You can order me to make straw into bricks, and I can try;
 TAKE-AWAY NOTES (based on article by Greg

(based on article by Greg Rawn)

Quote for Reflection: you can command me to spin it into gold, and I will fail; Exodus 19:6 calls Israel “priestly kingdom and a holy nation.”
A gospel that doesn't unsettle, you can tell me to go on pilgrimage or do a penance, This is the kingdom where God’s will is done on earth. (As we
a Word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, and I may or may not comply. say in Jesus’ prayer!) The Ten Words are a description of what
a Word of God that doesn't touch the real sin God’s kingdom is like. God’s kingdom is a reality marked by:
You can write out words for me to say,

of the society in which it is being proclaimed, -Freedom (v. 20:2)
but you cannot make me pray.
what Gospel is that? -An unwavering relationship with God (vv. 3-7)
You can persuade me to give my money to the poor, -Rest and peace (vv. 8-11)
Archbishop Oscar Romero
El Salvador martyr  but you cannot make me generous. -Honor and respect (v. 12)
You can prescribe how I should behave, -Abundant and never-ending life (v. 13)
and punish me if I refuse,
 -Faithful relationships (v. 14)
but the one thing you absolutely cannot do -Mutually caring relationships (v. 15)
We Gather as God’s People is to make me love you, -Truth and true justice (v. 16)
or my neighbor or myself. -Contentment (v. 17)
HYMN In the Desert, On God’s Mountain W&S 3029
And so you are not satisfied to lay down rules The kingdom that the Ten Words describe is a reality of
and mete out punishments.
 complete love: love of God, self, creation, and others.
CALL TO WORSHIP
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land You showers us with love,
and wait to see if, maybe, PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER
of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
we will love in return.
On the third new moon,
 OFFERING
three months into the wilderness,
 PRAYER OF DEDICATION
the people of God,
 Living God,

fresh from the tyranny of Egypt,
 We Listen for God’s Word we bring you these gifts

come to the mountain of the Lord,
 not because we feel we ought to,

and there they waited.
 HEBREW SCRIPTURE Exodus 19:1–7; 20:1-7 nor because it is expected of us,

As we come to worship this day,
 (on insert) nor even because the church needs them;

may we also await your Word for us,
 we give freely and gladly as you have shared with us.
and set ourselves to praise you, Lord God.
 GOSPEL Matthew 5:17-18
“Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the We made a free choice once to follow in the way of Christ;
Let us worship the God of Sarah and Abraham,
Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to freely we renew that commitment now,

Jacob and Rachel, Miriam and Moses. Amen.
demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it not for hope of reward or fear of punishment,

all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and but because he alone has the words of eternal life.
HYMN I Will Call Upon the Lord FWS 2002
lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long Receive our gifts;
after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive use us and them in the service of your kingdom,
PASSING THE PEACE
and working.” (MSG) whose only law is the law of love. Amen.
YOUNG PEOPLE’S MESSAGE
HYMN Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence UMH 626
vss. 3-4
TAIZÉ Bless the Lord, My Soul FWS 2013
We Respond to God’s Word
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY FWS 2257b-d
OPENING TO GOD REFLECTION Ten Words
How ironic and how typical of you, God,

that the most important thing you command us to do, HYMN Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence UMH 626 We Are Sent Into God’s World
the one law that encompasses all the others,
 vss. 1-2
is the one thing that cannot be commanded— namely, to love. ANNOUNCEMENTS
BENEDICTION
 Essex Eats Out Schedule Here are people, places, & concerns folk have recently lifted
up. Please keep them in your prayers at home.
Oct 12 - Holy Family Oct 19 - St James Oct 26 - EUMC Please call or email the church office to add to the prayer list.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

October 9-Graham & Karsen Drury
Ongoing Prayers
Tim
Lifted Up Last Sunday
Donna— Stricklands
The Ten Words
October 13-John Mitchell Lenore Dana— a friend hit by car, needing PT
October 10 - Bob & Mary McLane anniversary Michael Parker and cognitive therapy
Keenan Gill— brother
Calendar Arlitha Liz— Sally’s granddaughter, recovering
Tuesdays: Pastor is In- The Nest Coffee Shop 10am - noon Callie from accident
Church Office noon- 2:00 pm Grace Naylor
Mt Mansfield Bible Study 2 pm, begins Oct 2 Sally— for courage of doctors
Anne Kennison
Kristine— Higgins family
Thursdays: Church Office noon- 2:00 pm Gloria McKeen
Mary Willard Donna— David & Tracy’s wedding
Mon, 8 Oct: Monday Companions at Eve’s home on Norma Strickland Kathryn— folk seeking employment; for
Brown’s River Road. 7:00 pm. Read through Judy & Diezela spiritual and physical needs
Chapter 6 of Canoeing the Mountains. Matthew C. Claire— small children experiencing
Elissa & Leif trauma
Tue, 9 Oct: No Mansfield Class 

Administrative Board 7 pm Greg
Paula DeMichele
Sun, 14 Oct: All-Church Meeting after worship. Don Strickland
Ellie Uckele
Mon, 15 Oct: Questions of Faith Begins Session Two
in the Parlor, 7:00 pm. Cole
Harley
Tues, 16 Oct: Trustees, 7:00 pm Gordon Mitchinson

Thurs, 18 Oct: Food Shelf Set Up, GSLC, 6:30 pm

Sat, 20 Oct: Food Shelf Distribution, 9:00 am

16 Oct- 19 Oct: Pastor Mitch is interviewing Pastor Candidates

at the Board of Ordained Ministry. He is available by phone.

Sun, 21 Oct: Laity Sunday Joshua leads worship

Heifer Project begins Essex Center United Methodist Church

 essex_umc@comcast.net tel. 878-8304
Tues, 23 Oct: Pastor-Parish Relations, 7:00 pm www.essexumc.com
Ministers: the entire congregation Lay Leader: Joshua Knox
Fri, 26 Oct: WoWW Luncheon @ Erica’s in Fairfax, 11:30 am Equipping Pastor: Rev. V. Mitchell Hay

Fri, 26 Oct: Essex Eats Out at EUMC, 5:30 pm

cell tel. 881-3268 (feel free to call) mitchellhay@comcast.net
Office Manager: Heidi Evans Essex Center
Organ: Kathryn Parker Piano: June Packard
Sat, 3 Nov: Holiday Bazaar, 9-2:30 pm
Song Leader: Dana Thomas Projection: Sam Evans
Greeters - Eve Thorsen & Janet Bedard
United Methodist Church
Ushers - Jeremy LaClair, Chuck LaClair, Dawn Hill-Fleury
Sun, 11 Nov: Stewardship Sunday 7 September 2018 20th Sunday after Pentecost
 Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, November 3
9:00 am to 2:30 pm
Please mark your calendars and join us in the
fellowship hall for this year's Holiday Bazaar
festivities. There will be the usual variety of tables
and any donations will be greatly appreciated.
Crafts: hand-crafted items, ornaments, decorations.
Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting: Aprons, table
runners, placemats, mittens, hats, scarves, doll
clothes, and more.
Candy: fudge, chocolates, peanut brittle, or
whatever your specialty.
Baked Goods: anything homemade— breads, rolls,
pies, cakes. Jams, jellies and pickles will also
be welcomed. Surprise us!
Cookie Walk: we need homemade cookies of all
kinds for this table (small, firm cookies, no
bars, please.) Customers are invited to choose
as many cookies as they can fit into the plastic
bag provided for a reasonable price.
White Elephant: new or gently used small items or
books (no clothing or large items, please)
Plants: African violets, aloe, jade...what can you
contribute?
Luncheon: Donations of soup and bread will also
be needed.
Please contact Marilyn Almeida, Patty Mitchell,
Nancy Nye or Maureen Wiegner with questions.
Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, November 3
9:00 am to 2:30 pm
Please mark your calendars and join us in the
fellowship hall for this year's Holiday Bazaar
festivities. There will be the usual variety of tables
and any donations will be greatly appreciated.
Crafts: hand-crafted items, ornaments, decorations.
Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting: Aprons, table
runners, placemats, mittens, hats, scarves, doll
clothes, and more.
Candy: fudge, chocolates, peanut brittle, or
whatever your specialty.
Baked Goods: anything homemade— breads, rolls,
pies, cakes. Jams, jellies and pickles will also
be welcomed. Surprise us!
Cookie Walk: we need homemade cookies of all
kinds for this table (small, firm cookies, no
bars, please.) Customers are invited to choose
as many cookies as they can fit into the plastic
bag provided for a reasonable price.
White Elephant: new or gently used small items or
books (no clothing or large items, please)
Plants: African violets, aloe, jade...what can you
contribute?
Luncheon: Donations of soup and bread will also be
needed.
Please contact Marilyn Almeida, Patty Mitchell,
Nancy Nye or Maureen Wiegner with questions.
Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, November 3
9:00 am to 2:30 pm
Please mark your calendars and join us in the
fellowship hall for this year's Holiday Bazaar
festivities. There will be the usual variety of tables
and any donations will be greatly appreciated.
Crafts: hand-crafted items, ornaments, decorations.
Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting: Aprons, table
runners, placemats, mittens, hats, scarves, doll
clothes, and more.
Candy: fudge, chocolates, peanut brittle, or
whatever your specialty.
Baked Goods: anything homemade— breads, rolls,
pies, cakes. Jams, jellies and pickles will also
be welcomed. Surprise us!
Cookie Walk: we need homemade cookies of all
kinds for this table (small, firm cookies, no
bars, please.) Customers are invited to choose
as many cookies as they can fit into the plastic
bag provided for a reasonable price.
White Elephant: new or gently used small items or
books (no clothing or large items, please)
Plants: African violets, aloe, jade...what can you
contribute?
Luncheon: Donations of soup and bread will also be
needed.
Please contact Marilyn Almeida, Patty Mitchell,
Nancy Nye or Maureen Wiegner with questions.
HEBREW SCRIPTURE Exodus 19:1–7; 20:1-7
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land
of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of
Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness
of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front
of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to
him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the
Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my
covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the
peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a
priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you
shall speak to the Israelites.”
So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before
them all these words that the Lord had commanded him:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them
or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the
fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast
love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep
my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your
God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or
your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the
alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh
day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.
HEBREW SCRIPTURE Exodus 19:1–7; 20:1-7
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land
of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of
Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of
Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of
the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him
from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the
Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed,
the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom
and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the
Israelites.”
So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before
them all these words that the Lord had commanded him:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them
or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the
fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love
to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or
your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the
alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.
HEBREW SCRIPTURE Exodus 19:1–7; 20:1-7
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land
of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of
Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of
Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of
the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him
from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the
Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed,
the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom
and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the
Israelites.”
So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before
them all these words that the Lord had commanded him:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them
or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the
fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love
to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or
your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the
alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.