Voices of the Modern Church, Part II

“Voices of the Modern Church, Part II” was preached at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, July 29, 2018. Inspirations for this sermon include creative preaching, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church members & worship committee, diversity & culture, Noah Buchholz, the day of Pentecost, and the workings of the Holy Spirit.

This sermon includes the reflections of several members in languages that are partial to their identity. The transcript below includes the translated versions of their reflections. However, the point of the sermon is to hear praise and worship in multiple languages with the intent that we may not always understand the voice that God is lifting. In other words, listen to the audio version of the sermon first and then read the translations provided below.

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Psalm 145

1 I will extol you, my God and King,

    and bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you,

    and praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

    his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall laud your works to another,

    and shall declare your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,

    and I will declare your greatness.

7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,

    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The Lord is good to all,

    and his compassion is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

    and all your faithful shall bless you.

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,

    and tell of your power,

12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds,

    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,

    and gracious in all his deeds.

14 The Lord upholds all who are falling,

    and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

    and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand,

    satisfying the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is just in all his ways,

    and kind in all his doings.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,

    to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;

    he also hears their cry, and saves them.

20 The Lord watches over all who love him,

    but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

    and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

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Taylor

English

Friends, I am excited for today! I am excited because I have asked several of our members to provide a reflection on the Psalm we just heard, Psalm 145, a Psalm which tells the greatness and goodness of God. I also asked them to provide this reflection in a language that is part of their identity and culture. On your way out of worship this morning, you are invited to take home a sheet of paper which has the English translations of each of their reflections. 

But right now I ask you to listen with your hearts. Be inspired by the Spirit that flows through you, with you, and around you.

We may not understand each word, but we do understand what is happening. Praise for God is happening. Thanksgiving for grace is being spoken. A community is gathered to worship the Lord. 

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Jeremy                                                                                                                      

Swahili

Get rid of your silence.

                       

The psalmist has forerun his reputation as a king, contemplating his qualities and the fact that he will respond to all people in order to know him. Praise and worship his great deeds and goodness. The eighth verse is very profound because the author explains the character of his king, slow-tempered, compassionate, and full of Mercy God promises to be with us even when we are down, hold our hands, feed us, and to listen to all the people.

The kingdom of the Lord is available to all who are studying the Lord and have the ability to preach and to teach His goodness. The flow of the altar gives its praise to the near future that causes them to fall. I will praise God with my mouth and my body, will bless his name forever and ever. The Lord has declared His goodness and His greatness, by my actions and the voice I will declare His majesty for He promises to hear all our praises. Amen.

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Taylor

English

We are now in our second week of our sermon series called, “Voices of the Modern Church.” For those of you who were here last week, you might remember that this sermon series is inspired by a church in Indianapolis: Broadway United Methodist Church. Broadway UMC features a section of worship called, “Lessons of the Contemporary Church.” This section which takes place between the scripture readings and the sermon lifts up the voices of the surrounding community by asking members to share their testimony, their story, their mission; whatever comes to mind. They do this to show that human voice can help share God’s story, which is still happening today.

In this series—in these sermons, we are embracing that the Word of God is found in the Word read in scripture, the Word interpreted through preaching, and the Word lifted through the words of God’s people. Together we are listening for the Spirit speaking through the voices of our people.

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Julia                                                                                                           

Mandarin

My first language is Mandarin, but I have lived my entire Christian life in English. From the time I was first introduced to the Gospel and came to know Christ, I read the Bible, prayed and talked and thought about God in English. I have read the Bible in Chinese only on a few occasions when I have attended Chinese churches with my parents. So being asked to, not only read Psalm 145 in Chinese but also to preach about it in Chinese is quite a stretch!

As I read the Psalm in English and Chinese side by side, I am struck by the different sense of intimacy that each one invokes. I have read the English phrases many times and they are familiar to me. I am reminded of why I have always loved the Psalms! “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise,” “I will meditate on your wonderful works,” “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love,” “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” In prayer, in Scripture reading and in song, these words have echoed through the centuries in medieval English monasteries, in Early America, in the early Canadian wilderness and resound in our own prayers and songs today.

But the same words in Chinese invokes a different kind of intimacy. I think of the voices of recent Chinese immigrants gathered in a rented hall in Toronto, Chinese scholars in a prayer meeting at Notre Dame and believers in the underground church in China. People who praise God even in the midst of difficulty and suffering. I think about the voices of my parents, my family and friends speaking God’s praise. In Acts, at the beginning of the apostles’ ministry, the first act of the Holy Spirit was to translate the Gospel into every language that was represented there. I think this is why it is so important to praise, pray and preach in every language. No language, and no culture has a monopoly on the Gospel or on hearing from God. It was God’s intention from the very beginning to speak in every language throughout history. Amen.

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Taylor

English

Our sermons in this series are abstract; they are open to interpretation. Listen to how you might be inspired today. If anything, I ask you listen to the words of praise found in each preacher. Listen for emotion. Embrace the sermon with all your senses. Let the words of each preacher invite you into your own sacred conversation with God.

Last week’s sermon featured the “What If…” activity. Members of are church were asked to write a “What if...” question on one side of the notecard. Then they handed back that notecard to me, I shuffled all the notecards, which were collected in two pairs of roughly fifteen cards, and then gave a card from that shuffled pile randomly back to each person. They then answered their own original “What if…” question with a “Then…” statement on their new card, not knowing what the actual new question they were answering.

I thought about that for today…

“What if a sermon was preached in many different languages?”

Then… well, we’re actually answering that together right now. What if a sermon was preached in many different languages? You tell me.

Let our Spirits be stirred by words and languages that we may not understand. Let us believe that God understands for us.

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Alema

Chichewa

We have read a song of praise by David. King David spent most of his life time praising & glorifying God. This is why God called him a man after his own heart. This Psalm of David talks about the greatness of our God, it's a reminder to us about how great & powerful God is. One of the strongest points in the chapter is verse 8 where David is telling us that the LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love. Isn't that encouraging to hear? This is one of the powerful & encouraging verses in this chapter.  David is saying Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. The wonder working God is a wonderful God. The LORD is righteous in everything He does and loving toward all he has made. All creation tells of the power of his awesome works; it bows down in reverence of him and proclaim his great deeds. David is telling us more about God's faithfulness & his promises to our lives. He's a God who satisfies the desires of our hearts; he hears our cry and saves us all the time.  He gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit for he's Holy always, he sticks by all who love and fear him. We can all follow David's Example in living a life of praise to our God for he is worthy of praise, honor and adoration. Let our mouths be filled with GOD's praise. Let everything that has breath praise him; bless his holy name from now to eternity! Amen.

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Taylor

English

The Word of God comes to us when we acknowledge who God is to us, which is praise and worship.

Let me repeat that. 

The Word of God comes to us when we acknowledge who God is to us, which is praise and worship.

Now friends, we are Presbyterian. We also acknowledge that we will never fully understand who or what God is. Our human limitations can only constrain the concept of God but never fully grasp. So instead, we rejoice in our understanding that we will never fully understand. Instead, we lift up the good nature and good works in the words we know… but if we challenge ourselves and if we expand our words, expand our vocabulary, expand our cultural and linguistic understanding, a greater understanding may come to us.

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Safwat and Calista

Arabic

This psalm holds together a paradox about God and God’s relationship with the world. While the psalm emphasizes how great, majestic, awesome, and wonderful God is, the psalm also asserts that God is close to the world and is in a relationship with the creation that God has created and loves. Take for example verse 3 that says “The LORD is great and so worthy of praise! God’s greatness can’t be grasped.” This verse shows not only that God is great, it also points out that God’s greatness is too great to be understood by human beings who are limited compared to God. God’s greatness is manifest in all of the world, in God’s wonderful creation and in God’s powerful works. Yet at the same time, this psalm teaches us that this great and awesome God chose freely to be in a relationship with God’s creation. The psalm states that “The LORD is good to everyone and to everything, God’s compassion extends to all his handiwork!” God’s goodness is evident in that God supports all who fall down. God is so close to God’s creation that God opens God’s hands to satisfy the desires of every living thing. God’s greatness does not hold God back from being a relational God, and God’s closeness does not take away from God’s majesty and honor.

Today, we are celebrating God’s kingdom in our own congregation by listening to all the languages that are present in this beautiful church. If God’s kingdom is all over the whole world as this psalm teaches us, then it is right for us to be worshipping together as a church, welcoming God’s kingdom among diverse languages and cultures. This celebration is not just about apparent differences; it is also about how we view God differently. My parents grew up in a culture that emphasizes hierarchy and authority; and because of that there is stronger emphasis in the middle eastern culture about God’s majesty and not a whole lot of emphasis on God’s closeness. I am growing up in a culture in which hierarchy is questioned, and therefore, many people in America emphasize God’s closeness and relationality. I think when we read this psalm together, with people who come from different cultures, we learn how to bring together this deep faith in God in ways that challenge us and comfort us. For those who emphasize God’s majesty, they need to be reminded that God is close and near to provide for them. Those who emphasize God’s closeness, they need to remember that God cannot be contained in their own imagination, God is greater than the whole world. Whether this or that, this psalm calls us to praise God, to trust in God, and to reach out to those who are in need so that we would participate in God’s kingdom.  Amen.

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Taylor

English

Last week in our sermon, we made the claim that the Word of God is given, established, promised, and kept forever. This is still true in today’s sermon.

And as we just said a moment ago, The Word of God comes to us when we acknowledge who God is to us, which is praise and worship.

Friends, that is what is happening right now. We, through praise and through worship, are acknowledging who God is. Therefore, the Word of God is being given, it being established, it is being promised, and yes, it is being kept forever. This is happening right before us right now. God is at work, right here and right now.

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Teodoro                                                                                             

Spanish

Psalms are hymns. It’s easier for me to read the psalm as such in Spanish because it is a more musical language. This amplifies the sense of praise in the song because music is one of my favorite ways to praise God. The God in this psalm is generous, kind, and powerful. God cares for all God’s creation, yet God wants us to ask for his help. The most powerful line for me is verse 9. It reminds me that God loves all his creation, without exception. I especially like the Spanish translation because it uses the word “works.” It reminds me that we are all “works” of God, that God has spent time on our creation.

The psalm is a psalm of praise. God gave us many different ways to praise him. One of these is our voices. God gave us all different and distinct voices. This is why it’s important to have services like this. When we use our different voices for praise, we display the full splendor of God’s creation. Amen.

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Taylor

English

What a beautiful gift. Our own church is a representation of God’s kingdom. Sunnyside is a diverse community. We have people celebrated here from all different backgrounds, stories, cultures; even countries. God has blessed us with ALL the people that make up who we are. Today we heard the stories of our people in their own language. Today we heard our own voices being lifted up through the voices of others. This is the Modern Church; the Spirit is speaking. Dare we listen?

We close today’s sermon with the prayer we all know. These are the words Jesus taught to us.

Listen for the voices of the modern church. 

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Hannelore                                                                                                               

German

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in 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.

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Taylor

English

The voices of the modern church. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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