Scripture Reference:

Matthew 16:13-19 (New International Version)

Peter’s Confession of Christ

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ,^[a] the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter,^[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[c] will not overcome it.^{[d] 19}I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[f] loosed in heaven.”

Scripture Refererence:

Romans 12:9-21

Love

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[a] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[b]says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^{[c] 21}Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Scripture Reference:  Matthew 26:17-30

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

²⁰When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

²²They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”

²³Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”^[a]

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  (

Judges 5.10-12a: “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. 11To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel. “Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord. 12“Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song!

Awake! Awake!   Wake up!   Get up!  Hello, anyone out there?   Snap to it.  Yoo-hoo.  Rise and shine.   Sleepy Sleepy.   All of these are phrases calling us out of the place where we are, most of the time quite comfortable, and moving us or asking us to move to a different place. The phrase, “Awake! Awake!” is also the theme of the 2010 Quadrennial Assembly hosted by our denomination.  Quadrennial is a women’s convention that happens once every four years for all of the Disciples Women in the Disciples of Christ Church.   In looking forward to a new program and ministry year with Central, and today, focusing on Disciples Women, it seems only fitting to use the theme for this convention as the theme for our worship this morning.

This phrase of the day comes from the scripture that Carol read earlier from Judges.   Now, the book of Judges is filled with stories that follow a certain cyclical pattern.  The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  The Lord handed them over to foreign rule.  The Israelites cry out to the Lord.  The Lord delivers his people often with the leadership of one anointed by God to do so. There is peace in the land.  Repeat.

Deborah is the only female judge mentioned in the book of Judges.  Deborah was also a prophetess. She would sit under a palm tree and people would come to her seeking wisdom and counsel. Early prophets were people who spoke out for God’s will, often out of dreams. Often, what the prophets said were not found to be in favor with the people of the day who wanted to live in another way or worship another god. The Hebrew feminine word for prophet is only used 6 times in the Old Testament, so it was a pretty male-dominated business, I guess!

Now, what happens with the story of Deborah is this.   The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  They were then under oppression for 20 years.   Deborah, called by God, summons a military leader and tells him he is to go into battle and God will deliver them.   He says to her that he will only go if she goes with him.  She agrees and they go.

The passage that Carol read is part of the Song of Deborah, which is one of the oldest recorded portions of the Old Testament, is a song of victory and praise.  It is a song rejoicing in their triumph as it began a time of 40 years of peace in the land.

Are we Awake here at Central?  Have we been listening to God’s call to us to “Awake, Awake, and utter a song?”  How are we sharing the Good News in our community?  Specifically today, women, how are you sharing the Good News of God in our community?

The history of Central Christian Church is filled with stories of great women’s participation and leadership in the congregation and the community.  In fact, the document titled, “The History of Central Christian Church, Waco, Texas” was written by a women, Ida Moore Hays.  She joined CCC in 1873 as a 13 year old girl and was baptized in the Brazos River.  She wrote down the history of the congregation in 1945.

Some of you might know that two women were very instrumental in the church’s beginnings.   Mrs. Phoebe W. Moore and Mrs. Sallie Skidmore, were sent 174 miles away to secure the services of Brother B.F. Hall as the first minister of CCC Waco.   These women travelled in a two-horse wagon through sparsely settled territory.   The round-trip required almost three weeks. Also, did you know that out of the 18 charter members of Central Christian Church, Waco, Texas, eleven of them were women?

Then, in March of 1889, the first Disciples Women/CWF group, then called the Christian Women’s Board of Missions was organized.  There were 14 members and Mrs. J.H. Banton was named the first president. In the last 120 years, many women have developed meaningful friendship, grown spiritually, and most importantly, made a difference in this world due to a constant focus on Missions/Service and Outreach.  In fact, in 1922, the Christian Women’s Board of Missions $1000 for missions that year. The most moving thing I read, though, as I reread this little book of history of our congregation was the following paragraph:

[In the early 1930’s] It was during Dr. O’Heeron’s pastorate that the Women’s Auxiliary paid in full its pledge to the building fund which amounted to $15,000.  The women have always had an important part in the work and growth of Central Christian Church.  Only those who have taken part in the women’s work will ever know of their trials and tribulations in conducting sales of old clothing, bazaars, dinners and various and sundry other ways to raise money.  The women have never been unmindful of the two women who drive nearly two hundred miles to secure a minister and they have carried on the traditions in fine style. (page 13, History of Central Christian Church, Ida Moore Hays)

Wow.  Isn’t this incredible.   Doesn’t this describe our Disciples Women’s Ministry today at Central?   Even today, the women who participate in the Disciples Women’s Ministries at CCC keep their focus on missions.  They fundraise and give proceeds to local, national and global mission partners.  They spend time together in study, fellowship and prayer just as this group has during its 120 year history within this congregation.  And to quote Ida Moore Hays, “this [group] has had its periods of progress and periods of depression with always a few faithful members to carry on.”   We are at a crossroads now with so many areas within our congregation.

Can you hear the call to “AWAKE, AWAKE”?  Can you see the need to continue the great tradition for women’s ministry at Central while adapting to the various needs of women in our congregation.  Did you know that we only have 1 or 2 stay at home moms in our congregation?   Most of the mothers in this church are working women. We also have many other working women, college students, or others who are otherwise occupied during the day.   On the other hand, we have many women who no longer drive at night, or try to only get out once a day.  The varied needs of our women lead us to the point where we are today….a need to expand the foundation for women’s ministries to be able to reach out to even more women in the congregation and community. We are not changing Disciples Women, we are simply expanding it to meet the needs of all of the women of the congregation and community.

Just like Deborah’s song of triumph and celebration, we have an incredible song to sing about Central.   Even more, we have an incredible song to sing about the Good News of God’s love.   What would happen within our women’s ministries, or entire church for that matter, if we really approached everything with fresh eyes….with spirits that are truly awake to receive the Good News and share it?

In looking at some of the information for the Quadrennial Assembly for women next summer, I am intrigued by the sub-themes for the event.  (see below)

AWAKE! AWAKE!

ÿ Awake to the Body of Christ

ÿ Awake to the Treasure of Wisdom

ÿ Awake to the Song of Praise

ÿ Awake to the Dance of Mission

ÿ Awake to Awaken the World

This year, as we embark on a new ministry program year, let us as a congregation truly awaken to the call of God’s love, the call to volunteer where needed even when we don’t feel qualified. The call to step out of our comfort zones to try something new, like joining a new Sunday School class, or inviting some new visitors out to lunch. There are so many places that need your gifts and talents.   You can help transform a room in the coming weeks for our new children’s ministry. You can volunteer to teach Sunday school for the youth for a month at a time. You can help with the upkeep of the bulletin boards around the church.  You can make a commitment to be in one of the new Sunday School opportunities for adults.  You can simply recommit to the areas of the church in which you already serve.    You can ask someone new to join you for lunch.   AWAKE, AWAKE, Central, utter a song!

And, just as Ida Moore Hays said in the history she documented, let us not ever lose sight of what the early women of the church did not only for the women, but for the congregation as a whole.    I know that so many of us love this congregation.  It’s time to be like Phoebe Moore and Sallie Skidmore and AWAKEN to God’s call to use each of our gifts and talents as part of this congregation, to be part of furthering her mission, and to be part of something built on a rich heritage and faithful congregation.

Richard Roland:  “About Dad!”