Fairhaven UMC

2415 Saw Mill Run Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15234
Sunday 9:30am Worship

    • Fairhaven Sermon 11-23-2025

      Summary

      In this week’s service, Rev. Dylan Parson explored the concept of heritage and how our family history, both recent and long past, shapes who we are today. He shared personal examples, including his academic upbringing influenced by his grandmother and his discovery of English dissenting roots (Quakers, Puritans, etc.) within his family lineage, contrasting with the fact that he’ll be the first Methodist in his direct line. He highlighted the story of a distant relative, a Kentucky Baptist preacher, emphasizing the importance of using our gifts to serve God and influence others, drawing a parallel to the biblical story of Deuteronomy 26, where Moses instructs the Israelites to offer first fruits to God, demonstrating gratitude and acknowledging God’s provision.

      Parson then emphasized how the Bible itself is a collection of stories passed down through generations, shaping our understanding of God and our place within His ongoing narrative. He stressed that acts of worship, like praying the Psalms or participating in communion, are ways of weaving the past and future into our present lives, acknowledging God’s blessings and offering ourselves – our time, presence, gifts, and service – as first fruits in response to His grace. He concluded by encouraging the congregation to thoughtfully consider how they can contribute to God’s work, moving beyond obligation to embrace joyful generosity.

      Transcript

      So I’m curious if you think about it, how your heritage, both recent, more recent in your lifetime, and long past influences the way you live now. The way you understand yourself now. Our formative experiences maybe that we had as children and later and the stories that we’ve been told or uncovered about where we’ve come from, those things don’t just stay confined to the past. Those things shape our identities now.

      Whether we try to lean into them or run far, far, far away, that’s still your heritage shaping who you are now. A few examples from my life. My grandmother was a university professor. Both of my grandparents were.

      My grandmother taught English. She retired and then was dean of humanities at Slippery Rock. And so I have always just kind of been in an academic orbit. My bedroom, now my office, filled with books.

      I now have books on top of the books that are going this way, and I need to do something about it. My grandmother had me immersed in the arts of all kinds from a very, very young age. To this day, nothing moves me quite the same as watching a Shakespeare play in a darkened theater. I love going to the theater.

      It’s just a good environment for me. Last week, I went to a one-day theology conference at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and I just had that feeling of familiarity, like, Oh, this is a setting that I know. This is a place where I fit really well. I got my book of communion prayers signed by the author.

      It was very exciting. The one that I use every Sunday whenever we have communion. Anyways, I’ve gotten older, another thing. As I’ve entered into ordained ministry, I’ve sought to look back into my family’s heritage.

      You know, they’ve got some apps. The Mormons are very good at keeping family records, so they have a couple apps about that stuff. And I’ve looked back into my heritage to see if I have any pastoral forebears, because I don’t really come from a religious family on either side. There’s no pastors that I’m aware of personally.

      But as it turns out, there’s basically no Methodists. I’m the first one. But as far as I’ve discovered, there are quite a few English dissenters, which is kind of cool. The people who were fighting against the Church of England at the time.

      Lots of Quakers. Lots of Puritans. Swiss and French Calvinists. and at least one Kentucky Baptist.

      And that Baptist preacher, his name was Francis Davis, ordained in 1812 in Shelby County, Kentucky, in the mountains. And I found a little kind of obituary for him, or sort of a snippet about his life. And it was written about him. He was an excellent fireside preacher, but his gift for preaching was so poor that he did not succeed well in the pulpit.

      But he was highly esteemed in love and continued to exercise a good influence for the master Yeah. till he fell asleep in Jesus at a ripe old age. The man used the gifts that he had to exercise a good influence as he was remembered for God’s kingdom. God used what he had to offer, and that’s a good heritage to hold on to.

      I do have one pastor in my family who’s a guy that tried his best. And so these narratives that we’re immersed in, the things that we hear of what come before us, the ones that we pass down to our descendants, the stories that you tell your kids, they shape the way that we understand ourselves and the way we relate with God. Okay. And the Bible can be understood more than anything else as a collection of stories that are handed down for exactly that purpose.

      Same thing. And there are very few places in Scripture that express that more readily than here in Deuteronomy 26. In many cases in both the Old and New Testaments, including probably this chapter, These stories were told and retold orally long before they were written down. And sometimes you read some Old Testament stories and you can just imagine, oh, this is a story that people would have told around a fire in the evening.

      And these stories were passed around communities from parents to children in times of exile and in times of comfort. The stories went with them. So, the Bible is a book that contains law and poetry and history, as well as quite a bit of clunky genealogy. But the reason that all that matters, the reason that it’s all there all together, the reason that we still hear it proclaimed every Sunday, the reason we study it throughout the weeks is because it contains the story of God and God’s people.

      And that story is not just past, it’s not just past stories, but ongoing. We’re still in the story of God’s people, and so the purpose of those old stories is to shape the way we live in it now. Scripture situates us within God’s story of salvation rippling out through Israel and eventually through Jesus to all the world through the church. And we’re not supposed to ever be reading scripture as if it’s, you know, this is what some other people were doing long ago in the past in a land far, far away.

      Amen. Why would you bother? We’re supposed to be reading it as if we are descendants and inheritors of the people described in it because we are. And worship, meanwhile, this. This is the arena, the theater, where we rehearse those stories collectively.

      We are. And the liturgy that we pray, that we go through together, might well be described as reworking the words and the stories of Scripture to make them ours. So think about praying the psalm each Sunday, even though today’s wasn’t a psalm. But whenever we pray the psalm together, or whatever that prayer is from Scripture, the canticle, we take the prayer of whoever originally wrote it in the psalms, King David by tradition, and we’re not just reading that psalm, we’re not reciting it, we are praying it, we’re making it our prayer.

      And I always worry that it’s easy to lose track of this whenever we pray anything responsibly on the screen, anything we read together, but we shouldn’t forget what we’re doing. We’re not just reciting the Psalms. We are praying the Psalms the same way David did when he wrote them. The Word of God for the people of God, that’s why we say that.

      And consider also the communion liturgy. We start at the beginning of creation. We remember the arrival of sin into the world, Israel falling away. We recall the prophet sent to pull him back.

      And then we reflect on God freeing them from slavery in Egypt. And then we turn towards the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus. And the pastor will recite almost word for word the biblical account of the Lord’s Supper. Almost all the words at the end of the great Thanksgiving, whenever I’m talking about the bread and the cup, that come straight from the Gospels.

      And finally, we pray for the Spirit to come upon us and on our bread and wine like it did in the upper room. And the next thing we know, we’re eating at that Passover table in the upper room at that Last Supper with the disciples. And we’re eating at the Feast of Heaven with all the saints and the angels and Jesus and the company of Heaven as we pray. And that’s the point of the liturgy.

      We’re weaving the past and the future into our lives together right now. We’re part of it. That’s the whole point. That’s why we use these words.

      And so I hope now you can see what I’m getting at as it relates to Deuteronomy 26. Deuteronomy 26 that we heard Flo read this morning should be understood as liturgy itself. These words that we heard spoken from God to Moses, then to Israel, and us. Right? And the point here is to situate the people of God for the rest of time into the story of the Exodus.

      Moses gave these words to the people after the Exodus. They’ve wandered through the Sinai for 40 years. They’re about to enter into the Promised Land. That’s the moment we’re in here in Deuteronomy.

      And Moses tells them, Here’s what you do when you get there. And so, even before the people get out of the Sinai into the Promised Land of Freedom, they’ve got the liturgy for the occasion ready. The bulletin is already printed. And Moses tells them, Once you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, there is to be an offering.

      And they are given an explicit script for how that’s to be done. Not just, you know, give what you feel like, well, figure it out when you get there. No, this is very organized. This is a holy thing.

      It’s not casual, not an afterthought. Each person is to go to the temple. Oh, well, there isn’t a temple yet, but whatever place is declared to hold God’s name, they had a tabernacle, a tent for a little while, so they’d go there. And each person then would approach the priest, and they would speak these words exactly.

      I am declaring right now before the Lord my God that I have indeed arrived in the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us. And as they say that, they’re to hand the priest a basket of their first fruits to be offered to God. And this part’s crucial here, first fruits. Not just fruits, not just harvest, but first fruits.

      The offering that they give is, is the first one. It doesn’t come after all of their immediate needs are met, after they put everything away for the winter, have a good surplus stored up, then they scoop some out of that and give it to God. No, this is the very first bit they harvest. God’s offering is not supposed to be spare change given to the priest.

      It’s not supposed to be leftovers offered to God. They are to give first to God. An expression of gratitude and trust towards the God who has constantly proven that he’s going to take care of them. And then comes this prayer of dedication, kind of like we pray after our offering.

      And this is how it’s paraphrased in the message version. I really like this. This is the prayer they’re supposed to pray together. A wandering Aramean was my father.

      He went down to Egypt and sojourned there, he and just a handful of his brothers at first. But soon they became a great nation, mighty and many. The Egyptians abused and battered us in a cruel and savage slavery. We cried out to God, the God of our fathers.

      He listened to our voice. He saw our destitution, our trouble, our cruel plight. And God took us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, terrible and great, with signs and miracle wonders. And he brought us to this place, gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.

      So here I am. I’ve brought the first fruits of what I’ve grown on this ground you have given me, O God. And so this prayer that they pray, not unlike our great Thanksgiving in the communion liturgy, is this liturgical recounting of why that bountiful basket of first fruits is placed on that altar. Just as we pray to describe the story of why we’re breaking that bread, why we’re lifting up that cup and sharing it, they pray to remember why they’re doing it at all.

      God has given us everything that we have, even our very lives, our freedom from bondage to sin and death. God has been with us since the days thousands of years ago when our father Abram, that wandering Aramean, wandered as a nomad in the desert long before he founded a people. God was walking with him by himself through the desert. And so, even now, it’s both an obligation and an honor to give some of God’s blessings back.

      The Jewish people have, from the very beginning, understood Deuteronomy 26 here not as just a one-time commandment. They weren’t supposed to just pray that once when they got into the promised land. It’s a recurrent commitment to living as God’s faithful people. And we should do the same thing.

      Our context has changed a lot since then. Most of us don’t grow our own crops for one. If you were to bring me a basket of your first fruits and place it on the altar, I wouldn’t totally know what to do with it. Although I guess we could put some of it in the food pantry.

      The way we earn our livelihoods is different, so it’s not quite the same. And we also don’t have a tent, you know, a one place where God dwells among us. The Jerusalem temple has been gone for 2,000 years, we’re in a different era. And instead God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us.

      And the church is the body of Christ. The physical presence of God among us is us, together. But that same story applies of giving out of gratitude, of joy for what God has done for us, just as applicable. And before anything else, we are called to give by God from what God has given us.

      Our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, our witness. Those are the five things we vow to give to God in our baptisms and our confirmations. And so across scripture and in the history of the church, we’ve always tried to come up with formulas, straightforward guides as to how we should do that, right? Amen. And most commonly, we land on the financial one because that’s the easiest to put numbers on.

      How many hours of your life should you give? Well, I don’t know. But as for numbers…

      Christians how often landed on 10% of your income, the standard bottom line of what should be given to God. And that’s well and good. That’s fine. If every person in our churches gave 10%, there are other pastors, other consultants who’ve run this data.

      If everyone in American churches gave 10% of their income, despite none of us being rich, we would never have another financial shortfall again. We’d be fine. I think I read once that a church of 15 families at the median income, if everybody tithed 10%, every church could afford a full-time pastor. Crazy.

      The ministry that we would do here would be strong. It would last well into the future. And yet, with that easy number, our contribution to God’s work is not ever an easily calculable line in our individual household budgets. You know, maybe for you financially it should be 10%.

      And that is a good general rule of thumb. There’s a reason people land on it. It’s sacrificial, but it shouldn’t be a terrible burden. But it can’t really make rules easy like that because, you know, maybe for some people it’s more.

      And of course, yes, it could be less. If you’re a person who genuinely can’t give much in financial terms, but has a lot to offer by way of prayers, presence, service, and witness, that’s good. Or maybe you’re a person who’s always been a bit more comfortable with financial giving than the other kinds. Maybe you are the kind of person who’s much more comfortable to cut a check to try to meet a need while keeping a personal distance.

      This is a big temptation in the church. I see this all the time from churches as a whole. It’s a lot easier to write a check to somebody else who’s doing something than get our hands dirty, go meet people face to face. But maybe if you’re more like that, God is calling you to offer time, presence in ministry, face-to-face with people.

      It doesn’t sound like it’s a big deal, but it is a big deal. I’m telling you that getting to know our neighbors, building real relationships with them is a service to this church and to God’s kingdom that you can’t put a price tag on. That’s the only way. that people meet us, meet Jesus.

      Now, don’t hear me as discounting monetary giving. Obviously, it’s foundational. The gas bill’s got to get paid. Our United Methodist missionaries around the world need to be funded in their work, too.

      But prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. All five. All foundational. And like I said, for some people, financial giving is the easiest of these vows to keep.

      Maybe it even masks the need for hands-on relationship. But for some, maybe for more, turning our money over to God’s use is the hardest vow and the easiest to wriggle out of because we can always find a reason why we can’t. But all that we have should be given out of an abundance of love, not pressure. You heard that in 2 Corinthians.

      Not because someone’s twisting your arm, not because you feel guilty. All of the things that we do for God are out of love. Now, we don’t put a check in the offering plate because we have to or to get smited. You won’t.

      If you don’t, you won’t, right? We don’t come to church every Sunday morning because we have to. You don’t have to. We don’t pray out of fear of what will happen if we don’t pray. You don’t have to pray again for the rest of your life and God’s not going to strike you dead for that reason.

      We do these things not because Christ our King is some tyrant emperor who demands our attention and our money and our time. No, that’s not what Jesus is like. Christ’s reign is one that has given us all that we have to begin with. Christ invites us to reach back now in relationship.

      And so participation in God’s work is a grateful response to all we’ve been given. It’s not out of pressure. It’s not out of obligation, begrudging. Paul says he doesn’t want any of that.

      God’s given us all the seeds that we have planted and then invites us to share the harvest. So hear Paul’s words again in 2 Corinthians 9. This is from the message too. I just really like how this is put.

      Paul says, remember, a stingy planter gets a stingy crop. A lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over. Make up your own mind what you will give.

      That will protect you against sob stories and arm twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in his giving. God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

      Producing with us great praise to God. Think about what that looks like here. Do you think maybe there might be great praise to God that we fill that food pantry every day because of our generosity? because of what God has called us to participate in. What you decide to give to God’s work, to Christ’s body, and whatever forms you decide to offer it in, time, money, prayers, presence, that is always going to be between you and God.

      And that’s why Paul says, I like the way this is translated, I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over. Make up your own mind what you’ll give. Paul wasn’t going to say 10%. Maybe.

      But how we make these decisions is critical. To do it faithfully, we have to put ourselves in God’s unfolding, continuing story. Remember that your father was a wandering Aramean. Right? Remember that God has brought you to the Promised Land, free from slavery to sin and death.

      And remember that through His own death and resurrection, Jesus has made you part of Christ’s body. And remember that God has been faithful, choosing to come to earth to love you long before you existed. And invites you to enjoy that unchanging, inexhaustible love beyond the end of time. Christ as our King has not demanded a tax on your life.

      Jesus isn’t like that. Instead, he has made you wealthy in every way, a steward of his own royal abundance. And so he invites you. Take the fullness of grace that he has given you, your prayers, your presence, your service, your witness, and your gifts, and offer it not as a reluctant tribute, but as a shower of first fruits for God’s kingdom.

      In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

    • Fairhaven Sermon 11-16-2025

      Summary

      In this week’s service, Rev. Peg Bowman began a two-week mini-series on stewardship, moving beyond the typical focus on money to explore its broader meaning as a lifestyle of care and generosity. She emphasized that stewardship isn’s just about financial giving, but also about the time and resources we share with others. Drawing inspiration from John Wesley’s philosophy – “gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can” – Bowman highlighted that true stewardship involves recognizing that money, when used wisely, can be a powerful tool for good, caring for the vulnerable and working alongside God. She encouraged the congregation to find joy and connection in acts of service, mirroring the collaborative spirit seen in events like the annual gala and blessing bag creation.

      Bowman further underscored the importance of generosity, emphasizing that it’s a reflection of God’s own character and a pathway to becoming more like God. She referenced readings from Jeremiah, Colossians, and Luke, focusing on themes of God’s promises, reconciliation, and the blessing of service. Ultimately, she challenged the congregation to consider how they can extend generosity – with money, time, and resources – to those in need, recognizing that their actions are a testament to God’s love and a vital part of their faith journey.

      Transcript

      So, this morning is the first of two weeks of a mini-series on stewardship. Yes, it’s that time again. I know there are people who wince whenever they hear stewardship. Back when I was sitting in the pews all those years ago, I usually zoned out when they started talking about money, whatever.

      And quite honestly, most preachers don’t like to preach on money either. We don’t like to sound like televangelists, and we don’t want to sit around coming up with cutesy sermon titles like the Sermon on the Amount, right? Or even better, fit to be tithed, right? So…

      So I’d much rather be talking about Jesus. Oddly enough, Jesus actually did talk about money fairly frequently, and there are times in the Bible when Jesus and the disciples donated money, though I think they gave compassion and healing far more often. But Jesus did talk about money and our relationship with money quite a few times. And, But what I really want to focus on today is stewardship, which is not exactly the same thing as money in general.

      How we deal with money is a part of stewardship, but stewardship is more than that. Stewardship is kind of like dieting or exercise. It’s something we all know that we need to do. and we make resolutions to do, and we try to keep them because we know these things are good for us, and they’re good for other people as well.

      And like all resolutions, stewardship can be challenging to keep. As Methodists, we can look to the example of our founder, John Wesley. who had an incredibly healthy relationship with money and the things that he owned. Most of us have heard his saying, gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can, which is a wonderful rule of thumb.

      John Wesley. But Wesley’s thinking went deeper than that. He gave some thought to the words of the Apostle Paul earlier, that the love of money is the root of all evil. And Wesley said that the problem is not with the money itself, but with the people who misuse it.

      And Wesley also said that in the hands of God’s children, money is food for the hungry and clothing for the naked. and shelter for the stranger. With money, we can care for the widow and the fatherless, defend the oppressed, and meet the needs of those who are sick or in pain. Amen.

      That’s John Wesley speaking. A few of us have had the opportunity to visit the house Wesley lived in in London. or we’ve seen pictures of it. House was a fairly comfortable one.

      It was four stories high. Thin is very thin, but it’s four stories high. Lots of stairs. He wasn’t really wanting for anything.

      At the same time, the house was not overdone. It had everything that a family of that time could want. plus extra rooms for visitors, and there are always visitors coming and going in the Wesley household. And Wesley even had a servant or two, but that house and all the people in it were guided by prayer, and I suspect very little was ever wasted there.

      One of the books I’ve been reading lately says that stewardship is like exercise or a healthy diet. We exercise and eat right so that our bodies can be healthy, not necessarily because we enjoy exercise or health foods. So I’ve been thinking, okay, well, what makes diet and exercise more tolerable? I’m not one of those people that particularly cares for either, right? So how can I make this more tolerable or more fun? And I think one of the big things is it helps me to do these things with other people. For example, I have a friend in the neighborhood who I walk with on the days when she’s working from home.

      And on the days when she has to work in the office, I’m not as motivated to go out and walk. But when she’s there, I will make that extra effort because it’s more fun with her than without her. And I think sometimes that stewardship is kind of like that, too. When we give, it can be more fun to give with others.

      I think maybe that’s one reason why our annual gala is so popular. We can enjoy the company of friends while we’re doing something for others. It’s one of the reasons why small groups get together to organize the blessing bags or to stock the free pantries or to volunteer for the Christmas store. These things are more fun when we do them together.

      And these things are absolutely count towards stewardship, both the things we give and the time we give. Yeah. So stewardship also is not something we do just once a year. Stewardship is a lifestyle, or at least a healthy part of a healthy lifestyle.

      Stewardship is a way of living. It’s our way of working alongside God. And God gives to us 24-7 all through our lives. And God is always there.

      And as we grow to be more like God, we also grow to be more generous. Amen. One of the clergy magazines I read recently said, said that we pastors should share with you our stories of our own giving as encouragement. And I’m thinking, I’m not sure I agree with that.

      Because I believe each one of us gives, what we give is between us and God. But I will say this, just as a follow-up to things that you’ve heard me preach about in the past. You’ve heard me say that I think you need to have a game plan. It helps to have a game plan.

      And I just want to share with you a joy. God has blessed our family this year, and my game plan for giving in 2025 was reached on November 1st. Yes. Which means I have two months this year where I can give freely with no planning involved, which is really cool.

      And it’s exciting because that opens up more possibilities. What else can we do? Who else can we bless? And don’t come up with a whole bunch of ideas I’ve got. If there’s some good ones, let me know, though. And I pray that all of us will have this opportunity to try new things in giving.

      In the reading for today from Jeremiah, we heard God’s promise that God will renew God’s people. And the prophecy came to the people of Israel during a very tough time in Israel’s history, days actually very similar to what we’re living through now. Things back then did not look good. There was division among the people.

      There was trouble in the synagogues and among the religious leaders. Many people felt like they were being driven away from their faith. The people of Israel didn’t know it yet, but things were about to get much worse because that reading we heard from Jeremiah was just very shortly before many of the people were taken captive to Babylon. So God sent the prophet Jeremiah with words of comfort that the people would need to hear as the world around them kept getting darker.

      Babylon. God said to the people, ‘I will bring them back home. I will gather my flock.’ ‘My people will be fruitful.

      ‘I will send shepherds who will truly care for them. ‘They don’t need to be afraid anymore, ‘and none of them will go missing anymore.’ And how will this happen? God says, ‘I will raise up for David a righteous branch, ‘and he shall reign as king and deal wisely ‘and shall execute justice and righteousness on the land.’ God promised there was a Messiah coming, a Messiah who would be called the Lord is our righteousness.

      God promises that one day all the people of Israel, both north and south, will live in peace and safety. So no matter what was happening around them back then and no matter what’s happening around us now, God is in control. And therefore, we can be generous without fear. – Yeah.

      In the reading from Colossians, the Apostle Paul also reminds God’s people of God’s goodness. Paul says that God makes us strong, prepares us to endure, rescues us from darkness, and includes us in the inheritance of the saints in God’s heavenly kingdom. Amazing thoughts. We’re really kind of beyond our ability to imagine, except that we know this.

      In the end, it will be all good. Paul also says that Jesus himself was co-creator of heaven and earth. Jesus is the head of the church, the firstborn of the dead, He reconciles us to God, and he shows us what God looks like in human form, which is incredibly helpful to us since God is a spirit, and that’s not something we can really relate to very well. Jesus shows us what God looks like, not physically, but in terms of compassion and love and leadership and teaching and healing and all the things that Jesus did when he was here with us on earth.

      and Jesus will reign as king forever and ever as they say in Messiah I can hear that going on now that will handle Messiah forever let’s see and Paul was so excited about this that he spends the whole next paragraph just praising Jesus, talking about how Jesus holds the world together in his hands and how Jesus is the head of the church in the beginning and the end and the first human to pass through death into life. Everything about God lives in Jesus. And Jesus made peace between a perfect God and imperfect human beings through his death and resurrection. And then finally, in the Gospel reading from Luke today, we hear the priest Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, singing the praises of God.

      Zechariah echoes Jeremiah’s words in praising God for raising up a mighty Savior. It is a privilege to serve God. Zechariah says that we might serve God without fear. And it is a privilege because everything God commands is good.

      And that’s kind of an unusual thought, it being a privilege to serve. Most people usually feel like it’s better to be in charge and to be served rather than to serve. But where God is concerned, serving is better. Because serving God means doing good things, bringing good things into the world.

      And there’s absolutely nothing like being able to do something that will change someone’s life for the better or change someone’s world for the better. Wouldn’t you agree with that? I mean, what else better is there to do than to change things for the better? We naturally do good things for our families. We are naturally there for our spouses. We teach our children.

      We care for our pets. But here at church, we also extend ourselves beyond our families and beyond our circle of friends as we reach out to the world. We bring blankets to the homeless and food to the hungry and welcome to the hurting. And because God has been there for us, we can be there for them.

      When we do these things, we are learning to be the children of God, learning from God in much the same way that children learn from their parents. So as we think of stewardship this time of year and as we head rapidly into Thanksgiving, I want to encourage all of us, myself included, to think about ways that we can give and about people we can give to. In our giving, we can use money, which is helpful for paying for heat and light and upkeep and things like that. We can also give from what we own, our food, our clothing.

      And we can also give time, as many of us already do. All of these things, all of these ways of giving are part of stewardship. in. And because life changes from year to year, how we give and how much we give may also change from year to year based on what we have, based on what the needs are, based on what God is leading us to do.

      But bottom line, we give because God gives. We are generous because God is generous. And as God’s children, our job is to be like God when we grow up. Right now, we are kind of like God’s kids.

      You know, you’re trying on your parents’ shoes when you’re a little kid, and you slip your feet into these big shoes, and you were clomping around. Eventually we grow into those shoes. Eventually, it takes some time. But at first, it’s awkward.

      And we may feel like our heavenly parents’ shoes are way too big for us, but our feet will grow. And when we see God, we will be like him. So having said all this, I want to wrap up by saying thank you. Thank you for reaching out to the homeless and the hungry and the hurting, and for reaching out to the addicted.

      Thank you for welcoming people of all ages, nations, and orientations. Thank you for reaching out to those who are alone, especially as we approach the holidays. Thank you for caring about the stranger and the visitor and the foreigner, as well as the neighbors who come to vote here, who come to rent space here. all these people are touched by God because of what we do here.

      So bottom line, God is generous, God is good, and we can never outgive God. But God is also pleased when we, as God’s children, take after him and follow in God’s footsteps. May we all experience the blessings of following God’s lead. Amen.

    • Announcements 11-16-2025 Updated

      Poinsettia Order Deadline

      • Event: Order poinsettias for altar decoration (Christmas Eve) and take-home use
      • Location: Fairhaven UMC
      • Time: Deadline in 1 week (by 11-23)
      • Contact: Flo (submit order form) Poinsettia Order Form Download

      Annual Joe Ash Collection

      • Event: Special building fund collection supporting Fairhaven UMC grounds
      • Location: Fairhaven UMC
      • Time: One week from today (11-23)
      • Details: Based on King Joe Ash story; funds dedicated to building/grounds.

      Tithely Launch at Fairhaven

      • Event: Online giving platform introduction for Fairhaven UMC
      • Location: Fairhaven UMC
      • Details: Enables online donations via bank/debit/credit card (app/web). Coming Soon.

      Food Pantry Urgent Support Needed

      • Event: Critical support for neighbors facing food insecurity during heightened need period
      • Location: Fairhaven UMC
      • Time: Ongoing (with current urgency due to increased Allegheny County need)
      • Details:
        • Urgent Context: Allegheny County faces growing food insecurity – hundreds of thousands are currently without SNAP benefits.
        • Action Required:
          • One item per person per week makes a difference (e.g., canned goods, dry goods, shelf-stable meals).
          • NO glass containers (due to outdoor parking lot storage; glass poses safety hazard).
          • Prioritize versatile ready-to-eat items (“pool tops” = shelf-stable, pre-prepared meals like canned soups, pre-cooked proteins, or meal kits with plastic containers).

    • Fairhaven Sermon 11-9-2025

      Summary

      In this week’s service, Rev. Dylan Parson challenged the congregation to confront the urgent message of the minor prophet Haggai, who preached in 520 BC during the return of Jewish exiles from Babylon. Parson emphasized that Haggai’s core critique was the people’s paralysis—prioritizing comfort (like their paneled homes) over God’s call to rebuild the temple after 18 years of neglect. Though Jerusalem’s returned exiles had laid the temple’s cornerstone, they abandoned the project, ignoring the “ruined house” symbolizing their broken covenant with God. Parson connected this to modern distractions, urging the church to examine what truly drives their priorities: “You came back, laid a cornerstone for God, but then walked away.” The sermon highlighted Haggai’s pointed question to leaders: “Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now?”—calling the congregation to confront their own “unfounded fears” and the sin of choosing personal comfort over God’s work.

      Parson framed Haggai’s promise of hope around the pivotal declaration: “Work, for I am with you.” He explained that God’s presence empowers the church to rebuild—not by their own strength, but as co-workers with the divine. While acknowledging fears that “things will never be the same” (like comparing modern struggles to Solomon’s temple glory), Parson insisted Haggai’s God promised abundance and glory: “I will fill this house with glory… this house will be more glorious than its predecessor.” He connected this to Fairhaven’s mission, citing the recent Thursday meal outreach (50+ people) and Living Stones (80-100 attendees) as tangible evidence of God’s resources already present. Ultimately, Parson urged the congregation to move beyond “unfinished foundations”—whether in missions, justice, or personal reconciliation—declaring, “You cannot look at your resources and decide building this temple is beyond you… work, for I am with you.”

      Transcript

      So I know what you’re thinking with these readings. He’s going to talk about Haggai. We all know about Haggai. We’re constantly hearing about Haggai all the time.

      Try something new. No. I don’t think you’ve ever heard of Haggai. I can’t remember ever preaching on Haggai.

      One of the minorest of minor prophets. Good luck finding it in your Bible. It’s like three pages. And you probably have very little recollection of the context, of what he’s up to, the circumstances in which he’s writing.

      So, that said, he’s one of the most urgent prophets in the Old Testament, and he’s one with a very simple message. And that is that God’s people are paralyzed in this moment by a mixture of comfort and inertia, And he as a prophet has been sent to confront their misplaced priorities and get them back to work, behaving as God’s people are supposed to behave. So here’s where we are for some background. Haggai is writing in the 500s BC.

      He’s writing at the same time as the much more famous prophet Zechariah, whom we hear a lot from at Advent. And both of these prophets are speaking of a promised future. There’s going to be restored fortunes, blessing from God, a new chapter for the people. And you can see why this fits for Advent.

      You know, we await the coming of Jesus and Haggai and Zechariah are promising these things. And these two prophets are mentioned together in the book of Ezra. And some biblical scholars argue that Ezra and Zechariah were actually intended to be taken together. These books were kind of a pack together.

      The book of Haggai is extremely historically specific. It’s not general at all. It covers a precise four-month span in the year 520 BC. We know exactly when it was.

      So four month period, 520 BC. And what’s happening now is the Persian Empire is allowing all the Jews who have been exiled by the Babylonian conquest to finally return to their homeland. They’ve been away for generations after the exile. And now the Persian king Darius is letting them come back.

      And so Haggai’s mission as a prophet is to motivate and help his people rebuild the temple, and ideally the monarchy in Jerusalem after this time of exile. He’s supposed to be restoring a suitable, a dignified house for God among God’s chosen people. And the point here is to embark on a new start, to set things right, to start again. They’re going back, they’re starting fresh, and the goal this time is to avoid the sin, the injustice that caused God to allow the exile to begin with.

      They’re going to do it right this time. And so as Haggai begins to write in this year, 520 BC, the Judean exiles who’ve returned to Jerusalem have already been there for 18 years. They’ve been home. Well, as soon as they got back, they laid a cornerstone for a new temple in Jerusalem.

      And yet somehow they haven’t finished it yet. They haven’t even gotten close. They’re not even really trying. And so this, God says through Haggai, is just unacceptable.

      You know, you came here, you’re back to normal, you laid a cornerstone for my temple and you walked away. Okay. Haggai’s first critique to the people is really personal. This comes in the beginning of chapter 1.

      These people say, The time hasn’t come, the time to rebuild the Lord’s house. Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? The prophet is calling out the people’s priorities in a way that I think is very convicting to how we all live. which of our convictions really come first? What drives us? What’s more important to us to get done before anything else? The people of Jerusalem prioritize their comfort, their private lives, their paneled houses over the presence of God. And I know that I do that.

      I suspect that you do that. Our needs, our schedules, our preferences are just too pressing to put our full resources, our full attention on what God wants us to do. We have our excuses. There’s always something.

      And Haggai is called by God to put this in the face of both the political and the religious leaders. They’ve chosen to pursue what they want more than what God wants. They’re fully aware that they have obligations to God, which is why as soon as they got there they plopped down that cornerstone to show they’re doing something. but they’ve proven since then with their actions, how they spend their time, how they spend their money, their individual and collective lives, that even though that cornerstone’s there, God’s not really their cornerstone.

      So Haggai goes to the governor, Zerubbabel, and he goes to Joshua, who’s the chief priest, and he says to them in front of the rest of the whole nation, who among you is left who saw this house, the temple, in its former glory, And how does it look to you now? Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you? So Haggai calls them to look. They no longer just get to kind of like glance at their peripheral vision as they hurry by to do something else. Haggai says, look at this temple. Look what has happened to God’s house, and we’ve left it as a big, empty, silent construction site.

      Look at this place. It’s an embarrassment. We have chosen to ignore this earthly symbol of the covenant God has made with us, of us being his people. He chose us.

      He led us out of slavery, and we’re back here at home now. We’re in this land that God gave to us. We’re enjoying our lives and we’re forgetting about the God who brought us here in the first place. And Haggai doesn’t mention it directly, but I think his listeners would have heard that he was alluding to something earlier in Scripture.

      Years before, King David was just pained. We hear this in 2 Samuel. That he was able to live in a luxurious palace built for the king while God was worshipped in a tent. The temple wasn’t built yet, they just had the tabernacle.

      And David hated this. He lived in a palace and he wanted to build one for God too. But these people are doing the opposite of that. They live in their own fine homes, wood paneled with fine cedar, and they’re content with that while they’ve just left this half-hearted temple foundation completely ignored for 18 years, almost a generation.

      And so in the first chapter, Haggai has already addressed the response that he knows they’re going to give him whenever he gives this command. Times are tough. We don’t have any extra resources to throw at the temple. The weather has been really bad for our crops.

      There’s been drought. We’re not prosperous. We don’t have a whole lot of money floating around. And Haggai says, well, have you considered that that’s because of your priorities? Because you’re prioritizing yourself over God? Choose God first, and then despite your fear and anxiety, see what happens.

      Get to work. He says, Be strong, Zerubbabel, the governor. Be strong, Joshua, the priest. Be strong, all you people of the land.

      Okay? And then Haggai says something that I think is the crux of this whole passage and probably the whole book. This is the most important line. Work, for I am with you, says the Lord of heavenly forces. Work, for I am with you.

      There’s a constant tension in Christian faith and in our lives to balance. Because on one hand, we know God’s in control of all things. God decides what’s going to happen, what’s not going to happen. God makes all things possible.

      And on the other hand, God has made us responsible for a lot of stuff too. We are co-workers in the tasks that God has laid before us. And Haggai gives this really perfect encapsulation of what that looks like. Again, he says, Don’t fear.

      That is, in other words, you can do it, as challenging as it may seem, because I am your God and because I am with you. You can because I am. God brought Israel out of Egypt for a reason. God saved us through Jesus for a reason.

      God is doing his part and now it’s up to us to do our part. When we have to be clear of what that means, obviously it wouldn’t be really good news if the message that we’re getting from this is God telling us, Work harder, work harder, work harder, no matter what you do, it’s not enough. That’s not good news. But what is good news is that we have been given holy responsibility and God gives us the power to get it done.

      And Haggai knows how hard this is for anybody to understand. And he knows their fears, he knows their insecurities, and so he asks, Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory? The answer is nobody. How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you? He’s cutting right to this root of their insecurity because they have heard about Solomon’s temple. We’ve all heard about Solomon’s temple.

      They’ve been told since they were born in exile in a foreign land that about the glory days of Israel when this temple was built with King David, King Solomon, their successors, this time far better than the one they live in now. They were the most powerful little nation in the area. And so now how could their efforts measure up? We don’t have enough, they think. It’s not the way now as it was back then.

      Things will never be the same as they were. We can’t do things like that anymore. They were able to do that back then, but we just, we can’t do that now. Do you ever feel that way? I feel that way all the time in all kinds of spheres of life.

      Think about this at the national level. There was once a time not so long ago, you know, a family could afford buying a nice house on a single income, send their kids to college debt-free, maybe buy a weekend cabin up on the Allegheny somewhere. Now, now, the average age at which someone buys their first house is well into their mid-40s. people don’t have kids until far later than they used to because the cost is so high, even with two incomes.

      And as a nation, we used to build great things, right? We used to build post offices that were lined with fine art. We used to build bridges with pillars and sculptures, and now we build overpasses. And past generations of Americans have set really big goals, ending poverty, ending segregation. They’ve made it a good ways towards those goals.

      And all of these kinds of things, these efforts, these reaches, they almost feel kind of foolish now that it’s not possible anymore. We can’t even keep our national parks open. We can’t keep air traffic control paid. We can’t keep food stamps issued.

      We can’t do things like that anymore. And there’s a similar situation in the church. Okay. I’m so intimidated, you know, whenever I hear the memories in this place and in all the other churches, of dozens and dozens of kids in Sunday school, of all the extra chairs that we used to need on Christmas Eve.

      We still got them just in case. Invite your friends. We used to have the kind of resources flowing that we could buy these windows, which were nothing small in the 1880s. Yeah.

      And that’s not to mention, you know, the history of Methodism, this movement that began as a prayer group of Oxford students and reached millions of people before Wesley even died. And we inherit a faith that rippled out into the whole world from 12 guys And yet we’re expected to do something now, us, in these footsteps, here in the ruins of Solomon’s temple that we’ve heard about, that some of us might even remember a little bit. What does God possibly expect us to do? Something to understand here that Haggai is saying as well is we are correct in our fears that things will never be the same again. Things will be different.

      They’re not going to rebuild Solomon’s temple. They’re rebuilding a different new temple, but not necessarily a worse one. Listen to what God says through Haggai in verses 7 through 9 of chapter 2. I will make all nations quake.

      The wealth of all nations will come. I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of heavenly forces. The silver and the gold belong to me, says the Lord of heavenly forces. And this house will be more glorious than its predecessor, says the Lord of heavenly forces.

      I will provide prosperity in this place, says the Lord of heavenly forces. Amen. We can do the work of building the kingdom of God that we’re called to, not because we’re something special, neither we’re David or Solomon, but because God is with us. Work for the Lord is with you.

      It’s really hard to swallow, I think, that we might accomplish something now in our lifetimes that is more glorious than its predecessor. We could do better things in the future than there were in the past. That doesn’t seem possible. But yes, that’s what Haggai says.

      And whatever we need, gold and silver for Haggai’s people, that’ll flow. Just trust in God and get to work. And everything that’s mentioned in that passage we just heard, Okay? the people’s quaking, their wealth pouring in, prosperity upon the temple that’ll outweigh the original, God’s gonna do it. Just work, for I am with you.

      You do your part, God does God’s. And it’s wrong for us to understand, as the people of Jerusalem did back then, that what we have, our faith, our people, our money, our skills, our strength, that those are dwindling resources because they’re not. God has given us, as individuals and as the body, sufficient resources to do what we got to get done, to build the bridge to the future that God has planned for us. So what does God want to do with you, do you think? What is it that you are called to that you’re tempted to say, oh, but I could never do that, at least not like whoever did? What is it that we are called to collectively that we’re called to? Where we’re tempted to say, we can’t.

      We don’t have enough people. We don’t have enough money. The world isn’t interested like it was in the old days. Maybe, just like for Haggai’s people, there’s plenty of these things floating around.

      If we decide to work as if God is with us. I think about here at Fairhaven, you heard this morning about the Thursday meal where we had 50 plus people here eating lunch, receiving blankets, happy to come in, talk to us, be in this place. You know, Living Stones is here once a month attracting 80 to 100 people to eat a meal in this place. We’ve had services before Living Stones where we’ve filled up the sanctuary for Easter.

      We have people. There are people around. There is money around. There are resources around.

      But we have to trust ourselves to work like the Lord is with you to love our neighbors and welcome them in. And so maybe today is the day that God is saying, as Haggai says to the people of Jerusalem, you don’t get to ignore this unfinished structure anymore. This project that belongs to you, but you’ve chosen to leave kind of incomplete. You don’t get to keep tending only to the things that lie in your comfort zone, but In the same way, what personal foundation have you laid in Jesus that now goes unfinished? Is it maybe your call to make a tangible commitment to working in missions, to working for justice, to starting a daily habit or devotion of prayer? Maybe is it to get in touch with somebody who’s wronged you, an enemy within the church or beyond it, and seek forgiveness, seek reconciliation.

      What are these things in faith that you have started but not finished? Yeah. Maybe it’s just to start treating your days like a gift given to you by God to work on transforming yourself and the world. Haggai reminds us that you cannot just look at your resources, your schedule, or the failures of the past and decide that building this temple is just beyond what you’re able to do. God says, yes, you can.

      Don’t let yourself believe that those who can do these things, those who have done these things are any different than you. I hear that all the time whenever we do any missions. Some people will say to those who are at more things, you know, I wish I had the time. I wish I had the energy you do.

      You do. Just do. Instead, God says, work, for I am with you. We can stop standing in the ruins of what was, and because God empowers us, work with courage towards the glory God has in store for us.

      In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

    • Fairhaven Sermon 11-2-2025

      Summary

      In this week’s service, Rev. Peg Bowman continued the “Spooky Sermons” series, focusing on the story of Belshazzar from the Book of Daniel. The sermon recounted how Belshazzar, a king ruling in Babylon decades after the exile of the Israelites, desecrated sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by using them for a lavish banquet. Belshazzar, acting as regent while the true king was away, showed disrespect for God, a transgression that triggered a divine warning: a mysterious hand appeared and wrote a cryptic message on the palace wall. This act reflected the larger historical context of Israel’s exile, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the prophetic timeline given by Jeremiah, which indicated a 70-year period of captivity.

      The message on the wall, ultimately deciphered by Daniel, foretold the downfall of Belshazzar’s kingdom and the imminent arrival of the Medes and Persians. Rev. Peg Bowman highlighted the importance of treating God and sacred things with respect, emphasizing the consequences of arrogance and disregard for divine principles. The story serves as a reminder that God is in control, that periods of trouble have boundaries, and that faithfulness ultimately prevails, paving the way for God’s people’s return to Jerusalem.

      Transcript

      So the original story, which we just heard where the saying comes from, is found in the The southern kingdom, which included Jerusalem, hung on for a bit longer, So you might say that Belshazzar was sort of the acting king, and that’s the guy we and how Nebuchadnezzar once went insane when he refused to honor the real God, the God of Israel, Cyrus would order and finance the return of the people of Judah to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, some of you might remember those names from Sunday school So as we turn now to the book of Daniel and our reading for today, many decades have passed now since Israel was taken captive. Today, this part of the world is called Iran, of the one true and living God. So our final spooky sermon is called Two groups of people, foreigners, the Medes and the Persians, The ancient city of Babylon was 14 square miles surrounded by stone walls.

      The Persians invented algebra, backgammon, guitars, These are the same vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took when he captured God’s people. And that’s exactly what she did. And Daniel explains that this means that Belshazzar’s days are numbered. But most of them chose to return to Jerusalem, But back in the days of Daniel, the people of God were not so crazy about being there.

      that God’s people would be in exile for 70 years. God has numbered those days. For the average Babylonian, life would improve because Cyrus was a good leader. and some of the walls were 80 feet thick.

      And finally, a king named Nabonidus came to the throne, and God protected them and they lived. Now for this story in Daniel to make any sense to us, And secondly, whenever we take a look at the world around us and we see trouble, As a bad joke, Belshazzar ordered the servants to bring to him the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had always treated these items with respect. And he says to them, I will make you third in the kingdom, that would be after my father and myself, if you can tell me what this writing says. and they’re getting in that way, So the writing on the wall, which was spooky when it happened, Now the queen was the widow of Nebuchadnezzar, not the wife of Belshazzar.

      And the God in whose hand your breath is held, you have not given glory to him. So Belshazzar figured he was fine. Belshazzar wasn’t afraid and he wasn’t going to go anywhere because he figured that the city of Babylon was unconquerable. And Daniel answers that he doesn’t want any gifts.

      And all of a sudden, Belshazzar was not feeling so cocky. Now, at this point in the history of God’s people who had been living in Israel, the northern kingdom of Israel is gone. And for the next few years after that, Can you imagine how many animals they killed to feed these people? But what about the everyday people? Now at this point, Daniel’s probably in his 80s. The city of Babylon is located on the river Euphrates, and we may remember from history Now, this is not the first time that Belshazzar had heard this story, but Daniel reminded This act of blasphemy set in motion the deliverance of God’s people.

      For the people of Judah, of course, it meant they were going home, if they chose to go home. So for us today, two things I think we can take home with us. and they’re approaching the palace at that very moment. The Writing is on the Wall, the government of Babylon was a mess.

      She greeted him respectfully, and then she tells him, reminds him, They are here to remind us that God cares about us The people who were not rich, He’s either retired or semi-retired, Well, there we have it. Nobody was going to get into the city. or Iran, depending on how you pronounce it. So you could put chariots up on the walls He took good care of them, but Belshazzar handed them out to his friends like they were nothing and we’ve all heard that saying before.

      and the rest of the Old Testament tells us their story. He doesn’t want a reward, but he can and will read the words on the wall. And as a result, King Nebuchadnezzar became a believer in the God of Israel. a long time ago, they were noticed by King Nebuchadnezzar because they were so good at God is in control.

      I need to share a little bit about the city of Babylon itself. and the country stabilized, but there was just one problem. He turned pale, and it says his knees literally started knocking together, And that 70 years was now just about up. And how many servants were cooking and serving? The writing is on the wall.

      the people who were not at the feast, book of Daniel, chapter 5, which we just heard a moment ago. but eventually they also were invaded and they were taken to exile into Babylon, And she’s one of the few people who had the right to walk into Belshazzar’s presence without to defend the walls. First off, we always want to treat God and the things of God with respect, captured a number of the cities around Babylon, him of it, and then he says, But you, Belshazzar, you have not humbled yourself, even though And to prove to everybody that everyone was safe and everything was going to be fine, turned out to be the beginning of God setting things right, It usually means that something’s about to happen, They are now at an end. and he comes at the Queen’s request, And the old fashioned name for it is Persia.

      were hearing about a moment ago. either trouble happening or trouble coming, They wanted to go home to Jerusalem. They had a string of three rulers in three years, class that that area between the Tigris and the Euphrates was a land called Mesopotamia, And one day those who bring trouble on God’s people the very first postal system, For years the people of Babylon had suffered under a king who wanted to be somewhere else. that there’s a man in the kingdom named Daniel, that he was actually eating the grass of the fields like an animal, And some of them were so wide, And these are the same vessels that Belshazzar called for so he could party with them.

      And because of the decree of Cyrus the Great, Belshazzar didn’t really care much about the people he ruled. Belshazzar knows that Daniel is speaking the truth, and has provided for us and wants us to be with God. And how many skins of wine they drank? the people who lived in the city? That he has been weighed in the scales and found wanting. But most of the people in the story don’t know that at this point in time.

      and they praised the gods of silver and the gods of gold and with all the sarcasm they you could do four chariots wide. and Belshazzar points to the handwriting on the wall, Nabonidus didn’t particularly like living in Babylon. and whatever it is that’s about to happen, Now, I don’t know that he actually gave up his other gods, that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem so that he and his guests could drink out of them. So it was a walled city.

      And there are many, many things that we have today Babylon and the area surrounding it who’s both a prophet and a man of learning, Because all of a sudden, Belshazzar and all his guests saw a hand, So the prophet Daniel arrived in Babylon with the first wave of the captives. Today is our final installation of the Spooky Sermons series that we’ve had going on leading so he couldn’t stand, but he couldn’t sit either. And the events in this chapter take place during the time when the people of the southern And then Daniel reads the writing on the wall. relatives of the king who either died or were killed.

      But before he does, he reminds Belshazzar of the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom, and the very first charter of human rights Following God is always a choice. about 50,000 people of Judah returned home So why stick his neck out? not taking them for granted or misusing them the way Belshazzar did. like that big banquet that Belshazzar held with an invading army on the way, They were invaded by the Assyrians about 150 years prior, and they were no longer a nation. and they also captured Belshazzar’s father, the king, And none of them could read it.

      And unknown to most of the people in this story, Jeremiah had left behind a prophecy. will be weighed in the scales and found wanting. we’re probably not going to like it. while the enemy was approaching the city, Belshazzar held a feast at his palace.

      The actions of the great affected them all. leaving behind only the very poorest of the people to keep the land from growing completely wild. And the city didn’t have just one wall. but he started to worship Israel’s God in addition.

      what they did. and he gives him all the rewards, that come from this ancient civilization. and that his kingdom was restored to him when he finally said, Israel’s God is the real God. God bringing God’s people home, being invited and to speak to him without his permission.

      you knew all this. And the river Euphrates ran through the city, and he says, If you can tell me what this means, John Calvin, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, The words are mene mene tekel yufarsin, or parsin depending on which translation, who will be able to figure out what this writing says. And all these events focus on the rich and the powerful in Babylon. He just enjoyed the perks of being king, and he would invite his rich friends to the palace which literally means between the rivers.

      And that the kingdom will be divided this very night between the Medes and the Persians. contains some of the oldest human settlements in the world. And Belshazzar was terrified. And immediately, Belshazzar sent for astrologers and soothsayers, He wanted to live in Arabia instead, so that’s where he went.

      They were smart. It had many walls, like walls within walls, within walls, within walls. Now this was blasphemy and people knew it. Writing on the wall is never a good thing.

      And here’s why Belshazzar thought Babylon was safe. You and your lords and their wives and their concurbines have been drinking wine from sacred So we treat these things with respect no body attached to it, no arm attached to it, just a hand, And the son of a king, Belshazzar, who was not very bright, Cyrus was a man who wanted to see the country and its people prosper, and they did. that was ever written was written by Cyrus the Great, And so the government was constantly changing hands. Some of the people of Judah chose to stay in Babylon, and we don’t hear about them again.

      Daniel knew it, and a few other people, God’s people knew it, but that was it. could muster while drinking from things that were dedicated to the one true and living God. who was still in Arabia. and within a matter of hours, Belshazzar is dead, we can be confident that whatever is going wrong in the world, They served the country well.

      and ending the reign of a king who wasn’t worthy of the title. Things like Persian rugs, Persian cats, The things in the church, the plates, the cups, the crosses, the bread and the wine, Now, those of you who are in our Wednesday Night Bible study, He was a young leader and bright and capable, and he and his friends, And Nebuchadnezzar reigned for about 43 years. I will give you all the things that he promised because they are things that belong to God which had the effect of creating moats in between the walls. That’s where Babylon was, was on the Euphrates.

      And she says, send for Daniel. So we can read this story of the writing on the wall, once said that Belshazzar’s carelessness was a sign of his stupidity and also of God’s wrath. So how did life change for them? kingdom of Judah have been living as captives in Babylon. It was very unstable.

      Now did Belshazzar try to rescue his dad? And all these events created a ruckus in the palace, and apparently the noise came to the ears of the queen, up to Halloween. to rebuild the temple, rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Civilization there dates back to at least 6,000 BC, who will become the king of Babylon Check this out. we just read this past week about those gold and silver vessels.

      writing on the wall behind the king where everybody could see it. But when they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gods, the king threw Daniel’s friends into And he invited a thousand of his best friends and their wives and a few hangers-on, Those people were assimilated into countries in the north. which literally translated means numbered, numbered, weighed, divided. and Darius, the leader of the Medes, And he left his son Belshazzar as his regent.

      Belshazzar did not know it, not that he would have been interested anyway. So then he passed away. and are given to us by God. And as God had said through the prophets, if the people were unfaithful and worshiped other gods, So it gives us an idea of really how old this part of the civilization and this part of And so with Halloween now in the rearview mirror, this series has to come to an end, unfortunately, to give the other men.

      and some versions of the Bible say, and magi. No. vessels and praising the gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not to eat and drink and have parties, and he gave no thought to the people he was ruling. So you had wall, water, wall, water, wall, water.

      long. at the very end of our story today. And some of those walls were over 300 feet high. In fact, even as Daniel is speaking, the invading armies have found a way, either as a warning or as a promise.

      Nebuchadnezzar became sane again when he put his trust in God, becomes king temporarily until Cyrus the Great arrives, there is a limit to how long the times of trouble will last. Yes, these are the same magi, the same group of religious folks things like this, they don’t contain God. They were created by King Solomon, David’s son, That’s the length of a football field. And the hand was writing some kind of message, but nobody could read it.

      But right about that time… That is, he was in charge of Babylon while the king was living away, So the history of this part of the world is pretty amazing probably even back further than that.

      so at least 2,000 people, for a feast at the palace. the world was. So if all this wasn’t bad enough..

      . because all of a sudden the queen walked into the banquet hall unannounced. they would lose their land, and that’s what had happened. They’re just things, but they are things that are dedicated to the service.

      And either way, we praise God for God’s faithfulness but I hate to see it go. and his whole kingdom was restored to him, and then some. and then Cyrus begins the restoration of Jerusalem. a fiery furnace.

      see and cannot hear. that came to visit the baby Jesus, the same magi. It’s been a lot of fun, this series, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as well. Compare that to our 250 years we’ve got a ways to go yet.

      and what a place it would be to visit. not over the walls, but under them. created and dedicated to the service of God for the glory of God. from then until now.

      and the king was away most of the time. Okay. Okay.