This is part of the worship series
"Consider the Birds of the Air"
Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
WEEK TWO
HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW
Call to Worship
Psalm 84 (different sung or spoken settings)
*Call to Confession
Christ our Lord invites all who love him,
who earnestly repent of their sin
and seek to live in peace with one another.
Therefore let us confess our sin before God and one another.
Prayer of Confession
O God, who brooded over the world when it was created,
and broods now over your children
until we are shaped in the image of Christ,
we confess our daily sins:
the word sharply spoken,
the praise withheld,
the embrace not given,
the hurt disguised,
the envy felt,
the self indulged,
the need neglected.
Receive us now broken, penitent, wishing it were otherwise.
Enfold us in the arms of love and forgiveness, and restore a new spirit within us.
Make us one with ourselves, with each other, with you.
Let your name be magnified, let Christ be glorified, let the Holy Spirit be intensified,
in each heart and on all our lips, this day and forever.
Amen.
—John Killinger, Lost In Wonder, Love & Praise: Prayers and Affirmations for Christian Worship, p. 49. © 1986, Angel Books, Lynchburg, VA 24503. Used by permission.
Alternatively, the congregation could sing Psalm 139, “Lord, You Have Searched Me” Post and Oliver
*Assurance of Pardon
Leader: Hear the good news: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God’s love for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
All: Glory to God. Amen.
Hymn of Response
“Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart” Croly and Arkinson
Prayer for Illumination
“Spirit Divine, Inspire Our Prayers” Reed and Cruger
Scripture
Matthew 6:25–27
Sermon Seed
An ancient story tells of Death coming to a city and being met at the gate by a man. The man asks Death what it has come to do. Death says that it will take 10,000 people from the city that day. The next day Death comes again. The same man is sitting at the gate again. This time, the man says to Death, “You said you came to take 10,000 people yesterday, but this morning’s news is that 70,000 died yesterday. Why did you do this?” Death answers, “I did take my 10,000—worry and anxiety killed the rest.”
We may think that worry and anxiety are unique to our culture and to our fast-paced days packed with high expectations. Not so.
Imagine the people of Jesus’ day. They press against Jesus, thirsty for answers. They wonder, Does he really care? Should they leave everything to follow Jesus? Did they do the wrong thing by leaving their work to follow Jesus? How would they feed their kids now? What would they eat and drink and wear tomorrow?
There on a hill beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus points to the heavens to give an illustration his followers would never forget. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee were flocks of pelicans, flamingos, Indian darters, and giant herons, which inhabited only this region of Palestine. The birds would have taken wing at the approach of Jesus’ boat; if not, surely the “great crowds of people” would have frightened them.
To answer their concerns, Jesus simply points a finger to the air and says “Look at the birds of the air” (Matt. 6:26). Every eye looks up to the birds flying above. He continues, “They do not sow or reap or gather into barns”—an obvious fact. Can you imagine birds farming with a tractor or putting up hay? Of course not. Seeing the smiles on their faces, Jesus concludes, “Are you not much more valuable than they?”
When Jesus says that we are not to worry, he doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think about tomorrow. The Greek verb really means “don’t give anxious thought.” Jesus is not against thinking about tomorrow; he warns us against foreboding, not forethought. Again, a look at the birds illustrates this point. Like the birds in Boevé’s painting who are gathering their own food from the sunflower, birds work hard. They industriously scratch and peck all day long to find their food. But they don’t worry about it—they sense that their creator will provide.
This truth is the heart of life. God cares for us and all creatures everywhere—even the drab, pesky, and overpopulated sparrow and the bloodthirsty raven (Matthew 10:31; Luke 12:24). Christians understand Jesus’ point even before he asks the question “Are you not much more valuable than they?” They know that if God provides for sparrows, God certainly cares for us.
As the Eagle Soars and Circles
As the eagle soars and circles,
seeing all beneath the sky,
you, O God, unbound, transcendent,
watch the earth with loving eye.
As the gull with grace and beauty
arcs from sky to touch the sea,
so Christ swept from cosmic splendor,
gracing our humanity.
As the dove’s descent once signaled,
“Here is my beloved Son!”
now, O Spirit, come among us;
name us each and all your own.
As the nightingale undaunted
sings when starless is the night,
may we sing faith’s song in darkness
waiting, yearning for the light.
As no sparrow falls unnoticed
though its space and span are small,
so no life is lost, forgotten
by the Love that made us all.
Meter: 8787
Text: Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1998: ©2000, GIA Pubilcations, Inc., Chicago, IL 60638. 1-800-442*1358. Used by permission.
Congregational Song
“How Lovely Is Your House, O Lord” Roeper-Boulogne and Slenk
“Look and Learn from the Birds of the Air” Young-soo
“Psalm 8” Watts
“Praise the Lord! O Heavens, Adore Him” Dirksen
“How Lovely Is Your Dwelling” Knecht and Husband
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” Chisholm and Runyan
“If You But Trust in God to Guide You”
“How Great Thou Art” Hine
“Thy Holy Wings” Sandell-Berg, Grindal
“His Eye Is on the Sparrow” Martin
Anthem Suggestions
“Carol of the Cuckoo,” Carolyn Jennings; unison/2-part for Christmas with flute (Choristers Guild CGA-228)
“O How Amiable,” Ralph Vaughan Williams; SATB and organ (Oxford 42.056)
“Psalm 84,” Paul Bouwman; SATB and organ (Augsburg 11-11002)
Revised Common Lectionary
Year A: Epiphany—Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
Year A: Season after Pentecost—Proper 3 (8)
Year B: Season after Pentecost—Canadian Thanksgiving Day
Year B: Season after Pentecost—Thanksgiving Day
