#ComeSunday #SermonNotes: In the days leading up to Sunday worship, we share a brief sermon summary and questions for devotion and reflection. Follow us on our website and on facebook to stay up to date!
Guest Preacher: Rev. Carolyn Habersham was ordained an Itinerant Deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in August 1996, and ordained an Itinerant Elder in August 1998. Prior to her retirement from the pastoral ministry in 2015, Rev. Habersham pastored churches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana.
Rev. Habersham completed the Drug/Alcohol Studies and Drug/Alcohol Counseling Program at U.C.L.A. She holds a MA from Claremont School of Theology where her studies were focused toward Pastoral Care. She also holds a M.Div. from Turner Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Center in Atlanta, GA with emphasis in Pastoral Care. As part of her post graduate studies she completed 6 Units of Clinical Pastoral Education.
Rev. Habersham has worked at Providence, Little Company of Mary Hospital and Long Beach Memorial Hospital in the Todd Cancer Institute as a Chaplain and currently serves in ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Inglewood as the Executive Director for the Joshua Initiative Project, a ministry designed to bridge the gap between church and community through education.
Rev. Habersham is mother of one son, Sterling, one daughter-in-law, April, three grandsons (Tobias, Allan and Ian) and a host of sons and daughters in ministry.
2 Kings 4:1-7 (New Revised Standard Version)
Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” 2 Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” 3 He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. 4 Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” 5 So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.”
Mark 5:25-35 (New Revised Standard Version)
25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”
Summary:
Our worship theme in June is “The Inheritance of God.” Throughout the month, we will explore the goods we inherit from God to live in purpose, power and love. On Father’s Day, we explore God’s gift of courage to those who answer to the call to fatherhood.
These scriptures testify to those who faced challenges that can break people physically, emotionally and spiritually: an unexpected debt after the loss of a loved one and living for twelve years with a debilitating health condition. We face challenges in life that we did not foresee and feel unprepared for, but we have an inheritance of strength through faith in God to “reach beyond the break.”
Reflection Questions:
- When was the last time you reached your “breaking point?”
- Who helped you when you were at your wit’s end?
- How do you need God you help you right now?