Rev. Emily Wilmesherr, June 15, 2025
SCRIPTURE READING: ROMANS 12:1-2 AND 9-21 (NRSVUE)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
SERMON
Often when defining worship we restrict it to Sunday mornings, voices raised in song, eyes closed in prayer, and found in the sanctuary. However, that is a very limited understanding of what worship is. The Presbyterian Church USA has a Book of Order and in it there is a directory of worship. It doesn’t give us a service book or script but instead describes the theology that underlies our worship. It says, “Because heaven and earth belong to God, we may worship in any place. The Old Testament describes stone altars, tabernacles, temples, and other places where the people gathered and encountered God. The Gospels tell us that Jesus worshiped at the synagogue and temple, but he also worshiped in the wilderness, on hillsides, and at lakeshores, demonstrating that God cannot be confined to any one place. The first Christians worshiped at the temple and in synagogues, homes, catacombs, and prisons. The important thing was not the place, but the gathering of Christ’s body— the people of God—and the presence of Christ among them in Word and Sacrament.” (W-1.0203).
Worship happens each Sunday when we gather together here in this space, but it doesn’t and cannot only happen here. The Message translation of Paul’s words in Romans 12 say, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for God.” Worship is offering to God our whole lives, our bodies and our actions, not to find favor but to give thanks. Worship is our response to God’s faithfulness and mercy that we have seen throughout time and experienced in our lives. Worship is something that we should engage with each day, not just once a week. How might our days be different if we woke up in prayer: “God, today I offer my heart, head, and hands to you. Use them to share your extravagant love, boundless grace, and to bring your honor and glory. Amen.”
We gather together to give thanks, praise, and honor to God. Our God who is present with us in worship and sending us out into the world where God is also present and active. Worship doesn’t end at the benediction but continues as we go our separate ways (BOO, W-1.0101).
Worship in a community of faith or beyond the walls of the church are not mutually exclusive. We must have both. We gather in worship on Sunday mornings to remember what God has done, trust what God is doing, and follow God into the future. We gather to be sent out with renewed hearts and minds. Typically we only gather as a congregation for worship in this space once a week. So what might worship look like beyond the walls of the church? Paul tells us in verses 9-21 what that can look like: “Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”
These ways of loving and worshiping are not easy when the rest of the world is doing the opposite. But this way of living is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. Worship involves resisting the patterns of the world—whether that’s selfishness, materialism, or any values that conflict with the kingdom of God. When we gather in worship, we are filled up with God’s Spirit, reminded that our lives as followers of Jesus are different and must be different from the ways of the world. We are reminded that we must persevere and not ignore the hurts and challenges beyond the church walls. We are inspired by the words of scripture, the lyrics and melodies of hymns, and we are brought to our knees in prayer as a community of faith so that we go out with fresh eyes, a renewed spirit, and hands ready to serve.
During our Summer Series, we are exploring the new core values of our church through the lives of some of the saints of this church as a way of remembering what God can do when one surrenders their life to God. Today, we are going to give thanks for Davison and Kay Philips. Dr. Philips served as the senior pastor of Decatur Presbyterian Church from 1954 to 1975, when he left and became the President of Columbia Theological Seminary. While I never knew Dr. or Mrs. Philips, I spent a lot of time reading about them and hearing stories. During Dr. Philips time as DPC pastor, here are just a few things that took place. DPC:
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Purchased the Retreat Center on Lake Lanier
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Was heavily involved in the development of Philips Tower
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Formed Pastor’s Aides
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Started radio broadcasts on Sunday mornings
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Begin relationships with seminary students to serve the youth ministry
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Supported Ministers’ Manifesto on Racial Beliefs
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Elected the 1st women elder
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Celebrated its 150th anniversary
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Formed 3 sister churches formed (Memorial Drive, North Decatur, Crossroads)
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Built the Topple Hospital in Korea
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Helped establish DCM (Decatur Cooperative Ministry)
These were in no way acts of Dr. Philips alone. Dr. Philips lived and led his life in a way that was open to the movement of the Spirit. His example of leading with love, encouraged others to do likewise. In reading the history of the Pastor’s Aide, when Dr. Philips was presented with the idea, he didn’t support it but according to Adeline Owens account, he came around and began to think it was his idea. He believed in offering his life to the service of God through listening to others but ultimately listening to God.
Dr. Philips’ wife, Kay, was described as being “a constant presence, partner, supporter, and advocate of Davison” in all his work. She too, believed in living her life in service to God. She was known for her being a talented cook and full of hospitality, often hosting gatherings at their home. Using their home as a place to gather the people of God together, share a meal, listen to one another, and let love flow from all that she did. She used her gift of hospitality to welcome people, to share a meal, and make space for God to move in that moment.
Presbyterians are pretty good at planning worship but in general, we are not very open to the free movement of the Spirit. It’s unplanned and unpredictable. Our worship is carefully planned and the Spirit is certainly present in the planning and the service itself, but I wonder what might happen if we were more open to the Spirit’s unpredictable movement among us. When we are so focused on planning worship, we forget that worship can happen throughout our days without having to be carefully thought out. I am reminded of several worship-filled moments that I’ve experienced, in which no planning or organizing happened. Where those present simply offered themselves and the moment to God.
In college, I went on a mission trip to Nicaragua. We attended a church service of a different denomination. I don’t remember what I expected but found myself surprised when the service began and was only in Spanish, a language that I only knew a few words of. I remember being struck by how connected I felt to all those present. I didn’t know what was being said yet I felt the Spirit moving in my heart and my soul, reminding me of the connectedness of God’s big family, even when we worship differently and speak different languages.
During a Sunday morning Godly Play session, I told the story of the Lost Sheep. After the story, children explored through play on their own. When we came back together I asked if anyone had anything they wanted to share. A little girl enthusiastically raised her hand and said, “Oh my goodness, I am the sheep! That is so cool.” The light bulb went off for her that as a sheep in God’s flock, God will always come after her. I did nothing, the little girl did nothing except open herself to the Spirit.
While serving as a hospital chaplain, I was called to a room for a couple who was likely going to lose their unborn child. I had no idea what to do except listen and pray. After they shared their hearts with me, I asked if I could pray for them. The nurse asked to join us. As the four of us held hands, prayed, and cried. We offered all we had to God, including the messy, unfiltered parts. After the prayer, through her tears, the woman said, “I feel a peace that I have not felt yet during this pregnancy. This baby is God’s and is loved. I am God’s and I am loved. I know God is here and will not leave me.”
God’s Spirit is moving in the world and doesn’t just hover over the sanctuary. We are called to notice and to respond. When we let our love be genuine, pray for those who persecute us, extend hospitality to strangers, that is when transformation happens but we have to be willing to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the God who made us and will journey with us in this life. Trusting that God’s way, no matter how different from the rest of the world, is the way of eternal life and everlasting love.
The world is full of fake love, conditional love, angry love. But the church is called to be something different — a community of people who worship God with their lives and love others with the same love Jesus showed us.
That kind of church stands out. That kind of love transforms communities and lives. That kind of worship pleases God. May we all offer ourselves as living sacrifice to the God who created us, loves us, and invites us into worship.
