{"id":9060,"date":"2015-11-07T18:12:54","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T22:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=9060"},"modified":"2015-12-04T09:54:02","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T13:54:02","slug":"theres-no-place-like-home-11115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=9060","title":{"rendered":"There’s No Place Like Home (11\/1\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Prodigal Father<\/a> <\/span>longed for his son to return home.\u00a0 When the son came to his senses and came home, the Father rejoiced (sang and danced… a we saw in last week’s sermon<\/a><\/span>?).\u00a0 God wants us to come home to Him!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

On Sunday 11\/1\/15, we celebrated our church’s anniversary by holding a single service.\u00a0 It was like a homecoming as the “9:30 people” worshiped with the “11:00 people.”\u00a0 Afterwards we celebrated with a luncheon<\/a><\/span> and lots of pictures in the Fellowship Hall.
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Click the “Play” button to start the recording, then scroll down to follow along.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(Note:\u00a0 After the scripture reading, the sermon opens with a clip of the closing scene of “The Wizard of Oz.”\u00a0 The video was shown to the congregation, but of course, all that you’ll hear here is the audio.\u00a0 If you want to see the video, pause the player, scroll down, and view the video below…)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttps:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sermon-2015-11-01_130th-Anniversary_Theres-No-Place-Like-Home-by-Pastor-Jim-Bolton-6kbs-mono_BAK.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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The scripture reading (including the hard to pronounce names!) was from Nehemiah 8:1-12.\u00a0 Click the drop down box to follow along…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Nehemiah 8:1-12<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
1\u00a0 In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, 8:1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.<\/span><\/p>\n

2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.<\/span><\/p>\n

3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.<\/span><\/p>\n

4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.<\/span><\/p>\n

5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 The Levites\u2014Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah\u2014then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.<\/span><\/p>\n

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.<\/span><\/p>\n

10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”<\/span><\/p>\n

11 And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.”<\/span><\/p>\n

12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holy Bible, New Living Translation \u00ae, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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Here’s the You Tube video of the familiar closing scene of “The Wizard of Oz”…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Y-Y9eQAFYdg<\/p>\n

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There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays…<\/span><\/h3>\n

We’ve all seen the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz.”\u00a0 In this movie, Dorothy and Toto find themselves in a foreign but magical land full of strange scenes and exotic creatures.\u00a0 Though they meet some rather fanciful friends while there,\u00a0 Dorothy never quite finds a place to call home.\u00a0 Toward the end of the movie, Dorothy repeats that line that we all know so well,\u00a0 \"Smithsonian-Ruby<\/a><\/p>\n

There no place like home… there’s no place like home…<\/p>\n

Truly is no place like home… and I suspect you and I can identify with Dorothy can’t we?\u00a0 Especially as we enter this season which I like to refer to as “Hallo-Thanks-Mas-Eve.”<\/p>\n

There is a drawing for HOME.\u00a0 Asbury said that we’re homesick for heaven…so God gave us families.<\/p>\n

Just like Motel 8 “leaves the lights on for us,” there’s something special about coming home to a place where your arrival is anticipated and welcome.<\/p>\n

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There’s No Place Like Home for the Israelites…<\/span><\/h3>\n

The idea of going home is nothing new; it goes way back to the Old Testament, at least back to the days when God’s people from Israel were permitted to return to their “homeland” from having been exiled in Babylon for 70 years.<\/p>\n

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By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. <\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nThere on the poplars we hung our harps, <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy;they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 NIV, Psalm 137:1-4<\/p>\n

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Oh how they longed to click their sandals together and say, “There’s no place like home.”\u00a0 But in Babylon\/Persia there was no wish being granted… yet.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 Later that year Nehemiah traveled to Israel, leading the third of three returns by the Jewish people following their 70 years in exile.\u00a0 Most of the book centers on events in Jerusalem.\u00a0 The narrative concludes around the year 430 BC, and scholars believe the book was written shortly thereafter.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

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Going Home is God’s Idea!<\/span><\/h3>\n

Like the exiled Israelites, who wept and longed for their homeland, there’s something within the way we’re wired that makes us want go go home.\u00a0 In nature, God created animals with an incredible sense of direction called “the homing instinct.”\u00a0 For example, against all\u00a0 odds…<\/p>\n