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[Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] welcome to worship in the riverside church community this fourth sunday after epiphany i'm michael livingston interim senior minister and i'm glad this morning to welcome to our virtual pulpit the reverend dr raquel letsom as our guest preacher you will remember dr letsom from last year and we will be richly blessed again by her preaching this morning her sermon from last year don't let the darkness fool you is one of the most downloaded in 2020 for repeat viewing she'll help us continue our focus on the voices and stories of women in the scriptures for such a time as this so settle in be comfortable and yet prepared to be challenged by the good news of the gospel download the bulletin share the video with family and friends participate in the chat on youtube if you'd like at unobtrusive moments or make the video video full screen to worship as though you were sitting in the nave let's hear now from clergy with announcements for our community good morning everyone i'm reverend jim keat riverside's digital minister today is january 31st which means tomorrow is february 1st that was an easy one and then just over two weeks later on february 17th we enter the season of lent we begin lent with ash wednesday we'll have an ash wednesday service and we'll also have daily episodes of a new season of be still and go our devotional podcast but we're also creating a lent devotional so that we can all experience lent together even if we're unable to gather in person and we want to send you a copy all you need to do is visit trcnyc.org lent and fill out the form that you'll find linked right there at the top of the page give us your name and your mailing address and we'll send it your way in the next couple of weeks so that we can all experience this lenten season together and again that's trcnyc.org lent and i look forward to all the ways that we will stay connected during this upcoming season at riverside good morning i am rev phil tom and i serve with our riverside development committee our next srdc session will be held today after the virtual coffee hour the congregational survey presentation that was scheduled for today has been moved to a future date instead members of the rdc will provide information about mcgifford hall and updates about the subcommittee's work i know you'll find this a very informed decision so we invite you to join us after the virtual coffee hour today next sunday february 7th at 1pm the reverend patrick o'connor senior pastor of first presbyterian church in jamaica queens will be our speaker for our rdc next 90 speaker series reverend o'connor will be discussing the multiple ways that his congregation is serving his community first press returning church is currently building a 12-story building that will house 174 affordable housing units its feeding program his job training program and his community health center i know that you will find this a very very fascinating story to hear about how first presbyterian church is creatively serving his community so we invite you to join us next sunday after the virtual coffee at 1 pm so have a blessed day join me now in our responsive call to worship light of the world bring us new life we choose to be people of life and blessings as we embrace the kindness of others strengthen our hearts to be generous in love give us hope and lead us to reconciliation teach us to live together as family while we worship in your name [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] may jesus christ [Music] peace [Music] jesus jesus christ let us pray god of grace come among us this morning as only you can transform the distance separating us into an intimacy of mind heart and spirit strengthen our community by our shared embrace of your presence in our midst you are our center we welcome your transforming grace it is you who gathers us here and gives new meaning to worship in these difficult times we open ourselves to you this sacred day come be with us here and now in christ we pray amen our hebrew scripture lesson comes from exodus the first chapter beginning with the 15th verse the king of egypt said to the hebrew midwives when you act as midwives to the hebrew women and see them at the birth stool if it is a boy kill him if it is a girl she shall live but the midwives feared god they did not do as the king of egypt commanded them but they let the boys live so the king of egypt summoned the midwives and said to them why have you done this and allowed the boys to live midwives said to pharaoh because the hebrew women they are not like the egyptian women for they are vigorous and they give birth before the midwives come to them so god dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong and because the midwives feared god he gave them families the word of god for the people of god thanks be to god good morning riverside it is indeed my pleasure to be worshiping with you virtually this morning and i'd like to extend my thank you to my friend and brother the reverend michael livingston for extending to me this invitation the scripture has been read in your hearing so for the next few moments i want to preach from the subject dream deliverers we are indeed living in times that your spiritual leadership has aptly described as being marked by gaping inequities systemic racism mass death and narcissistic leadership therefore we the people of god must recognize the need for prophetic leadership and steadfast faith that is characterized by our biblical shiros so this morning i am calling for the puas and the shifras because we need them now as much as moses and the children of israel needed them then i am calling for the pu's and the shifters because we need some birth coaches who will help us cultivate faith in the midst of misery and despair that is necessary to bring forth god's vision into the world i am calling for the puas and the shifters because we need midwives to help us move justice out into the world until it is no longer confined to the bodies of a few but is accessible to all i am calling for the puas and the shifas because we need more dream deliverers we need people that will help advance the justice inclusion and wholeness that characterize the kingdom of god or what brian mclaren calls god's dream for creation now to be clear i'm not talking about aiding and abetting mindless fantasies or narcissistic aspirations or anything that advances some at the expense of others i am calling for us to participate in god's work so that what god said is what we see in experience what god showed becomes what we see in our everyday lives and what god has promised is what we expect so this is both a call and an open invitation and a heartfelt ex supplication because i submit to you that everybody has the potential of being a dream deliverer or spiritual midwife it does not matter if we are male or female young or old rich or poor each one of us can bless another in a way that helps them bring forth actions and words and policies and programs and institution and lives that manifest god's dream and this delivery requires a spiritual midwife a dream deliverer if you will someone who can manage the pregnancy and birth minister to the wounds and make ready for the next conception someone who will be like pua and shifra in three very important ways first they will affirm in their day what pua and shifra affirmed in theirs that the lives of vulnerable people vulnerable because society looks down upon them for no other reason than the accident of their birth that their lives matter for pua and shifra they asserted that hebrew lives mattered by their actions not just their rhetoric by their practice and in their profession they asserted that hebrew lives were worthy of being preserved protected given safe passage into and through the world they weren't saying that egyptian lives didn't matter it was just that egyptian lines were not being threatened the hebrews hadn't taken up arms against the egyptians the hebrews hadn't stormed pharaoh's palace the hebrews hadn't sided with egypt's enemies the egyptians weren't killing hebrews because of what they did but what they feared or were even taught to fear that they might do the second thing is that they just did their jobs they fulfilled the highest calling of their vocation because being a midwife was not necessarily a super spiritual endeavor it dealt with the physical and the human with the messiness of bringing life into the world their job was incredibly practical incredibly necessary and they dealt with the everyday ordinary realities of life what they did was simple and yet profound within their vocation they used their vocation their skills and gifts and expertise and experience that they had attained to meet the present need by so doing this human enterprise became a holy endeavor they weren't just delivering babies but they were delivering god's dreams their acts embodied and promoted the freedom and creativity the kindness and the justice the generosity and the peace the diversity and the harmony that mclaren says characterizes the dream of god that characterizes and promotes the kingdom of god and not the reign of pharaoh finally to do their jobs it meant that they were okay in the supporting role in the ministry of helps they were willing to play their parts even if it didn't guarantee the success of the whole enterprise pua and shifa were faithful to do what they could when the odds were not in their favor when what was right seemed doomed from the start when perhaps they wondered if they would make a difference or the difference if it felt like they were spitting in the wind or simply delaying the inevitable because they knew pharaoh they knew the system he had set in place was designed to destroy so can i pause here for a moment to tell you that pharaoh was a classic dream destroyer because a dream destroyer rigs the system or maintains the rigged system so that their enclaves of power and privilege remain just us those outside never get justice a dream destroyer sees greatness and goodness in others but perceives them as a threat to their sovereignty so they will do what is necessary to maintain control even at the cost of lives to pharaoh those hebrew boys represented the protection and the hope and the continuation of their people a man child meant that there was someone or another generation to protect the people because in those days if the borders needed defending the men would do it if new lands needed to be conquered the men would do it if foreigners tried to assault the women or harm the children the men would handle it and whatever one generation amassed or attained it was up to the men to preserve and protect it for the next generation to destroy the men then was to destroy the people by leaving the women to become the bearers of foreigners or worse the enemy's children but while pharaoh had turned his attention to the boys god kept god's eyes on the women and the girls beloved we got to be careful about who we overlook count out or think of as insignificant because in the end pharaoh lost his life in his military because of some god-fearing women and girls we often have the tendency to talk about moses as the deliverer of the israelites but there would have been no moses without pua and schiffer who refused to kill those baby boys giving women the courage to bear their sons disobey pharaoh and hide them from egyptian soldiers there would have been no moses without jochebed his mother who risked her life keeping him alive finally putting him in a reed basket on the nile river hoping someone would find him and have mercy there would have been no moses without miriam who stood at a distance watching her baby brother float to the spot where pharaoh's daughter bathed and got her mother as a wet nurse to feed her own son there would have been no moses without pharaoh's daughter who had pity on the child that disobeyed her father's edict and raised him as her own and there would have been no moses without zipporah who on that strange night that the lord tried to kill moses circumcised her son and touched moses feet with the child's foreskin saving moses life pharaoh was so busy trying to kill moses and the boys that he did not keep an eye on the women and the girls so much so that on the banks of the red sea miriam and those tambourine beaten symbol clanging footstopping women danced at the edge of pharaoh and his troops watery grave but before they could get to deliverance the midwives had to choose what they would deliver the two women had a choice fear god or follow pharaoh what they decided would determine if they would be dream deliverers or dream destroyers so i am here to tell you that even in what seems like a barren season where death and human depravity and the situation caused so much by human stupidity are all around us there are also people who are in need of some dream deliverers or some spiritual midwives they are pregnant with purpose they are carrying vision they are bearing a dream and it's just that some of them are not yet showing i mean we would not know that they are pregnant there are no outward visible telltale signs and unless we talk with them or they shared with us we would not know that from the outside that there is something going on deep on the inside that has yet to be seen the deep down inside god is knitting together plan and purpose dream and destiny they need someone to guide them through the process they need someone to help them make it until faith becomes sight vision becomes manifest dreams become reality and if we would follow the examples of pua and shifra we too will be dream deliverers or spiritual midwives you see to be a dream deliverer one has to use the power of the tongue to speak encouragement and praise and reassurance they need someone to help them or to say something to help them do well and be well with the expectation that things will go well that these are much undervalued commodities but invaluable to an expected mother at the time of birth the mother can feel the pain but she cannot see how much further she has to push to deliver the baby and so often when dream is almost manifest when what is inside is about to come out what no one else can see is about to become a reality and enter the light of day where it can be touched and seen and heard and experienced the pain of delivery gets the best of people the position of delivery renders them blind to how much further they have to go they do not realize that they are closer than they have ever been that the dream is almost here they need someone to tell them to push they need someone to tell them and help them to hold on they need someone to remind them what they can do they need someone to tell them that they can make it or they can do it or they can have it or they can be it despite what pharaoh has said or pharaoh has tried to decree within their lives they need someone to tell them that it's not too much longer now because from where they are and from where the midwife is sitting she can see what the mother cannot the midwife can see the head when the mother can only feel the hurt the midwife can see the shoulder when all the mother knows is that she is sore the midwife can see the torso when all the mother feels is tired sometimes helping somebody give birth to what god has put inside of them just means telling them some things that they already know that they can do all things through christ who strengthens them that god's grace is sufficient and god's power is made perfect in the midst of weakness that greater is the one that is in them than anyone or anything that is in this world being a dream deliverer means ministering to the wounds because there's no birth without pain no matter how incredible the vision the visionary got injured no matter how wonderful the dream the dreamer got wounded and once the dream has become a reality once we can all see it and feel it and taste it and experience we think the job of the dream deliverer is done i mean after all the dream has been delivered but the birth left some wounds behind just as a woman needs to be cleaned up and often stitched up after the birth so the dream deliverer needs to be cared for you see there was some hard work to birth that dream to push when they felt like stopping to press on when others left them to pray when they just felt like sleeping it took a long time to carry that dream to walk by faith and not by sight to wait on the lord and honor god's timing to see others deliver and it was still not their time there were some sacrifices made to bear veteran there were some sleepless nights some turned down plates some career changes some job resignation some unemployment terminations and for some people that dream stretch them to their limits and once a dream has been delivered there are some open wounds and opportunities for infection and the dreamer becomes vulnerable dream deliverers know how to minister to others they know how to minister to the wounds because at this stage of the process the spiritual midwife must not only bless with words but be a blessing through their own deeds and actions you see if the dreamer is never healed if those wounds are not properly treated infection will set in there'll be bitterness towards every person that did not believe them they'll be hatred for every heckler that said it would not happen there'll be apathy because of every moment that they had to feel and walk this thing alone dream deliverers know that healing is a physical and a spiritual practice therefore they know how to cover wounds with love and treat injuries with grace they know how to handle pain with some patience and how to surround sensitive spots with some prayer and finally dream deliverers have to get the person ready for the next pregnancy in the natural body child bearing is only for a season every woman if she lives long enough will go through the change but there is no such thing as a spiritual menopause dreams can be delivered no matter the age of the bearer but the bearer must be prepared to conceive and carry and deliver again and herein steps the midwife midwives know what kind of garment the woman should wear to keep things in place no the food they should eat to regain their strength no law how long they should rest before going full speed ahead and in the same way a spiritual midwife must know how to bind up a person in prayer because once the dream is delivered the dreamer may become too puffed up with pride become stated with their own sense of self-worth or may become glutton with arrogance a spiritual midwife knows that just because the dreamer has given birth it's not an excuse to let their spiritual body go because a belt of truth cannot go around the self-deceiving waste a breastplate of righteousness cannot cover a puffed up chest gospel shoes can't go on self-glorifying feet a shield of faith and the sword of the spirit cannot go on hands that are just busy patting their own self on the back and a helmet of salvation cannot fit over a big head the midwife knows that these are the only clothes that can keep a spiritual body in shape and the only way to keep the dreamer in those clothes is for them to eat right so the dream deliverer knows that they can't serve up french fried fear and glaze gossips therapy scandals reconstituted rumors or hydrogenated hateration they need to give them something that is good for them and that will feed their souls they need to give them something from the word of god and so midwives don't have to be preachers or teachers or evangelists they just have to have read enough words studied enough word heard enough word on a regular basis that they have enough words stored up so that they have something to share they have to have tasted and seen that the lord is good have their speech seasoned with grace so that their word is palatable to somebody else dream deliverers know that the word is the seed and if it's planted in an environment protected by the whole armor of god if it's water with just some prayer conception will come pregnancy is pending and a dream will be delivered pua and shifra embodied steadfast faith and vision they didn't know what these deliveries would become what person or idea institution or action resistance or vision or movement would be loosed into the world by their actions they were just faithful enough to do the next right thing the thing that they were able to see and to do from where they were and by resisting the urge of self-preservation they by their actions deliver an entire nation by saving others they save themselves the bible says that because of what they did god gave them families in other words they blessed others and they were blessed themselves they cared for others and god took care of them and at some point we must understand that giving of our time and our talents and our resource doesn't leave us with less it only creates more and therefore we must stop waiting for the magic moment to become involved stop looking for the next prophet or potentate messiah or magistrate stop thinking that deliverance will only come through certain individuals deliverance may culminate in a moses it might reach its highest manifestation energy in jesus but the dream of god includes us all whereas i am confident of what god can do and what god will do i am certain that god's ways are just and god's will is sovereign that god's heart is filled with love for us that in the end god will have the final say that as my grandmama told me that trouble won't last always yeah i am certain that the plans of god will prevail that god is too great god is too strong and god is too sovereign to let this thing go completely off the rails that when all is said and when all is done we too will have a reason to shout for joy but my task this morning is not to get you to a shout over the goodness of god it's to persuade you to be on the side of god to act in solidarity with god so i will end this sermon as i began it i'm calling for the pulas and the shifters because we need them now as much as moses and the children of israel needed them then we've heard the word of god preach the good news this morning with passion and spirit and truth i pray that we can all take this message in and be transformed by it become midwives like the hebrew women of egypt so now let's pray for our church for ourselves and for our world the lord be with you and with your spirit lift up your hearts we lift them up unto the lord let us pray almighty god creator of earth and sea and skies of universes beyond our reach and grains of sand beneath our feet we come to you with gratitude for another day you make our gathering possible and give us reason to be together breath and sight you give us hands and hearts to think and feel to embrace our world to expand our circle to help and heal those who suffer among us to bring justice to those excluded from the just fruits of our common life inspire us by your spirit to live for others and so to find our own lives sleeping we dream our lives and random scenes and wonder what it all means waking you give us work to do we can be selfish and insular or we can be midwives of deliverance in a world of greed and injustice god inspire us by the communion of saints to honor what we have inherited the shoulders upon which we stand to build a world for all who will follow may we listen to your voice god follow where you lead live by your good news trusting in your grace and love we've come this far by faith you've never failed us yet god we pray now for those among us clayton and roger andrick janice burnett jones madeleine dubose margaret madden john miller dr elvin montgomery megan pell mitzi prince bernice cosi pulley libby turnock we remember in silence now the victims of covet 19. and we pray together as jesus taught his disciples 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 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 the power and the glory forever amen second corinthians 13 11 reads finally brothers and sisters rejoice strive for full restoration encourage one another be of one mind live in peace and the god of love and peace will be with you let us pass this peace to everyone around us say it out loud on the phone in a chat or deep in prayer pass the peace of the lord and may it be with you always the peace of the lord be with you [Music] do [Music] hi my name is annie meredith along with many other things this past year has shown me how important being in community is to me even remotely the riverside church has been crucial to sustaining me in faith and in action and giving to this community helps me feel more connected i grew up going to church in virginia and church was always a place where i felt loved and safe where i could grow and try new things and it was okay if i wasn't perfect folks at church still loved me anyway that sort of community was what i knew i wanted for my own child when i started a family my daughter dalia riverginera was baptized at riverside church in 2014 and we are a part of the children youth and families ministry here at riverside right now she like all of us misses being at church being in the space with everyone at choir practice and in sunday school but we're so grateful that those ministries have continued during this time dalia isn't excited to do zoom anything these days but she always looks forward to sunday school she looks forward to seeing the other kids and she knows that there's a group of grown-ups there who treat her with love and respect and listen to what she has to say and have new and interesting lessons and stories from the bible to teach her each week and she's always excited to tell me about it afterwards i give to the annual giving of riverside church because among many other reasons i value the children youth and families ministry here at riverside i appreciate the clergy and volunteers who give so much of themselves to our children to bring them up in faith they model riverside values of love and justice in ways that will help ensure that the next generation will value them too i do my best to give my time to the church and giving of my resources is crucial to being able to continue riverside's important ministries such as children youth and families ministry i know that where my treasure is my heart will be also and my heart is certainly with the work of the children youth and families ministry so think about where your heart is and where your treasure can go here at riverside and give what you can to the annual giving because it supports the whole church i also love that i can set up automatic and automatic deduction each month so that my giving is consistent and easy and i don't have to worry about it so for everyone worshiping with us today we invite you to give through our website at trcnyc.org give or text trc nyc give to 77977 to give from your phone thank you lord make us instruments lord make us instruments [Music] where there is [Music] oh where there is discord union where there is doubtful lord lord where there is despair let your soul hope where there is darkness where there is sadness lord make us instruments [Music] oh [Music] peace [Music] praise god praise god [Applause] [Music] blessed let us pray precious wise and loving god in our humbleness we present these expressions of love for all that you have provided for us we are grateful for the blessing of life with you in all of its glory guide us with your infinite wisdom as we embrace the generosity of your holy spirit to engage in the work of the church bless the hearts of every giver may each gift be multiplied to provide for all that are in need sharing our gifts of knowledge with each other our community and the world let our work represent the true nature of your wonderful love today we celebrate the work of lift every voice and vote which educates our congregation in the community about the importance of the census and the vote and advocates for those who are underrepresented and underserved may the work of your love be shared all throughout our world in jesus name i pray amen [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] please these days [Music] is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] okay cool i said a word wrong may we learn to listen to god to obey god and not human authorities who harm the people of god may we have the courage and the cunning of the hebrew midwives of egypt life and death are in the balance and now may the grace of our lord jesus christ the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all now and forever amen [Music] 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