SERMON – AUGUST 17, 2025
All Scripture References = Bible Gateway – CEV
This morning’s sermon is entitled:
“THE COMPASS”
Pray: Dear Lord, I pray that the words from my mouth and the
meditation of my heart, be acceptable and pleasing to you in your
heavenly and divine sight. In Jesus’ name I pray...Amen
Question: The ark was built in three stories. The top one had a window
to let in light. How did the bottom two stories get light?
Answer: They used floodlights. (Note: They had no compass.)
Bible Study - This past year Jim and I were blessed to moderate (mostly
Jim) and participate (mostly me) in Wednesday evening Bible studies.
Some people attended in-person; some via Zoom. We became quite
close as a Bible study unit and extended church family. We tossed-up
and kicked-around a lot of ideas and thoughts. We respectfully shared
and examined our different perceptions, interpretations and insights, all
while doing our best to digest, and understand, the word of God. We
trusted each other, got teary-eyed together, laughed a lot and even
shared some scrumptious snacks. In other words, we bonded.
The Trinity - One of the studies we did was Douglas Connelly’s,
“Meeting the Spirit” and that was always one of the topics that I had
trouble wrapping my head around, the concept of the trinity – Father,
Son and Holy Ghost (as I learned) or Holy Spirit (current reference).
I would have to say that the book and movie, “The Shack,” while a very
difficult story, created a wonderful visual for me of the division, yet
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interconnectedness, of each member of the trinity. The characters,
Papa (representing God), Jesus, and Sarayu (representing the Holy
Spirit) comprised the trinity. These characters were so very different
than what I imagined, however, they served me well in helping me to
better differentiate between the three, especially where Sarayou (the
Holy Spirit) was concerned.
What God Knows
Have you given much thought to what God knows and how He knows
it? Especially about you, personally?
I started giving this some serious consideration and I realized that,
according to:
Luke - Chapter 12: Verse 7
7 Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don't be afraid! You
are worth much more than many sparrows.
- and in -
1 Corinthians - Chapter 6: Verses 19-20
19 You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy
Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no
longer your own. 20 God paid a great price for you. So use your
body to honor God.
The realization struck me - what wouldn’t He know about us if He
knows how many hairs we have on our heads? Especially if He is in us...
Statistics - According to AI Overview, the average American spends
roughly 4 to 5 hours per day on their cell phone and 6 hours and 40
minutes, globally, online. From a Christian perspective, by those
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statistics, I can only deduce that, the majority of Christian cell phone
users and those online, are immersing themselves in a faith-based
teaching, program, conference and/or seminar. (Pause...)
Interestingly, according to AI Overview, if you read the Bible just 12
minutes per day, you could read the entire Bible in a year. That is a
fraction of the time we are spending focusing on other interests.
My Mom used to pick up the Bible often, randomly open it to a page,
and, select a passage by “blindly” pointing her finger at the page to
decide on a reading. She said that it was amazing how often that verse
and/or passage was applicable to something in her life.
What God Wants Us to Do
If we knew what God wanted us to do with our energy, intelligence,
imagination and love, would we spend more time doing it and less
time being distracted by things we see on our phones or online?
The Holy Spirit is always there to be our lighthouse, beacon, road flare,
compass. All we need to do is to ask. Referring back to Douglas
Connelly, we can ask the Holy Spirt to:
1. ... give us an open heart to all that he wants us to do;
2. ... give us the courage to talk with other people about Jesus:
3. ...prepare us to be used in a powerful way in our workplace,
community and/or church fellowship;
4. ...let the Holy Spirit know we want every decision we make to
be guided by His wisdom;
5. ---willingly give ourselves and our desires to the Holy Spirit. Ask
him to help us live as a child of God;
By the same token it is important to:
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6. ...Thank the Holy Spirit for giving us spiritual gifts and to express
our willingness to use our gifts to strengthen and bless other
people and Christians;
We can also make the commitment to:
7. Promise the Holy Spirit that we will strive to live in submission
to his will and direction.
If you are unsure of what you are meant to do, you can complete an on-
line “Spiritual Gifts” questionnaire provided by Focus on the Family.
The link has been provided in the bulletin:
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/wp-
content/uploads/2022/10/Discovering-Your-Spiritual-Gifts_v2.pdf
This “assessment” covers a comprehensive list of distinctive
characteristics to rate yourself by. It then condenses the results into the
“Seven Motivational Gifts” (a compilation from Romans - Chapter 12:
Verses 3-9), which read:
3 I realize God has treated me with undeserved grace, and so I tell
each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use
good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God
has given you. 4 A body is made up of many parts, and each of
them has its own use. 5 That's how it is with us. There are many
of us, but we, each, are part of the body of Christ, as well as part
of one another. 6 God has also given each of us different gifts to
use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount
of faith we have. 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we
can teach, we should teach. 8 If we can encourage others, we
should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If
we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others,
we should do it cheerfully. 9 Be sincere in your love for others.
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Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is
good.
To clarify, I offer some “snippets” from the Focus on the Family
site:
1. Prophecy – “A prophet is one who receives direct messages
from God and gives them to others with supernatural power. It
means you’re able to understand, discern God’s message, and
be aware of those who need to hear that particular message.”
2. Service – “...you want to meet the practical, physical needs of
others.”
3. Teaching – “...you tend to clarify truths and concepts and have
a real passion for the truth.”
4. Exhortation – “You can minister words of comfort, consolation,
encouragement, and counsel to others in such a way as to bring
help and healing.”
5. Administration – “...you enjoy organizing people so they will
work together.”
6. Giving – “...if you seem to have a knack for making money - and
you enjoy helping other people out financially, you can
contribute your material resources for the work of the ministry
- liberally and cheerfully.”
7. Mercy – “...you have a strong internal desire to heal physical
and/or mental wounds. You feel genuine empathy and
compassion for other people who are hurting.
Once you have determined your strengths and/or weaknesses, you
would then consult the Holy Spirit...and ask for guidance as to how you
should proceed.
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If we ground ourselves in this segment of:
Galatians – Chapter 5: Verses 22-26, wherein in states:
22 God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind,
good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law
against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we
belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and
desires. 25 God's Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow
the Spirit. 26 But don't be conceited or make others jealous by
claiming to be better than they are...
From this passage, we can be assured that we will be guided on
the right path and to the end result most suited for ourselves and
the benefit of others.
Does this mean we may have to consider reaching beyond our comfort
zones? Yes. Absolutely. However, we will not be there alone.
Our Church & Our Community
This church, and its congregants, and others within our community,
have proven time and time again that they are children of God.
In my own recollection, this church has consistently defied the odds.
Our once active Emergency Response Team (approx. 60 volunteers)
literally moved mountains at a home in Westtown...affording them
access to safe woodstove heat, safe electrical service...dry beds to sleep
in...and more...
In Roscoe, after devastating flooding, our church helped to remove
debris and muck to help homeowners reclaim their land, homes and
barn.
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In several instances, we have collected the requested contents and
assembled and delivered Flood Buckets to flood ravaged areas via the
Church World Service.
Over many years, through our Mission Trips to Haiti (multiple x’s),
Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and
Kentucky (to name a few), due to devasting flooding and/or tornado
damage, we have brought hope to people in despair.
Through our various Church and Deacons’ ministries, all supported by
each and every one of you, and many folks from our community,
including, but not limited to (forgive me for any omissions because
there are so many), Sunday School, the Deacons’ 5K Fund-Raiser, the
Backpack Program, Women’s Auxiliary Dinners, Care Bears - meal
preparation for those in need, Cafe’, Coffee Houses, Prayer Shawl
Ministry, Medical Closet, Valentine’s Day Police Appreciation, School
Supply Collection, Christmas Live Nativity and Deacons’ Food Pantry,
we have brought our church and God’s presence into many people’s
lives.
We have also constructed and decorated church floats in our local
parades in the past. Our Halloween Trunk-or-Treats have been wildly
popular.
Many hands make light work...and this church, and everyone in it, has
“made light work” in many scenarios.
What else can we do? How else can we reach out to others and invite
them in to this precious and blessed Church community?
And, yes, we are a precious and blessed church community.
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I have been coming to this church since 1990. My introduction to the
OMHPC and its people was initiated, by invitation, from a close friend,
however, it was not to come to church; it was to participate in many of
the church’s sports programs we had then, such as a golf league, a
softball team, and a volleyball team. We also held a few Pinochle
tournaments. We have had, and in some cases still have, prayer groups,
book studies, series studies, such as “The Chosen,” cooking and baking
classes, a scrapbooking group, a quilting group, a crochet and knitting
group, and I could go on.
One particular late afternoon, actually, my first, while golfing in the
Church league, I heard someone’s very unique and hearty laughter
across the golf course and asked, “Who’s that?” It was none other than
Pastor Farley. I was hooked. I absolutely loved that he was out there
laughing and enjoying himself...and that church events were fun!
Initially, the sports events got me through the church’s doors. It was
the people that kept me here.
This church is where I learned what the term “Church Family”
encompassed.
As far as outreach goes:
In addition to what we already have available:
I think it would be especially wonderful if we arranged for and held a
fishing tournament to involve young and old in an outdoor activity.
How about a car club? Parent group? Singles group? Baseball card
exchange? Collector train enthusiast group? A hiking and/or walking
club? A fly-tying class for our fishermen? Maybe a wood-working or
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craftsman’s demonstration? Possibly a chainsaw, or ice carver, demo?
A Ping-Pong tournament?
I also think it would be a lot of fun to bring back our “old school”
church picnic with sack and wheelbarrow races, water balloon tosses,
spoon races and maybe even a dunking booth. Let’s get these kids
outside and off their devices – for at least 12 minutes a day!
I have, personally, been tossing around the idea of having another Cake
Auction, Spaghetti Dinner and/or a “Chalk Festival” to raise money for
our upcoming Mission Trip this spring.
Witnessing
In my own experience, many years ago, my vehicle was in need of
repair and was going to be unavailable to me for a week. My closest
family was 45 minutes away. A church family, of 4 working, and driving,
adults, became aware of this situation and rearranged their entire
schedule so that they could lend me a vehicle for a week! They reduced
themselves to 4 people with 3 cars, going in different directions,
voluntarily! Where does that happen?
When I had my hip replaced, in 2015, some families brought over meals
and/or soup and leant me various medical equipment to make my
recuperation easier - note: we did not have the medical closet yet.
Since then, I have witnessed countless acts of kindness and generosity
within, and outside, of these walls.
Conclusion
1. Whether you conduct a Bible Study or participate in one, or start, or
participate in, another church group, it is an accessory to Sunday’s
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church service in which to learn more and to grow – and - it is an
opportunity for fellowship;
2. If you spend a lot of time on your devices: phone, computer, I-Pad,
etc., compare it to the time you read and study the Bible – Do you
have 12 minutes a day?;
3. If you are not sure, yet, what God’s plan is for you, and/or if you are
not sure what your Spiritual Gifts are, consider completing the
“Spiritual Gifts” assessment, asking for the Holy Spirit’s guidance
and setting aside some quiet, uninterrupted time so that you can
hear the guidance you are being offered. Remember – Whatever you
may need: time, confidence, courage, wisdom, determination,
knowledge, etc. – you can reflect on:
Matthew Chapter 7: Verse 7
7 Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and
the door will be opened for you.
There are a lot of people doing a lot of things to keep this church afloat
until we find a permanent pastor. In the meantime, is there something
you are being called to? Are we missing something that you, and/or
possibly a team, can provide? Are there new and fresh ideas
simmering in your heads? Do you have a particular hobby that you
would like to share. Are there activities you are being called to
participate in? Are there other ways for us to continue to connect with
each other, while staying grounded in faith, as well as to include those
in our community and to help those looking for a church and a feeling
of belonging?
Activities that provide fellowship...and create bonds...strengthen our
relationships and our church. That proof already exists...Together, if we
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maintain our course, guided by God’s word, along with our internal
compass, our potential is limitless.
For a church full of good people, God’s people, guided by the Holy
Spirit, the possibilities are endless.
I look forward to what the future will bring...in the meantime, I leave
you with this final thought – Some have jokingly said that the letters
of the English word “Bible” could stand for
"Best Instructions Before Leaving Earth."
May our “Compass” keep us on a steady path and grounded in
our faith. May we keep in mind what God knows about us and
strive to make Him proud as to what He will remember about us...
If we falter, help us to remember God’s grace and forgiveness...
Amen...
Sue Maney-Eggleton, Author
Note: Q & A - taken from:
Clean Bible jokes, puns, and trivia
https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/trivia.htm