Sermon: Legacy

Psalm 104

“Legacy”

Rev. Cynthia O’Brien

Nov 5, 2006

104:24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works--32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.

We had a great time last Friday. Our church hosted the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. It’s a lively group of business and community leaders who get together every Friday morning for coffee at one of the different businesses. Our church joined the chamber at the beginning of this year and last Friday was my day to host the breakfast. Thanks again to all our church members who came out early to help.

As people were coming in, there was such a spirit of comraderie, and giving, as people brought in baby food. You can see the pile of baby food and formula that they brought in the fellowship hall after church.

75 years ago, when the chamber was first organized, it was the early years of the Depression. The Methodist Church in Fairview, with whom our church was very close, they couldn’t stay open and they closed their doors. We probably would have closed too if it hadn’t been for our new minister who came in 1929, Rev Charles Fleming. He was optimistic

It is not a stretch of the imagination to think of the church as hopeful and optimistic, but how about our community?

It’s our calling to show our neighbors and our community leaders in whom they should trust, in whom they should hope, whom they should thank for the blessings they have received.

That’s how I see my call as a member of the chamber – to be a friend in the community and to invite each person to place their hope in God.

There are three guidelines I draw out of Psalm 104, and I’ll give you all three before I talk about them. They are:

To trust God for today,

To praise and thank God all my life,

And to hope in God for all eternity.

1. I WILL TRUST GOD FOR TODAY

v. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. The King James version sticks in my mind because it is a traditional mealtime prayer and it was set to music by the French composer Jean Berger: The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Such confidence in God. God meets the tangible needs of every living thing, every day. From insects to animals to sea monsters, God can and does sustain all life on a daily basis.

We pray in the Lord’s prayer, Give us this day, our daily bread. The psalmist may never have prayed the Lord’s prayer, but he believes that God is intimately involved in providing for him and for creation.

There are lots of stories of people who trusted in God for their daily bread, and who miraculously received what they needed at just the right time. Ron Mehl, a pastor from Beaverton, used to scoff at the “miraculous provision” stories, until it happened to him. He and his new bride were marginally-paid youth pastors and had run out of money for the month. They hadn’t told anyone of their situation, but the refrigerator really was empty and they were down to one can of Spam for their last meal when a knock came at the door and a couple from the church brought in 15 bags of groceries. You can bet that they were more genuinely thankful for the Lord’s provision than they had been when their cupboards were full of food.

That’s one view of God’s provision. Here’s another way to look at it.

I met Dr. Bill Null through my grandpa Glen in Arkansas. Bill used to be the director of a church-sponsored Christian school back east. The school had been having some financial problems, but they had recommitted themselves to trust God and to follow God’s leading. At the end of the year, the school had received $70,000 more than they needed. The board of directors asked Bill, what shall we do with the money? Shall we bank it for next year?” Bill prayed about it, then told them, “Give it to the teachers. They need it.” So they distributed it among the teachers.

There would certainly be many godly, responsible ways to handle that budget surplus. But God had a plan to meet the daily needs of those teachers. I would have loved to hear the miraculous provision stories from the teachers. Whether we are down to our last can of Spam or figuring out how to spend our tax return, we can trust God to provide for us and even make us a blessing to others.

So we trust God to give us our meat in due season – to give us our daily bread.

2. I WIL PRAISE GOD ALL MY LIFE

v. 33 I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

God is the reason we have what we need for each day. So instead of being uncertain about our life, instead of being anxious for the future, we can praise God. Your job may be in jeopardy, your stocks may be losing value, but you knows that God holds your life… your whole life. God promised in Isaiah 46,

"Listen to me, … you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

This and many other scriptures give us confidence in God’s care, as long as we live, so we praise God. Praise is the response of a thankful heart. And it spills over into the rest of our life.

At our house, we try to do a lot of praising. We praise Laurel for being our best girl and Rachel for being our best friend. Michael and I praise each other in front of the girls, in our 1-on-1 conversations, and wherever else we can. As long as I live, I will speak well of my husband and tell him I love him.

But praising is more than just words. If I want this marriage to thrive, I have to back it up by the way I live. So it is with God. I intend to love God all my life, to sing to the Lord as long as I live. He sustains me, I praise him, seeking to follow him and honor him in all that I do.

When we trust God to meet our daily neds and praise him for what he has given, something very fine happens to us. We become people who hope in God for all eternity.

3. I WILL HOPE IN GOD FOR ALL ETERNITY

v. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever.

My husband and I are forward-looking people. I’m always looking forward, so much that sometimes I forget to enjoy the moment I’m in. When I’m dancing salsa with a partner who knows a lot more moves than I do, I’m thinking, “Am I going to remember all this next week?” when I should be enjoying the moment. When Michael and I go for a walk on the beach, we usually spend that precious time planning for the future.

The church plans for the future, too. We want things to go on. We carefully maintain our historic church building so that it is safe and useful. We have installed security measures at our doors and in our nursery. We are carefully moving forward for our necessary upgrades and expansion. We want our congregation to go on after we are gone, for many more years of fruitful ministry.

I’m working out a plan so that at the end of my life, Smith Memorial will receive part of my estate. I won’t tell you how much it will be because I don’t want anyone to get any ideas around budget time. But I have felt for a long time that if I serve a God whose faithfulness goes on from generation to generation, then it’s a privilege for me to leave a charitable legacy in addition to what I do for my children. I hope you have remembered the church in your will, and it would be helpful if you would let us know that you have done that. We can put you in touch with experts who can help you make the most of that gift. It can be your legacy in the church you loved so much while you were on earth.

An old woman was planting a fruit tree. A young person came along and said, “Old woman, why are you planting a fruit tree? You’re never going to eat that fruit.” And she replied, “No, but others will come after me who will be hungry, and they will be glad that I did.”

An old man was building a bridge across a river. A young person came along and said, “Old man, why are you building a bridge? You’ll never use it.” And he replied, “No, but others will come after me who will wish there was a bridge, and they will be glad that I did.”

Who doesn’t leave a legacy? People who have no hope don’t leave legacies. People who are too worried about today don’t leave legacies. People who only think about themselves and their friends, and not about those who will come after, don’t leave legacies.

But I want to be a person who leaves a legacy.

So I will trust God each day

I will Praise the Lord all of my life.

I will hope in God for all eternity. Amen.