, and for some of you, they may not. You may be in the boat I was in before I saw this special on public television. Einstein, it portrayed, had a fascination with the way things worked in this earth. He in particular in this special they shared had a fascination with the sun. He would stare at the effects of the sun. He would try to calculate how can we tell how the sun's rays go from this ball of fire in the sky and reach the earth. He was fascinated that all of earth depended on the sun.

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He of course being a physics-minded scientist was interested how things fit together in time and space. Some people have tried to say that Einstein was an atheist and he personally said that is not true. That he was totally fascinated with how everything in the world fits together so beautifully, so amazingly. In fact, Einstein said, "True elegance lies in finding the optimal balance between simplicity and completeness." without sacrificing accuracy or depth. If you are out to describe the truth, Einstein

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said, leave elegance to the tailor. So many of these statements, so many of the observations in this documentary that pointed out Einstein's fascination with God's creation helped me to realize that Einstein was searching to understand how God has made everything so beautifully, so wonderfully, so elegantly. I heard that Einstein had a preference for one of our universities, Princeton Seminary and Princeton University in New Jersey. Princeton, New Jersey. He went there to study and to participate in a scientific forum and

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loved the city so much that he decided to make that his home until he passed away. I heard that he had quite a presence on the campus. Of course, he was a famous scientist by that time and the university was thrilled to have him in residence and he taught a few of the classes while he was there. But what I found really fascinating was how he got involved in an a a a debate that was taking place at the seminary on campus. The the debate was about the most important concept in Christianity. Now let's take a look at

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what we proclaim that we believe. We say that for one to be saved, Jesus needs to be your savior. You have to have accepted the gift of God's offer to you. God did not force it upon you, but you freely chose to accept Jesus as your Lord, as your Savior, and have asked God to take over and lead you in your life. Ask all the world's more than two billion or so professing Christians and they'll most likely tell you that's right. That's exactly what we Christians believe. But there also tends to be um

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somewhat of a disagreement about a little concept called atonement. Now you may have heard of atonement. Atonement is what happened on the cross when Jesus gave his life for the world. As we know in John 3:16, God so loved the world that God gave his only son that whosoever believes or trusts in him will have will not perish but will have everlasting life. It is in our scripture that our sins are atoned for by Jesus sacrificial death on the cross. Now atonement interestingly is does not come from

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Greek or Hebrew. It actually means at one as in to be in harmony with God. When Jesus died that sacrificial death on the cross, it allowed us to be in harmony with God's Holy Spirit. So that we were in essence, as one of my friends said, we were cleaned up. The sin that made us filthy was washed away by Jesus atoning death on the cross so that we might be able to come into the presence of Almighty God and that we might be as the Bible says we might be adopted as children of God. We were made worthy by

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the atoning death of Christ on the cross. Now the thing is atonement has been debated. How did that happen? When were we forgiven? There is some disagreement even among Christians as to how this atonement takes place, how and where. And this debate was raging on the campus of Princeton Seminary while Einstein was in residence there. You see, there are some that feel that we have to choose to accept God's gift of salvation. And we Presbyterians and others in the reformed tradition say that we can't do it as the Bible says,

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lest we fool ourselves. That it is a gift. It is grace. It is a gift from God. that this atonement that took place on the cross was a oneanddone, a once and forever kind of atonement that covered all those who lived before, all those currently and all those in the future. So now we are starting to get into physics and this is when Einstein stepped in hearing this debate that was raging on campus as to when our atonement actually takes place. Is it at the point that you say Lord I can't do it myself. I confess

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that I need you in my life. Then the atonement takes place. Or is it is it something that happened before when Jesus was crucified and it covered all of us now and forever more? Einstein stepped up and he said that atonement seems to be a very important concept for Christians. In fact, John Wesley said if uh that nothing in the Christian system is of greater consequence than the doctrine of atonement. But Einstein said I think in the world of physics in the discipline of physics we have come to understand

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that time is related to whoever is experiencing it at that moment. past, present, future. He calls this simultaneity and in fact had written a paper at that point about simultaneity. He said it is possible that when Jesus was crucified that simultaneity took place at that moment that we were all atoned for, we were all forgiven. Past, present, future, everything took place simultaneously in that moment. It gives us something to think about. It certainly made sense to me and I do believe that for us in the reformed

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Presbyterian tradition. It fits very well with what we proclaim that we had nothing to do with it. We cannot be good enough to earn our way to a relationship with God because we can't do it. We needed God. We need God. We will need God always in our life. We need the Holy Spirit and we need that atoning grace gift from God to remind us that we are forgiven past, present, future simultaneously. How wonderful it is that physics meets up with the elegant grace of God. Now today in the church it is

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called ascension Sunday. It is a time for us to remember that Jesus who walked this earth with us left this earth went to be at the right hand of God the father almighty as we proclaim in the apostles creed. At this particular time, we know that Jesus had already been 40 days in the wilderness, tested, ready for his ministry. We know that it was 40 days since Easter, his resurrection, that this this particular time took place. We know that there were 40 weeks that Jesus was teaching his disciples about what

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was to come and how they were to live as his followers. What? What? 40 40 and 40. It's interesting when you look at numbers in the Bible, they mean something. 40 is a number that means preparation. Think about it. 40 oftentimes is thought of as a lifetime. This is our lifetime that God has given to us. And during this 40 of our lifetime, it is our preparation for eternal life with Almighty God. preparation to be the Lord's witnesses to all of Mount Dora, to to all of Central Florida, to everywhere

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you go, everywhere that God sends us. We are to be witnesses with our very life, sharing the love of God, the hope of God, certainly the joy of the Lord. We are to be witnesses to for Jesus Christ on this earth. But if you add 40 40 or if you add 4, four and four, you end up with 12, which is an absolutely perfect number. We know that there were the 12 tribes of Israel. We know that 12 was used over and over again in the Bible. And we know that it is a number that signifies authority that Jesus had the authority

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of almighty God. We we will be moving into a time of recognizing the holy trinity. Our faith is is one of elegant simplicity but for some it is confusing because it is so simple. You know the kiss principle in advertising and marketing. Keep it simple, stupid. The kiss principle. Really what the kiss principle is outlining is true elegance. God understood that we had all we could take, all we could achieve through the simplicity, the elegance of what he had provided for us. He's going to help us through this.

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He's going to be with us always as we read in Matthew in the great commission that we are to go into all the world sharing everything that Jesus commanded us sharing the love of Christ telling everyone that you are special and you have a place in the kingdom of God. And how does it end? And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Such an elegant statement from our Lord and Savior. My friends, this is a privilege for us. When Jesus was taken up into heaven, his disciples were staring up at

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the clouds. when these two men in white, most likely angels, were standing next to them and said, "Why do you look up into the heavens, "Your Lord Jesus who was taken into heaven will come back." This is what we proclaim, my friends. This same Jesus who created us, who put us here, by the way, at this particular time in history, has a purpose for our life here, has given you and me, all of us talents and abilities for us to build the kingdom of God right here to share with the world, to share the good news with those around

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us. Because there are so many people who are searching, so many people who are sad, so many people who do not know the love and peace of God in their life. I hope and pray that you will feel that peace in this message, this elegant message of Jesus. That you will see that we are a part of a larger plan, a simple elegant plan that God created before time. You and I and everyone who has lived or will live was a part of that plan before time began. What an amazing thought. What an amazing privilege to be

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included in this elegant plan of God. My friends, let us share with others this love. May we be one. I would like to share one section of Philippians, Paul's letter to the church of Philippi that in a nutshell captures everything we're talking about as far as the elegant plan of God. I'd like for you to listen to this. Therefore, if any have any encouragement from being united from with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing of in the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by

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being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above ourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the other. In your relationships with one another, have the same mind as Jesus Christ, who being very nature with God, did not consider equality with God something to to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.

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Being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father forever. A perfect example, a perfect sign of servant leadership. Jesus who himself was God

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humbled himself to come and live among us to show us the way to live with one another. My friends, let us imitate Jesus in everything that we do, everything that we say and all to the glory of God. Let us pray. Lord, we do thank you for this message reminding us that it is your plan, your elegant plan for this earth that you created. We thank you Lord that we are a part of that plan and we seek to serve you. Help us Lord. We know we mess up every day but help us to get better. Transform our lives. Help us to focus upon our

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mission to share your love with the rest of this world. Help us to begin with our family, our friends, this church, our community, and everyone that you bring across our path. For we pray this with love in our hearts in Jesus' name. [Music] Amen. Heat. Heat. Oh, we might Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh my god. Heat. Heat. [Music] Oh, we might Heat. Heat. Heat. everlasting Ilj. [Music] My friends, what joy it is to know that we we are in fellowship together. Let us do precisely what our Lord and Savior

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has asked us to do. Let us appreciate each other. Let us share with each other. Let us bear each other's burdens and celebrate each other's joys. all to the glory of God. And let us go out this day and proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to everyone that we meet in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [Music] [Music] All right. [Music] Thank you.