OPENING PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
As we gather in Your presence this Sunday before Election Day, we humbly seek Your guidance and peace amid our nation’s political processes.
Lord, we acknowledge the diversity of beliefs and opinions that exist among us, and we ask for Your grace to love one another as neighbors, regardless of our political differences.
Grant us the wisdom to engage in conversations with respect and understanding, emulating the love and compassion You have taught us. May we be ambassadors of Your peace, bridging divides with kindness and empathy.
We lift up all those elected to serve in local, state, and federal governments. Lord, grant them discernment, integrity, and a heart for service; may their leadership be characterized by justice, wisdom, and a commitment to the common good of all people.
Guide them in their decisions and actions so they may govern with humility and a keen sense of responsibility to those they represent. Let their leadership reflect Your values, fostering unity, equality, and prosperity for all communities.
Father, as we approach this critical time, let our prayers be reminders of our shared humanity and divine love. May we live out Your commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, fostering a spirit of harmony and hope.
In Your holy name, we pray,
Amen.
SERMON
POINT: We all have
“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.” —Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
“Don’t eat from this tree.” - Genesis 2:16-17
POINT: Our drive to challenge limits frequently arises from a fear of losing or a longing for more.
Ruth 1:1-5 NRSV
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:19-21 NRSV
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
She said to them,
“Call me no longer Naomi;
call me Mara,
for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.
I went away full,
but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
when the Lord has dealt harshly with me
and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
POINT: Grief presents us with a choice.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” - Romans 12:15