Is God pruning American Christianity? by Steve Harper
In much of the contemporary conversation about the church, we use life/death language to frame what we say. So, some allege they are in a “dead” church, while just down the road others claim theirs is “alive.” And from there, we expand the conversations to evaluate denominations and other parts of the body of Christ. The recent Pew survey on religion in America is a case in point of how life/death interpreters go to work on the data.
Subsidiary words are also used to carry the freight of the life/death metaphor (e.g. bigger means life, growing means life — the opposites mean death), leaving us with human measuring tools that combine theology, sociology, demographics and trends to form, describe and defend our assessments.
Missing in a lot of this conversation is a third category, one that Jesus himself used — the process of pruning (John 15:2). In every vineyard, most branches were alive and bearing some fruit, but all the branches had to be pruned recurringly so they could bear more fruit.
This is the category I choose to use in talking about what is happening to the church today. Life/death language takes survey data and uses it to say, “If this trend continues, we will be out of business by the year________ (different years for different groups).” And, of course the statisticians are correct, IF it is all about numbers. A vineyard worker would agree — if you keep cutting back the branch, it will eventually be gone. And that is the way most of what I read and hear frames the conversation.
Life/death language gives groups permission to go into crisis mode, requiring a last-ditch effort to save the vineyard — usually described in some kind of divisionary concept or lifeboat call to join “the true believers” in getting off the sinking ship.
The pruning metaphor operates from a different assumption — that cutting back is for the purpose of greater fruitfulness in the future. It is a theological and ecclesial manifestation of “less is more.” It does not require abandoning the existing vineyard, but only tending it with greater attention and care.
I cannot speak comprehensively about pruning because even Jesus said only the vinedresser (his heavenly Father) knows what needs pruning, and how much cutback there needs to be on a given branch. But at least here in North America, I believe God is pruning us along lines that (whether real or imagined) are stunting the fruitfulness of Christianity. Here are a limited number of examples where I believe God is pruning us:
Christianity is being separated from the impression that the true version of it is largely located in one political party.
Christianity is being pulled from the grip of “media Christians” who use their platforms, institutions, and ministries to allege the country is going to hell in a handbasket, and they are the only ones who can “save the nation.”
Christianity is being pruned of dualistic thinking which (among other things) allows one group to claim it holds the copyright on orthodoxy.
Christianity is being purged of a top-heavy institutionalism that concentrates power in too few and consumes too much money on ecclesial maintenance.
Christianity is being taken out of the hands of “old guys” (and yes, much of it is GUYS), who hang on too long and block the emergence of a new generation of young leaders.
Christianity is being salvaged from those who blur the life-giving distinction between doctrine and opinion, losing sight of the fact that the issues we must face are shaped by hermeneutics, not by the false charge that only certain Christians “believe in the Bible.”
Christianity is being cleansed of the public impression that it is made up of people who are mean-spirited, judgmental, and arrogant.
Christianity is being emptied of concepts that allow quantification (“more is better”) to be definitive in determining its authenticity and vitality.
These cutbacks are threatening to any living on the part of the branch that will be removed, and we can expect the soon-to-be-pruned branch portion to put up quite a fight when the shears begin to do their work.
The pruning is not a sign that the branch will soon die, but that it will be restored to new and fuller life — to the spirit and substance God has had in mind for it all along. Pruning is the prelude to the production of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) on the vine.
In that day, the church will be a fruitful vine. And with that fruit in place, it will be harvested by the Spirit so that the world can drink the New Wine only God can make!
Steve Harper is the author of “For the Sake of the Bride” and “Five Marks of a Methodist.” He blogs at Oboedire.
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A Site for Attentive Spiritual Formation
"In-Sight: Change One Preposition" by jstevenharper
We are just one preposition away from ministry in Jesus’ Name. Instead of viewing ministry as ministry ‘to’ people, we need to be in ministry ‘with’ people. Theologically, this is the incarnational principle: Emmanuel–God ‘with’ us. It resonates with Jesus’ final promise, “I am ‘with’ you always.” By making ‘with’ the operative preposition, some important things occur.
First, it means we take initiative. We do not wait for people to ask for help, we offer it. We do not wait until some come to us, we go to them. We see God taking this initiative immediately after the Fall, when God went in search of Adam and Eve. And that is the recurring pattern in the rest of the Bible, to the extent that we speak of the ‘divine initiative.’
Second, ministry with people means we have gotten specific. We have entered into the lives of real people, in real places, and about real things. Nothing is abstract. As Henri Nouwen put it, we live here-and-now, not there-and-later. This does mean recognizing that we cannot do everything–but we can do something. And what we can do, we do–to the glory of God. This is what Wesley called practical divinity: faith working by love.
Third, we commit to duration. The emphasis shifts from an event orientation to a relational orientation. We commit to specific people and places for the long-haul. We enter into the lives of people, getting to know them, and they us. When we minister with people we no longer show up and then go away, we stay put.
Happily, I know pastors and churches who order ministry this way. In time their congregations are woven into the fabric of the community, and hearts are bonded ‘with’ one another in Christ.
Sacrificing (even) our buildings for God's kingdom by Ben Gosden
The longer I serve in a local church, the more I become aware how much our physical spaces — the spaces we use for worship, teaching, fellowship and service — say a lot about the souls of our congregational life. We may not always pick up on this, especially if we’ve been a member of a church for many years. A place can become home quickly and we grow accustomed to the feelings we gain by being present while missing the details of the space itself. Nonetheless, these spaces become sacred as we share life together in them.
Church buildings have played a big role in the history of American Christianity. Once America was finally settled in the mid to late 1800s, church buildings became the pride of every local church. Without realizing it, we began to shift from a missionary movement (a church always on the move as new land was settled) to a stationed institution with brick and mortar and permanence in a local community. In the 100+ years that followed, buildings became bigger and bigger in order to accommodate more people, growing incomes, and the love and pride that comes with being an active member of a local church.
All of this was going well until somewhere in the mid to late 20th century when church membership decline became noticeable. Now that we’re in the 21st century, decline is not only noticeable, it’s painful. And all the while we have these big, aging, beautiful yet hard-to-maintain buildings our faithful mothers and fathers in the faith left behind.
With fewer people occupying our buildings and resources that continue to decline, what’s the faithful thing to do?
Well, we could just double down on our efforts to resurrect the church of the past. We could continue to hope for the good ole days to return and pray that people will once again fill our pews. While we’re at it, we might even pray that Sunday morning becomes culturally sacred again and that people act as if attending church is the thing any good, upstanding citizen would do with their time.
Or we could prayerfully seek what new place God might be leading us into — even when it might involve our church buildings.
A modest proposal
What if we encouraged more churches to give their space away? Yes, you read that correctly. What if God is leading us into a season of downsizing our physical space? And what if such a season will free us to become a church on the move again?
I want to offer three changes that I think could take place if we creatively and strategically downsized or shared our church’s physical spaces:
1. A shift in evangelism. The constant upkeep of buildings means we need to focus our energy on ourselves. And a decline in resources for such upkeep means we need new people in our buildings in order for our buildings to get the attention they need. We don’t mean for it to happen, but our evangelism can quietly become an effort to preserve our physical space if we’re not careful. The focus on buildings also leads us to approach evangelism as a way to encourage people to come to us. We spruce up our buildings, pave our parking lots and keep our grass in pristine condition so that we can tell a newcomer, “Come on in our doors — the water is fine.” Focusing less on our buildings means evangelism becomes more about going out and meeting people where they are. It means we gain the freedom to actually be the church because we’re not quite as focused on preserving a church building.
2. A shift in stewardship. I’ve never done this but I’d be willing to bet if you conducted a poll in your local church and asked people the least exciting thing their tithes and offerings pay for, the maintenance of a church building might be close to the top of their list. We love to pay for children and youth. We love to pay for choir music. We love to pay for preachers (so long as they visit us when we’re sick and give a good sermon!) But no one likes to pay the light bill. Paying a water bill doesn’t strangely warm anyone’s heart. Downsizing or creatively sharing physical space can free local churches to not stress so much about paying enormous utilities on a building used very little when you consider the number of hours it remains locked during the week.
3. A shift in mission. Too many of our local churches are occupying buildings that are too large and too expensive to maintain. What if, instead of mourning the decline in numbers, churches found creative ways to engage the community with their physical space? What if you took some empty classrooms and invited a community development program to use your space during the week? What if you took an empty office or two and found a startup nonprofit trying to help people and you gave them a little office space? What if you took your oversized fellowship hall and let a local AA or NA group meet in it weekly on an evening when the church doesn’t need it? Our physical space and how we use it says a lot about how we view our call to be in mission with the world around us. If we leave our church locked up for most of the week and use our space solely for members to meet, then that says to the community that we are a closed group. It doesn’t matter how many time you want to put on your church sign that “All are welcome here”; the ways you use and let others use your building says, “You better be a member or know the right people if you want to be welcome here.” Opening your big buildings to the community says you care about being a good neighbor.
Andy Stanley asks this question in one of his leadership talks: “What’s the biggest challenge the church faces, that if it were possible to overcome, it would be a total game-changer?” Stanley says the answer is buildings. We make our buildings too sacred. Change seems impossible when it comes to physical space. Too much emotion gets tied up in buildings. But Stanley also reminds us the kingdom of God is full of bounty — the only problem we face is how that bounty is allocated.
How is God’s kingdom calling you to consider new and creative ways to use your physical space? Is there a ministry in your community that needs a new home? Is there a way to meet some need in your community by giving some space away?
How is God calling us to see our buildings and how we use them as more than just possessions, but rather as gifts we are carefully entrusted to use for the sake of God’s growing kingdom movement?
Ben Gosden blogs at MastersDust.com.
Fighting the fires of racism by Justin Coleman
The hashtag #ThisIsWORR is joining the list of hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter and #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches meant to encourage sober reflection and just action in solidarity with the black community in the United States. In response to a series of church burnings that followed the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, leaders of some black churches are declaring July 12-18 a Week of Righteous Resistance (WORR), prompting the hashtag #ThisIsWORR. A website has also been created as a gathering place for individuals and groups to learn about and post activities that relate to the effort.
Reading news of arson at black churches is heartbreaking on top of the murders at Emanuel…
…on top of all the sadness of the shooting and deaths of black civilians
…on top of the statistics that in 2009, black males comprised nearly half of the over 2.1 million inmates in jail or prison
…on top of the common day-to-day racism and discrimination that blacks are regularly told they are imagining or need to get over.
I have a simple encouragement for churches and church members: Engage. Now is not the time for passive reflection. Churches are burning and people are dying and the sin of racism lies at the root. Now is the time for leadership. Consider ways to act during the week of July 12th and beyond. Action can be as simple as connecting with black churches in your area and asking if your congregation or small group could come and pray prayers of protection around church grounds. Action might also look like joining with groups in black communities that are working long-term to overcome the systemic issues that threaten the thriving of those communities.
Finally, I’m happy for churches and Christian people to use the hashtags #ThisIsWORR, #BlackLivesMatter, and #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches. I’m also happy when they take time to consider why they are sometimes uncomfortable or resist doing so, but maybe there are other hashtags we could use. Perhaps now is the time for the whole church, in solidarity with its members who are people of color and those who represent other marginalized groups, to offer another hashtag to the world: #ChurchesCare.
The gospel's radical cure for church institutions
By Clifton StringerWhat if only what kills you makes you stronger?
The young Kierkegaard thought a lot about the way in which Christianity is a radical cure for what ails the human. To understand Christianity aright, he thought, is to have some sympathy with those who avoid or delay conversion. So he wrote in his journal, "Christianity or being a Christian is like every radical cure; one puts it off as long as possible" (9 Oct. 35 I A 89).
No one is excited about a medical procedure that saves one's life by ushering one to the brink of death. As regards our flesh, occupied by the sin and darkness of "the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), Christianity doesn't stop at the brink.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:19b-20 NRSV).
Jesus Christ revealed to the Apostle Paul that only a sharing in his own real death — a death that puts to death our fallen flesh — can save us. That is what is involved in Christian renewal, or new creation. In Jesus Christ crucified we become vivaciously new, self-less in the sense that in fellowship with Christ crucified we love to give our self away for others.
We can think about Galatians 2:20 in relation to individuals, and this is certainly warranted. The Christian mystical tradition extending from the Syriac monastic writer who called himself Dionysius the Areopagite, running forward in the Latin west through the Victorines and Franciscans and many others, does just this.
Yet while Galatians 2:20 certainly applies to the individual Christian, it is likewise crucial to apply it to the institutional churches of which we're a part. After all, Paul wrote, "To the churches of Galatia" (1:2). In what follows, I unpack some of the riches in Galatians 2:20 with regard to the church, to the "we." I'm a United Methodist, so I'll be thinking about the UMC in particular. Yet I daresay Galatians 2:20 applies to whatever church institution you call home.
1. We have been crucified with Christ. Most Christians have occasion to observe, now and again, "My church has serious problems." Sin, lack of direction, misdirection, corruption, institutional inertia, institutional anxious hyperactivity, pastors never staying long enough, pastors staying too long, possibly-unconverted folk entrenched in key positions of leadership: We have no shortage of problems. Yet often we think of all of these sufferings as though we were not united to Jesus Christ through his Spirit. I often find myself imagining that these travails prevent us from ministering with the freedom and power of Jesus. "If we weren't such losers, we could really be the body of Christ." This is mistaken. Through the unity with Christ we enjoy by the activity of the Holy Spirit, these sufferings are themselves ways we share in Christ's crucifixion. We're intimately united with him even in weakness and failure. Jesus Christ has taken all these things we suffer into and upon himself, such that the weakness and death and suffering and impotence of our churches is not absent the redemptive work and purposes of God. The Father who raised Jesus Christ from the dead works through us inasmuch as we are joined to Jesus in his death.
So, as James Harnish recommends in his extraordinary book on church leadership: "You only have to die."
2. It is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us.United to Jesus Christ, we can lose ourselves in the very best sense of the expression. We can set ourselves aside — ourselves as individuals and churches full of sin, confusion, death and anxiety — and let Jesus Christ do the living in and through us. We can say, "It seems like we have x, y and z problems which seem intractable. But we as a congregation are going to live in Jesus Christ, and not in our problems. We are going to let him act in and through us."
There is such comfort and health in the knowledge that we don't have to obsessively fight off our own institutional deaths since we are secure in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. In the UMC we've noticed that we're in decline, numerically speaking, and have been for some time. We're also used to speeches by our leaders urging us to rally and turn this decline around. One problem with this is actually the deceptive shape of the decline narrative itself: As Wilson Pruitt has pointed out, it is difficult to tell just based on numbers where the burst of the post World War II membership bubble ends and where the decline in committed disciples begins. Another problem with our going into flailing crisis mode, like an animal trying to free itself from the jaws of a wolf (In order to glorify God? No, to reverse the decline) is that to do so is sowing to the flesh rather than to the Spirit. When we're scared of our shrinking metrics we're not abiding in Jesus Christ who is risen and who abides in us. If we "do evangelism" out of fear of decline, our efforts will be beset with manipulation and control tactics. That's not even real evangelism. Real evangelism is witness to the crucified and risen Lord arising from the fact that he loves us unchangingly and forever, that he is risen and with us, that he even lets us speak words of freedom and truth which he turns to eternal life in our hearers. Praise the Lord!
3. The life we now live in the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. When we're secure in what Jesus Christ has done, we don't have to consolidate our own closed community. Friendship and community suddenly aren't all about our security. We're free to invite others in and genuinely welcome them.
Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself for us while we were yet sinners. There is deep security in that, a security the world cannot give. "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom. 8:31). This means our fleshly life — even with our besetting sins, weaknesses, imperfections and institutional failures — is fundamentally transformed. We are free to delight in giving ourselves away for others. As Christ's church we love doing so. Christ's church is Christ's body, and the body does what the head does. In Jesus Christ's great faithfulness we find our inspiration and our own faith, our own ability to trust God's love for us. We get to live in that love, live with it, and live out of it — for the glory of God, and for others.
That's the best!
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and the truth that we are partakers in it, gives us pause. It also gives us sympathy for those people and churches who shirk away from it. Yet Christ crucified is God's radical cure for the institutional church, a cure which kills to make alive, a gift which makes us selfless in order to free us in love.
Jesus, the anti-Jew?
By Rebekah Simon-PeterChurch, it’s time to go all the way in embracing the Jewish Jesus.
Yes, Jesus is seen as a Jew in many pulpits and pews, but usually as an exception, an anomaly.
In too many sermons, commentaries and hymnals, his teachings on love, inclusion and forgiveness are set up as a contrast against the Jews and Judaism of his day. What makes him distinctive, we say, is that he’s not like the other Jews. He reached people on the margins. He talked to women. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. But these characterizations of a Jewish Jesus are still distorted. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine explains why:
“Jesus becomes the rebel who, unlike every other Jew, practices social justice. He is the only one to speak with women; he is the only one who teaches nonviolent responses to oppression; he is the only one who cares about the ‘poor and the marginalized’ (that phrase has become a litany in some Christian circles). Judaism becomes in such discourse a negative foil: whatever Jesus stands for, Judaism isn’t it; what Jesus is against, Judaism epitomizes the category.”
Yes, Jesus reached out to all kinds of people. Yes, he counseled mercy and patience. Yes, he healed and set people free. But rather than see Jesus as different from the Jews around him, I suggest it is time to see Jesus’ ministry as a natural evolution of the whole history of Jewish teaching, ethics, morality, practice and service of God. Otherwise he serves as an archetypal anti-Jew.
I’d like to explain the phenomenon, and then give you three criteria to check for to see if your preaching and teaching sets up Jesus as a Jew or as an anti-Jew.
Think about it.
- If Jesus was fully Jewish, operating in a Jewish context, living a Jewish life, studying Jewish texts, praying to a Jewish God, clothing himself in the Jewish commandments, where else did it come from?
- If we believe that Jesus was one with the God of Israel, then surely Jesus drew upon the same Source and sources that inspired all the other teachers, miracle-workers, prophets, and kings that preceded and surrounded him.
- Quite often the rabbis of his era were arriving at the same conclusions he was, from the Golden Rule, to teachings on Sabbath, the importance of love of God and neighbor. Others were engaged in calling disciples, healing and miracle-working. Even his interactions with women, children and Gentiles were not anomalous.
Jesus is the product of generations of Jewish innovators, completely in line with the spiritual genius that went before him and even those that came after him.
Paul wasn’t kidding when he said about his fellow Israelites, “to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”
How do you know if you are preaching and teaching about Jesus as a Jew or an anti-Jew? Check out these three critiera:
1. You rely heavily on the compare and contrast method of preaching and teaching: Jesus is the “good guy” and his Jewish contemporaries such as Pharisees, Saducees, scribes and lawyers are the “bad guys.” This creates an us-versus-them dynamic that creates enemies. In other words, in order to stand with Jesus, I have to stand against somebody or something else.
2. You remove Jesus from a Jewish context altogether, substituting “the church” for the actual Jewish people, Torah, land and institutions he interacted with. Erasing his Jewish context doesn’t help. It’s like claiming being colorblind in a society where white privilege still operates.
3. You portray the Pharisees as unidimensional: hypocritical, out to get him, narrow-minded or legalistic. Of all the Jewish groups present in his day, Jesus himself was most closely aligned with the Pharisees. His way of teaching, setting up a fence for the Law and seeing the world has more in common with them than any other group.
Putting this perspective into practice will take a renewed scholarship among preachers, pray-ers, poets, professors and Bible study writers and teachers. I realize it’s going to take some work to leave behind comfortable but dishonest dichotomies and ready stereotypes. This won’t be easy for already overworked church leaders. But there are many excellent resources that can help. It’s worth the effort.
We are grand participants in a historic reconciliation, the fruits of which are only beginning to be realized. Understanding that Jesus operated within a rich spiritual and theological context is essential for deconstructing three attitudes: first, lingering anti-Judaism; second, Jesus as anti-Jew; and third, subtle “us versus them” dynamics. While denominations have repented of these attitudes, the fulfillment of that work remains to be done in individual pulpits, in Bible studies and in human hearts. The more we get our theology and teaching right, the more space it creates for healing between Jesus and his own people.
This article is excerpted and adapted from “The Jew Named Jesus: Discover the Man and His Message.” Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com.
Does God still heal the sick?
By Zack HuntYesterday I got an email alert about a comment left on a post that I have to confess I don’t even remember writing. I mean, my name is on it, and after rereading it I have some vague memory of writing something like that, but if that’s not a sign that I’ve been doing this too long, I don’t know what it.
Then again, maybe I don’t remember writing the post because it was about a topic I never write about because, well, it’s not something I’m particularly comfortable talking about: divine healing.
The original post (some of which I’ve repurposed for this post) was a response to this billboard that went up in New Zealand a few years ago.
That billboard still makes me squirm.
I mean, I love Jesus, I believe in God, and if God exists I kind of have to believe that God has least has the ability to heal disease, right? But come on. It’s cancer. Besides, even if God does sometimes heal people from cancer, what about all the other people that die from cancer? Why didn’t God heal them? And if God heals some people from cancer, why doesn’t God ever restore the limbs of people whose arms or legs have been amputated?
Obviously, it doesn’t take rigorous academic training to see the theological quagmire that is divine healing. (Though, it is important to point out that the reality of divine healing, periodic reality of divine healing, or total lack thereof, has no bearing on whether or not God exists.)
For someone like me who prides himself on having a rational faith — or at least as rational a faith as one can have — even talking about divine healing is something I avoid like the plague.
Pun kinda intended.
Personally, I don’t know what makes me more uncomfortable when it comes to divine healing: the theodicy issues it creates or the science that seems to say pretty definitively that divine healing just isn’t possible.
However….
I’m also not ready to completely dismiss God’s ability to miraculously heal the sick.
After all, healing people both spiritually and physically was at the heart of Jesus’ mission.
So, I’m sincerely torn on this issue.
I’ve never been miraculously healed myself or seen anyone miraculously healed with my own eyes, but I’ve heard countless stories — often times from very reputable people — that attest to God’s continued ability to heal the sick. And if God does exist and loves us like we think God does, then surely healing people, at least from time to time, would be something that God would want to do.
But then there’s that part of my brain that says “God doesn’t work that way anymore.” There has to be a rational (whatever that means), scientific/medical explanation for why their stage 4 cancer suddenly went into remission, right?
And maybe there is.
I’m sure there is.
I’m well aware of the fact that people of faith have the tendency to insert God into the vaccum of our inability to explain things we don’t understand and I have no doubt that this is often the case with events we deem to be proof of divine healing. Besides, there are plenty of times when after the pronouncement of divine healing have been made, we (or more accurately, doctors) learn later that there was a less than divine explanation for the healing that occurred.
But as people of faith who profess allegiance to a Jesus who made divine healing a central part of his ministry, what do we do with claims like the one on that bilboard?
Do we play the “God doesn’t work that way anymore” card? And if so, why doesn’t God work that way anymore? Has God chosen for some mysterious reason to withhold God’s ability to heal? And if so, why would God do that? And what kind of God would that be who could heal miraculously and has healed miraculously, but doesn’t anymore?
Or were the miraculous healings in the gospels just made up by the gospel writers? Maybe Jesus’ miracles mere metaphors for some spiritual truth? Perhaps, but wouldn’t people who had known the blind, demon possessed, or dead people before the miracles happened called out the gospel writers for making the story up?
Or do we face a situation like Santa Claus did in the movie "Elf"? Maybe Jesus’s divine healing powers, like Santa’s sleigh in Central Park, can’t get off the ground because enough people don’t still believe in him? Honestly, that sounds far more absurd to me than the idea of a pastor healing someone through the laying on of hands.
So, what then do we with our great 21st century, scientifically grounded intellect do with claims of divine healing? It doesn’t seem to me that as people of faith we can simply dismiss them out of hand for to do so we would also have to dismiss the greatest medical miracle of all time: resurrection from the dead.
And without the resurrection, we’re left without a gospel.
So, I’m torn.
I think I believe that God still heals the sick. I want to believe that God still heals the sick. So, I wonder if perhaps I suffer a certain kind disease myself and am in need of my own healing. I wonder if I suffer from what John Milbank calls the “false humility” of faith. I wonder if in my need to be accepted and affirmed by an increasingly secular society I cower away from the more “extreme” claims of my faith. I wonder if perhaps I’m ok with God’s grace being radical so long as it fits within my parameters for acceptability. I wonder if maybe I don’t really believe that God is actually capable of all the incredible things I’ve claimed God is capable of because I’m embarrassed, not by what that would look like but by the story I would have to tell my friends.
To be honest, I just don’t know what to make of divine healing.
So, I’m left with a bunch of unanswered questions, and for now that will have to do.
But what I do know is there are countless people out there who have been seriously ill, and whether through divine intervention or more earthly methods, they are well today; that is something worth celebrating.
This article originally appeared on zackhunt.net. Reprinted with permission.
After gay marriage ruling, try tolerance for both sides
By Katrina Trinko / USA TodayWhen love wins, it doesn't take prisoners.
It has been more than a week since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, and already those with religious objections to same-sex marriage are facing punishment.
Aaron and Melissa Klein, an Oregon Christian couple who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple in 2013 (before gay marriage was legal in Oregon) were ordered Thursday to pay $135,000 by a state labor commissioner because of their refusal.
Just days after the Supreme Court decision on June 26, New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer wrote a piece for Time magazine suggesting that all religious organizations lose their tax-exempt status "rather than try to rescue (it) for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of race or sexuality."
Oppenheimer is no conservative fear-monger: The Obama administration's own solicitor general, Donald Verrilli, acknowledged in the Supreme Court hearing that religious schools could lose their tax-exempt status if the justices legalized gay marriage.
There is a better — and more loving — way: tolerance, coexistence.
Though I oppose gay marriage, I found the enthusiasm displayed on June 26 — the rainbow photos on Facebook, the cheering and the exultation that "#lovewins" — inspiring. It showed many Americans' thirst for justice and their determination that our country's laws reflect love and kindness. I disagree with them on what is just and loving, primarily because I think children deserve a dad and a mom, but it's heartening to witness so much moral energy.
"Love is patient, love is kind. … It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs," goes the Corinthians verse read at so many weddings.
Yet that is not the attitude being shown toward the Kleins, or those religious organizations that want to both stay true to their beliefs and continue receiving the tax-exempt status that allows them to contribute more of their funds to activities such as educating poor children, feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.
Among those who back gay marriage, there has been almost complete silence on religious liberty. Few politicians or pundits have said that we need a society that respects all consciences, both those who support same-sex marriage and those who don't. Legislation introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, to protect religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage has been met with silence from those who support gay marriage.
America is not done with discussing marriage, as shown by the Montana polygamous trio who applied for a wedding license last week. "It's about marriage equality," said Nathan Collier, who wants to legally wed the woman he views as his second wife.
Perhaps Collier's actions will renew interest in religious liberty. After all, surely some of those who support gay marriage are not comfortable with legalizing polygamy. Maybe they will now realize that they don't want to be forced someday into photographing a multiple-persons wedding or have their church lose its tax-exempt status over the issue.
When love wins, it doesn't do so by crushing people's consciences, by forcing them to adhere to what their beliefs tell them is wrong.
No one should understand this better than those in the gay marriage movement, who laudably and vigorously fought for decades, against public opinion and current laws, for what they believed was morally true: that any two adults should be able to legally marry.
They honored their beliefs all those years. Now, they should give those on the other side of the issue the ability to live in accordance with their beliefs.
Worship: Well-crafted, authentic and substantive
By Allan R. BevereBeing involved in discussions on what makes for good worship is an interesting experience. What I find in the midst of the back and forth banter is that the dialogue most often is not about the content and craft of worship, but its style. I am not suggesting for a moment that the style of worship is unimportant, but what I find problematic is the notion that what makes for good worship is what people believe will attract others; and they usually define attractive worship according to what they like.
Several years ago, I was out of town at a conference. On Sunday morning I made my way to a historic Congregational Church. The sanctuary was old, but well-kept and attractive. There was no screen for PowerPoint. The church has two traditional services on Sunday morning and two times for worship on Sunday evening it refers to as contemporary/liturgical. Every service was filled to capacity. The congregation was multigenerational and ethnically diverse. College students make up 38 percent of the congregation and 49 percent of the members are in their twenties. The pastor's sermon was excellent — it was well-crafted, authentic and substantive. Indeed, the entire worship experience could be described in this way. (I forgot to mention that the Sunday I was there, they were taking in approximately 30 to 40 members at each of the four services.)
Well-crafted, authentic, and substantive — these are the characteristics of vital worship. There are pastors and parishioners who think if they can just start a praise band and go contemporary, people will flock in on Sunday morning. And, yet others believe that it doesn't matter if we keep on singing the same old hymns in funeral dirge fashion. What counts is good preaching. If we get the right preacher, people will push their way in to get a seat.
I take issue with both views. I don't care if worship is traditional or contemporary (however those two words are defined). If worship is indeed Christologically centered and theologically competent; and if worship is well-crafted, authentic, and substantive, it is worship that will please God and it will reveal to visitors that what we do on Sunday morning is more than just perfunctory. Worship is what we desire to participate in more than anything. And when people get the sense that what is going on is significant, they will want to be a part of it.
More than a few churches, in their desire to go contemporary, field a praise band whose lack of talent and commitment make it difficult for the congregation to get caught up with God and one another in worship. The worship degenerates from a people focused on God to the individual focused on... well... the individual. And while I believe good preaching is indispensable for vital worship, too many churches, in their traditional worship, undermine the profound theological affirmations of many our hymns by singing them in a slow, sleepy and shallow rhythm guaranteed not to wake the dead. Moreover, ineffective preaching tends to gravitate to the two extremes of monological therapy on the one hand, or straightforward exposition devoid of analogy, illustration and story on the other.
One significant rule for every church to follow in its worship: If you can't do it in a well-crafted, authentic, and substantive way, don't do it at all. There's nothing wrong with churches developing a more contemporary form of worship, but it shouldn't be implemented until it can be done at least moderately well. Traditional worship continues to have a significant place in western culture. I reject the view of those who think otherwise. But traditional worship is not incompatible with lively and joyful praise. One does not have to jump up and down in the aisles with hands lifted up to worship God in spirit and in truth. But I dare say that if visitors are not sure the parishioners are worshipping in such an authentic way while they are singing the hymns, it is a safe bet that they aren't.
By the way, it is my experience that the church with well-crafted, authentic and substantive worship applies the same three qualities to everything it does in its mission and ministry. This Congregational church's evangelism and mission outreach is quite extensive.
"Well-crafted," "authentic," and "substantive" are not three words that describe just one more strategy for success; they reveal the competency, the character and the commitment of those who know that only the vital worship of God in spirit and in truth is acceptable.
Allan Bevere blogs at AllanBevere.com.
Leadership and the discipline of silence
By C. Kavin RoweThis was first published in Faith & Leadership.
We are awash in words. Never before in the history of the human race have so many words been so widely thrown about and with such remarkable reach. The advent of the digital age began the age of words, words, words. Of the making of books there has always been no end, but never before have we had the chance -- and burden -- of words 24/7/365. Email, text, Twitter, TV and everything else. Words are always with us.
What should leaders do with words? Leaders have known from times long vanished that they need to be careful with what they say. All the ancients knew well that words do things. They thus educated themselves in rhetoric from beginning to end. Modern thinkers, too, have reflected on the indispensability of words, on the importance of the right words for the right thoughts, on the slippery nature of politically intentional ambiguity and so on.
But there have also been those who have considered the danger of too many words.
In his 1851 work “For Self-Examination,” the Christian thinker Søren Kierkegaard wrote that “everything is noisy; and just as a strong drink is said to stir the blood, so everything in our day, even the most insignificant project, even the most empty communication, is designed merely to jolt the senses or to stir up the masses, the crowd, the public, noise!”
Noise.
We seem, he continues, “to have become sleepless in order to invent ever new instruments to increase noise, to spread noise and insignificance with the greatest possible haste and on the greatest possible scale.” The result is that “everything is … turned upside down: communication is indeed … brought to its lowest point with regard to meaning, and simultaneously the means of communication are indeed brought to their highest with regard to speedy and overall circulation; for what is publicized with such hot haste and, on the other hand, what has greater circulation than — rubbish!”
Kierkegaard’s remedy to the noisy and speedy spread of rubbish is silence: “Oh, create silence!”
There are obviously many goods to the digital age, but Kierkegaard’s outburst here was far more prophetic than he would ever have been able to imagine. Perhaps the single most important thing a leader can do in a speedy world of words is to learn how to use them. In our time, this requires the discipline of silence.
If the speedy dissemination of rubbish mocks the importance of words, the discipline of silence respects their power. In a sense, silence is a prerequisite for learning how to use words well. It is often thought that silence has its roots in the importance of listening to others. This is doubtless true.
But it’s also the case that the significance of silence rests in the fact that once said, words cannot be taken back. We can never unsay something we have said. Indeed, the political spin doctors and damage-control experts make their living off this remarkable fact about words.
We are not accustomed to thinking of leaders as those who know how to be silent. We want them to put out a statement, give a response, open the conversation, interpret the recent news and so forth. And this, of course, is perfectly reasonable. In some ways, it is the gift and responsibility of leaders to do these things.
The trouble is that more speech sometimes turns out to be received as just more noise. And even leaders have difficulty reining in the tongue. Where we have emphasized the need for leaders to move into the digital age with ever more dexterity and speed, Kierkegaard reminds us that we should also counsel the development of disciplines that cut against the hasty production of words and more words.
Truth telling in difficult situations, for example, often requires silence. This is so not only because it can be just plain hard to get the truth out but also because it can be even harder to tell the truth wisely. Silence is the name for the time it takes to see the path of wisdom when truth is hard to tell.
Columnist David Brooks observed that the world of fast and loud often prevents us from hearing the quieter sounds from the depths. But these sounds are often those that we most need to hear when we want to tell the truth wisely.
The letter of James also knows the power and purpose of silence.
The author writes rather bluntly, “If anyone thinks he is ‘religious’ and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, his religiousness is worthless” (1:26). In contrast to many other ancient writers on speech and silence, James knows that silence is the human way God’s compassion is often mediated. A constant talker cannot hear the cry of the widows and orphans (1:27).
Later in the letter, the author reflects on the remarkable power of the tongue: it is like a rudder that guides a massive ship, or a bit that can check a powerful steed. Used improperly, it is a match that can ignite a raging forest fire, or an instrument of cursing. But properly disciplined, the tongue is nothing less than the conduit of blessing (3:1-12).
Building from James, we could say that bridling the tongue is impossible without the discipline of silence. In our time, amid the swift spread of so much rubbish, silence is something we cannot do without if we want our tongues to bless and our religion to be true. Leaders who want to speak wisely would do well to learn how to keep silent.
Churches rehab buildings for artist spaces
By Jesse James DeConto / Religion News Service(RNS) On the north side of Indianapolis, the historic First Presbyterian Church is now the Harrison Center for the Arts. Its owner, the upstart Redeemer Presbyterian Church, is landlord to two dozen artist studios, three apartments, four galleries, an annual music festival and the Indiana office of VSA, the John F. Kennedy Center’s nationwide arts program for people with disabilities.
Redeemer is among a host of churches that own old buildings and have embraced the arts as a way of enlivening hallowed spaces, breaking down barriers with neighbors and paying the heating bills.
“There’s a lot of churches that are saddled with these huge buildings, and they’re trying to figure out what to do with them,” said the Rev. Karyn Wiseman, a Methodist liturgical scholar who teaches at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
The Rev. Donna Schaper speaks during her 40th ordination anniversary. Photo courtesy of Judson Memorial Church
If, in the past, churches gave Western civilization its greatest artwork — Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Bach’s cantatas — now those same churches are partnering with artists once again, not as patrons but as landlords.
Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village is a pioneer in the movement.
After World War II, when immigrants left the neighborhood and artists moved in, Judson started offering free space for emerging artists to practice, perform, exhibit or even reside.
Judson helped launch such names as Yoko Ono and Claes Oldenburg and movements like postmodern dance. But when the Rev. Donna Schaper took the job of senior minister 10 years ago, Judson was down to 75 members and deep in the red. Schaper insisted from the start that if Judson was to survive, it needed to generate income from its Italianate architecture, a gift from John D. Rockefeller in 1895.
Abhay Singh & Friends performs during Arts Wednesdays at Judson Memorial Church. Photo courtesy of Judson Memorial Church
“We were down to one toilet working in the women’s bathroom in the front, and it was the scuzziest, most rat-infested, disgusting place that I’d ever seen,” said Schaper.
Now, Judson has tenants — lots of them: “The Gym” theater, a Sikh film agency, an experimental dance school, the West Village Chorale, nonprofits serving undocumented immigrants, a Muslim advocacy network and congregations for Korean immigrants, gay Catholics, the homeless and people in recovery.
The building is active 24/7, because of Judson’s commitment, not only to social justice and the arts, but also to the environment.
Many of Judson’s 350 members now show up five times a week for official worship or for live music, dance, theater or activism.
“Any church that’s not full all the time is not green,” said Schaper. “I don’t think they should ever be dark.”
If, in the past, churches gave Western civilization its greatest artwork — Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Bach’s cantatas — now those same churches are partnering with artists once again, not as patrons but as landlords.
Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village is a pioneer in the movement.
After World War II, when immigrants left the neighborhood and artists moved in, Judson started offering free space for emerging artists to practice, perform, exhibit or even reside.
Judson helped launch such names as Yoko Ono and Claes Oldenburg and movements like postmodern dance. But when the Rev. Donna Schaper took the job of senior minister 10 years ago, Judson was down to 75 members and deep in the red. Schaper insisted from the start that if Judson was to survive, it needed to generate income from its Italianate architecture, a gift from John D. Rockefeller in 1895.
Abhay Singh & Friends performs during Arts Wednesdays at Judson Memorial Church. Photo courtesy of Judson Memorial Church
“We were down to one toilet working in the women’s bathroom in the front, and it was the scuzziest, most rat-infested, disgusting place that I’d ever seen,” said Schaper.
Now, Judson has tenants — lots of them: “The Gym” theater, a Sikh film agency, an experimental dance school, the West Village Chorale, nonprofits serving undocumented immigrants, a Muslim advocacy network and congregations for Korean immigrants, gay Catholics, the homeless and people in recovery.
The building is active 24/7, because of Judson’s commitment, not only to social justice and the arts, but also to the environment.
Many of Judson’s 350 members now show up five times a week for official worship or for live music, dance, theater or activism.
“Any church that’s not full all the time is not green,” said Schaper. “I don’t think they should ever be dark.”
Nathan Marion at Fremont Abbey Arts Center in Seattle. Photo courtesy of Jumay Designs, Fremont Abbey Arts Center
This attitude is catching on. A decade ago, Seattle arts booster Nathan Marion assisted the young Episcopal-Lutheran Church of the Apostles with redeveloping the old St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, which was rechristened as Fremont Abbey, an arts performance venue named for one of the city’s northern neighborhoods.
“A lot of these churches nowadays, especially around here, don’t have a huge congregation. Maybe it’s 50 to 80 people,” Marion says. “They really just want to use the buildings one or two days a week and have an office and a little chapel. It’s not like a building should be only used by its members. That’s something a lot of other churches are starting to see. That change seems to be occurring around the country.”
His experience developing Fremont Abbey led Marion to found Lonely Buildings, a nonprofit consulting firm that helps congregations figure out how their often old, oversized, expensive-to-maintain buildings might actually produce some income and serve their surrounding communities at the same time. Some of his clients have opened coffee shops, music venues, offices or galleries that double as worship space.
“It’s a great mixed model,” Marion said. “This neighborhood, in upper Fremont where we’re at, used to be pretty sketchy when we moved in.” Now, he said, “it’s just a much healthier neighborhood than what it was before. We don’t take all the credit for that, certainly. But we’re right in the center of it.”
Dancers perform for schoolchildren at Fremont Abbey Arts Center in Seattle. Photo courtesy of Jumay Designs, Fremont Abbey Arts Center
Partners for Sacred Places, which has offices in Philadelphia, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas, helps modestly funded organizations, usually in the arts, rent spaces from religious communities that need extra income to maintain their antique facilities.
“To help small congregations survive and thrive, helping them use their space more effectively was going to be really important,” says PSP executive director Bob Jaeger.
In a recent survey in Baltimore, PSP found that three-quarters of artists think the city needs more performance and rehearsal space. It also found four historic congregations with more than 13,000 square feet of underutilized space that could be dedicated to the arts. The group is conducting similar surveys in Detroit and Austin.
In Indianapolis, Redeemer’s arts patronage has snowballed into a broader neo-urban movement. Harrison Center staff found themselves giving so much real-estate advice to would-be urban pioneers at First Friday art receptions that they opened “City Gallery” as a place where they could answers questions and encourage homeownership throughout the week. They also started “Porch Sessions” and “City Suppers,” where neighbors and potential neighbors can sit and eat together.
From time to time, tenants have left the Harrison Center’s 24 artist studios for New York City’s more bustling art scene. To combat this, Redeemer members worked to establish Herron High School, an arts-centered public charter school that aims to educate its 700 students as a new generation of arts patrons. This project enabled Redeemer to preserve not only the old church but also three historic buildings that once housed the Herron Institute of Art and Design.
“This whole movement of church and arts is bubbling up out of necessity,” said Judson Memorial’s Schaper, who recently taught a workshop on “real estate as sacred space” at Hartford Seminary and has a whole course on the subject scheduled for Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., in the fall semester. “Churches are broke. We don’t have money. We don’t have huge congregations. These buildings are treasures, not problems.”
Why the culture war's losers shouldn't retreat from public life
By Jacob Lupfer / Religion News Service
(RNS) Now that the Supreme Court has found a constitutional right to same sex marriage, what will happen to those churches and everyday believers who disagree with the decision?
Religious conservatives on the losing end of the culture war have long been debating this question.
Most traditionalist leaders will continue fighting for religious liberty protections so that their constituents and institutions can act in accordance with their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
But for many, Friday’s historic ruling was no minor setback. It definitively signaled the end of a Christian cultural ethos in America and inaugurated a new era in which non-LGBT-affirming believers will be fined, harassed, persecuted and even criminalized.
Rod Dreher, an insightful writer on religion and culture, has been preparing for this new reality for years. His proposal is called the Benedict Option (named for the sixth-century monastic, not the current pope emeritus).
During the early Middle Ages, Dreher writes, “Benedict’s communities formed monasteries and kept the light of faith burning through the surrounding cultural darkness. Eventually, the Benedictine monks helped refound civilization.”
The contemporary darkness Dreher sees is epitomized in the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision. “It is the logical result of the Sexual Revolution, which valorized erotic liberty,” he writes.
Conceptions of the Benedict Option vary, even among people sympathetic to Dreher.
At a minimum, the Benedict Option involves forming intentional communities of like-minded believers to nurture their countercultural faith. It also emphasizes parents' transmitting faith to children outside the influence of institutions such as public schools and culturally accommodating churches.
The Benedict Option arises from a bunker mentality and an overwrought persecution complex.
For one thing, Christians already have communities of faith in which capable leaders and like-minded believers teach and practice their faith. They’re called churches.
A number of socially conservative faith leaders are changing the Christian right from an angry band of crusty preachers and Republican foot soldiers to a more thoughtful and winsome movement. The Benedict Option seems to disregard and undermine that effort.
I remain hopeful that our robust civic pluralism can accommodate traditional religionists even in a legal and cultural context that affords rights and protections for LGBT people.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.”
Dreher is not advocating a complete withdrawal, but it is not clear how Benedict Option Christians will engage and evangelize when they are so inwardly focused.
At this point, the Benedict Option is more a thought experiment for hand-wringing conservatives than a concrete set of proposals or plan of action. But most conceptions of the Benedict Option emphasize home schooling.
The social isolation of children is not without risks and costs, however. It can be especially devastating for overzealous parents when their kids’ values or faith formation diverges from their preferences.
In the past, traditionalist Christians of various stripes have put aside doctrinal differences to work together on legal and political issues such as abortion and marriage. This “ecumenism of the trenches” unites them in a cultural battle, but one in which the odds of literally fighting (let alone dying) are remote.
Let's not forget: Social conservatives in the U.S. lost a court case. Some Christians are losing their lives.
In the Middle East, ISIS is raping and beheading Christians. Pope Francis says these truly persecuted Christians are united in an “ecumenism of blood.” For many in that conflict zone, blood is not a metaphor.
I have urged toleration for people who continue to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Yet, as if on cue, we have seen calls in recent days to legalize polygamy, end tax-exempt status for churches and rewrite a major federal religious freedom law.
It is harmful to religion and to democracy when one group's members are ready to turn their backs on civil society and another group is ready to push them.
Today, traditionalist Christians remain the largest religious group in the freest nation on earth. At the same time, the LGBT movement is ascendant and culturally powerful.
The survival of civilization, though, depends more on these two groups learning to coexist than on Dreher and his fellow exiles rebuilding it from the ruins.
This Sunday July 12, 2015
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost:
This attitude is catching on. A decade ago, Seattle arts booster Nathan Marion assisted the young Episcopal-Lutheran Church of the Apostles with redeveloping the old St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, which was rechristened as Fremont Abbey, an arts performance venue named for one of the city’s northern neighborhoods.
“A lot of these churches nowadays, especially around here, don’t have a huge congregation. Maybe it’s 50 to 80 people,” Marion says. “They really just want to use the buildings one or two days a week and have an office and a little chapel. It’s not like a building should be only used by its members. That’s something a lot of other churches are starting to see. That change seems to be occurring around the country.”
His experience developing Fremont Abbey led Marion to found Lonely Buildings, a nonprofit consulting firm that helps congregations figure out how their often old, oversized, expensive-to-maintain buildings might actually produce some income and serve their surrounding communities at the same time. Some of his clients have opened coffee shops, music venues, offices or galleries that double as worship space.
“It’s a great mixed model,” Marion said. “This neighborhood, in upper Fremont where we’re at, used to be pretty sketchy when we moved in.” Now, he said, “it’s just a much healthier neighborhood than what it was before. We don’t take all the credit for that, certainly. But we’re right in the center of it.”
Dancers perform for schoolchildren at Fremont Abbey Arts Center in Seattle. Photo courtesy of Jumay Designs, Fremont Abbey Arts Center
Partners for Sacred Places, which has offices in Philadelphia, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas, helps modestly funded organizations, usually in the arts, rent spaces from religious communities that need extra income to maintain their antique facilities.
“To help small congregations survive and thrive, helping them use their space more effectively was going to be really important,” says PSP executive director Bob Jaeger.
In a recent survey in Baltimore, PSP found that three-quarters of artists think the city needs more performance and rehearsal space. It also found four historic congregations with more than 13,000 square feet of underutilized space that could be dedicated to the arts. The group is conducting similar surveys in Detroit and Austin.
In Indianapolis, Redeemer’s arts patronage has snowballed into a broader neo-urban movement. Harrison Center staff found themselves giving so much real-estate advice to would-be urban pioneers at First Friday art receptions that they opened “City Gallery” as a place where they could answers questions and encourage homeownership throughout the week. They also started “Porch Sessions” and “City Suppers,” where neighbors and potential neighbors can sit and eat together.
From time to time, tenants have left the Harrison Center’s 24 artist studios for New York City’s more bustling art scene. To combat this, Redeemer members worked to establish Herron High School, an arts-centered public charter school that aims to educate its 700 students as a new generation of arts patrons. This project enabled Redeemer to preserve not only the old church but also three historic buildings that once housed the Herron Institute of Art and Design.
“This whole movement of church and arts is bubbling up out of necessity,” said Judson Memorial’s Schaper, who recently taught a workshop on “real estate as sacred space” at Hartford Seminary and has a whole course on the subject scheduled for Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., in the fall semester. “Churches are broke. We don’t have money. We don’t have huge congregations. These buildings are treasures, not problems.”
Why the culture war's losers shouldn't retreat from public life
By Jacob Lupfer / Religion News Service(RNS) Now that the Supreme Court has found a constitutional right to same sex marriage, what will happen to those churches and everyday believers who disagree with the decision?
Religious conservatives on the losing end of the culture war have long been debating this question.
Most traditionalist leaders will continue fighting for religious liberty protections so that their constituents and institutions can act in accordance with their belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
But for many, Friday’s historic ruling was no minor setback. It definitively signaled the end of a Christian cultural ethos in America and inaugurated a new era in which non-LGBT-affirming believers will be fined, harassed, persecuted and even criminalized.
Rod Dreher, an insightful writer on religion and culture, has been preparing for this new reality for years. His proposal is called the Benedict Option (named for the sixth-century monastic, not the current pope emeritus).
During the early Middle Ages, Dreher writes, “Benedict’s communities formed monasteries and kept the light of faith burning through the surrounding cultural darkness. Eventually, the Benedictine monks helped refound civilization.”
The contemporary darkness Dreher sees is epitomized in the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision. “It is the logical result of the Sexual Revolution, which valorized erotic liberty,” he writes.
Conceptions of the Benedict Option vary, even among people sympathetic to Dreher.
At a minimum, the Benedict Option involves forming intentional communities of like-minded believers to nurture their countercultural faith. It also emphasizes parents' transmitting faith to children outside the influence of institutions such as public schools and culturally accommodating churches.
The Benedict Option arises from a bunker mentality and an overwrought persecution complex.
For one thing, Christians already have communities of faith in which capable leaders and like-minded believers teach and practice their faith. They’re called churches.
A number of socially conservative faith leaders are changing the Christian right from an angry band of crusty preachers and Republican foot soldiers to a more thoughtful and winsome movement. The Benedict Option seems to disregard and undermine that effort.
I remain hopeful that our robust civic pluralism can accommodate traditional religionists even in a legal and cultural context that affords rights and protections for LGBT people.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.”
Dreher is not advocating a complete withdrawal, but it is not clear how Benedict Option Christians will engage and evangelize when they are so inwardly focused.
At this point, the Benedict Option is more a thought experiment for hand-wringing conservatives than a concrete set of proposals or plan of action. But most conceptions of the Benedict Option emphasize home schooling.
The social isolation of children is not without risks and costs, however. It can be especially devastating for overzealous parents when their kids’ values or faith formation diverges from their preferences.
In the past, traditionalist Christians of various stripes have put aside doctrinal differences to work together on legal and political issues such as abortion and marriage. This “ecumenism of the trenches” unites them in a cultural battle, but one in which the odds of literally fighting (let alone dying) are remote.
Let's not forget: Social conservatives in the U.S. lost a court case. Some Christians are losing their lives.
In the Middle East, ISIS is raping and beheading Christians. Pope Francis says these truly persecuted Christians are united in an “ecumenism of blood.” For many in that conflict zone, blood is not a metaphor.
I have urged toleration for people who continue to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Yet, as if on cue, we have seen calls in recent days to legalize polygamy, end tax-exempt status for churches and rewrite a major federal religious freedom law.
It is harmful to religion and to democracy when one group's members are ready to turn their backs on civil society and another group is ready to push them.
Today, traditionalist Christians remain the largest religious group in the freest nation on earth. At the same time, the LGBT movement is ascendant and culturally powerful.
The survival of civilization, though, depends more on these two groups learning to coexist than on Dreher and his fellow exiles rebuilding it from the ruins.
This Sunday July 12, 2015
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost:
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
DANCING BEFORE THE LORD by J. Daniel Day
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
My problem with this story is that it belongs in someone else’s Bible, someone like my pentecostal relatives or someone whose DNA doesn’t match my taciturn Scotch/Irish solemnity. Unfortunately this story of King David kicking up his heels and making merry before God is in my Bible as well as in yours. For those of us who are the traditional veterans of “the worship wars,” here’s a text to ignore, or explain away, or do just about anything with other than learn from it. That’s all the more reason to linger over it with an open heart and mind.
For openers, it’s worth noting that David’s exuberant worship wasn’t that well received even by his wife. Whatever you may infer about possible tensions in their marriage as being the real issue in their worship disagreement, as the story is preserved for us, Michal’s complaint to David doesn’t sound too different from those I hear when Sunday’s “passing of the peace” becomes something more than a begrudged murmur of acknowledgment. Should Michal be understood as the first champion of traditional, decent-and-in-good-order worship? If so, she doesn’t come out of this incident as one whom God favors.
But on the other hand, we don’t need to be naïve about David’s ecstatic behavior on this occasion, either. It would be easy to infer too much about God-pleasing worship from this passage and also easy to ignore that perhaps David’s actions are fueled by something more than delight in God. As for the latter concern, David was savvy enough of a politician to know how desperately his new kingdom needed the legitimization that accrues to royalty when the holy can be housed next door. The relocation of the ark into his capital city was a regal coup for David’s control of Israel. Why wouldn’t he be leading the parade, and proud of it? And, as for reading too much into this passage about the kind of worship that pleases God (as opposed to Michal’s dour preference), one only need remember the highly liturgical patterns (see today’s psalm lection) that evolve in Jerusalem’s temple worship, a worship pattern that arguably bears David’s impress. One great story of exuberance does not a theology of worship determine.
But once we clear the field of all these obstructions, what remains to be seen in this unique story? Supremely, just one thing: it’s a pitiful thing when we’ve gotten too prim, too proper, too stuffy to make merry before God when something wonderful occurs. The fact is you don’t bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem every other month. Nor do you often have the opportunity to welcome a new leader blessed with vigor, devotion, skill, and piety. This is a momentous occasion and it deserves to be celebrated with silly party hats and horns and yes, even with the king doing a jig with his robe aloft!
Over the years I’ve attended (and even planned) my fair share of church anniversaries and celebrations. The truth is most were less than “kick up your heels and shout hallelujah” occasions. There we were with a budget-breaking mortgage note to be burned or a century or so of the faithfulness of God and people to remember, but a visitor might have mistaken it for one of those solemn assemblies Isaiah was underwhelmed by. On many of those occasions I knew enough about my fellow worshipers to know that they’d go bananas that afternoon over a Big 12 or ACC basketball tournament game. But put them in a church context and all the whoopee goes out of them. Why is that?
Well, put a positive construction on it first. Maybe we are restrained in church simply because here we see things through a different filter. It’s not so much that we aren’t as joyous as at a ballgame, as that here we recognize that life and all its blessings are interwoven with holy purpose. A home run to win the game in the ninth inning is one thing; a child’s baptism is another. Joy is appropriate on both occasions, but is it not a different kind of joy when by water and word a child of God is claimed for time and eternity? Maybe it’s not that our whoopee evaporates in worship; it just has a grateful hush of reverence about it.
But granted that this is the case, there still remains the awkward possibility that most of us mimic David so seldom because we’ve lost touch with the grandness of what we are doing. We mouse around because the wonder of it all escapes us. I know it to be true, that there are Sundays when the pastor sleepwalks through the service—even if she seems most animated. A gauzy film of the theoretical shrouds the action. But there are those moments when the awesome, absurd good news of what we are about comes crashing in like breakers on our stony shores. We can no more program those epiphanies than we can tally the stars. But we can be careful not to stifle them, and we can be quick to give them glad permission to soften the eye, catch the voice, and lead us to make merry before God.
I cannot ponder this story without thinking of Jesus’ story of the elder brother who would not join his father’s party. It was a time to make merry, but the elder brother didn’t live in that time zone. He was a permanent resident of Duty-ville, where neither the time nor the grimness ever change. Grace, those lovely moments when the unexpected holy/good descend upon us, is a gift we are privileged to see every now and then. That’s the time to put aside the balance sheet and even the prayer book and to kick up our heels, and with body and soul make holy fools out of ourselves, dancing an Alleluia to the giver of all good and perfect gifts.
WORSHIP CONNECTION: JULY 12, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley
Lectionary Texts:
2 Samuel 6:1 Again David summoned all the picked troops of Isra’el, 30,000 men. 2 Then David, taking along the entire force he had with him then, set out for Ba‘alei-Y’hudah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the Name, the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot enthroned above the k’ruvim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Avinadav on the hill, with ‘Uzah and Achyo, the sons of Avinadav, driving the new cart. 4 They led it from the house of Avinadav on the hill, with the ark of God; Achyo walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Isra’el celebrated in the presence of Adonai with all kinds of musical instruments made of cypress-wood, including lyres, lutes, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
12 King David was told, “Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God.” So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David. 13 When those bearing the ark of Adonai had gone only six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. 14 Then David danced and spun around with abandon before Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest. 15 So David and all the house of Isra’el brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and the sound of the shofar. 16 As the ark of Adonai entered the City of David, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, watching from the window, saw King David leaping and spinning before Adonai; and she was filled with contempt for him.
17 They brought the ark of Adonai in and put it in its place inside the tent that David had set up for it. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Adonai. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 19 Then he distributed to all the people of Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake, after which the people all left for their homes.
Psalm 24:(0) By David. A psalm:
(1) The earth is Adonai’s, with all that is in it,
the world and those who live there;
2 for he set its foundations on the seas
and established it on the rivers.
3 Who may go up to the mountain of Adonai?
Who can stand in his holy place?
4 Those with clean hands and pure hearts,
who don’t make vanities the purpose of their lives
or swear oaths just to deceive.
5 They will receive a blessing from Adonai
and justice from God, who saves them.
6 Such is the character of those who seek him,
of Ya‘akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)
7 Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
8 Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai, strong and mighty,
Adonai, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
10 Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai-Tzva’ot —
he is the glorious king. (Selah)
Ephesians 1:3 Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who in the Messiah has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. 5 He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons — in keeping with his pleasure and purpose — 6 so that we would bring him praise commensurate with the glory of the grace he gave us through the Beloved One.
7 In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free — our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace 8 he has lavished on us. In all his wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us his secret plan, which by his own will he designed beforehand in connection with the Messiah 10 and will put into effect when the time is ripe — his plan to place everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship.
11 Also in union with him we were given an inheritance, we who were picked in advance according to the purpose of the One who effects everything in keeping with the decision of his will, 12 so that we who earlier had put our hope in the Messiah would bring him praise commensurate with his glory.
13 Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh, 14 who guarantees our inheritance until we come into possession of it and thus bring him praise commensurate with his glory.
Mark 6:14 Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”
17 For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, 18 but Yochanan had told him, “It violates the Torah for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish, 20 because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a tzaddik, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil. 22 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you”; 23 and he made a vow to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She said, “The head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 25 At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: “I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 26 Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her. 27 So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan’s head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When Yochanan’s talmidim heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a grave.
2 Samuel 6:1 Again David summoned all the picked troops of Isra’el, 30,000 men. 2 Then David, taking along the entire force he had with him then, set out for Ba‘alei-Y’hudah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the Name, the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot enthroned above the k’ruvim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Avinadav on the hill, with ‘Uzah and Achyo, the sons of Avinadav, driving the new cart. 4 They led it from the house of Avinadav on the hill, with the ark of God; Achyo walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Isra’el celebrated in the presence of Adonai with all kinds of musical instruments made of cypress-wood, including lyres, lutes, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
12 King David was told, “Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God.” So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David. 13 When those bearing the ark of Adonai had gone only six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. 14 Then David danced and spun around with abandon before Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest. 15 So David and all the house of Isra’el brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and the sound of the shofar. 16 As the ark of Adonai entered the City of David, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, watching from the window, saw King David leaping and spinning before Adonai; and she was filled with contempt for him.
17 They brought the ark of Adonai in and put it in its place inside the tent that David had set up for it. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Adonai. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 19 Then he distributed to all the people of Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake, after which the people all left for their homes.
Psalm 24:(0) By David. A psalm:
(1) The earth is Adonai’s, with all that is in it,
the world and those who live there;
2 for he set its foundations on the seas
and established it on the rivers.
3 Who may go up to the mountain of Adonai?
Who can stand in his holy place?
4 Those with clean hands and pure hearts,
who don’t make vanities the purpose of their lives
or swear oaths just to deceive.
5 They will receive a blessing from Adonai
and justice from God, who saves them.
6 Such is the character of those who seek him,
of Ya‘akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)
7 Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
8 Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai, strong and mighty,
Adonai, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
10 Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai-Tzva’ot —
he is the glorious king. (Selah)
Ephesians 1:3 Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who in the Messiah has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. 5 He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons — in keeping with his pleasure and purpose — 6 so that we would bring him praise commensurate with the glory of the grace he gave us through the Beloved One.
7 In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free — our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace 8 he has lavished on us. In all his wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us his secret plan, which by his own will he designed beforehand in connection with the Messiah 10 and will put into effect when the time is ripe — his plan to place everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship.
11 Also in union with him we were given an inheritance, we who were picked in advance according to the purpose of the One who effects everything in keeping with the decision of his will, 12 so that we who earlier had put our hope in the Messiah would bring him praise commensurate with his glory.
13 Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh, 14 who guarantees our inheritance until we come into possession of it and thus bring him praise commensurate with his glory.
Mark 6:14 Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”
17 For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, 18 but Yochanan had told him, “It violates the Torah for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish, 20 because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a tzaddik, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil. 22 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you”; 23 and he made a vow to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She said, “The head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 25 At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: “I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 26 Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her. 27 So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan’s head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When Yochanan’s talmidim heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a grave.
John Wesley's Notes-commentary for 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Verse 2
[2] And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
On which, … — That is, by, or before which, they were to present their prayers to God for counsel and succour upon all occasions. And this is mentioned here as the reason why David put himself and his people to so great trouble and charge, because it was to fetch up the choicest treasure which they had.
Verse 3
[3] And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
They set, … — Being taught, and encouraged to do so, by the example of the Philistines, who did so without any token of God's displeasure upon them for so doing. But they did not sufficiently consider, that God might wink at the Philistines, because they were ignorant of God's laws; and yet be angry with them for the same thing, because they knew, or might have known the law of God, which commanded the priests to bear it upon their shoulders. But their present transports of joy of the happy change of their affairs, and their greedy desire of having the ark of God removed, made them inconsiderate.
In Gibeah — Or, on the hill, as 1 Samuel 7:1.
Verse 5
[5] And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
Played before the Lord — Public joy should always be as before the Lord, with an eye to him, and terminating in him. Otherwise it is no better than public madness, and the source of all manner of wickedness.
Verse 14
[14] And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
Danced — To express his thankfulness to God by his outward carriage, according to the manner of those times.
Linen ephod — The usual habit of the priests and Levites, in their sacred ministrations yet sometimes worn by others, as it was by the young child Samuel; and so David, who laid by his royal robes, and put on this robe to declare, that although he was king of Israel, yet he willingly owned himself to be the Lord's minister and servant.
Verse 16
[16] And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
Despised — As one of a base and mean spirit, that knew not how to carry himself with that majesty which became his place.
Verse 17
[17] And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
David had pitched — For Moses tabernacle was still at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3, which David left there, because he designed to build a temple at Jerusalem with all speed.
Verse 18
[18] And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He blessed — That is, he heartily and solemnly prayed to God for his blessing upon them: which he did both as a prophet, and as their king, to whom by office it belongs, by all means, to seek his people's welfare.
Psalm 24
Verse 2
[2] For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Seas — The whole collection of waters, as well as the sea and the rivers running into it, as that great abyss of waters which is contained in the bowels of the earth.
Verse 3
[3] Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
The hill — Zion or Moriah, the place of God's sanctuary and special presence. Having asserted God's dominion over all mankind, he now proposes an important question, by whom God will be served, and his blessing enjoyed? Stand - To minister before him. Standing is the posture of ministers or servants. Who shall serve God, with God's acceptation.
Holy place — In the place which he hath sanctified for his service.
Verse 4
[4] He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He — Whose actions and conversation are holy and unblameable.
Pure heart — Careful to approve itself to God, as well as to men; ordering a man's very thoughts and affections according to God's word.
Vanity — Who doth not value or desire the vain things of this life, such as honours, riches, pleasures; but makes God his portion.
Verse 5
[5] He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
The blessing — Grace and glory, and all other good things.
Verse 6
[6] This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. /*Selah*/.
The generation — The true progeny which God regards.
Face — His grace and favour, which is often called God's face.
Verse 7
[7] Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Lift up — He speaks here of the gates and doors of the temple, which by faith and the spirit of prophecy, he beheld as already built, whose doors he calls Everlasting, not so much because they were made of strong and durable materials, as in opposition to those of the tabernacle, which were removed from place to place. These gates he bids lift up their heads, or tops, by allusion to those gates which have a portcullis, which may be let down or taken up. And as the temple was a type of Christ, and of his church, and of heaven itself; so this place may also contain a representation, either of Christ's entrance into his church, or into the hearts of his faithful people, who are here commanded to set open their hearts and souls for his reception: or of his ascension into heaven, where the saints or angels are poetically introduced as preparing the way, and opening the heavenly gates to receive their Lord and king, returning to his royal habitation with triumph and glory.
The king — The Messiah, the king of Israel, and of his church, called the King, or Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; James 2:1, both for that glory which is inherent in him, and that which is purchased by him for his members.
Verse 8
[8] Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
The Lord — He is no ordinary person, no other than Jehovah, who hath given so many proofs of his almightiness, who hath subdued all his enemies, and is now returned in triumph.
Verse 9
[9] Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Lift up — The same verse is repeated again, to awaken the dulness of mankind, who are so hardly brought to a serious preparation for such solemnities; and to signify the great importance of the matter, contained under these expressions.
Verse 10
[10] Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. /*Selah*/.
Of hosts — Under whose command are all the hosts of heaven and earth, angels and men, and all other creatures.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Verse 3
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us — God's blessing us is his bestowing all spiritual and heavenly blessings upon us. Our blessing God is the paying him our solemn and grateful acknowledgments, both on account of his own essential blessedness, and of the blessings which he bestows upon us. He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, as man and Mediator: he is his Father, primarily, with respect to his divine nature, as his only begotten Son; and, secondarily, with respect to his human nature, as that is personally united to the divine.
With all spiritual blessings in heavenly things — With all manner of spiritual blessings, which are heavenly in their nature, original, and tendency, and shall be completed in heaven: far different from the external privileges of the Jews, and the earthly blessings they expected from the Messiah.
Verse 4
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
As he hath chosen us — Both Jews and gentiles, whom he foreknew as believing in Christ, 1 Peter 1:2.
Verse 5
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Having predestinated us to the adoption of sons — Having foreordained that all who afterwards believed should enjoy the dignity of being sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
According to the good pleasure of his will — According to his free, fixed, unalterable purpose to confer this blessing on all those who should believe in Christ, and those only.
Verse 6
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
To the praise of the glory of his grace — His glorious, free love without any desert on our part.
Verse 7
[7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
By whom we — Who believe.
Have — From the moment we believe.
Redemption — From the guilt and power of sin.
Through his blood — Through what he hath done and suffered for us.
According to the riches of his grace — According to the abundant overflowings of his free mercy and favour.
Verse 8
[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
In all wisdom — Manifested by God in the whole scheme of our salvation.
And prudence — Which be hath wrought in us, that we may know and do all his acceptable and perfect will.
Verse 9
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Having made known to us — By his word and by his Spirit.
The mystery of his will — The gracious scheme of salvation by faith, which depends on his own sovereign will alone. This was but darkly discovered under the law; is now totally hid from unbelievers; and has heights and depths which surpass all the knowledge even of true believers.
Verse 10
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times — In this last administration of God's fullest grace, which took place when the time appointed was fully come.
He might gather together into one in Christ — Might recapitulate, re-unite, and place in order again under Christ, their common Head.
All things which are in heaven, and on earth — All angels and men, whether living or dead, in the Lord.
Verse 11
[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Through whom we — Jews.
Also have obtained an inheritance — The glorious inheritance of the heavenly Canaan, to which, when believers, we were predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will - The unalterable decree, "He that believeth shall be delivered;" which will is not an arbitrary will, but flowing from the rectitude of his nature, else, what security would there be that it would be his will to keep his word even with the elect?
Verse 12
[12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
That we — Jews.
Who first believed — Before the gentiles. So did some of them in every place. Here is another branch of the true gospel predestination: he that believes is not only elected to salvation, (if he endures to the end,) but is fore-appointed of God to walk in holiness, to the praise of his glory.
Verse 13
[13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
In whom ye — Gentiles.
Likewise believed, after ye had heard the gospel — Which God made the means of your salvation; in whom after ye had believed - Probably some time after their first believing.
Ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise — Holy both in his nature and in his operations, and promised to all the children of God. The sealing seems to imply, 1. A full impression of the image of God on their souls. 2. A full assurance of receiving all the promises, whether relating to time or eternity.
Verse 14
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Who, thus sealing us, is an earnest - Both a pledge and a foretaste of our inheritance.
Till the redemption of the purchased possession — Till the church, which he has purchased with his own blood, shall be fully delivered from all sin and sorrow, and advanced to everlasting glory.
To the praise of his glory — Of his glorious wisdom, power, and mercy.
Mark 6:14-29
Verse 14
[14] And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Matthew 14:1; Luke 9:7.
Verse 15
[15] Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
A prophet, as one of the prophets — Not inferior to one of the ancient prophets.
Verse 16
[16] But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
But Herod hearing thereof — Of their various judgments concerning him, still said, It is John.
Verse 20
[20] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
And preserved him — Against all the malice and contrivances of Herodias.
And when he heard him — Probably sending for him, at times, during his imprisonment, which continued a year and a half.
He heard him gladly — Delusive joy! While Herodias lay in his bosom.
Verse 21
[21] And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
A convenient day — Convenient for her purpose.
His lords, captains, and principal men of Galilee — The great men of the court, the army, and the province.
Verse 23
[23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
To the half of my kingdom — A proverbial expression.
Verse 26
[26] And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
Yet for his oath's sake, and for the sake of his guests — Herod's honour was like the conscience of the chief priests, Matthew 27:6. To shed innocent blood wounded neither one nor the other.
Verse 2
[2] And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
On which, … — That is, by, or before which, they were to present their prayers to God for counsel and succour upon all occasions. And this is mentioned here as the reason why David put himself and his people to so great trouble and charge, because it was to fetch up the choicest treasure which they had.
Verse 3
[3] And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
They set, … — Being taught, and encouraged to do so, by the example of the Philistines, who did so without any token of God's displeasure upon them for so doing. But they did not sufficiently consider, that God might wink at the Philistines, because they were ignorant of God's laws; and yet be angry with them for the same thing, because they knew, or might have known the law of God, which commanded the priests to bear it upon their shoulders. But their present transports of joy of the happy change of their affairs, and their greedy desire of having the ark of God removed, made them inconsiderate.
In Gibeah — Or, on the hill, as 1 Samuel 7:1.
Verse 5
[5] And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
Played before the Lord — Public joy should always be as before the Lord, with an eye to him, and terminating in him. Otherwise it is no better than public madness, and the source of all manner of wickedness.
Verse 14
[14] And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
Danced — To express his thankfulness to God by his outward carriage, according to the manner of those times.
Linen ephod — The usual habit of the priests and Levites, in their sacred ministrations yet sometimes worn by others, as it was by the young child Samuel; and so David, who laid by his royal robes, and put on this robe to declare, that although he was king of Israel, yet he willingly owned himself to be the Lord's minister and servant.
Verse 16
[16] And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
Despised — As one of a base and mean spirit, that knew not how to carry himself with that majesty which became his place.
Verse 17
[17] And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
David had pitched — For Moses tabernacle was still at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3, which David left there, because he designed to build a temple at Jerusalem with all speed.
Verse 18
[18] And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He blessed — That is, he heartily and solemnly prayed to God for his blessing upon them: which he did both as a prophet, and as their king, to whom by office it belongs, by all means, to seek his people's welfare.
Psalm 24
Verse 2
[2] For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Seas — The whole collection of waters, as well as the sea and the rivers running into it, as that great abyss of waters which is contained in the bowels of the earth.
Verse 3
[3] Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
The hill — Zion or Moriah, the place of God's sanctuary and special presence. Having asserted God's dominion over all mankind, he now proposes an important question, by whom God will be served, and his blessing enjoyed? Stand - To minister before him. Standing is the posture of ministers or servants. Who shall serve God, with God's acceptation.
Holy place — In the place which he hath sanctified for his service.
Verse 4
[4] He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He — Whose actions and conversation are holy and unblameable.
Pure heart — Careful to approve itself to God, as well as to men; ordering a man's very thoughts and affections according to God's word.
Vanity — Who doth not value or desire the vain things of this life, such as honours, riches, pleasures; but makes God his portion.
Verse 5
[5] He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
The blessing — Grace and glory, and all other good things.
Verse 6
[6] This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. /*Selah*/.
The generation — The true progeny which God regards.
Face — His grace and favour, which is often called God's face.
Verse 7
[7] Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Lift up — He speaks here of the gates and doors of the temple, which by faith and the spirit of prophecy, he beheld as already built, whose doors he calls Everlasting, not so much because they were made of strong and durable materials, as in opposition to those of the tabernacle, which were removed from place to place. These gates he bids lift up their heads, or tops, by allusion to those gates which have a portcullis, which may be let down or taken up. And as the temple was a type of Christ, and of his church, and of heaven itself; so this place may also contain a representation, either of Christ's entrance into his church, or into the hearts of his faithful people, who are here commanded to set open their hearts and souls for his reception: or of his ascension into heaven, where the saints or angels are poetically introduced as preparing the way, and opening the heavenly gates to receive their Lord and king, returning to his royal habitation with triumph and glory.
The king — The Messiah, the king of Israel, and of his church, called the King, or Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; James 2:1, both for that glory which is inherent in him, and that which is purchased by him for his members.
Verse 8
[8] Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
The Lord — He is no ordinary person, no other than Jehovah, who hath given so many proofs of his almightiness, who hath subdued all his enemies, and is now returned in triumph.
Verse 9
[9] Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Lift up — The same verse is repeated again, to awaken the dulness of mankind, who are so hardly brought to a serious preparation for such solemnities; and to signify the great importance of the matter, contained under these expressions.
Verse 10
[10] Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. /*Selah*/.
Of hosts — Under whose command are all the hosts of heaven and earth, angels and men, and all other creatures.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Verse 3
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us — God's blessing us is his bestowing all spiritual and heavenly blessings upon us. Our blessing God is the paying him our solemn and grateful acknowledgments, both on account of his own essential blessedness, and of the blessings which he bestows upon us. He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, as man and Mediator: he is his Father, primarily, with respect to his divine nature, as his only begotten Son; and, secondarily, with respect to his human nature, as that is personally united to the divine.
With all spiritual blessings in heavenly things — With all manner of spiritual blessings, which are heavenly in their nature, original, and tendency, and shall be completed in heaven: far different from the external privileges of the Jews, and the earthly blessings they expected from the Messiah.
Verse 4
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
As he hath chosen us — Both Jews and gentiles, whom he foreknew as believing in Christ, 1 Peter 1:2.
Verse 5
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Having predestinated us to the adoption of sons — Having foreordained that all who afterwards believed should enjoy the dignity of being sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
According to the good pleasure of his will — According to his free, fixed, unalterable purpose to confer this blessing on all those who should believe in Christ, and those only.
Verse 6
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
To the praise of the glory of his grace — His glorious, free love without any desert on our part.
Verse 7
[7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
By whom we — Who believe.
Have — From the moment we believe.
Redemption — From the guilt and power of sin.
Through his blood — Through what he hath done and suffered for us.
According to the riches of his grace — According to the abundant overflowings of his free mercy and favour.
Verse 8
[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
In all wisdom — Manifested by God in the whole scheme of our salvation.
And prudence — Which be hath wrought in us, that we may know and do all his acceptable and perfect will.
Verse 9
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Having made known to us — By his word and by his Spirit.
The mystery of his will — The gracious scheme of salvation by faith, which depends on his own sovereign will alone. This was but darkly discovered under the law; is now totally hid from unbelievers; and has heights and depths which surpass all the knowledge even of true believers.
Verse 10
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times — In this last administration of God's fullest grace, which took place when the time appointed was fully come.
He might gather together into one in Christ — Might recapitulate, re-unite, and place in order again under Christ, their common Head.
All things which are in heaven, and on earth — All angels and men, whether living or dead, in the Lord.
Verse 11
[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Through whom we — Jews.
Also have obtained an inheritance — The glorious inheritance of the heavenly Canaan, to which, when believers, we were predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will - The unalterable decree, "He that believeth shall be delivered;" which will is not an arbitrary will, but flowing from the rectitude of his nature, else, what security would there be that it would be his will to keep his word even with the elect?
Verse 12
[12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
That we — Jews.
Who first believed — Before the gentiles. So did some of them in every place. Here is another branch of the true gospel predestination: he that believes is not only elected to salvation, (if he endures to the end,) but is fore-appointed of God to walk in holiness, to the praise of his glory.
Verse 13
[13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
In whom ye — Gentiles.
Likewise believed, after ye had heard the gospel — Which God made the means of your salvation; in whom after ye had believed - Probably some time after their first believing.
Ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise — Holy both in his nature and in his operations, and promised to all the children of God. The sealing seems to imply, 1. A full impression of the image of God on their souls. 2. A full assurance of receiving all the promises, whether relating to time or eternity.
Verse 14
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Who, thus sealing us, is an earnest - Both a pledge and a foretaste of our inheritance.
Till the redemption of the purchased possession — Till the church, which he has purchased with his own blood, shall be fully delivered from all sin and sorrow, and advanced to everlasting glory.
To the praise of his glory — Of his glorious wisdom, power, and mercy.
Mark 6:14-29
Verse 14
[14] And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Matthew 14:1; Luke 9:7.
Verse 15
[15] Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
A prophet, as one of the prophets — Not inferior to one of the ancient prophets.
Verse 16
[16] But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
But Herod hearing thereof — Of their various judgments concerning him, still said, It is John.
Verse 20
[20] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
And preserved him — Against all the malice and contrivances of Herodias.
And when he heard him — Probably sending for him, at times, during his imprisonment, which continued a year and a half.
He heard him gladly — Delusive joy! While Herodias lay in his bosom.
Verse 21
[21] And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
A convenient day — Convenient for her purpose.
His lords, captains, and principal men of Galilee — The great men of the court, the army, and the province.
Verse 23
[23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
To the half of my kingdom — A proverbial expression.
Verse 26
[26] And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
Yet for his oath's sake, and for the sake of his guests — Herod's honour was like the conscience of the chief priests, Matthew 27:6. To shed innocent blood wounded neither one nor the other.
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Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
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Sermon Story "Worshipping God" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 12 July 2015 with Scripture: 2 Samuel 6:1 Again David summoned all the picked troops of Isra’el, 30,000 men. 2 Then David, taking along the entire force he had with him then, set out for Ba‘alei-Y’hudah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the Name, the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot enthroned above the k’ruvim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Avinadav on the hill, with ‘Uzah and Achyo, the sons of Avinadav, driving the new cart. 4 They led it from the house of Avinadav on the hill, with the ark of God; Achyo walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Isra’el celebrated in the presence of Adonai with all kinds of musical instruments made of cypress-wood, including lyres, lutes, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
12 King David was told, “Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God.” So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David. 13 When those bearing the ark of Adonai had gone only six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. 14 Then David danced and spun around with abandon before Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest. 15 So David and all the house of Isra’el brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and the sound of the shofar. 16 As the ark of Adonai entered the City of David, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, watching from the window, saw King David leaping and spinning before Adonai; and she was filled with contempt for him.
17 They brought the ark of Adonai in and put it in its place inside the tent that David had set up for it. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Adonai. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 19 Then he distributed to all the people of Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake, after which the people all left for their homes.
We come to realize that King David is gathering his troops together to go on an expedition. but wait, they are are not going to fight a war. They are going to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jeursalem, but this happens in two parts because of a tragedy in the first part. The tragedy was that one of the people who was carrying the Ark of the Covenant touch the Ark to steady it even though he was not a sanctified priest to touch it. King David was king of angry and afraid of God so he left the Ark of the Covenant in a family's house, but later he found out that God blessed the family because of the Ark and King David continued to bring it to Jeursalem where he had a Tabernacle made for it so he left the Tabernacle that was made under Moses leadership back where it was. This time King David was more cautious where he sacrifed an offering to God every so often as they carried it back to Jerusalem. King David worshipped and danced to the Lord God in an utter abandonedment, whereas, he wife, who was King Saul's daughter, saw David from her window and was quick to criticize the way David was acting. When they arrived back in Jeursalem and set up the Ark of the Covenant, he sacrifed many peace offerings in worship to God while continue to worship God with His whole being. After they were done sacrificing to God, King David blessed the people and gave them some food to go back to their homes. What characters in this story do you relate to or not relate to? How do you understand King David's dancing in worship to God the way he did? How do you worship God in church with your whole being? as for today, there are many people who worship God with their whole being that may embarrass some other people even the people who are differently abled with loudness, groanings and yelling, and noise not normally heard in the church. Lord God, we need to repent of our action because other people may worship God differently than we may, but God is faithful to bless each of us in our worshipping Him with our whole being. We come to the time where we seek God's guidance in more inclusiveness as we take and eat the body of Jesus than drink His blood through the participation in the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive God's further grace singing the Hymn: "Dance Again" by Life Worship
Praise Him, when your heart is breaking
When your strength is almost gone
Sing out your song and praise Him, in the fire and fury
In the dark night of your soul, your God is in control
Your tears will dry, your heart will mend,
Your scars will heal and you will dance again
Praise Him, tell your neighbours all about Him
Let the whole earth sing and shout it, our God is faithful
Praise Him, for His love and mercy
Praise Him, for His grace and favour
Praise Him, our God is faithful
Praise Him, He is strong and mighty
Praise Him, He is holy, holy
Praise Him, He is always in control
His love has conquered all, His love has conquered all
Your tears will dry, your heart will mend
Your scars will heal and you will dance again
And of His kingdom there will be no end, for Christ our King is coming back again
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12 King David was told, “Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God.” So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David. 13 When those bearing the ark of Adonai had gone only six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. 14 Then David danced and spun around with abandon before Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest. 15 So David and all the house of Isra’el brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and the sound of the shofar. 16 As the ark of Adonai entered the City of David, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, watching from the window, saw King David leaping and spinning before Adonai; and she was filled with contempt for him.
17 They brought the ark of Adonai in and put it in its place inside the tent that David had set up for it. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Adonai. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 19 Then he distributed to all the people of Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake, after which the people all left for their homes.
We come to realize that King David is gathering his troops together to go on an expedition. but wait, they are are not going to fight a war. They are going to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jeursalem, but this happens in two parts because of a tragedy in the first part. The tragedy was that one of the people who was carrying the Ark of the Covenant touch the Ark to steady it even though he was not a sanctified priest to touch it. King David was king of angry and afraid of God so he left the Ark of the Covenant in a family's house, but later he found out that God blessed the family because of the Ark and King David continued to bring it to Jeursalem where he had a Tabernacle made for it so he left the Tabernacle that was made under Moses leadership back where it was. This time King David was more cautious where he sacrifed an offering to God every so often as they carried it back to Jerusalem. King David worshipped and danced to the Lord God in an utter abandonedment, whereas, he wife, who was King Saul's daughter, saw David from her window and was quick to criticize the way David was acting. When they arrived back in Jeursalem and set up the Ark of the Covenant, he sacrifed many peace offerings in worship to God while continue to worship God with His whole being. After they were done sacrificing to God, King David blessed the people and gave them some food to go back to their homes. What characters in this story do you relate to or not relate to? How do you understand King David's dancing in worship to God the way he did? How do you worship God in church with your whole being? as for today, there are many people who worship God with their whole being that may embarrass some other people even the people who are differently abled with loudness, groanings and yelling, and noise not normally heard in the church. Lord God, we need to repent of our action because other people may worship God differently than we may, but God is faithful to bless each of us in our worshipping Him with our whole being. We come to the time where we seek God's guidance in more inclusiveness as we take and eat the body of Jesus than drink His blood through the participation in the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive God's further grace singing the Hymn: "Dance Again" by Life Worship
Praise Him, when your heart is breaking
When your strength is almost gone
Sing out your song and praise Him, in the fire and fury
In the dark night of your soul, your God is in control
Your tears will dry, your heart will mend,
Your scars will heal and you will dance again
Praise Him, tell your neighbours all about Him
Let the whole earth sing and shout it, our God is faithful
Praise Him, for His love and mercy
Praise Him, for His grace and favour
Praise Him, our God is faithful
Praise Him, He is strong and mighty
Praise Him, He is holy, holy
Praise Him, He is always in control
His love has conquered all, His love has conquered all
Your tears will dry, your heart will mend
Your scars will heal and you will dance again
And of His kingdom there will be no end, for Christ our King is coming back again
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Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
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DANCING BEFORE THE LORD by J. Daniel Day
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
My problem with this story is that it belongs in someone else’s Bible, someone like my pentecostal relatives or someone whose DNA doesn’t match my taciturn Scotch/Irish solemnity. Unfortunately this story of King David kicking up his heels and making merry before God is in my Bible as well as in yours. For those of us who are the traditional veterans of “the worship wars,” here’s a text to ignore, or explain away, or do just about anything with other than learn from it. That’s all the more reason to linger over it with an open heart and mind.
For openers, it’s worth noting that David’s exuberant worship wasn’t that well received even by his wife. Whatever you may infer about possible tensions in their marriage as being the real issue in their worship disagreement, as the story is preserved for us, Michal’s complaint to David doesn’t sound too different from those I hear when Sunday’s “passing of the peace” becomes something more than a begrudged murmur of acknowledgment. Should Michal be understood as the first champion of traditional, decent-and-in-good-order worship? If so, she doesn’t come out of this incident as one whom God favors.
But on the other hand, we don’t need to be naïve about David’s ecstatic behavior on this occasion, either. It would be easy to infer too much about God-pleasing worship from this passage and also easy to ignore that perhaps David’s actions are fueled by something more than delight in God. As for the latter concern, David was savvy enough of a politician to know how desperately his new kingdom needed the legitimization that accrues to royalty when the holy can be housed next door. The relocation of the ark into his capital city was a regal coup for David’s control of Israel. Why wouldn’t he be leading the parade, and proud of it? And, as for reading too much into this passage about the kind of worship that pleases God (as opposed to Michal’s dour preference), one only need remember the highly liturgical patterns (see today’s psalm lection) that evolve in Jerusalem’s temple worship, a worship pattern that arguably bears David’s impress. One great story of exuberance does not a theology of worship determine.
But once we clear the field of all these obstructions, what remains to be seen in this unique story? Supremely, just one thing: it’s a pitiful thing when we’ve gotten too prim, too proper, too stuffy to make merry before God when something wonderful occurs. The fact is you don’t bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem every other month. Nor do you often have the opportunity to welcome a new leader blessed with vigor, devotion, skill, and piety. This is a momentous occasion and it deserves to be celebrated with silly party hats and horns and yes, even with the king doing a jig with his robe aloft!
Over the years I’ve attended (and even planned) my fair share of church anniversaries and celebrations. The truth is most were less than “kick up your heels and shout hallelujah” occasions. There we were with a budget-breaking mortgage note to be burned or a century or so of the faithfulness of God and people to remember, but a visitor might have mistaken it for one of those solemn assemblies Isaiah was underwhelmed by. On many of those occasions I knew enough about my fellow worshipers to know that they’d go bananas that afternoon over a Big 12 or ACC basketball tournament game. But put them in a church context and all the whoopee goes out of them. Why is that?
Well, put a positive construction on it first. Maybe we are restrained in church simply because here we see things through a different filter. It’s not so much that we aren’t as joyous as at a ballgame, as that here we recognize that life and all its blessings are interwoven with holy purpose. A home run to win the game in the ninth inning is one thing; a child’s baptism is another. Joy is appropriate on both occasions, but is it not a different kind of joy when by water and word a child of God is claimed for time and eternity? Maybe it’s not that our whoopee evaporates in worship; it just has a grateful hush of reverence about it.
But granted that this is the case, there still remains the awkward possibility that most of us mimic David so seldom because we’ve lost touch with the grandness of what we are doing. We mouse around because the wonder of it all escapes us. I know it to be true, that there are Sundays when the pastor sleepwalks through the service—even if she seems most animated. A gauzy film of the theoretical shrouds the action. But there are those moments when the awesome, absurd good news of what we are about comes crashing in like breakers on our stony shores. We can no more program those epiphanies than we can tally the stars. But we can be careful not to stifle them, and we can be quick to give them glad permission to soften the eye, catch the voice, and lead us to make merry before God.
I cannot ponder this story without thinking of Jesus’ story of the elder brother who would not join his father’s party. It was a time to make merry, but the elder brother didn’t live in that time zone. He was a permanent resident of Duty-ville, where neither the time nor the grimness ever change. Grace, those lovely moments when the unexpected holy/good descend upon us, is a gift we are privileged to see every now and then. That’s the time to put aside the balance sheet and even the prayer book and to kick up our heels, and with body and soul make holy fools out of ourselves, dancing an Alleluia to the giver of all good and perfect gifts.
WORSHIP CONNECTION: JULY 12, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Come, sing and dance before the Lord.
P: Praise God with the sound of music and dancing!
L: Let every soul sing God’s praises!
P: Let the mountains tremble and the seas roar!
L: Praise the King of glory who guides our lives.
P: Praise the Lord of hosts who watches over us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Come, give to the Lord your praises of thanksgiving.
P: We come this day, grateful for God’s wondrous gifts to us!
L: Sing with great enthusiasm of God’s mighty power and love.
P: We celebrate that love that frames our lives.
L: It is a wonderful thing to praise God!
P: May God’s praise always be in our hearts and in our lives. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 99, have the congregation sing as directed below]
L: All the earth belongs to the Lord, the Creator!
P: Let us rejoice in the wonder of creation!
L: Gather your hearts together to praise God’s wondrous love!
P: (singing): "My Tribute", UMH p. 99
L: To God, be the glory now and forever.
P: Amen! Amen!
Call to Worship #4
L: Open wide the doorways of our sanctuary!
P: May the king of glory come into our midst.
L: Who is this king of glory?
P: This king of glory is our Savior Jesus Christ.
L: Open the doors of our hearts to receive Jesus Christ.
P: May our spirits and our hearts receive his blessing now and forever. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
OPENING PRAYER
Creator God, in praise and adoration our spirits dance before you today. You have created this wondrous universe and all the magnificent things within it. You have blessed us with so much throughout our lives, even to this day of praise and thanksgiving. Let our spirits soar! Let our hearts sing boldly of your wondrous love. We celebrate your love and presence with us, and it is in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we offer this prayer. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
In the midst of our "summer" lives, O Lord, so many things have claimed our attention. We worked hard this year to earn a little rest and recreation, to break away from the stresses of our everyday living. But in the midst of all this change, we have too often pushed our worship of you aside. We have focused so much on our needs for physical change and peace that we have neglected our spiritual hungers and thirst. Forgive us when we are tempted to stray from our worship of you and focus entirely on ourselves and our own needs. As we celebrate this day, help us to remember all the wondrous things you continue to do for us. Let us look at the world as a place of delight. And when we encounter situations in which sorrow and hurt abound, help us to be ready to bring hope and peace. Be with us in this warm days of summer, preparing us for ministry and mission, in your holy name. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
God is merciful and pours God’s love on us abundantly. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Hallelujah! AMEN.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Lord of the dance of life, you have breathed into us your creative, joyful Spirit. You have lifted us from the dust into the swirling joy of your presence. We are so grateful for all that you have done for us. Each day reminds us in many ways of your mercy and your love. Yet there are times in our lives when we have felt lost and alone. We have been hurt and frightened and wondered where you were. Remind us again of your loving presence. Place your hands of healing on our lives. Comfort us when we become afraid, lost, lonely, and fearful. Prepare us to serve you faithfully all our days. As we have lifted the name of dear ones to you who are in need of your healing love, cause us to reflect on our needs for your love and our response in dedicated service to you. Be with us now, in this time and place, and in all the places and times of our lives. For it is in Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
LITANY/READING
L: In the beginning......
P: The dance began to swirl and ponder.
L: In the beginning, all was dark.
P: And the dance cast forth bright light.
L: In the beginning, the earth burst forth with wondrous things, creatures of all sorts, mountains and hills, vast seas and rivers, valleys and desert areas.
P: And the Lord of the Dance saw that it was good and blessed it all.
L: In our beginning, God blessed us.
P: And the dance went on, through our lives, into all that we have done.
L: Sometimes the dance was slow and plodding; at other times it was sprightly and fast.
P: Yet in the midst of it all, the Lord of the Dance is with us.
L: This dance, called Life, is everywhere - in the light and in the dark. It is in places of hope and in places of deepest sorrow and tragedy.
P: How shall we dance our dance for God?
L: We shall live lives of hope and peace, bringing the good news of Jesus Christ and all that he taught to us, so that others may join the dance.
P: Praise be to the Lord of the Dance, the Lord of Creation, the Lord of Life! AMEN.
BENEDICTION, BLESSING
God’s love for you is real and alive in your hearts today. Go in peace, knowing that the Lord of Love and Life is with you. Bring God’s peace to all you meet, this day and all your days. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.
Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
Note: The imagery of joy and hope abound in most of today’s scriptures. You may find yourself caught in the problem of the beheading of John and wondering how this fits with the sense of joy. Remember John’s faithfulness and his witness, that even death could not stop. Look at the passages in 2 Samuel, Psalm 24, and Ephesians - all speak of the love of God and God’s adoption of us as beloved children. Swirling colors might be a way of depicting the dance. Below is a suggestion for a special cross which could be made inexpensively as a center piece for the worship center.
SURFACE
Create several levels on the worship center, but leave a space in the center for the placement of the large cross. Place a riser in front of the worship center.
FABRIC
Although the color for the day is green, you can have a wonderful time with shades of green. Using dark green as the base color, cover the entire worship center with the fabric so that it covers all the risers, including the one in front of the worship center, puddling the fabric on the floor. With silky green fabrics, in a variety of shades (and you may also use small prints) (fabrics should be about 5 yards long), drape the fabrics in swags from the center of the worship table, across and down the front so that it looks as though the fabric is swirling. Do not let is just drop straight down, but give it a swirl (movement).
CANDLES
Using white pillar candles, about 3-4" high, place them on the risers on the worship center and on the riser in front of the worship center. You may group several together if you wish.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE
This setting does not call for flowers, but you may want to use some very leafy foliage plants, such as ferns and ivy, behind the worship center so that they present a backdrop for the cross the fabric.
ROCKS/WOOD
These are not necessary for this setting.
OTHER
Create a cross, about 3 feet high from 1"x4" boards. Paint the cross, dark blue. Let it dry thoroughly. Draw swirling lines on the board about ½" apart, making them look as though they are part of a larger pattern. Do not draw the lines in tight spirals, but rather make them curved and flowing. Using a good wood glue, follow each line with glue and place colored beads along each line, place the colors next to each other so that they create a rainbow effect. Make sure that the beads are entirely dry before you place the cross on the worship center. Suggestion: If you have access to Sculpey clay, using a Fondant circular cutter and a pasta machine which is dedicated to clay use only, roll out the clay in colors of your choice, cut the circles and bake the clay circles as directed on the Sculpey package. Glue these circles to the cross. They are very light weight and will easily hold well to the glue. When they have dried, you may brush Mod Podge (in the gloss finish) over them to create a finished look. This is very inexpensive and will look nice.
SERMON OPTIONS: JULY 12, 2015 by Ministry Matters
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Come, sing and dance before the Lord.
P: Praise God with the sound of music and dancing!
L: Let every soul sing God’s praises!
P: Let the mountains tremble and the seas roar!
L: Praise the King of glory who guides our lives.
P: Praise the Lord of hosts who watches over us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Come, give to the Lord your praises of thanksgiving.
P: We come this day, grateful for God’s wondrous gifts to us!
L: Sing with great enthusiasm of God’s mighty power and love.
P: We celebrate that love that frames our lives.
L: It is a wonderful thing to praise God!
P: May God’s praise always be in our hearts and in our lives. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 99, have the congregation sing as directed below]
L: All the earth belongs to the Lord, the Creator!
P: Let us rejoice in the wonder of creation!
L: Gather your hearts together to praise God’s wondrous love!
P: (singing): "My Tribute", UMH p. 99
L: To God, be the glory now and forever.
P: Amen! Amen!
Call to Worship #4
L: Open wide the doorways of our sanctuary!
P: May the king of glory come into our midst.
L: Who is this king of glory?
P: This king of glory is our Savior Jesus Christ.
L: Open the doors of our hearts to receive Jesus Christ.
P: May our spirits and our hearts receive his blessing now and forever. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
OPENING PRAYER
Creator God, in praise and adoration our spirits dance before you today. You have created this wondrous universe and all the magnificent things within it. You have blessed us with so much throughout our lives, even to this day of praise and thanksgiving. Let our spirits soar! Let our hearts sing boldly of your wondrous love. We celebrate your love and presence with us, and it is in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we offer this prayer. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
In the midst of our "summer" lives, O Lord, so many things have claimed our attention. We worked hard this year to earn a little rest and recreation, to break away from the stresses of our everyday living. But in the midst of all this change, we have too often pushed our worship of you aside. We have focused so much on our needs for physical change and peace that we have neglected our spiritual hungers and thirst. Forgive us when we are tempted to stray from our worship of you and focus entirely on ourselves and our own needs. As we celebrate this day, help us to remember all the wondrous things you continue to do for us. Let us look at the world as a place of delight. And when we encounter situations in which sorrow and hurt abound, help us to be ready to bring hope and peace. Be with us in this warm days of summer, preparing us for ministry and mission, in your holy name. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
God is merciful and pours God’s love on us abundantly. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Hallelujah! AMEN.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Lord of the dance of life, you have breathed into us your creative, joyful Spirit. You have lifted us from the dust into the swirling joy of your presence. We are so grateful for all that you have done for us. Each day reminds us in many ways of your mercy and your love. Yet there are times in our lives when we have felt lost and alone. We have been hurt and frightened and wondered where you were. Remind us again of your loving presence. Place your hands of healing on our lives. Comfort us when we become afraid, lost, lonely, and fearful. Prepare us to serve you faithfully all our days. As we have lifted the name of dear ones to you who are in need of your healing love, cause us to reflect on our needs for your love and our response in dedicated service to you. Be with us now, in this time and place, and in all the places and times of our lives. For it is in Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
LITANY/READING
L: In the beginning......
P: The dance began to swirl and ponder.
L: In the beginning, all was dark.
P: And the dance cast forth bright light.
L: In the beginning, the earth burst forth with wondrous things, creatures of all sorts, mountains and hills, vast seas and rivers, valleys and desert areas.
P: And the Lord of the Dance saw that it was good and blessed it all.
L: In our beginning, God blessed us.
P: And the dance went on, through our lives, into all that we have done.
L: Sometimes the dance was slow and plodding; at other times it was sprightly and fast.
P: Yet in the midst of it all, the Lord of the Dance is with us.
L: This dance, called Life, is everywhere - in the light and in the dark. It is in places of hope and in places of deepest sorrow and tragedy.
P: How shall we dance our dance for God?
L: We shall live lives of hope and peace, bringing the good news of Jesus Christ and all that he taught to us, so that others may join the dance.
P: Praise be to the Lord of the Dance, the Lord of Creation, the Lord of Life! AMEN.
BENEDICTION, BLESSING
God’s love for you is real and alive in your hearts today. Go in peace, knowing that the Lord of Love and Life is with you. Bring God’s peace to all you meet, this day and all your days. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.
Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
Note: The imagery of joy and hope abound in most of today’s scriptures. You may find yourself caught in the problem of the beheading of John and wondering how this fits with the sense of joy. Remember John’s faithfulness and his witness, that even death could not stop. Look at the passages in 2 Samuel, Psalm 24, and Ephesians - all speak of the love of God and God’s adoption of us as beloved children. Swirling colors might be a way of depicting the dance. Below is a suggestion for a special cross which could be made inexpensively as a center piece for the worship center.
SURFACE
Create several levels on the worship center, but leave a space in the center for the placement of the large cross. Place a riser in front of the worship center.
FABRIC
Although the color for the day is green, you can have a wonderful time with shades of green. Using dark green as the base color, cover the entire worship center with the fabric so that it covers all the risers, including the one in front of the worship center, puddling the fabric on the floor. With silky green fabrics, in a variety of shades (and you may also use small prints) (fabrics should be about 5 yards long), drape the fabrics in swags from the center of the worship table, across and down the front so that it looks as though the fabric is swirling. Do not let is just drop straight down, but give it a swirl (movement).
CANDLES
Using white pillar candles, about 3-4" high, place them on the risers on the worship center and on the riser in front of the worship center. You may group several together if you wish.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE
This setting does not call for flowers, but you may want to use some very leafy foliage plants, such as ferns and ivy, behind the worship center so that they present a backdrop for the cross the fabric.
ROCKS/WOOD
These are not necessary for this setting.
OTHER
Create a cross, about 3 feet high from 1"x4" boards. Paint the cross, dark blue. Let it dry thoroughly. Draw swirling lines on the board about ½" apart, making them look as though they are part of a larger pattern. Do not draw the lines in tight spirals, but rather make them curved and flowing. Using a good wood glue, follow each line with glue and place colored beads along each line, place the colors next to each other so that they create a rainbow effect. Make sure that the beads are entirely dry before you place the cross on the worship center. Suggestion: If you have access to Sculpey clay, using a Fondant circular cutter and a pasta machine which is dedicated to clay use only, roll out the clay in colors of your choice, cut the circles and bake the clay circles as directed on the Sculpey package. Glue these circles to the cross. They are very light weight and will easily hold well to the glue. When they have dried, you may brush Mod Podge (in the gloss finish) over them to create a finished look. This is very inexpensive and will look nice.
SERMON OPTIONS: JULY 12, 2015 by Ministry Matters
An Essential Proposal
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David’s attempt to restore worship, which had been in decline since Eli’s death, sought to involve the whole nation in spiritual renewal. The ark narrative described the process of renewal as a national movement from disaster to blessing by eliminating inappropriate attitudes and adopting appropriate attitudes toward God. The proposal was essential if a sacred focus was to be revived.
I. Spiritual Renewal Is Interrupted by Inappropriate Attitudes
I have been challenged numerous times by the statement, “You know, we are all trying to go to the same place.” While heaven and eternal life may be a common desire, not every route or lifestyle will guide you to that destiny. More precisely, Christians who live with inappropriate attitudes experience a frustrated and fractured journey. God proposed that spiritual renewal could be Israel’s experience if the ark, the symbolic presence of God, was returned. But a series of inappropriate attitudes retarded the awakening.
First, the men of Israel set the ark on a new cart (v. 3). With the conviction that Yahweh deserved the very best, or in an attempt to devise a more efficient mode of transportation, the cart served to impede their renewal. Why? God’s instructions in Numbers 7:9 required that the ark be carried. Carrying the ark implied specific obligations necessary for a right relationship with God, such as purification. Any time we circumvent God’s directions, God’s purposes are abandoned.
Verse 5 suggests another important and inappropriate attitude. Although this act of worship appears to be a correct response, close examination reveals something is missing. In the list of instruments there is no mention of the wind instruments. While it is only my conjecture, “wind” is a common symbol for the Spirit of God throughout scripture. Spiritual renewal requires one’s recognition of and submission to the Spirit of God.
Another inappropriate attitude is found in verse 10, when David left the ark at the house of Obededom out of fear. David became afraid of God following Uzzah’s death when he touched the ark. Granted, Uzzah spontaneously tried to protect the ark from destruction. But the action was a breach of God’s instruction. Now David was confused and afraid, and left the ark in the care of a Gentile rather than taking it to his city.
All is not lost because we have had inappropriate attitudes about God. Regardless of those developments renewal was possible. Verses 12-19 guide us to understand that.
II. Spiritual Renewal Is Engraved by an Inverted Attitude
During the ensuing three months, observers noticed that the house of Obededom was blessed. Remember this principle: the presence of God is the blessing of God. What took place to secure God’s blessing for Israel?
David personally retrieved the ark (v. 12). This change of attitude is evidenced by the gladness that replaced his fear.Spiritual growth is contagious. Others accompanied David in bringing the ark home.
The people became obedient. This time they carried the ark (v. 13). They would not make the same mistake again.
David led another worship service (vv. 15-19). Now their worship reflected a sacred privilege rather than the celebration of a military conquest.
Not everyone was impressed with the renewal experience. Saul’s daughter, Michal, “despised [David] in her heart” (v. 16). She had an inappropriate attitude. But for those who, with David, personally identified their lives with the presence of Yahweh, obeyed the word of God, and worshiped God in sacred abandon, there was a new blessing “in the name of the LORD of hosts” (v. 18). (Barry J. Beames)
The Longest Blessing
Ephesians 1:3-14
Reading through the first chapter of Ephesians is much like looking through an old family scrapbook that has been sitting on the shelf for years. As we turn each musty page, we are reminded of people, places, events that we had long since forgotten.
Verses 3-14 are like a scrapbook for the church, tracing the history of our relationship with God to its beginnings, and even before its beginnings, to the foundation of the world. This scrapbook then goes on to show us the future of God’s relationship with us.
I. The Grand Basics
In these verses we find the basics of our faith expressed, except that they turn out to be very grand basics. On a time line, the description stretches from before time to the fullness of time. On a graph, it encompasses everything—things in heaven and things on earth. On a scale, the lavishness of the plan would break the springs. The writer gives us a sense of the size and scope of these ingredients of our faith with a fascinating literary device: in the original Greek text, verses 3-14 are one continuous sentence—a rather expansive blessing!
We often speak casually about blessings. Ephesians would have us understand that we don’t know the half of it. We are blessed in ways that are literally of cosmic dimensions.
II. The Greatness of God’s Blessing
God’s blessing toward us is expressed in three ways. First, God chooses us: “. . . just as he chose us in Christ. . . . He destined us for adoption” (vv. 4, 5). We are blessed because we have been chosen, adopted, and incorporated into both God’s earthly and cosmic families.
Second, God redeems us: “In him we have redemption . . . forgiveness” (v. 7). We are, by the riches of God’s grace, fashioned into new creatures, our past sin and brokenness left behind. Whatever we may have been before—however we may have sinned, however we may have failed God and others—is put behind us, covered by his redemptive grace.
Finally, God unites us. Indeed, God brings unity to all things in his creation: God “has made known to us the mystery of his will, . . . to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (vv. 9, 10).
From this elaborate, extravagant blessing streams a single consequence: the blessing of God (v. 3). We are destined, as recipients of all the spiritual riches elaborated in the “long sentence” before us, to “live for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). In a beautiful literary symmetry, this long, flowing “hymn” concludes the same way it opens, with the benediction of God (v. 14).
God is glorified in our blessedness. In God’s glorification is our human odyssey—the long, long story of our blessedness in God—made complete. (Paul R. Escamilla)
Be Careful What You Promise!
Mark 6:14-29
To be perfectly honest, I would not have chosen this text. We lectionary preachers find that most of the time the lectionary texts are good starting places for a sermon. I have found over the years that lectionary-based preaching has provided a more well-rounded fare for my congregations than would have been the case if I simply chose my own text and topic week after week. But occasionally, I come to a lectionary reading and wonder why, under heaven, it is there. This is one of those texts.
It’s a story about a paranoid ruler, about a prophet who condemned the ruler for his lust, about a resentful and vengeful woman, about a daughter-in-law’s seductive dance before her father-in-law, about a foolish promise, about a spiteful request, and about an unjust and gruesome murder. It’s hardly a story that invites quiet reflection on this midsummer Sunday morning! And although I would not have chosen this text, it is in the lectionary, so I have thought about it at a deeper level—beyond the unattractive nature of the story itself.
My wife and I are season ticket holders to Opera Carolina, and last year one of the operas was Richard Strauss’s Salome. It is Strauss’s dramatic and memorable telling of this tale of John the Baptizer, Herod, Herodias, and Herodias daughter, Salome. The music was dreadfully mournful. The presentation was haunting. The set and props were terrifying—from the wailing cries of John in the well where he was held prisoner to Salome’s presentation of John’s head on a platter. Did I like it? No! Have I remembered it? Absolutely!
Herod had married his brother’s wife, Herodias. John had told Herod that such a marriage was not right. Herodias wanted John dead, but Herod was afraid of John because Herod knew John was a righteous man. But Herod made two grave mistakes. First, he gave himself a birthday party, and Herodias daughter danced for Herod—an entrancing dance. Though it is not in the biblical text, the “Dance of the Seven Veils” is presented in a seductive and compelling way.
Then Herod made his second mistake. Pleased by the dance of Herodias daughter, Herod promised her whatever she wanted. He made the promise publicly. And when the girl went to her mother and asked what she should request, the deed was done: “The head of John the baptizer,” said her mother. Because Herod did not want to renege on a promise he made publicly, he had John beheaded and the head was delivered to the girl on a platter. She gave it to her mother. And that’s it!
Have you ever, in the excitement or enthusiasm or sensation or enticement of a moment, made a promise that you wished later you had not made? Have you ever been lured by the seductive attraction of evil to make a commitment that you wished later you had not made? Have you ever let your lesser emotions and base nature gain power over your clearer thought and your more noble intentions and devoted yourself to a course of action that you later regretted?
We are not told what became of Herod or Herodias or Herodias daughter. But I can tell you this much: outside Jericho archaeologists are now excavating the ruins of Herod’s palace. We know that he lived opulently, but he has no lasting place of nobility or goodness in history. On the other hand, the Jordan River, which flows by Jericho, is remembered as the water in which John baptized Jesus; John is remembered as the voice in the wilderness who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah; and John is remembered as a teacher of righteousness. John uttered truth as he understood it—and he paid a high price for his integrity. Herod made a promise under the influence of seduction—and he paid a high price for his foolishness. John died. Herod lived, knowing that once he made a foolish promise he had to make good on it, even though it meant he did evil he had not wished to do.
Given those choices, I hope I would choose John’s integrity! (J. Lawrence McCleskey)
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: JULY 12, 2015 by Carolyn C. Brown
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David’s attempt to restore worship, which had been in decline since Eli’s death, sought to involve the whole nation in spiritual renewal. The ark narrative described the process of renewal as a national movement from disaster to blessing by eliminating inappropriate attitudes and adopting appropriate attitudes toward God. The proposal was essential if a sacred focus was to be revived.
I. Spiritual Renewal Is Interrupted by Inappropriate Attitudes
I have been challenged numerous times by the statement, “You know, we are all trying to go to the same place.” While heaven and eternal life may be a common desire, not every route or lifestyle will guide you to that destiny. More precisely, Christians who live with inappropriate attitudes experience a frustrated and fractured journey. God proposed that spiritual renewal could be Israel’s experience if the ark, the symbolic presence of God, was returned. But a series of inappropriate attitudes retarded the awakening.
First, the men of Israel set the ark on a new cart (v. 3). With the conviction that Yahweh deserved the very best, or in an attempt to devise a more efficient mode of transportation, the cart served to impede their renewal. Why? God’s instructions in Numbers 7:9 required that the ark be carried. Carrying the ark implied specific obligations necessary for a right relationship with God, such as purification. Any time we circumvent God’s directions, God’s purposes are abandoned.
Verse 5 suggests another important and inappropriate attitude. Although this act of worship appears to be a correct response, close examination reveals something is missing. In the list of instruments there is no mention of the wind instruments. While it is only my conjecture, “wind” is a common symbol for the Spirit of God throughout scripture. Spiritual renewal requires one’s recognition of and submission to the Spirit of God.
Another inappropriate attitude is found in verse 10, when David left the ark at the house of Obededom out of fear. David became afraid of God following Uzzah’s death when he touched the ark. Granted, Uzzah spontaneously tried to protect the ark from destruction. But the action was a breach of God’s instruction. Now David was confused and afraid, and left the ark in the care of a Gentile rather than taking it to his city.
All is not lost because we have had inappropriate attitudes about God. Regardless of those developments renewal was possible. Verses 12-19 guide us to understand that.
II. Spiritual Renewal Is Engraved by an Inverted Attitude
During the ensuing three months, observers noticed that the house of Obededom was blessed. Remember this principle: the presence of God is the blessing of God. What took place to secure God’s blessing for Israel?
David personally retrieved the ark (v. 12). This change of attitude is evidenced by the gladness that replaced his fear.Spiritual growth is contagious. Others accompanied David in bringing the ark home.
The people became obedient. This time they carried the ark (v. 13). They would not make the same mistake again.
David led another worship service (vv. 15-19). Now their worship reflected a sacred privilege rather than the celebration of a military conquest.
Not everyone was impressed with the renewal experience. Saul’s daughter, Michal, “despised [David] in her heart” (v. 16). She had an inappropriate attitude. But for those who, with David, personally identified their lives with the presence of Yahweh, obeyed the word of God, and worshiped God in sacred abandon, there was a new blessing “in the name of the LORD of hosts” (v. 18). (Barry J. Beames)
The Longest Blessing
Ephesians 1:3-14
Reading through the first chapter of Ephesians is much like looking through an old family scrapbook that has been sitting on the shelf for years. As we turn each musty page, we are reminded of people, places, events that we had long since forgotten.
Verses 3-14 are like a scrapbook for the church, tracing the history of our relationship with God to its beginnings, and even before its beginnings, to the foundation of the world. This scrapbook then goes on to show us the future of God’s relationship with us.
I. The Grand Basics
In these verses we find the basics of our faith expressed, except that they turn out to be very grand basics. On a time line, the description stretches from before time to the fullness of time. On a graph, it encompasses everything—things in heaven and things on earth. On a scale, the lavishness of the plan would break the springs. The writer gives us a sense of the size and scope of these ingredients of our faith with a fascinating literary device: in the original Greek text, verses 3-14 are one continuous sentence—a rather expansive blessing!
We often speak casually about blessings. Ephesians would have us understand that we don’t know the half of it. We are blessed in ways that are literally of cosmic dimensions.
II. The Greatness of God’s Blessing
God’s blessing toward us is expressed in three ways. First, God chooses us: “. . . just as he chose us in Christ. . . . He destined us for adoption” (vv. 4, 5). We are blessed because we have been chosen, adopted, and incorporated into both God’s earthly and cosmic families.
Second, God redeems us: “In him we have redemption . . . forgiveness” (v. 7). We are, by the riches of God’s grace, fashioned into new creatures, our past sin and brokenness left behind. Whatever we may have been before—however we may have sinned, however we may have failed God and others—is put behind us, covered by his redemptive grace.
Finally, God unites us. Indeed, God brings unity to all things in his creation: God “has made known to us the mystery of his will, . . . to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (vv. 9, 10).
From this elaborate, extravagant blessing streams a single consequence: the blessing of God (v. 3). We are destined, as recipients of all the spiritual riches elaborated in the “long sentence” before us, to “live for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). In a beautiful literary symmetry, this long, flowing “hymn” concludes the same way it opens, with the benediction of God (v. 14).
God is glorified in our blessedness. In God’s glorification is our human odyssey—the long, long story of our blessedness in God—made complete. (Paul R. Escamilla)
Be Careful What You Promise!
Mark 6:14-29
To be perfectly honest, I would not have chosen this text. We lectionary preachers find that most of the time the lectionary texts are good starting places for a sermon. I have found over the years that lectionary-based preaching has provided a more well-rounded fare for my congregations than would have been the case if I simply chose my own text and topic week after week. But occasionally, I come to a lectionary reading and wonder why, under heaven, it is there. This is one of those texts.
It’s a story about a paranoid ruler, about a prophet who condemned the ruler for his lust, about a resentful and vengeful woman, about a daughter-in-law’s seductive dance before her father-in-law, about a foolish promise, about a spiteful request, and about an unjust and gruesome murder. It’s hardly a story that invites quiet reflection on this midsummer Sunday morning! And although I would not have chosen this text, it is in the lectionary, so I have thought about it at a deeper level—beyond the unattractive nature of the story itself.
My wife and I are season ticket holders to Opera Carolina, and last year one of the operas was Richard Strauss’s Salome. It is Strauss’s dramatic and memorable telling of this tale of John the Baptizer, Herod, Herodias, and Herodias daughter, Salome. The music was dreadfully mournful. The presentation was haunting. The set and props were terrifying—from the wailing cries of John in the well where he was held prisoner to Salome’s presentation of John’s head on a platter. Did I like it? No! Have I remembered it? Absolutely!
Herod had married his brother’s wife, Herodias. John had told Herod that such a marriage was not right. Herodias wanted John dead, but Herod was afraid of John because Herod knew John was a righteous man. But Herod made two grave mistakes. First, he gave himself a birthday party, and Herodias daughter danced for Herod—an entrancing dance. Though it is not in the biblical text, the “Dance of the Seven Veils” is presented in a seductive and compelling way.
Then Herod made his second mistake. Pleased by the dance of Herodias daughter, Herod promised her whatever she wanted. He made the promise publicly. And when the girl went to her mother and asked what she should request, the deed was done: “The head of John the baptizer,” said her mother. Because Herod did not want to renege on a promise he made publicly, he had John beheaded and the head was delivered to the girl on a platter. She gave it to her mother. And that’s it!
Have you ever, in the excitement or enthusiasm or sensation or enticement of a moment, made a promise that you wished later you had not made? Have you ever been lured by the seductive attraction of evil to make a commitment that you wished later you had not made? Have you ever let your lesser emotions and base nature gain power over your clearer thought and your more noble intentions and devoted yourself to a course of action that you later regretted?
We are not told what became of Herod or Herodias or Herodias daughter. But I can tell you this much: outside Jericho archaeologists are now excavating the ruins of Herod’s palace. We know that he lived opulently, but he has no lasting place of nobility or goodness in history. On the other hand, the Jordan River, which flows by Jericho, is remembered as the water in which John baptized Jesus; John is remembered as the voice in the wilderness who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah; and John is remembered as a teacher of righteousness. John uttered truth as he understood it—and he paid a high price for his integrity. Herod made a promise under the influence of seduction—and he paid a high price for his foolishness. John died. Herod lived, knowing that once he made a foolish promise he had to make good on it, even though it meant he did evil he had not wished to do.
Given those choices, I hope I would choose John’s integrity! (J. Lawrence McCleskey)
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: JULY 12, 2015 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19. The story of David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem includes several subplots, each of which makes a comment on God's presence. The core of the story is the description of the great parade led by David. (Children need a brief description of the Ark, its history, and its importance as a symbol of God's presence.) As the parade moved to the new capital city, there was lots of music and everyone sang and danced to honor God. It was an exuberant celebration of God's presence. Most children wish more worship would be like that parade.
Verse 16 begins, but does not conclude, the story of Michal's response to David's behavior. Older children, as they begin to feel the pressure of peers who belittle involvement in church activities, find a good example in David's response in verses 20-22. David was willing to have anyone, even his wife, look down on him in order to express his praise and gratitude to God. We are to do likewise. (It is not necessary to point out David's exposure to get to the message of this story: David did not act dignified, "like a king," but became caught up in the singing and dancing as he celebrated God's presence with all his might.)
Psalm: 24. This is a psalm for children to experience, rather than understand. If it is presented dramatically as a responsive Call to Worship, children will follow the questions and answers, and sense the joyful mood of gathering to worship in God's presence. Though they understand the words of the Good News Bible's translation more easily, they sense the mood of the New Revised Standard translation and may recognize verses that are used frequently in your worship.
Epistle: Ephesians 1:3-14. In a way, the writer of these verses is dancing before God with his pen, just as David danced before God with his feet. Unfortunately for children, the writer uses impossibly complex words and ideas, and praises God's work on the unfamiliar cosmic plane. About the only way to present this message to children is to paraphrase some of the individual blessings of God which the writer recognizes. For example:
—Before our birth, God planned for us to belong to God.
—God loves us so much that God sent Jesus so that we might be forgiven.
—God's plan for the world is that we will all become one family, with Jesus as the leader.
—God is carrying out this plan. It will happen.
Gospel: Mark 6:14-29. At first blush, this is not an appropriate story to tell children. It is, however, possible to explore the sin that brought about the death of John the Baptist without going into detail on the sinful sexuality that ran rampant in the family of Herod. Herod's offer of any gift his daughter asked for is similar to the wishes offered by genies in fairy tales. Children are properly appalled at the mother's use of that gift to have an old enemy murdered. They wish the daughter had been brave and righteous enough not to do the terrible thing her mother suggested. They can imagine how angry and hurt Herod must have been by the way his family tricked him. They are ashamed of Herod's giving in to the fear that his friends would laugh at him if he did not give his daughter what he had publicly promised. And they are indignant that a good person like John should be killed in the vicious feuding of this evil family.
Scholars suggest that Mark told this story to foreshadow the way Jesus would be caught up in the sinful power struggles that would lead to his death. So the children's reaction is on target and leads to discussion of how sin can spread to destroy even the good people and things of life.
Watch Words
The Epistle reading may lead you to speak of election,predestination, and revelation. Remember that these, as well as many of the theological terms in the text, are big, abstract words which have little meaning for children.
Describe this Ark, which was not a boat like Noah's ark.
Let the Children Sing
In Psalms 24, worshipers talk about opening the gates of the Temple. In "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates," we sing about opening up the doors of our hearts and lives to God. Point out this difference before singing the song.
The Presbyterian hymnal includes a version of Psalms 24 (titled Psalms 24 "), set to a whirling Israeli folktune which captures the feeling of David's dancing before God. It is more effective sung well by a choir than haltingly by the congregation.
Other appropriate hymns of praise include "All Creatures of Our God and King," "Earth and All Stars," and "To God Be the Glory."
The Liturgical Child
1. Psalm 24 reflects bringing the Ark into the sanctuary. It is a conversation between those inside the sanctuary and those approaching it, and therefore is most dramatically presented as a Call to Worship by two groups two halves of the congregation, the congregation and the choir, or two choirs (one at the front of the sanctuary and one at the rear). If the last is chosen, it may be followed by a processional hymn, during which banners, candles, crosses, and so forth precede the outer choir. Older children enjoy serving as this outer choir. With encouragement, they read their verses with the exuberance of David dancing before the Ark:
Group 1: 1a Group 1: 5-6
Group 2: 1b Group 2: 7
Group 1: 2a Group 1: 8a
Group 2: 2b Group 2: 8b(pause)9
Group 1: 3 Group 1: 10a
Group 2: 4 Group 2: 10b
2. Base a Prayer of Confession on the sins in Herod's family:
Lord God, you teach us right from wrong. But we ignore you. Like Herod's family, we do what we want, greedily taking what we want, no matter what. We are quick to take revenge on those who hurt us. We pay more attention to what our friends think of us than to what we know is right. Even when we know that others are hurt by what we do, we make no changes. Loving God, forgive us. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Hear the Good News. God is loving and forgiving. More than that, God works in us, giving us the power to do what is right. Thanks be to God!
Sermon Resources
1. In the movie Chariots of Fire, Olympic runner Eric Liddell said, "God made me fast," and claimed that he could feel God's pleasure when he ran well. For sports-minded children, Eric, running in God's presence, is a powerful parallel to David, dancing before God with all his might.
2. The Quarreling Book, by Charlotte Zolotow, describes how sin spreads through a family and into the community, as one person hurts another after being hurt. The pattern is reversed when a dog continues to wag its tail when snarled at by a little boy.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: JULY 12, 2015 by Leigh Anne Taylor
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19. The story of David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem includes several subplots, each of which makes a comment on God's presence. The core of the story is the description of the great parade led by David. (Children need a brief description of the Ark, its history, and its importance as a symbol of God's presence.) As the parade moved to the new capital city, there was lots of music and everyone sang and danced to honor God. It was an exuberant celebration of God's presence. Most children wish more worship would be like that parade.
Verse 16 begins, but does not conclude, the story of Michal's response to David's behavior. Older children, as they begin to feel the pressure of peers who belittle involvement in church activities, find a good example in David's response in verses 20-22. David was willing to have anyone, even his wife, look down on him in order to express his praise and gratitude to God. We are to do likewise. (It is not necessary to point out David's exposure to get to the message of this story: David did not act dignified, "like a king," but became caught up in the singing and dancing as he celebrated God's presence with all his might.)
Psalm: 24. This is a psalm for children to experience, rather than understand. If it is presented dramatically as a responsive Call to Worship, children will follow the questions and answers, and sense the joyful mood of gathering to worship in God's presence. Though they understand the words of the Good News Bible's translation more easily, they sense the mood of the New Revised Standard translation and may recognize verses that are used frequently in your worship.
Epistle: Ephesians 1:3-14. In a way, the writer of these verses is dancing before God with his pen, just as David danced before God with his feet. Unfortunately for children, the writer uses impossibly complex words and ideas, and praises God's work on the unfamiliar cosmic plane. About the only way to present this message to children is to paraphrase some of the individual blessings of God which the writer recognizes. For example:
—Before our birth, God planned for us to belong to God.
—God loves us so much that God sent Jesus so that we might be forgiven.
—God's plan for the world is that we will all become one family, with Jesus as the leader.
—God is carrying out this plan. It will happen.
Gospel: Mark 6:14-29. At first blush, this is not an appropriate story to tell children. It is, however, possible to explore the sin that brought about the death of John the Baptist without going into detail on the sinful sexuality that ran rampant in the family of Herod. Herod's offer of any gift his daughter asked for is similar to the wishes offered by genies in fairy tales. Children are properly appalled at the mother's use of that gift to have an old enemy murdered. They wish the daughter had been brave and righteous enough not to do the terrible thing her mother suggested. They can imagine how angry and hurt Herod must have been by the way his family tricked him. They are ashamed of Herod's giving in to the fear that his friends would laugh at him if he did not give his daughter what he had publicly promised. And they are indignant that a good person like John should be killed in the vicious feuding of this evil family.
Scholars suggest that Mark told this story to foreshadow the way Jesus would be caught up in the sinful power struggles that would lead to his death. So the children's reaction is on target and leads to discussion of how sin can spread to destroy even the good people and things of life.
Watch Words
The Epistle reading may lead you to speak of election,predestination, and revelation. Remember that these, as well as many of the theological terms in the text, are big, abstract words which have little meaning for children.
Describe this Ark, which was not a boat like Noah's ark.
Let the Children Sing
In Psalms 24, worshipers talk about opening the gates of the Temple. In "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates," we sing about opening up the doors of our hearts and lives to God. Point out this difference before singing the song.
The Presbyterian hymnal includes a version of Psalms 24 (titled Psalms 24 "), set to a whirling Israeli folktune which captures the feeling of David's dancing before God. It is more effective sung well by a choir than haltingly by the congregation.
Other appropriate hymns of praise include "All Creatures of Our God and King," "Earth and All Stars," and "To God Be the Glory."
The Liturgical Child
1. Psalm 24 reflects bringing the Ark into the sanctuary. It is a conversation between those inside the sanctuary and those approaching it, and therefore is most dramatically presented as a Call to Worship by two groups two halves of the congregation, the congregation and the choir, or two choirs (one at the front of the sanctuary and one at the rear). If the last is chosen, it may be followed by a processional hymn, during which banners, candles, crosses, and so forth precede the outer choir. Older children enjoy serving as this outer choir. With encouragement, they read their verses with the exuberance of David dancing before the Ark:
Group 1: 1a Group 1: 5-6
Group 2: 1b Group 2: 7
Group 1: 2a Group 1: 8a
Group 2: 2b Group 2: 8b(pause)9
Group 1: 3 Group 1: 10a
Group 2: 4 Group 2: 10b
2. Base a Prayer of Confession on the sins in Herod's family:
Lord God, you teach us right from wrong. But we ignore you. Like Herod's family, we do what we want, greedily taking what we want, no matter what. We are quick to take revenge on those who hurt us. We pay more attention to what our friends think of us than to what we know is right. Even when we know that others are hurt by what we do, we make no changes. Loving God, forgive us. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Hear the Good News. God is loving and forgiving. More than that, God works in us, giving us the power to do what is right. Thanks be to God!
Sermon Resources
1. In the movie Chariots of Fire, Olympic runner Eric Liddell said, "God made me fast," and claimed that he could feel God's pleasure when he ran well. For sports-minded children, Eric, running in God's presence, is a powerful parallel to David, dancing before God with all his might.
2. The Quarreling Book, by Charlotte Zolotow, describes how sin spreads through a family and into the community, as one person hurts another after being hurt. The pattern is reversed when a dog continues to wag its tail when snarled at by a little boy.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: JULY 12, 2015 by Leigh Anne Taylor
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR:Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
THEME IDEAS
The pairing of two dance stories allows us to ponder how human action can be both sacred and profane, depending on context and intention. Psalm 24 reminds us that those with pure intention may come into the presence of God. The Gospel story of a young girl dancing before Herod for the head of John the Baptist reminds us that the beauty and joy of the body can be turned to idolatry. The culmination of the Epistle lesson, that all who believe may live for the praise of Christ’s glory, points us back to David’s dance before the Lord — to praise God’s glory alone.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 24, 2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
The earth is the Lord’s!
Everything in creation belongs to God.
Lift up your eyes!
See the mighty works of the Lord!
This is the Lord’s house! All who hope in the Lord
will be called children of God.
Lift up your hearts!
Receive the gracious gifts of the Lord!
This is the hour for worship and song.
Lift up your voice!
Praise the Lord with all your might!
—OR—
Call to Worship (Ephesians 1)
Hope in Christ!
Hear the word of truth,
the good news of our salvation.
Believe in Christ!
We are sealed with the mark
of the Holy Spirit.
Live in Christ!
We embrace our inheritance,
as children of God.
Live to the glory of Christ!
Opening Prayer (2 Samuel 6, Psalm 24)
God of all creation,
everything that you have made
lifts its unique voice to praise you
in all of your glory.
Even as we worship here,
we join our voices to the one true song —
the song the morning stars began,
the song King David danced,
the song the angels echoed
at the birth of your Son.
Glory to you, Holy God! Glory!
Let this hour of worship
be wholly to the praise of your glory. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 24)
Holy God,
as we come into the presence
of your divine holiness,
we confess our many shortcomings.
Our hands are not clean;
our actions do not glorify you;
Our hearts are not pure;
our motivations do not glorify you;
Our words are not true;
our deceitfulness does not glorify you;
Our allegiance is fickle;
our idolatry does not glorify you.
By your mercy, O God,
give us hands that are clean,
hearts that are pure,
tongues that are true,
and souls that worship you alone,
that our whole lives may glorify you. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Ephesians 1)
All you who seek God, and who have set your hope
on Jesus Christ, hear the good news:
we have received forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of God’s grace.
As forgiven and beloved children of God,
let us set our hope on Christ,
and live for the praise of his glory.
—OR—
Words of Assurance or Response to the Word (Psalm 24:3-6)
Hear the word of the psalmist:
“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (NRSV)
Response to the Word (Ephesians 1)
This is the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation.
Praise to the glory of Christ.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 24, 2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
True God,
accept our gifts: gifts of our lives, our souls, and our treasure.
Multiply and bless these gifts
and consecrate them to the praise
of your glory. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
Children of God, celebrate the life
you have been given.
Live your life with all your might,
as a dance to God’s glory.
Live to the praise of God’s glory!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (2 Samuel 6)
The Lord is in this house, people of God!
Like King David, let us worship the Lord
with all our might.
Let us dance our joy,
unashamed to praise the Lord of the Dance!
Praise Sentences (2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
Dance and shout with all of your might
before the Lord!
Hope in Christ!
Live for the praise of his glory!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2016” is now available.read more
COLOR:Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
THEME IDEAS
The pairing of two dance stories allows us to ponder how human action can be both sacred and profane, depending on context and intention. Psalm 24 reminds us that those with pure intention may come into the presence of God. The Gospel story of a young girl dancing before Herod for the head of John the Baptist reminds us that the beauty and joy of the body can be turned to idolatry. The culmination of the Epistle lesson, that all who believe may live for the praise of Christ’s glory, points us back to David’s dance before the Lord — to praise God’s glory alone.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 24, 2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
The earth is the Lord’s!
Everything in creation belongs to God.
Lift up your eyes!
See the mighty works of the Lord!
This is the Lord’s house! All who hope in the Lord
will be called children of God.
Lift up your hearts!
Receive the gracious gifts of the Lord!
This is the hour for worship and song.
Lift up your voice!
Praise the Lord with all your might!
—OR—
Call to Worship (Ephesians 1)
Hope in Christ!
Hear the word of truth,
the good news of our salvation.
Believe in Christ!
We are sealed with the mark
of the Holy Spirit.
Live in Christ!
We embrace our inheritance,
as children of God.
Live to the glory of Christ!
Opening Prayer (2 Samuel 6, Psalm 24)
God of all creation,
everything that you have made
lifts its unique voice to praise you
in all of your glory.
Even as we worship here,
we join our voices to the one true song —
the song the morning stars began,
the song King David danced,
the song the angels echoed
at the birth of your Son.
Glory to you, Holy God! Glory!
Let this hour of worship
be wholly to the praise of your glory. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 24)
Holy God,
as we come into the presence
of your divine holiness,
we confess our many shortcomings.
Our hands are not clean;
our actions do not glorify you;
Our hearts are not pure;
our motivations do not glorify you;
Our words are not true;
our deceitfulness does not glorify you;
Our allegiance is fickle;
our idolatry does not glorify you.
By your mercy, O God,
give us hands that are clean,
hearts that are pure,
tongues that are true,
and souls that worship you alone,
that our whole lives may glorify you. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Ephesians 1)
All you who seek God, and who have set your hope
on Jesus Christ, hear the good news:
we have received forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of God’s grace.
As forgiven and beloved children of God,
let us set our hope on Christ,
and live for the praise of his glory.
—OR—
Words of Assurance or Response to the Word (Psalm 24:3-6)
Hear the word of the psalmist:
“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (NRSV)
Response to the Word (Ephesians 1)
This is the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation.
Praise to the glory of Christ.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 24, 2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
True God,
accept our gifts: gifts of our lives, our souls, and our treasure.
Multiply and bless these gifts
and consecrate them to the praise
of your glory. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
Children of God, celebrate the life
you have been given.
Live your life with all your might,
as a dance to God’s glory.
Live to the praise of God’s glory!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (2 Samuel 6)
The Lord is in this house, people of God!
Like King David, let us worship the Lord
with all our might.
Let us dance our joy,
unashamed to praise the Lord of the Dance!
Praise Sentences (2 Samuel 6, Ephesians 1)
Dance and shout with all of your might
before the Lord!
Hope in Christ!
Live for the praise of his glory!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2016” is now available.read more
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Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulvard
Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulvard
Nashville, Tennessee 37228 United States
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