Why your pastor may not be leading well by Ron Edmondson
I was talking with a man recently about his church. He’s concerned that the church is wasting a lot of resources and accomplishing little towards its vision to make disciples. They have a large building, a large staff and a rich history of Kingdom-building, but the building sits empty most days of the week and there is a steady decline in baptisms and Sunday attendance. There is no momentum in the church and he’s concerned that in 20 years the church will be gone. He blames it all on the leadership of the pastor.
I can confirm his concern. Statistics tell us almost 90% of churches are in decline or plateaued. I’m told it takes 30 years for a declining church to die.
I don’t know, however, if it’s completely fair to always blame the pastor. Keep in mind it could be a difference of opinion in regard to how the church should be led and how the pastor should be leading. Many times this is philosophical as much as anything.
Certainly, however, leadership is a critical part in the success of any organization — including the church. Let me be clear here — I believe Jesus is the head (and the leader) of the church, but God uses men and women to lead people within the church. It’s the subject of another post, but regardless of what you term it, leadership, as a concept among God’s people and the church, is exemplified throughout the Scriptures.
About half of my readers are pastors. (I’ll apologize to you in advance for this post. My goal is to help pastors, not injure them more. I’m a firm believer, however, that until you identify the problem you have a hard time finding a solution.) I frequently hear from staff ministers and church members concerned about the direction of their church. The number one issue churches appear to face is of leadership — specifically pastoral leadership.
In fact, many would say if the pastor isn’t leading well, the church will likely suffer at some level.
When a pastor isn’t leading the church well, there’s usually an answer as to why. I’ve listed some that I’ve observed here.
Five reasons the pastor may not be leading well:
1. Ignorance
I don’t mean this one to be cruel, but you only know what you know. Most pastors don’t learn everything we need to lead a church in seminary or any other school, for that matter. Many pastors never developed leadership skills prior to being assigned a position of leadership within the church, so much of pastoring becomes on-the-job training. Because much of a pastor’s job involves people, the realm of possibilities a pastor might encounter are as wide as the differences are in people.
The solution for this reason is training, mentoring and growing by experience. The church should be understanding and supportive of opportunities for the pastor to learn from others and the pastor needs to be humble enough to admit the need for further training. This requires great humility on the part of the pastor to allow input into their leadership.
2. Innocence
Many times the pastor simply doesn’t see what you see — or for that matter, value what you value. I’ve learned I’m often the last to know of a problem within my church. If there’s an issue in preschool ministry, for example, if someone doesn’t tell me about it, I won’t know about it. I don’t have preschoolers anymore, and most of the time while I’m preaching, preschool ministry is in full function. Now I value preschoolers, so I would want to know if there is a problem in that area.
There may be other areas of ministry that pastors don’t spend time thinking about because those aren’t areas they're passionate about. This doesn’t make the ministry wrong, or unimportant, but it simply may not have the pastor’s first attention. Many times the thing you think the pastor should be addressing is on the list of the things of which the pastor isn’t aware there is a problem or simply hasn’t been considering that area as an issue of importance.
The pastor needs to learn the art — and again humility — of asking questions to see what areas are struggling and what’s important to people in the church. The church needs to find ways to share information more readily with the pastor, without arguing and complaining — because that’s not the biblical way.
3. Burnout
In a survey of pastors who read my blog a few years ago, 77% said they were presently or had been in a burnout situation. Burnout is when you aren’t healthy enough to function at full capacity. When a pastor is facing burnout, leadership will suffer. The pastor needs to be diligent in remaining healthy physically, spiritually, mentally and relationally, and needs to seek help when any of those areas begin to slip beyond the normal stress of life.
Pastors need to learn how to recognize the signs of burnout and address them early, before they significantly impact their leadership. The church needs to be mindful of the amount of demands placed on the pastor, consider the needs of the pastor’s family, and build a structure that invests in and protects the pastor. One of the best things a church can do is give the pastor significant enough downtime to recover from the demands of ministry. That need will vary based on the level of demands placed on the church, pastor and pastor’s family at the time.
4. Structure
I hear from pastors weekly who feel they are handcuffed to tired, worn out, traditions that keep them from accomplishing their God-given vision for the church. Many times the restraints placed against a pastor prevent effective leadership. A pastor is restricted when there are too many unnecessary rules, the committee system is cumbersome and inefficient or when the demands of the church on the pastor are unrealistic. Pastors and churches are often threatened by power-hungry people and extreme resistance to any change.
If the pastor is expected to lead, then latitude and freedom to lead need to be afforded without the constant fear of retribution. Church members should ask this question: If the church expects the pastor to lead, does the structure of the church allow the pastor to lead the church? If not, then the church will either need to adapt the structure or lower the expectations placed on the pastor’s leadership.
5. Arrogance
Let’s be honest. Some pastors confuse a call to a position for a mandate of dictatorship. Jesus is the head of the church. God allows men and women of God to lead in his church, but some pastors assume more control than has been afforded to them. If a pastor is not careful, pride will take over and humility will be absent. When this is the case, people naturally resist leadership, stir controversy and resist change.
The pastor needs to build an accountability structure of people who have been given the authority to speak into their life. As for the church’s role, I believe this type issue is handled best with one or a few people approaching the pastor first, rather than making it a Sunday afternoon, “sit around the table and bash the pastor” event. If the pastor is struggling with arrogance, however, it needs to be addressed, as it is not honoring to God and could be the “pride before the fall.”
What are some other reasons pastors don’t lead well?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
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Ghosts, supernaturalism and the Wesley poltergeist by Shane Raynor
Ghosts are popular these days. If you don’t believe me, take a look at your cable television programming lineup. Haunted this.Ghost that. Paranormal whatever.
Now, I believe in maintaining a healthy skepticism when it comes to anything I see on TV, whether it’s the evening news or a reality show. And frankly, I suspect that much of the alleged paranormal activity on these shows is either exaggerated or outright fabricated.
But that doesn’t mean I discount the supernatural.
In 2012 I wrote a blog series about supernatural topics on Ministry Matters during the four weeks leading up to Halloween. I received all kinds of interesting emails, many sharing personal experiences of paranormal encounters. Some of these were from clergy — including mainline clergy!
Looking back, It’s somewhat remarkable that I received this kind of response, because in some religious circles, if someone says they believe ghosts and demons are real, they’ll get “the look.” Mainline Christianity in particular is notorious for its anti-supernaturalism.
However, mainliners aren’t alone. I’ve run into plenty of garden-variety evangelicals who don’t seem very receptive to things they can’t see or explain either.
But it wasn’t always this way.
Take my own tradition. I’m a Methodist evangelical whose theology has been heavily influenced by the teachings of John Wesley, an 18th century Anglican priest. Wesley was an Oxford-educated clergyman who came along during the Enlightenment — not exactly the golden age of supernaturalism in the Western church.
John Wesley
Nevertheless, Wesley believed in angels, demons and other supernatural beings, and he was quite open-minded regarding the existence of witchcraft, ghosts, apparitions and the like. And based on entries in his journals, he wasn’t quick to dismiss others’ stories about their encounters with the supernatural, especially if he knew them as persons of integrity.
Perhaps John Wesley found it easier to see the world through a supernatural lens as an adult partly because of one of his childhood experiences — the alleged poltergeist that haunted the Old Rectory in Epworth where he grew up. (A poltergeist is a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around.)
The spirit, referred to as “Old Jeffrey” by the Wesleys, was active for about eight weeks during December 1716 and January 1717, and most members of the family wrote at some point about their experiences with the entity.
Two servants were the first to hear Jeffrey’s groanings and knockings in the dining room. Then the Wesley children began hearing those noises as well as sounds of footsteps, rattling chains, horns being blown and wood being sawed. There were also accounts of moving furniture, including a levitating bed that was occupied at the time by John’s older sister Nancy.
Before long, everyone in the house except John’s father Samuel was experiencing the phenomena. Rev. Wesley even rebuked the family and the servants for perpetuating such tales.
Then Samuel Wesley began having his own encounters with Old Jeffrey. One night, after being awakened by knocking, Rev. Wesley, after trying to figure out where the noises were coming from, issued the spirit a challenge: “Thou deaf and dumb devil,” he shouted, “why dost thou frighten these children!? Come to me, come to my study... I am a man!”
Old Jeffrey responded that evening with knocking, and the following evening by slamming the door of Samuel’s study forcefully just as the reverend was opening it. Samuel also claimed to feel someone pressing on his chest later while he was lying in bed.
So the Wesleys bought a large dog — a mastiff — hoping to scare Jeffrey away. The dog, however, was terrified. It whimpered and hid under the table whenever Jeffrey manifested.
Nevertheless, Wesley believed in angels, demons and other supernatural beings, and he was quite open-minded regarding the existence of witchcraft, ghosts, apparitions and the like. And based on entries in his journals, he wasn’t quick to dismiss others’ stories about their encounters with the supernatural, especially if he knew them as persons of integrity.
Perhaps John Wesley found it easier to see the world through a supernatural lens as an adult partly because of one of his childhood experiences — the alleged poltergeist that haunted the Old Rectory in Epworth where he grew up. (A poltergeist is a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around.)
The spirit, referred to as “Old Jeffrey” by the Wesleys, was active for about eight weeks during December 1716 and January 1717, and most members of the family wrote at some point about their experiences with the entity.
Two servants were the first to hear Jeffrey’s groanings and knockings in the dining room. Then the Wesley children began hearing those noises as well as sounds of footsteps, rattling chains, horns being blown and wood being sawed. There were also accounts of moving furniture, including a levitating bed that was occupied at the time by John’s older sister Nancy.
Before long, everyone in the house except John’s father Samuel was experiencing the phenomena. Rev. Wesley even rebuked the family and the servants for perpetuating such tales.
Then Samuel Wesley began having his own encounters with Old Jeffrey. One night, after being awakened by knocking, Rev. Wesley, after trying to figure out where the noises were coming from, issued the spirit a challenge: “Thou deaf and dumb devil,” he shouted, “why dost thou frighten these children!? Come to me, come to my study... I am a man!”
Old Jeffrey responded that evening with knocking, and the following evening by slamming the door of Samuel’s study forcefully just as the reverend was opening it. Samuel also claimed to feel someone pressing on his chest later while he was lying in bed.
So the Wesleys bought a large dog — a mastiff — hoping to scare Jeffrey away. The dog, however, was terrified. It whimpered and hid under the table whenever Jeffrey manifested.
Susanna Wesley
John’s mother Susanna was so concerned that the poltergeist was going to disturb her evening prayer time that she told Old Jeffrey she didn’t want to be interrupted between 5 and 6 p.m. — and she never was!
If you search online, you’ll find many other stories about this series of paranormal events. Today the haunting of the Old Rectory at Epworth is considered one of the most famous poltergeist cases in British history.
Is it possible that some of the claims were exaggerated? Perhaps. But I suspect there’s more truth to the stories than fiction. As far as I can tell, every Wesley family member who wrote about what they experienced, including John Wesley himself, defended the veracity of the accounts, even years later.
I share this story because I believe it illustrates that we live in a world where the things we experience don’t always have a natural or logical explanation. Everything that happens to us isn’t necessarily going to fit into our favorite theological paradigm. In fact, when we try to force our experiences to make them fit — or deny them altogether — we risk damaging our faith, because what we’re essentially doing is painting ourselves into a corner.
When we go down that road, sooner or later we’re going to have a crisis of belief, likely because we expected a world that we can’t see to play by the rules of the world we can see.
One thing I really appreciate about my Catholic brothers and sisters is their embrace of mystery. The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t typically feel the need to downplay difficult teachings or dismiss extraordinary experiences that defy explanation. Protestants, on the other hand, save charismatics and a few others, seem almost embarrassed by belief in supernatural phenomena in the modern church. And this attitude isn’t unique to our century. Read what John Wesley wrote in his journal in 1768:
It is true likewise, that the English in general, and indeed most of the men of learning in Europe, have given up all accounts of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for it, and I willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest against this violent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay to those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. I take knowledge that these are at the bottom of the outcry which has been raised, and with such insolence spread through the land, in direct opposition, not only to the Bible, but to the suffrage of the wisest and the best of men in all ages and nations. They well know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving up of witchcraft is in effect giving up the Bible. With my latest breath I will bear testimony against giving up to infidels one great proof of the invisible world; I mean that of witchcraft and apparitions, confirmed by the testimony of all ages.
Wesley saw supernatural phenomena, both good and evil, as proof of the existence of a spiritual realm.
We should look at it the same way. Consider this:
The kingdom of God is supernatural. Jesus Christ — God in the flesh — was born to a virgin. He performed miracles, healed the sick, walked on water, raised the dead, was himself resurrected after being crucified and is alive right now.
As incredible as all that is, we believe it. We also believe in a spiritual dimension, even though we can’t see it with our physical eyes.
Why should it be such a leap to believe that spiritual beings from that dimension, both good and evil, can interact with this one?
This is the third article in Shane Raynor's Dark Matter series. Throughout October, Shane is writing from a Christian perspective about topics related to death, evil and the occult.
What the Church can learn from ‘Hamilton’ by Kira Schlesinger
The buzz over the Broadway musical Hamilton has been building for months but reached a peak when the soundtrack became available last month with free streaming on services like Spotify and Amazon Prime. Right around that time, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer, lyricist and lead actor, was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. All sorts of celebrities have flocked to the Richard Rodgers Theater to see the so-called “hip-hop musical” about the “10 dollar Founding Father” including President Obama, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The soundtrack has been climbing the rap charts, not the usual place for a musical soundtrack. Miranda, the 35 year-old second-generation immigrant, says that his version of Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton is “the story of America then told by America now.”
Visually, it is the diversity of the cast that it is so striking. After the recent controversy over whether James Bond, a fictional character, could be played by a black actor, it is remarkable to see historical people played by actors of different races. The Founding Fathers and the women who surround them are primarily black and Hispanic. Musically, Miranda references R&B, hip-hop, rap, Brit pop and Tin Pan Alley styles of music, in addition to his sly nods to other famous musicals like Camelot, 1776 and The Pirates of Penzance. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson engage in rap battles over the future of the new country, and the Schuyler sisters are Destiny’s Child in 18th century costume.
Miranda doesn’t shy away from the more problematic aspects of life in early America, particularly slavery and the place and role of women. He portrays the risks and high stakes of revolution against the British Empire and governing a brand-new country. From our perspective nearly 250 years later, independence and the present-day state of our nation can seem like an inevitability, but Hamilton takes us back to those tenuous early days.
Judging by Hamilton’s popularity and the renewed excitement for musical theater, the Church might have something to learn from Hamilton. The idea of the story of America then, told by America today could also be the story of Jesus then, told by the Church today. In his parables, Jesus spoke to the crowds in the language they understood, often using agrarian metaphors to portray the Kingdom of God. In Hamilton, Miranda uses today’s musical and lyrical vernacular, including the occasional four-letter word. While I don’t imagine myself rapping my sermon anytime soon, pastors might find something that’ll preach by familiarizing themselves with the movies, music and television shows that people in their communities (and not just the people in their pews) are consuming.
As the Church, we have over 2000 years of global history to draw on, and yet most of our worship services are stuck in a few centuries of music and language. According to the US Census Bureau, whites will be a minority in the United States within the next 30 years, but very few of our churches regularly use music or prayers outside the canon of hymns and praise songs written by white men of European descent. I love the tradition of Bach and Wesley as much as anyone, even though I know it doesn’t invigorate or excite everyone. Christians have so much more we can use, from gospel music to Taizé chants to hymns from China and India.
Hamilton is not the American History you learned in school, where the Founding Fathers were brilliant saints whose every word was Scripture. Alexander Hamilton himself was part of the first major political sex scandal. Hamilton and the other Founding Fathers had their sins and character flaws because they were human. The Church too is made up of fallible sinner-saints who have perpetrated grave sins of violence, racism and sexism. When we tell the story of the Church, we often flatten characters and denominations into good and evil, failing to do justice to their complex histories. We celebrate Martin Luther’s saintly protests against a sinful, excessive Roman Catholic Church without speaking of Luther’s anti-Semitism or the beautiful art and architecture that the Catholic Church commissioned in that era. The whole story is more interesting and more relatable as we too try to live out our convictions in a complicated, complex world.
In Hamilton’s foregrounding of diversity and the voices in history that often go silenced, it provides a model for a way in which the Church can participate in and draw from culture while still being true to the story that it is at the heart of who we are. If telling the story of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of the United States of American can be this engaging and exciting, surely communicating the grace and love of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ should be more so.
Too busy to listen to God
By Joseph Yoo
“You can rest when you retire!” someone once said to me.
I'm starting to doubt that statement is true. I serve at a church with a lot of retirees. They seem to be just as busy as I am.
I have a confession to make: I don't like being busy. I just don't. I don't think I function well when I have too much on my plate. But on the flip side of the coin, I don't like being completely idle and unproductive, either. I like to be Goldilocks when it comes to being busy: not too much, not too little, but just … right.
It's surprising how easy it is for life to get away from us when we're busy. The world has a tendency to move rather quickly and we're often left trying to play catch-up from the breakneck pace. So many things to do. So many deadlines to beat and people to meet. Errands to run. Meetings to attend. We move, move, move and do, do, do.
During my devotionals recently, I read a passage in Exodus. Moses and Aaron had just confronted Pharaoh, but instead of Pharaoh listening to them, he increased the workload of the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh ordered a stop in supply of straw to the slaves, but still expected the Israelites to make the same quota of bricks. God reassured Moses, promising to bring him and the Israelites to the land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses told all this to the Israelites, “But they didn't listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.” (Exodus 6:9 CEB).
Sometimes we're just so busy and exhausted from life that it's hard to listen to the voice of God.
God commanded his people to take a Sabbath — to take time to rest from our labors so that we can commune with God. So that we can remind ourselves that we are first and foremost children of God. That’s where our identity begins. Not with what we can produce; not with what we can offer; not with what we bring.
Sabbath reminds us that there’s more to life than work and busyness. It reminds us that the days of producing brick after brick after brick are long gone. That we were created to be human beings, not human doings.
Yes, our culture values busyness. The busier you are the more important you are, the more value you bring and the more successful you appear to be.
But constant busyness has a way of putting a chokehold on our souls.
Our spirit longs to commune with God. We need a Sabbath. In fact, not only is it important to have a Sabbath day, we should also look for Sabbath moments, time to give ourselves permission to stop what we're doing and just … be with God.
So, today (and every day) I urge you to take a moment to smell a flower, watch an animal enjoy its surroundings, take in more than a couple of deep breaths — anything that makes you pause to remind yourself of how holy God is and how loved you are.
Joseph Yoo is pastor of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of Practical Prayer and Encountering Grace. He blogs at JosephYoo.com.
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Ben Carson, Seventh-day Adventist
By David Person
The Seventh-day Adventist church I grew up in didn’t prepare me for a Ben Carson presidential candidacy. I’m not talking about Carson’s penchant for dismissing civil rights concerns or using Obamacare to make ridiculous comparisons.
I’m talking about the idea that it might be possible for the nation to elect a president who observes the Saturday-Sabbath, believes in the imminent return of Jesus Christ and that it will be precipitated by religious persecution of Sabbath keepers. And the idea that the Vatican, in collusion with some “apostate” Protestant leaders, will be the architects of this persecution. And that along with all of this, occultic practices and beliefs will become very influential in our society and contribute to this persecution.
These are the last days, preached evangelists with thundering voices. Jesus will be coming back anytime now, warned our earnest Sabbath School and academy Bible teachers.
So there was no room for political candidacies. No time for presidential ambitions. No thought, not even remotely, that one day a Seventh-day Adventist named Ben Carson would be leading polls in anticipation of the 2016 Iowa Caucus.
So what does the Carson candidacy mean for the typical Seventh-day Adventist? It depends upon whom you ask.
And perhaps we should start with the idea that there may not be any such thing as a typical Adventist. In my experience, we SDAs are many things theologically, culturally and politically speaking: liberal, moderate, conservative, Republican, Democrat, independent.
According to the Pew Research Center, we also are the most racially diverse religious group in the nation. We are almost evenly split between whites and blacks (37 percent to 32 percent), with a sizable percentage of Hispanics (15 percent), Asians (8 percent) and others/mixed race persons (8 percent).
I don’t know how we SDAs break down in terms of the ideological and political labels. It’s doubtful that any serious study of that has ever been done, due to the traditional Adventist belief about the imminent return of Jesus and the wariness of politics and political activism that often came along with it.
Many of my SDA friends — most of whom, like me, are African-American — seem to be supporters of President Obama and, if not hardcore Democrats, moderate-to-liberal independents. But I have some white SDA friends who are liberal Democrats as well as some who are conservative Republicans. And some of my black SDA friends are conservative Republicans.
Few in my circle support Carson. While we very much admire his powerful personal story and amazing professional achievements, we strongly disagree with his political views. But my circle is not necessarily representative of any other grouping of Adventists.
It’s wise, in my opinion, for our church leaders to refrain from either endorsing or denouncing Carson. He is not running as a representative of the church. His views are his own.
But it will be impossible to separate Carson’s candidacy from the history and traditions of our denomination. And if his campaign continues to surge, he will have to answer questions about his religious beliefs and practices just as Mitt Romney and former President John F. Kennedy did.
I have my answers, some of which won’t line up with traditional SDA views. So I hope Carson is prepared to answer when asked about persecution, the Vatican, so-called “apostate” Protestant leaders or any other prickly topic. Whatever his opinions, he will owe it to the American people to explain what he believes and why.
The Wesleys, holiness and life in the Spirit
By William H. Willimon 
Stanley Hauerwas
John and Charles Wesley sought to renew the Church of England by having Christians take seriously that they were called to live holy lives. The Wesleys stressed that every Christian should be sanctified. Sanctification is the term used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit to free our lives from sin. Accordingly John and Charles sought to discover modes of life — holiness — that would aid Christians in their desire to be freed from sin and on the way to salvation.
Because John and Charles Wesley were so earnest and organized in their desire for holiness, they often were subject to derision and ridicule. At Oxford those who gathered around John Wesley were given the nickname Holy Club. Methodist was originally a name meant to ridicule Wesley for being too “methodical” in his understanding of how Christians should live. Methodists were labeled by many in the Church of England as “enthusiasts.” That was not a compliment; an enthusiast was thought to have a dangerously emotional, nonintellectual understanding of the faith.
Image courtesy of Drew Coffman / Flickr CC 2.0
Yet John and Charles Wesley were convinced that holiness was what it meant to be a Christian. Influenced by Eastern Christian theologians, John Wesley appropriated their accounts of “divinization” into his idea of “perfection.” There is no stronger expression of this emphasis on holiness than Charles Wesley’s hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”:
Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
We are so familiar with “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” that the extraordinary claims of this hymn can be missed. Was Charles Wesley serious when he asked God to make us “pure and spotless”? He was quite serious. Like his brother, John, Charles desired for himself and for all Christians that as far as possible we lead lives free of sin. Each of us should want to be the “humble dwelling” in which the Spirit makes a home. Accordingly Charles Wesley hoped that we might in this life “serve thee as thy hosts above,” which implies that the communion the saints enjoy in heaven is possible here on earth below.
One of the words John Wesley used to describe the holiness characteristic of the Christian life was perfection. He did not think that Christians could be free of ignorance or mistakes, but he did think that through the work of Christ made present by the Holy Spirit, Christians could be freed from “outward sins.” According to Wesley, “the fullness of time is now come, the Holy Ghost is now given, the great salvation of God is brought unto men by the revelation of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is now set up on earth.”
Photo by Ronny Perry, United Methodist Communications
Note the last line of Charles Wesley’s hymn — “Lost in wonder, love, and praise.” To be sanctified is not to try very hard to achieve some impossible ideal. That misconception of holiness can lead to narcissistic self-righteousness or to perpetual guilt. “To be made perfect” from a Wesleyan perspective is to be caught up so completely in the life of the Holy Spirit you are not burdened by constant self-doubt. To be sanctified is to be drawn into a way of life so compelling that our worry that we may not be doing enough for God is lost. The saints never try to be saints; it just turns out that way as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
That many people doubt perfection is possible Wesley attributed to mistaken ideas about the Holy Spirit’s perfecting work. Wesley argued that in scripture perfection is “pure love reigning alone in our heart and life.” Perfection so understood means our hearts are so filled with love that all our words and actions are accordingly governed. Yet Wesley warned that simply to “feel” we are free from sin is inadequate. We should never believe that the work of love is finished “till there is added the testimony of the Spirit, witnessing his entire sanctification as clearly as his justification.”
Wesley understood justification and sanctification to be intertwined; you could not have one without the other. For Wesley justification names what Christ has done for us in gaining pardon from God for our sins. Yet at the very moment of justification, sanctification begins. According to Wesley, real change is worked in us by the Holy Spirit:
We are inwardly renewed by the power of God. We feel “the love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” [cf. Rom. 5:5], producing love to all mankind, and more especially to the children of God, expelling the love of the world, the love of pleasure, of ease, of honour, of money, together with pride, anger, self-will and every other evil temper; in a word, changing the “earthly, sensual, devilish mind” into “the mind which was in Christ Jesus” [cf. Phil. 2:5].
Wesley’s extravagant sanctificationist claims may sound as if he has a too-sanguine view of human nature. Is it realistic of Wesley to claim that our spirits are so sweepingly transformed that all “love of the world” is expelled from us?
John Wesley had a robust, orthodox view of human depravity and sinfulness. But he had an even more exuberant assessment of the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives warped by sin. Grace for Wesley meant not some saccharine view of human nature (God says, “I love you just the way you are; promise me you won’t change a thing”). Wesleyan grace is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us to give us lives we could not have had without the Spirit’s work.
Wesleyan sanctification is a “gradual process” that begins as soon as we are “born again.” As Jesus told Nicodemus, the “Spirit blows wherever it wishes” (John 3:8), making us as if we were newborn, dead to sin and alive to God. We should, therefore, desire “entire sanctification”; that is, we should want freedom from pride, self-will, anger, and unbelief. We should want to “go on toward perfection” (Heb 6:1 NRSV) so that love takes over our lives, excluding the hold sin has over us. To be sanctified is to have a kind of “spiritual light” in the soul supplying an evidence of “things unseen.” Faith, for Wesley, was the assurance that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the same dynamic of cross and resurrection that characterized the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus characterizes us.
This article is an excerpt from The Holy Spirit by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon. Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press
A metric worth measuring
By Ben Gosden
Church metrics continue to be a moving target of evaluating the health and effectiveness of our churches. I’m reminded of that fact today as our conference journals hit mailboxes and we were bombarded by statistic upon statistic from the local churches across our conference. These numbers (we believe) offer a snapshot of how healthy (or not) our churches are. We look at things like number of new members, professions of faith, baptisms, active small groups, pastor salary, money contributed toward apportionments, etc. etc. etc. All of these numbers and measurements are good. They each serve an important purpose (well, maybe not all of the stats, but follow me here).
Lately, however, I’ve been wondering if we’re missing or not fully capturing an important statistic that could tell a lot about the health and faithfulness of a congregation — and the health (or lack thereof) of the disciples we’re forming in our churches.
You see, all of those numbers, while important, tell an inward-focused story of a congregation’s life — how it perpetuates itself and the denomination. And we’re called to be disciples and churches that focus on more than just ourselves.
I wonder if (and how) we could begin to measure an important metric I’m calling Community Footprint. Community Footprint seeks to tell the story of how a local church is engaged with the community outside of the walls of the church building. Instead of just measuring how effective a church is at getting people inside its doors, how can we consider measuring how effective a church is at getting people engaged in ministry outside of its doors?
For example:
As the number of people not involved in local churches increases, the accountability factor for churches to be faithful should increase as well. The worst-kept secret in Christian circles is that we’re far more exclusive than we are inclusive; we serve as social clubs instead of service agencies; and we worry too much about how large and powerful we are in our communities and we don’t worry enough about how lowly and servant-like we could be. And the ways we measure the health of our local churches says a lot about how we prioritize being big and focusing inward over being mobile and self-giving.
At some point we need to find ways to measure the health of our local churches that go beyond just being self-sustaining or self-serving (or just denominationally-serving). A church’s Community Footprint tells the story of how we succeed (or fail) to send people out into the world to serve as disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, we don’t know how disciples are transforming the world if we ignore the need to recognize and measure involvement beyond the walls of our churches.
So what is your church’s Community Footprint? Where are you leaving your mark in your communities through love and service?
Ben Gosden blogs at MastersDust.com.
Those pagan kids
By Matt Rawle
I recently read a Facebook post from someone upset that so many churches were celebrating that “pagan” holiday, Halloween. This irritation is as perennial as church pumpkin patch fundraisers. Some suggest that churches are bowing to culture and diluting Christ’s Gospel, or that celebrating Halloween crosses an idolatrous border. It is true that Halloween isn’t found in Scripture, but neither are Mother’s Day, Independence Day or Ash Wednesday.
And even though ringing someone’s doorbell dressed as the Great Pumpkin in order to get a bag full of a dentist’s worst nightmare doesn’t quite express the gospel story, Halloween does have roots in the Christian tradition.
All Hallow’s Eve (October 31) and All Saints Day (November 1) is one day (sunset to sunset) set apart to celebrate the lives of the saints who have revealed God’s beauty. The evening is usually reserved for official saints of the church with the morning devoted to remembering all of our brothers and sisters who have died. I would agree that dressing up like a sexy nurse or a brain-hungry zombie misses the reason for the season, but in banning Halloween or pretending that it doesn’t happen or shunning the children who do knock on your door (when was the last time children rang your doorbell without selling cookie dough or wrapping paper?), we miss an opportunity renarrate a culture begging to share in God’s story.
So keep the lights on, carve a pumpkin, wrap up snack-sized bags of popcorn and offer hospitality to those who need it most. Here’s a thought. Why not say a prayer for every new family you meet? Why not wear your church T-shirt while handing out taffy? Why not go all out and fire up the grill to make mini-hot dogs for those who stop by? It’s better for their teeth, and it would take breaking bread with your neighbor to a new, awesome place.
Or you could keep your lights off, call them pagans, and get angry about it on Facebook. That’s probably how Jesus would have done it.
Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com. He is the author of The Salvation of Doctor Who, The Faith of a Mockingbird and Hollywood Jesus.
Anti pop culture Jesus (the Jesus that I know)
By David Dorn
The Jesus that gets played out in pop culture is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus that gets preached from political platforms is not the Jesus I know. Here is just a taste of the Jesus that I see at work in the lives of the people around me. David Dorn is the Lead Contemporary Pastor for Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas. He is also the author of “Reclaiming Anger,” “Under Wraps Youth Study” and the founder of The PREPOSTEROUS Project.
This Sunday, November 1, 2015
All Saints Day: Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44 — 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
Read more…
John’s mother Susanna was so concerned that the poltergeist was going to disturb her evening prayer time that she told Old Jeffrey she didn’t want to be interrupted between 5 and 6 p.m. — and she never was!
If you search online, you’ll find many other stories about this series of paranormal events. Today the haunting of the Old Rectory at Epworth is considered one of the most famous poltergeist cases in British history.
Is it possible that some of the claims were exaggerated? Perhaps. But I suspect there’s more truth to the stories than fiction. As far as I can tell, every Wesley family member who wrote about what they experienced, including John Wesley himself, defended the veracity of the accounts, even years later.
I share this story because I believe it illustrates that we live in a world where the things we experience don’t always have a natural or logical explanation. Everything that happens to us isn’t necessarily going to fit into our favorite theological paradigm. In fact, when we try to force our experiences to make them fit — or deny them altogether — we risk damaging our faith, because what we’re essentially doing is painting ourselves into a corner.
When we go down that road, sooner or later we’re going to have a crisis of belief, likely because we expected a world that we can’t see to play by the rules of the world we can see.
One thing I really appreciate about my Catholic brothers and sisters is their embrace of mystery. The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t typically feel the need to downplay difficult teachings or dismiss extraordinary experiences that defy explanation. Protestants, on the other hand, save charismatics and a few others, seem almost embarrassed by belief in supernatural phenomena in the modern church. And this attitude isn’t unique to our century. Read what John Wesley wrote in his journal in 1768:
It is true likewise, that the English in general, and indeed most of the men of learning in Europe, have given up all accounts of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for it, and I willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest against this violent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay to those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. I take knowledge that these are at the bottom of the outcry which has been raised, and with such insolence spread through the land, in direct opposition, not only to the Bible, but to the suffrage of the wisest and the best of men in all ages and nations. They well know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving up of witchcraft is in effect giving up the Bible. With my latest breath I will bear testimony against giving up to infidels one great proof of the invisible world; I mean that of witchcraft and apparitions, confirmed by the testimony of all ages.
Wesley saw supernatural phenomena, both good and evil, as proof of the existence of a spiritual realm.
We should look at it the same way. Consider this:
The kingdom of God is supernatural. Jesus Christ — God in the flesh — was born to a virgin. He performed miracles, healed the sick, walked on water, raised the dead, was himself resurrected after being crucified and is alive right now.
As incredible as all that is, we believe it. We also believe in a spiritual dimension, even though we can’t see it with our physical eyes.
Why should it be such a leap to believe that spiritual beings from that dimension, both good and evil, can interact with this one?
This is the third article in Shane Raynor's Dark Matter series. Throughout October, Shane is writing from a Christian perspective about topics related to death, evil and the occult.
What the Church can learn from ‘Hamilton’ by Kira Schlesinger
The buzz over the Broadway musical Hamilton has been building for months but reached a peak when the soundtrack became available last month with free streaming on services like Spotify and Amazon Prime. Right around that time, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer, lyricist and lead actor, was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. All sorts of celebrities have flocked to the Richard Rodgers Theater to see the so-called “hip-hop musical” about the “10 dollar Founding Father” including President Obama, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The soundtrack has been climbing the rap charts, not the usual place for a musical soundtrack. Miranda, the 35 year-old second-generation immigrant, says that his version of Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton is “the story of America then told by America now.”
Visually, it is the diversity of the cast that it is so striking. After the recent controversy over whether James Bond, a fictional character, could be played by a black actor, it is remarkable to see historical people played by actors of different races. The Founding Fathers and the women who surround them are primarily black and Hispanic. Musically, Miranda references R&B, hip-hop, rap, Brit pop and Tin Pan Alley styles of music, in addition to his sly nods to other famous musicals like Camelot, 1776 and The Pirates of Penzance. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson engage in rap battles over the future of the new country, and the Schuyler sisters are Destiny’s Child in 18th century costume.
Miranda doesn’t shy away from the more problematic aspects of life in early America, particularly slavery and the place and role of women. He portrays the risks and high stakes of revolution against the British Empire and governing a brand-new country. From our perspective nearly 250 years later, independence and the present-day state of our nation can seem like an inevitability, but Hamilton takes us back to those tenuous early days.
Judging by Hamilton’s popularity and the renewed excitement for musical theater, the Church might have something to learn from Hamilton. The idea of the story of America then, told by America today could also be the story of Jesus then, told by the Church today. In his parables, Jesus spoke to the crowds in the language they understood, often using agrarian metaphors to portray the Kingdom of God. In Hamilton, Miranda uses today’s musical and lyrical vernacular, including the occasional four-letter word. While I don’t imagine myself rapping my sermon anytime soon, pastors might find something that’ll preach by familiarizing themselves with the movies, music and television shows that people in their communities (and not just the people in their pews) are consuming.
As the Church, we have over 2000 years of global history to draw on, and yet most of our worship services are stuck in a few centuries of music and language. According to the US Census Bureau, whites will be a minority in the United States within the next 30 years, but very few of our churches regularly use music or prayers outside the canon of hymns and praise songs written by white men of European descent. I love the tradition of Bach and Wesley as much as anyone, even though I know it doesn’t invigorate or excite everyone. Christians have so much more we can use, from gospel music to Taizé chants to hymns from China and India.
Hamilton is not the American History you learned in school, where the Founding Fathers were brilliant saints whose every word was Scripture. Alexander Hamilton himself was part of the first major political sex scandal. Hamilton and the other Founding Fathers had their sins and character flaws because they were human. The Church too is made up of fallible sinner-saints who have perpetrated grave sins of violence, racism and sexism. When we tell the story of the Church, we often flatten characters and denominations into good and evil, failing to do justice to their complex histories. We celebrate Martin Luther’s saintly protests against a sinful, excessive Roman Catholic Church without speaking of Luther’s anti-Semitism or the beautiful art and architecture that the Catholic Church commissioned in that era. The whole story is more interesting and more relatable as we too try to live out our convictions in a complicated, complex world.
In Hamilton’s foregrounding of diversity and the voices in history that often go silenced, it provides a model for a way in which the Church can participate in and draw from culture while still being true to the story that it is at the heart of who we are. If telling the story of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of the United States of American can be this engaging and exciting, surely communicating the grace and love of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ should be more so.
Too busy to listen to God
By Joseph Yoo“You can rest when you retire!” someone once said to me.
I'm starting to doubt that statement is true. I serve at a church with a lot of retirees. They seem to be just as busy as I am.
I have a confession to make: I don't like being busy. I just don't. I don't think I function well when I have too much on my plate. But on the flip side of the coin, I don't like being completely idle and unproductive, either. I like to be Goldilocks when it comes to being busy: not too much, not too little, but just … right.
It's surprising how easy it is for life to get away from us when we're busy. The world has a tendency to move rather quickly and we're often left trying to play catch-up from the breakneck pace. So many things to do. So many deadlines to beat and people to meet. Errands to run. Meetings to attend. We move, move, move and do, do, do.
During my devotionals recently, I read a passage in Exodus. Moses and Aaron had just confronted Pharaoh, but instead of Pharaoh listening to them, he increased the workload of the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh ordered a stop in supply of straw to the slaves, but still expected the Israelites to make the same quota of bricks. God reassured Moses, promising to bring him and the Israelites to the land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses told all this to the Israelites, “But they didn't listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.” (Exodus 6:9 CEB).
Sometimes we're just so busy and exhausted from life that it's hard to listen to the voice of God.
God commanded his people to take a Sabbath — to take time to rest from our labors so that we can commune with God. So that we can remind ourselves that we are first and foremost children of God. That’s where our identity begins. Not with what we can produce; not with what we can offer; not with what we bring.
Sabbath reminds us that there’s more to life than work and busyness. It reminds us that the days of producing brick after brick after brick are long gone. That we were created to be human beings, not human doings.
Yes, our culture values busyness. The busier you are the more important you are, the more value you bring and the more successful you appear to be.
But constant busyness has a way of putting a chokehold on our souls.
Our spirit longs to commune with God. We need a Sabbath. In fact, not only is it important to have a Sabbath day, we should also look for Sabbath moments, time to give ourselves permission to stop what we're doing and just … be with God.
So, today (and every day) I urge you to take a moment to smell a flower, watch an animal enjoy its surroundings, take in more than a couple of deep breaths — anything that makes you pause to remind yourself of how holy God is and how loved you are.
Joseph Yoo is pastor of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of Practical Prayer and Encountering Grace. He blogs at JosephYoo.com.
Sponsored
Ben Carson, Seventh-day Adventist
By David PersonThe Seventh-day Adventist church I grew up in didn’t prepare me for a Ben Carson presidential candidacy. I’m not talking about Carson’s penchant for dismissing civil rights concerns or using Obamacare to make ridiculous comparisons.
I’m talking about the idea that it might be possible for the nation to elect a president who observes the Saturday-Sabbath, believes in the imminent return of Jesus Christ and that it will be precipitated by religious persecution of Sabbath keepers. And the idea that the Vatican, in collusion with some “apostate” Protestant leaders, will be the architects of this persecution. And that along with all of this, occultic practices and beliefs will become very influential in our society and contribute to this persecution.
These are the last days, preached evangelists with thundering voices. Jesus will be coming back anytime now, warned our earnest Sabbath School and academy Bible teachers.
So there was no room for political candidacies. No time for presidential ambitions. No thought, not even remotely, that one day a Seventh-day Adventist named Ben Carson would be leading polls in anticipation of the 2016 Iowa Caucus.
So what does the Carson candidacy mean for the typical Seventh-day Adventist? It depends upon whom you ask.
And perhaps we should start with the idea that there may not be any such thing as a typical Adventist. In my experience, we SDAs are many things theologically, culturally and politically speaking: liberal, moderate, conservative, Republican, Democrat, independent.
According to the Pew Research Center, we also are the most racially diverse religious group in the nation. We are almost evenly split between whites and blacks (37 percent to 32 percent), with a sizable percentage of Hispanics (15 percent), Asians (8 percent) and others/mixed race persons (8 percent).
I don’t know how we SDAs break down in terms of the ideological and political labels. It’s doubtful that any serious study of that has ever been done, due to the traditional Adventist belief about the imminent return of Jesus and the wariness of politics and political activism that often came along with it.
Many of my SDA friends — most of whom, like me, are African-American — seem to be supporters of President Obama and, if not hardcore Democrats, moderate-to-liberal independents. But I have some white SDA friends who are liberal Democrats as well as some who are conservative Republicans. And some of my black SDA friends are conservative Republicans.
Few in my circle support Carson. While we very much admire his powerful personal story and amazing professional achievements, we strongly disagree with his political views. But my circle is not necessarily representative of any other grouping of Adventists.
It’s wise, in my opinion, for our church leaders to refrain from either endorsing or denouncing Carson. He is not running as a representative of the church. His views are his own.
But it will be impossible to separate Carson’s candidacy from the history and traditions of our denomination. And if his campaign continues to surge, he will have to answer questions about his religious beliefs and practices just as Mitt Romney and former President John F. Kennedy did.
I have my answers, some of which won’t line up with traditional SDA views. So I hope Carson is prepared to answer when asked about persecution, the Vatican, so-called “apostate” Protestant leaders or any other prickly topic. Whatever his opinions, he will owe it to the American people to explain what he believes and why.
The Wesleys, holiness and life in the Spirit
By William H. Willimon Stanley HauerwasJohn and Charles Wesley sought to renew the Church of England by having Christians take seriously that they were called to live holy lives. The Wesleys stressed that every Christian should be sanctified. Sanctification is the term used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit to free our lives from sin. Accordingly John and Charles sought to discover modes of life — holiness — that would aid Christians in their desire to be freed from sin and on the way to salvation.
Because John and Charles Wesley were so earnest and organized in their desire for holiness, they often were subject to derision and ridicule. At Oxford those who gathered around John Wesley were given the nickname Holy Club. Methodist was originally a name meant to ridicule Wesley for being too “methodical” in his understanding of how Christians should live. Methodists were labeled by many in the Church of England as “enthusiasts.” That was not a compliment; an enthusiast was thought to have a dangerously emotional, nonintellectual understanding of the faith.
Image courtesy of Drew Coffman / Flickr CC 2.0
Yet John and Charles Wesley were convinced that holiness was what it meant to be a Christian. Influenced by Eastern Christian theologians, John Wesley appropriated their accounts of “divinization” into his idea of “perfection.” There is no stronger expression of this emphasis on holiness than Charles Wesley’s hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”:
Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
We are so familiar with “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” that the extraordinary claims of this hymn can be missed. Was Charles Wesley serious when he asked God to make us “pure and spotless”? He was quite serious. Like his brother, John, Charles desired for himself and for all Christians that as far as possible we lead lives free of sin. Each of us should want to be the “humble dwelling” in which the Spirit makes a home. Accordingly Charles Wesley hoped that we might in this life “serve thee as thy hosts above,” which implies that the communion the saints enjoy in heaven is possible here on earth below.
One of the words John Wesley used to describe the holiness characteristic of the Christian life was perfection. He did not think that Christians could be free of ignorance or mistakes, but he did think that through the work of Christ made present by the Holy Spirit, Christians could be freed from “outward sins.” According to Wesley, “the fullness of time is now come, the Holy Ghost is now given, the great salvation of God is brought unto men by the revelation of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is now set up on earth.”
Photo by Ronny Perry, United Methodist Communications
Note the last line of Charles Wesley’s hymn — “Lost in wonder, love, and praise.” To be sanctified is not to try very hard to achieve some impossible ideal. That misconception of holiness can lead to narcissistic self-righteousness or to perpetual guilt. “To be made perfect” from a Wesleyan perspective is to be caught up so completely in the life of the Holy Spirit you are not burdened by constant self-doubt. To be sanctified is to be drawn into a way of life so compelling that our worry that we may not be doing enough for God is lost. The saints never try to be saints; it just turns out that way as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
That many people doubt perfection is possible Wesley attributed to mistaken ideas about the Holy Spirit’s perfecting work. Wesley argued that in scripture perfection is “pure love reigning alone in our heart and life.” Perfection so understood means our hearts are so filled with love that all our words and actions are accordingly governed. Yet Wesley warned that simply to “feel” we are free from sin is inadequate. We should never believe that the work of love is finished “till there is added the testimony of the Spirit, witnessing his entire sanctification as clearly as his justification.”
Wesley understood justification and sanctification to be intertwined; you could not have one without the other. For Wesley justification names what Christ has done for us in gaining pardon from God for our sins. Yet at the very moment of justification, sanctification begins. According to Wesley, real change is worked in us by the Holy Spirit:
We are inwardly renewed by the power of God. We feel “the love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” [cf. Rom. 5:5], producing love to all mankind, and more especially to the children of God, expelling the love of the world, the love of pleasure, of ease, of honour, of money, together with pride, anger, self-will and every other evil temper; in a word, changing the “earthly, sensual, devilish mind” into “the mind which was in Christ Jesus” [cf. Phil. 2:5].
Wesley’s extravagant sanctificationist claims may sound as if he has a too-sanguine view of human nature. Is it realistic of Wesley to claim that our spirits are so sweepingly transformed that all “love of the world” is expelled from us?
John Wesley had a robust, orthodox view of human depravity and sinfulness. But he had an even more exuberant assessment of the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives warped by sin. Grace for Wesley meant not some saccharine view of human nature (God says, “I love you just the way you are; promise me you won’t change a thing”). Wesleyan grace is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us to give us lives we could not have had without the Spirit’s work.
Wesleyan sanctification is a “gradual process” that begins as soon as we are “born again.” As Jesus told Nicodemus, the “Spirit blows wherever it wishes” (John 3:8), making us as if we were newborn, dead to sin and alive to God. We should, therefore, desire “entire sanctification”; that is, we should want freedom from pride, self-will, anger, and unbelief. We should want to “go on toward perfection” (Heb 6:1 NRSV) so that love takes over our lives, excluding the hold sin has over us. To be sanctified is to have a kind of “spiritual light” in the soul supplying an evidence of “things unseen.” Faith, for Wesley, was the assurance that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the same dynamic of cross and resurrection that characterized the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus characterizes us.
This article is an excerpt from The Holy Spirit by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon. Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press
A metric worth measuring
By Ben GosdenChurch metrics continue to be a moving target of evaluating the health and effectiveness of our churches. I’m reminded of that fact today as our conference journals hit mailboxes and we were bombarded by statistic upon statistic from the local churches across our conference. These numbers (we believe) offer a snapshot of how healthy (or not) our churches are. We look at things like number of new members, professions of faith, baptisms, active small groups, pastor salary, money contributed toward apportionments, etc. etc. etc. All of these numbers and measurements are good. They each serve an important purpose (well, maybe not all of the stats, but follow me here).
Lately, however, I’ve been wondering if we’re missing or not fully capturing an important statistic that could tell a lot about the health and faithfulness of a congregation — and the health (or lack thereof) of the disciples we’re forming in our churches.
- Here, I don’t mean how large the membership is.
- I don’t mean how much money a church generates.
- And I don’t mean the value of our buildings.
- I don’t even mean how much a church pays in apportionments.
You see, all of those numbers, while important, tell an inward-focused story of a congregation’s life — how it perpetuates itself and the denomination. And we’re called to be disciples and churches that focus on more than just ourselves.
I wonder if (and how) we could begin to measure an important metric I’m calling Community Footprint. Community Footprint seeks to tell the story of how a local church is engaged with the community outside of the walls of the church building. Instead of just measuring how effective a church is at getting people inside its doors, how can we consider measuring how effective a church is at getting people engaged in ministry outside of its doors?
For example:
- How many people are engaged in mission outside of the church walls?
- How much money (or % of your local church budget) is spent on ministries, missions or causes that do not directly serve to maintain the life of the local church and its buildings?
- How many collaborative partnerships has the local church engaged in within the community?
As the number of people not involved in local churches increases, the accountability factor for churches to be faithful should increase as well. The worst-kept secret in Christian circles is that we’re far more exclusive than we are inclusive; we serve as social clubs instead of service agencies; and we worry too much about how large and powerful we are in our communities and we don’t worry enough about how lowly and servant-like we could be. And the ways we measure the health of our local churches says a lot about how we prioritize being big and focusing inward over being mobile and self-giving.
At some point we need to find ways to measure the health of our local churches that go beyond just being self-sustaining or self-serving (or just denominationally-serving). A church’s Community Footprint tells the story of how we succeed (or fail) to send people out into the world to serve as disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, we don’t know how disciples are transforming the world if we ignore the need to recognize and measure involvement beyond the walls of our churches.
So what is your church’s Community Footprint? Where are you leaving your mark in your communities through love and service?
Ben Gosden blogs at MastersDust.com.
Those pagan kids
By Matt RawleI recently read a Facebook post from someone upset that so many churches were celebrating that “pagan” holiday, Halloween. This irritation is as perennial as church pumpkin patch fundraisers. Some suggest that churches are bowing to culture and diluting Christ’s Gospel, or that celebrating Halloween crosses an idolatrous border. It is true that Halloween isn’t found in Scripture, but neither are Mother’s Day, Independence Day or Ash Wednesday.
And even though ringing someone’s doorbell dressed as the Great Pumpkin in order to get a bag full of a dentist’s worst nightmare doesn’t quite express the gospel story, Halloween does have roots in the Christian tradition.
All Hallow’s Eve (October 31) and All Saints Day (November 1) is one day (sunset to sunset) set apart to celebrate the lives of the saints who have revealed God’s beauty. The evening is usually reserved for official saints of the church with the morning devoted to remembering all of our brothers and sisters who have died. I would agree that dressing up like a sexy nurse or a brain-hungry zombie misses the reason for the season, but in banning Halloween or pretending that it doesn’t happen or shunning the children who do knock on your door (when was the last time children rang your doorbell without selling cookie dough or wrapping paper?), we miss an opportunity renarrate a culture begging to share in God’s story.
So keep the lights on, carve a pumpkin, wrap up snack-sized bags of popcorn and offer hospitality to those who need it most. Here’s a thought. Why not say a prayer for every new family you meet? Why not wear your church T-shirt while handing out taffy? Why not go all out and fire up the grill to make mini-hot dogs for those who stop by? It’s better for their teeth, and it would take breaking bread with your neighbor to a new, awesome place.
Or you could keep your lights off, call them pagans, and get angry about it on Facebook. That’s probably how Jesus would have done it.
Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com. He is the author of The Salvation of Doctor Who, The Faith of a Mockingbird and Hollywood Jesus.
Anti pop culture Jesus (the Jesus that I know)
By David DornThe Jesus that gets played out in pop culture is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus that gets preached from political platforms is not the Jesus I know. Here is just a taste of the Jesus that I see at work in the lives of the people around me. David Dorn is the Lead Contemporary Pastor for Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas. He is also the author of “Reclaiming Anger,” “Under Wraps Youth Study” and the founder of The PREPOSTEROUS Project.
This Sunday, November 1, 2015All Saints Day: Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44 — 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
Read more…
Lectionary Readings:
Sunday, 1 November 2015
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Ruth 1:1-18
Psalm 146:2,4,6-7,19-21
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34
Lectiionary Texts:
PO Box 340004
Sunday, 1 November 2015
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Ruth 1:1-18
Psalm 146:2,4,6-7,19-21
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34
Lectiionary Texts:
Ruth 1:1 Back in the days when the judges were judging, at a time when there was a famine in the land, a certain man from Beit-Lechem went to live in the territory of Mo’av — he, his wife and his two sons. 2 The man’s name was Elimelekh, his wife’s name was Na‘omi, and his two sons were named Machlon and Kilyon; they were Efratim from Beit-Lechem in Y’hudah. They arrived in the plain of Mo’av and settled there. 3 Elimelekh, Na‘omi’s husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons. 4 They took wives for themselves from the women of Mo’av; the name of the one was ‘Orpah; and the name of the other was Rut. They lived there for about ten years. 5 Then Machlon and Kilyon died, both of them; and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.
6 So she prepared to return with her daughters-in-law from the plain of Mo’av; for in the plain of Mo’av she had heard how Adonai had paid attention to his people by giving them food. 7 She left the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and took the road leading back to Y’hudah.
8 Na‘omi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you, go back to your mother’s house. May Adonai show grace to you, as you did to those who died and to me. 9 May Adonai grant you security in the home of a new husband.” Then she kissed them, but they began weeping aloud. 10 They said to her, “No; we want to return with you to your people.” 11 Na‘omi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands? 12 Go back, my daughters; go your way; for I’m too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say, ‘I still have hope’; even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons; 13 would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refuse to marry, just for them? No, my daughters. On your behalf I feel very bitter that the hand of Adonai has gone out against me.” 14 Again they wept aloud. Then ‘Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Rut stuck with her. 15 She said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god; go back, after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Rut said,
“Don’t press me to leave you
and stop following you;
for wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people
and your God will be my God.
17 Where you die, I will die;
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai bring terrible curses on me,
and worse ones as well,
if anything but death
separates you and me.”
18 When Na‘omi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Psalm 146:
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
19 You went up to its lofty height;
you took captives, received slaves as tribute,[[Psalm 68] The Psalm is extremely difficult because the Hebrew text is badly preserved and the ceremony that it describes is uncertain. The translation assumes the Psalm accompanied the early autumn Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth), which included a procession of the tribes (Ps 68:25–28). Israel was being oppressed by a foreign power, perhaps Egypt (Ps 68:31–32)—unless Egypt stands for any oppressor. The Psalm may have been composed from segments of ancient poems, which would explain why the transitions are implied rather than explicitly stated. At any rate, Ps 68:2 is based on Nm 10:35–36, and Ps 68:8–9 are derived from Jgs 5:4–5. The argument develops in nine stanzas (each of three to five poetic lines): 1. confidence that God will destroy Israel’s enemies (Ps 68:2–4); 2. call to praise God as savior (Ps 68:5–7); 3. God’s initial rescue of Israel from Egypt (Ps 68:8), the Sinai encounter (Ps 68:9), and the settlement in Canaan (Ps 68:10–11); 4. the defeat of the Canaanite kings (Ps 68:12–15); 5. the taking of Jerusalem, where Israel’s God will rule the world (Ps 68:16–19); 6. praise for God’s past help and for the future interventions that will be modeled on the ancient exodus-conquest (Ps 68:20–24); 7. procession at the Feast of Tabernacles (Ps 68:25–28); 8. prayer that the defeated enemies bring tribute to the Temple (Ps 68:29–32); 9. invitation for all kingdoms to praise Israel’s God (Ps 68:33–35).] even rebels, for the LORD God to dwell.
VI
20 Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who carries us.j
Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
escape from death is the LORD God’s.
Hebrews 9:11 But when the Messiah appeared as cohen gadol of the good things that are happening already, then, through the greater and more perfect Tent which is not man-made (that is, it is not of this created world), 12 he entered the Holiest Place once and for all.
And he entered not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus setting people free forever. 13 For if sprinkling ceremonially unclean persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer restores their outward purity; 14 then how much more the blood of the Messiah, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself to God as a sacrifice without blemish, will purify our conscience from works that lead to death, so that we can serve the living God!
Mark 12:28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], 30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[Mark 12:30 Deuteronomy 6:4–5]
31 The second is this:
‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Mark 12:31 Leviticus 19:18]
There is no other mitzvah greater than these.” 32 The Torah-teacher said to him, “Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him; 33 and that loving him with all one’s heart, understanding and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Ruth 1:1-18
Verse 1
[1] Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
In the land — Of Canaan. It must be early: for Boaz was born of Rahab. So Christ descended from two Gentile mothers.
Verse 2
[2] And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
Ephrathites — Bethlehem was otherwise called Ephratha. Naomi signifies my amiable or pleasant one: Mahlon and Chilon signify sickness and consumption. Probably they were sickly children, and not likely to be long-lived. Such are the products of our pleasant things, weak and infirm, fading and dying.
Verse 4
[4] And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
Took wives — Either these were Proselytes when they married them, or they sinned in marrying them, and therefore were punished with short life, and want of issue.
Verse 5
[5] And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Was left of her two sons, and her husband — Loss of children and widowhood are both come upon her. By whom shall she be comforted? It is God alone that is able to comfort those who are thus cast down.
Verse 6
[6] Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
Bread — That is, food; so she staid no longer there than necessity forced her.
Verse 8
[8] And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
Mother's house — Because daughters used to converse more frequently with their mothers, and to dwell in the same apartments with them, which then were distinct from those parts of the house where the men dwelt.
The dead — With my sons, your husbands, while they lived.
Verse 11
[11] And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Your husbands — According to the ancient custom, Genesis 38:8, and the express law of God, Deuteronomy 25:5, which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.
Verse 13
[13] Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
It grieveth me — That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such, that I cannot invite you to go alone with me. For her condition was so mean at this time, that Ruth, when she came to her mother's city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me, that God has a controversy. This language becomes us, when we are under affliction; tho' many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest having set their hand to the plow, they should look back.
Verse 14
[14] And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Kissed — Departed from her with a kiss. Bade her farewell for ever. She loved Naomi, but she did not love her so well, as to quit her country for her sake. Thus many have a value for Christ, and yet come short of salvation by him, because they cannot find in their hearts, to forsake other things for him. They love him, and yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.
Verse 15
[15] And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
To her gods — Those that forsake the communion of saints, will certainly break off their communion with God. This she saith, to try Ruth's sincerity and constancy, and that she might intimate to her, that if she went with her, she must embrace the true religion.
Verse 17
[17] Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
There will I be buried — Not desiring to have so much as her dead body carried back into the land of Moab: but Naomi and she having joined souls, she desires they may mingle dust, in hopes of rising together, and remaining together for ever.
Verse 18
[18] When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Left speaking unto her — See the power of resolution! Those who are half-resolved, are like a door a-jar, which invites a thief. But resolution shuts and bolts he door, and then the devil flees from us.
Verse 1
[1] Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
In the land — Of Canaan. It must be early: for Boaz was born of Rahab. So Christ descended from two Gentile mothers.
Verse 2
[2] And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
Ephrathites — Bethlehem was otherwise called Ephratha. Naomi signifies my amiable or pleasant one: Mahlon and Chilon signify sickness and consumption. Probably they were sickly children, and not likely to be long-lived. Such are the products of our pleasant things, weak and infirm, fading and dying.
Verse 4
[4] And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
Took wives — Either these were Proselytes when they married them, or they sinned in marrying them, and therefore were punished with short life, and want of issue.
Verse 5
[5] And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Was left of her two sons, and her husband — Loss of children and widowhood are both come upon her. By whom shall she be comforted? It is God alone that is able to comfort those who are thus cast down.
Verse 6
[6] Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.
Bread — That is, food; so she staid no longer there than necessity forced her.
Verse 8
[8] And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.
Mother's house — Because daughters used to converse more frequently with their mothers, and to dwell in the same apartments with them, which then were distinct from those parts of the house where the men dwelt.
The dead — With my sons, your husbands, while they lived.
Verse 11
[11] And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Your husbands — According to the ancient custom, Genesis 38:8, and the express law of God, Deuteronomy 25:5, which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.
Verse 13
[13] Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.
It grieveth me — That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such, that I cannot invite you to go alone with me. For her condition was so mean at this time, that Ruth, when she came to her mother's city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me, that God has a controversy. This language becomes us, when we are under affliction; tho' many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest having set their hand to the plow, they should look back.
Verse 14
[14] And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Kissed — Departed from her with a kiss. Bade her farewell for ever. She loved Naomi, but she did not love her so well, as to quit her country for her sake. Thus many have a value for Christ, and yet come short of salvation by him, because they cannot find in their hearts, to forsake other things for him. They love him, and yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.
Verse 15
[15] And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
To her gods — Those that forsake the communion of saints, will certainly break off their communion with God. This she saith, to try Ruth's sincerity and constancy, and that she might intimate to her, that if she went with her, she must embrace the true religion.
Verse 17
[17] Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
There will I be buried — Not desiring to have so much as her dead body carried back into the land of Moab: but Naomi and she having joined souls, she desires they may mingle dust, in hopes of rising together, and remaining together for ever.
Verse 18
[18] When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Left speaking unto her — See the power of resolution! Those who are half-resolved, are like a door a-jar, which invites a thief. But resolution shuts and bolts he door, and then the devil flees from us.
Psalm 146:2,4,6-7,19-21
Verse 4
[4] His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
That day — As soon as ever he is dead.
Thoughts — All his designs and endeavours either for himself or for others.
Verse 6
[6] Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
For ever — Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
Verse 4
[4] His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
That day — As soon as ever he is dead.
Thoughts — All his designs and endeavours either for himself or for others.
Verse 6
[6] Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
For ever — Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
Hebrews 9:11-14
Verse 11
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
An high priest of good things to come — Described, Hebrews 9:15. Entered through a greater, that is, a more noble, and perfect tabernacle - Namely, his own body.
Not of this creation — Not framed by man, as that tabernacle was.
Verse 12
[12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
The holy place — Heaven.
For us — All that believe.
Verse 13
[13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
If the ashes of an heifer — Consumed by fire as a sin-offering, being sprinkled on them who were legally unclean.
Purified the flesh — Removed that legal uncleanness, and re-admitted them to the temple and the congregation. Numbers 19:17,18,19.
Verse 14
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
How much more shall the blood of Christ. — The merit of all his sufferings.
Who through the eternal Spirit — The work of redemption being the work of the whole Trinity. Neither is the Second Person alone concerned even in the amazing condescension that was needful to complete it. The Father delivers up the kingdom to the Son; and the Holy Ghost becomes the gift of the Messiah, being, as it were, sent according to his good pleasure.
Offered himself — Infinitely more precious than any created victim, and that without spot to God.
Purge our conscience — Our inmost soul.
From dead works — From all the inward and outward works of the devil, which spring from spiritual death in the soul, and lead to death everlasting.
To serve the living God — In the life of faith, in perfect love and spotless holiness.
Verse 11
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
An high priest of good things to come — Described, Hebrews 9:15. Entered through a greater, that is, a more noble, and perfect tabernacle - Namely, his own body.
Not of this creation — Not framed by man, as that tabernacle was.
Verse 12
[12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
The holy place — Heaven.
For us — All that believe.
Verse 13
[13] For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
If the ashes of an heifer — Consumed by fire as a sin-offering, being sprinkled on them who were legally unclean.
Purified the flesh — Removed that legal uncleanness, and re-admitted them to the temple and the congregation. Numbers 19:17,18,19.
Verse 14
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
How much more shall the blood of Christ. — The merit of all his sufferings.
Who through the eternal Spirit — The work of redemption being the work of the whole Trinity. Neither is the Second Person alone concerned even in the amazing condescension that was needful to complete it. The Father delivers up the kingdom to the Son; and the Holy Ghost becomes the gift of the Messiah, being, as it were, sent according to his good pleasure.
Offered himself — Infinitely more precious than any created victim, and that without spot to God.
Purge our conscience — Our inmost soul.
From dead works — From all the inward and outward works of the devil, which spring from spiritual death in the soul, and lead to death everlasting.
To serve the living God — In the life of faith, in perfect love and spotless holiness.
Mark 12:28-34
Verse 28
[28] And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Which is the first commandment? — The principal, and most necessary to be observed. Matthew 22:34; Luke 10:25.
Verse 29
[29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
The Lord our God is one Lord — This is the foundation of the first commandment, yea, of all the commandments. The Lord our God, the Lord, the God of all men, is one God, essentially, though three persons. From this unity of God it follows, that we owe all our love to him alone. Deuteronomy 6:4.
Verse 30
[30] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
With all thy strength — That is, the whole strength and capacity of thy understanding, will, and affections.
Verse 31
[31] And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The second is like unto it — Of a like comprehensive nature: comprising our whole duty to man. There is no other moral, much less ceremonial commandment, greater than these. Leviticus 19:18.
Verse 33
[33] And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
To love him with all the heart — To love and serve him, with all the united powers of the soul in their utmost vigour; and to love his neighbour as himself - To maintain the same equitable and charitable temper and behaviour toward all men, as we, in like circumstances, would wish for from them toward ourselves, is a more necessary and important duty, than the offering the most noble and costly sacrifices.
Verse 34
[34] And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Jesus said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God — Reader, art not thou? then go on: be a real Christian: else it had been better for thee to have been afar off.
Verse 28
[28] And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Which is the first commandment? — The principal, and most necessary to be observed. Matthew 22:34; Luke 10:25.
Verse 29
[29] And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
The Lord our God is one Lord — This is the foundation of the first commandment, yea, of all the commandments. The Lord our God, the Lord, the God of all men, is one God, essentially, though three persons. From this unity of God it follows, that we owe all our love to him alone. Deuteronomy 6:4.
Verse 30
[30] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
With all thy strength — That is, the whole strength and capacity of thy understanding, will, and affections.
Verse 31
[31] And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The second is like unto it — Of a like comprehensive nature: comprising our whole duty to man. There is no other moral, much less ceremonial commandment, greater than these. Leviticus 19:18.
Verse 33
[33] And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
To love him with all the heart — To love and serve him, with all the united powers of the soul in their utmost vigour; and to love his neighbour as himself - To maintain the same equitable and charitable temper and behaviour toward all men, as we, in like circumstances, would wish for from them toward ourselves, is a more necessary and important duty, than the offering the most noble and costly sacrifices.
Verse 34
[34] And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Jesus said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God — Reader, art not thou? then go on: be a real Christian: else it had been better for thee to have been afar off.
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The Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship MinistriesPO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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Sermon Story "Dealing with Lost Hope" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 1 November 2015 with Scripture: Ruth 1:1 Back in the days when the judges were judging, at a time when there was a famine in the land, a certain man from Beit-Lechem went to live in the territory of Mo’av — he, his wife and his two sons. 2 The man’s name was Elimelekh, his wife’s name was Na‘omi, and his two sons were named Machlon and Kilyon; they were Efratim from Beit-Lechem in Y’hudah. They arrived in the plain of Mo’av and settled there. 3 Elimelekh, Na‘omi’s husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons. 4 They took wives for themselves from the women of Mo’av; the name of the one was ‘Orpah; and the name of the other was Rut. They lived there for about ten years. 5 Then Machlon and Kilyon died, both of them; and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.
6 So she prepared to return with her daughters-in-law from the plain of Mo’av; for in the plain of Mo’av she had heard how Adonai had paid attention to his people by giving them food. 7 She left the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and took the road leading back to Y’hudah.
8 Na‘omi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you, go back to your mother’s house. May Adonai show grace to you, as you did to those who died and to me. 9 May Adonai grant you security in the home of a new husband.” Then she kissed them, but they began weeping aloud. 10 They said to her, “No; we want to return with you to your people.” 11 Na‘omi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb who could become your husbands? 12 Go back, my daughters; go your way; for I’m too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say, ‘I still have hope’; even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons; 13 would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refuse to marry, just for them? No, my daughters. On your behalf I feel very bitter that the hand of Adonai has gone out against me.” 14 Again they wept aloud. Then ‘Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Rut stuck with her. 15 She said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god; go back, after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Rut said,
“Don’t press me to leave you
and stop following you;
for wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people
and your God will be my God.
17 Where you die, I will die;
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai bring terrible curses on me,
and worse ones as well,
if anything but death
separates you and me.”
18 When Na‘omi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
How many people here today or know someone that is in a hopeless situation due to their situation? How many people whave been in hopeless situations or know someone who has been, but was delivered into hope? We have a man who was an Israelite and had a wife and two sons living in Bethlehem, Judah when a famine came upon the land and decided to take his father to the land of Moab becuase of a hope that a living would happen. While he was there, he died and left his wife and two sons without his living support. The two sons decided to take for themselves wives from the Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. Before any children were born, they too died like their father. Now, Naomi was left with only her two diaghters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, with no other sons or grandsons. She heard that the land that they moved from was out of the famine problem and deceid to go back there. As they were traveling back to Bethlehem, Judah, Naomi was saying to Orpah and Ruth that would be better off to return to their mother's house to seek another husband because they had no hope with her because she too was a widow and beyond child-bearing years with no hope of another son(s) to be born and grow up to become their husbands. Orpah took her mother-in-law's advice and kissed embracing Naomi then heading back to her mother's house. Yet, Ruth continued to stay even after Naomi pleading with her that her sister-in-law went back to her mother's house why not you. Ruth simply made a committment that she would stay with Naomi because her people are her people and her God is her God. They continued and Naomi no longer said any thing to Ruth about this. Who do you relate to? Have you ever had a choice to go back or go forward? How have you responded and how would you resond now? We come to the time to confess our sins in shortcomings of failure to move in God's direction for our lives by taking and eating the Body of Jesus then taking His Blood and drinking it. This is accomplished in our participation of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as we come to receive God's blessing to move forward in His way singing the Hymn "God of Hope" by Charlie Hall
Set this hope in me, Set this hope in me
That I may be pure and holy
That I may be like You only
That I may be completely free
Though You slay me I will hope
Hope inspires my endurance
Your hope is my anchor
God of hope fill me
How many people here today or know someone that is in a hopeless situation due to their situation? How many people whave been in hopeless situations or know someone who has been, but was delivered into hope? We have a man who was an Israelite and had a wife and two sons living in Bethlehem, Judah when a famine came upon the land and decided to take his father to the land of Moab becuase of a hope that a living would happen. While he was there, he died and left his wife and two sons without his living support. The two sons decided to take for themselves wives from the Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. Before any children were born, they too died like their father. Now, Naomi was left with only her two diaghters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, with no other sons or grandsons. She heard that the land that they moved from was out of the famine problem and deceid to go back there. As they were traveling back to Bethlehem, Judah, Naomi was saying to Orpah and Ruth that would be better off to return to their mother's house to seek another husband because they had no hope with her because she too was a widow and beyond child-bearing years with no hope of another son(s) to be born and grow up to become their husbands. Orpah took her mother-in-law's advice and kissed embracing Naomi then heading back to her mother's house. Yet, Ruth continued to stay even after Naomi pleading with her that her sister-in-law went back to her mother's house why not you. Ruth simply made a committment that she would stay with Naomi because her people are her people and her God is her God. They continued and Naomi no longer said any thing to Ruth about this. Who do you relate to? Have you ever had a choice to go back or go forward? How have you responded and how would you resond now? We come to the time to confess our sins in shortcomings of failure to move in God's direction for our lives by taking and eating the Body of Jesus then taking His Blood and drinking it. This is accomplished in our participation of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as we come to receive God's blessing to move forward in His way singing the Hymn "God of Hope" by Charlie Hall
Set this hope in me, Set this hope in me
That I may be pure and holy
That I may be like You only
That I may be completely free
Though You slay me I will hope
Hope inspires my endurance
Your hope is my anchor
God of hope fill me
____________________________
Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California, 92104-1844, United States
____________________________
____________________________
Hebrews 9:11-14
The crowd stands and sings the national anthem. Someone throws out the first pitch. People wear goofy outfits, take a seventh-inning stretch, sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and buy overpriced hot dogs. Most of them will never know that what they are doing is religion.
A nonbeliever asked a friend of mine, “Why do Christians need to do all these rituals, like Communion? Why don’t they just preach what they believe?” All I could think about was the ball game, and twenty thousand people or more singing, reciting creeds or pledges, and feeling a sense of unity — even with the opposing team — as they sing about buying “peanuts and Cracker Jack.” It must have been similar more than two and-a-half millennia ago, when the ancient Greeks gathered for the first Olympics, a series of games and rituals designed to give glory to their gods. Rituals are simply what human beings do. They make us feel close to one another and to God. They take away our guilt. They comfort us in times of stress. They remind people of what they believe, and teach them the values of their culture. Regardless of which team we root for, we love the game itself; and we don’t care if we ever go back.
It must have been the same way in the temple. The psalmist says that one day in the temple courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, and he envies even the sparrow who makes its nest in a corner of the building (see Psalm 84). This was the place where people could come to formally wipe the slate clean, to start their relationships with God over again.
We are far away from the smoky slaughterhouse smell of the ancient temple, the sound of bells and the bleating of sheep. Our Christian churches have a different smell: wood polish and flowers, carpet and candles. So when the author of Hebrews starts talking about high priests, blood, goats, bulls and sacrifice, some of us have a hard time relating. We’re much more comfortable with baseball and the Olympics.
Blood has always been a symbol of both life and death. The ancient Israelites believed that a creature’s life-force was in its blood, and therefore blood was holy to God. If someone was murdered, God was supposed to be able to hear their blood crying from the ground. If you killed an animal for food, you were forbidden to drink its blood; instead, you had to offer its blood back to God. When the Hebrews escaped from Egypt on the night of Passover, the Hebrews painted their doors with the blood of a lamb so that the angel of death would know which houses to avoid and pass over.
When we sing about fountains filled with blood and about being washed in the blood of the Lamb, it is best not to actually try to picture such things. A fountain filled with blood? It sounds like a scene from a horror movie! Yet we have hymns like, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” This fascination with blood seems pretty grisly, but in the ancient world, blood was viewed as the divine source of life.
Actually we haven’t come so far in our thinking. We still say someone is hot-blooded if they are passionate; we refer to a cold-blooded killer or a blue-blooded noble. We ascribe cultural attributes to blood: “He has Irish (or Native American or African) blood”; we speak of people having musical or athletic talent “in their blood.” It’s the stuff that beats through our hearts and fuels our passions. Abraham Lincoln had the audacity to stand up at the podium at Gettysburg and call a battlefield holy, because it had been hallowed with the spilled blood of fallen soldiers. Pouring out his life willingly, Jesus enacted an ancient ritual that changes who we are.
Sometimes Christians, hearing so often about how Christ takes our place on the cross, think that sacrifice and punishment are the same thing. It’s important to remember that the animals slaughtered on temple altar were not being punished for the sins of the people. When we talk about Jesus as “the perfect sacrifice for our sins,” it does not mean that someone had to be killed in order to appease an angry God’s thirst for vengeance. It’s something far deeper — a blood ritual that reminds us of where life comes from and where it goes.
Jesus’ death on the cross was more than just a terrible injustice, says the author of Hebrews. It was more than just an inspiring act of nonviolent resistance. It was more than a ritual that makes us feel better. It was cosmic. It altered the very fabric of reality. Jesus’ action of offering his own blood — that divine, life-giving substance — somehow made possible a new relationship between human beings and God. Our faith, says the author, is not in a set of rituals and dramatic actions that make us feel better. Our faith is in a God who has acted once and for all on our behalf.
So the author invites us to imagine Jesus as the cosmic priest, performing a glorious ritual outside of time. The cross becomes not merely an ugly upright pole upon which Jesus is nailed. It is an altar; crude but beautiful, surrounded with the smoke of incense. Although we may see Jesus bound, naked and bloody; when we look through this author’s eyes, Jesus wears the robe of a priest, and he ascends the steps to the altar of his own free will. The blood falling from his wrists, side, and torn back is no longer a reminder of pain and injustice, but the life-giving substance that Jesus offers back to God — his own essence and life-force — and by doing, so he purifies the world. Watching this spectacle are not only his mother and a few courageous followers but every human being who has ever lived and who will ever walk our planet. Like the crowd at the baseball game, root, root, rooting for their home team, those standing around the cross and watching the execution of Jesus have no idea that what they are doing is religion.
One weakness some Christians have, myself included, is the tendency to become so focused on avoiding something potentially bad that we overcompensate and throw out too much of what’s good. Protestants in particular have a history of this. In our attempts to avoid what we’ve perceived to be “too Catholic,” we’ve no doubt stripped our worship experience and our theology of much that’s good over the years. And our faith traditions are all the poorer for it.
Take Halloween, for example.
Depending on whom you ask, Halloween probably falls somewhere between harmless secular celebration on one end of the spectrum and pagan or satanic holiday on the other. Most of us probably don’t even think of it as a Christian holiday. But that’s actually what it is.
The word Halloween (sometimes written Hallowe’en) is simply a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening. You may be familiar with the adjective hallowed, which means set apart or consecrated. The verb hallow means to make or set apart as holy. But hallow can also be a noun, and it means a holy person or a saint.
That’s where we get Halloween. Essentially it’s another term forAll Saints’ Eve, and that makes it pretty significant, because on November 1, All Saints’ Day is observed by Roman Catholics and by many Protestants all over the world. It’s a day of celebrating the communion of saints, a community made up of all past, present and future Christians.
The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, Fra Angelico, c.1423
As with other feasts and holy days (e.g. Christmas and Easter), some Christians have traditionally celebrated All Saints’ Day with a vigil the evening before. That vigil became All Hallows’ Eve. This comes from the Jewish practice of beginning days at sunset, not midnight, a practice that carried over into early Christianity.
Halloween and All Saints’ Day are followed on November 2 by a third, lesser known day: All Souls Day. The combined three-day observance is called Allhallowtide.
What’s the difference between All Saints’ and All Souls’, you ask? These days, not much, because the two have been conflated over time and many churches don’t even observe All Souls’ Day anymore. But the original purposes of the two days are quite different.
All Saints’ Day can likely be traced back to the early seventh century, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs and ordered a yearly celebration to commemorate it. This happened on May 13, which coincided with the final day of Lemuralia, a festival in Ancient Rome during which the Romans attempted to exorcise ghosts of the dead from their homes.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory moved the day to November 1 to mark the dedication of an oratory in St. Peter’s Basilica. Some argue that this was an attempt by Gregory to Christianize Samhain, a pagan festival of the dead observed by the ancient Celts.
Although the focus and purpose were quite different, the common theme of the dead was present in all three festivals. As time passed, no doubt the Christians influenced the pagans, and vice versa.
But All Saints’ Day isn’t just about those who’ve died.
Yes, All Saints’ is a day when we recognize Christians who have gone before us, but it’s also a day of asking how we should live as saints now and how we intend to pass on the faith to future generations of believers. That’s what the Communion of Saints is all about.
All Souls Day, on the other hand, is a day set aside exclusively for commemorating the faithfully departed, particularly one’s relatives and friends. While All Saints’ Day has traditionally been a celebration of more well-known believers, martyrs and heroes of the faith, All Souls’ Day is meant to be a more solemn occasion with an emphasis on lesser-known Christians, especially the ones we’ve known personally.
The day was established on November 2 after an 11th century French abbot, Odilo of Cluny, chose it as a day of general intercession for Christians who had died. He commanded all Cluniac monks to keep it, and by the end of the 13th century, All Souls' Day was observed throughout the Western church.
Many Protestants merged All Souls’ Day with All Saints’ Day at the time of the Reformation, and the Roman Catholic emphasis of purgatory on All Souls’ Day has no doubt played a role in the blurring of the line between the two days by non-Catholics. Nowadays, many American churches fuse All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day into one day and celebrate it on the Sunday following All Saints’ if November 1 doesn’t fall on a Sunday. Unfortunately, this has probably further separated Halloween from All Saints’ Day in the minds of many Christians.
Like Christmas and Easter, the modern secular holiday of Halloween has been shaped by a number of factors, including paganism, Christianity and commercialism. (And the greatest of these is commercialism!) Because of Halloween’s association with death and evil, some believers and churches have avoided observing All Hallows’ Eve entirely. Others have attempted to Christianize the celebration of Halloween, which I find somewhat puzzling — how do you Christianize something that’s technically already Christian?
Perhaps we should do something radical and return Halloween to its roots as an All Saints’ vigil. Many churches already hold harvest festivals and trunk or treat events on the evening of October 31. Why not plan those along with a simple All Hallows’ Eve worship service and mark it as the beginning of Allhallowtide, a three-day period of celebration and remembrance?
All Souls' Day, Painting by J. Schikaneder, 1888
Allhallowtide is also an opportunity to have some meaningful spiritual experiences in a small group or as part of a family worship time. Try having a love feast on All Hallows’ Eve and an All Souls’ prayer vigil the evening before November 2. If you’re up for doing something unusual, have the prayer vigil in a church cemetery. (If you really want to live on the edge, try a public cemetery!)
Christians love talking about resurrection but we’re not usually comfortable dealing with the subject of death. It’s an enemy, after all, per 1 Corinthians 15:26: “Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end…” The CEB Study Bible note for this verse says, “Mortality, which is connected to human sin, is humankind’s final and unwavering enemy until the resurrection.”
Make no mistake, death is an enemy. But we need not fear it.
I suspect the saints who’ve gone before us would concur.
Helpful links:
All Saints’ Vigil (All Hallows’ Eve)
A global celebration of All Saints' Day
All Hallows’ Eve liturgy (from the Episcopal Digital Network)
All Saints’ Day (Textweek)
The Great Thanksgiving for All Saints and memorial occasions
John Wesley on All Saints’ DayFamily litany for All Saints' Day
A prayer meditation for All Saints' Day
All Souls’ Day (1 and 2)
All Souls’ Day (Textweek)
This is the first article in Shane Raynor's Dark Matter series. Throughout October, Shane is writing from a Christian perspective about topics related to death, evil and the occult.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: ALL SAINTS DAY 2015 by Deborah Sokolove read more
Depending on whom you ask, Halloween probably falls somewhere between harmless secular celebration on one end of the spectrum and pagan or satanic holiday on the other. Most of us probably don’t even think of it as a Christian holiday. But that’s actually what it is.
The word Halloween (sometimes written Hallowe’en) is simply a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening. You may be familiar with the adjective hallowed, which means set apart or consecrated. The verb hallow means to make or set apart as holy. But hallow can also be a noun, and it means a holy person or a saint.
That’s where we get Halloween. Essentially it’s another term forAll Saints’ Eve, and that makes it pretty significant, because on November 1, All Saints’ Day is observed by Roman Catholics and by many Protestants all over the world. It’s a day of celebrating the communion of saints, a community made up of all past, present and future Christians.
The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, Fra Angelico, c.1423
As with other feasts and holy days (e.g. Christmas and Easter), some Christians have traditionally celebrated All Saints’ Day with a vigil the evening before. That vigil became All Hallows’ Eve. This comes from the Jewish practice of beginning days at sunset, not midnight, a practice that carried over into early Christianity.
Halloween and All Saints’ Day are followed on November 2 by a third, lesser known day: All Souls Day. The combined three-day observance is called Allhallowtide.
What’s the difference between All Saints’ and All Souls’, you ask? These days, not much, because the two have been conflated over time and many churches don’t even observe All Souls’ Day anymore. But the original purposes of the two days are quite different.
All Saints’ Day can likely be traced back to the early seventh century, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs and ordered a yearly celebration to commemorate it. This happened on May 13, which coincided with the final day of Lemuralia, a festival in Ancient Rome during which the Romans attempted to exorcise ghosts of the dead from their homes.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory moved the day to November 1 to mark the dedication of an oratory in St. Peter’s Basilica. Some argue that this was an attempt by Gregory to Christianize Samhain, a pagan festival of the dead observed by the ancient Celts.
Although the focus and purpose were quite different, the common theme of the dead was present in all three festivals. As time passed, no doubt the Christians influenced the pagans, and vice versa.
But All Saints’ Day isn’t just about those who’ve died.
Yes, All Saints’ is a day when we recognize Christians who have gone before us, but it’s also a day of asking how we should live as saints now and how we intend to pass on the faith to future generations of believers. That’s what the Communion of Saints is all about.
All Souls Day, on the other hand, is a day set aside exclusively for commemorating the faithfully departed, particularly one’s relatives and friends. While All Saints’ Day has traditionally been a celebration of more well-known believers, martyrs and heroes of the faith, All Souls’ Day is meant to be a more solemn occasion with an emphasis on lesser-known Christians, especially the ones we’ve known personally.
The day was established on November 2 after an 11th century French abbot, Odilo of Cluny, chose it as a day of general intercession for Christians who had died. He commanded all Cluniac monks to keep it, and by the end of the 13th century, All Souls' Day was observed throughout the Western church.
Many Protestants merged All Souls’ Day with All Saints’ Day at the time of the Reformation, and the Roman Catholic emphasis of purgatory on All Souls’ Day has no doubt played a role in the blurring of the line between the two days by non-Catholics. Nowadays, many American churches fuse All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day into one day and celebrate it on the Sunday following All Saints’ if November 1 doesn’t fall on a Sunday. Unfortunately, this has probably further separated Halloween from All Saints’ Day in the minds of many Christians.
Like Christmas and Easter, the modern secular holiday of Halloween has been shaped by a number of factors, including paganism, Christianity and commercialism. (And the greatest of these is commercialism!) Because of Halloween’s association with death and evil, some believers and churches have avoided observing All Hallows’ Eve entirely. Others have attempted to Christianize the celebration of Halloween, which I find somewhat puzzling — how do you Christianize something that’s technically already Christian?
Perhaps we should do something radical and return Halloween to its roots as an All Saints’ vigil. Many churches already hold harvest festivals and trunk or treat events on the evening of October 31. Why not plan those along with a simple All Hallows’ Eve worship service and mark it as the beginning of Allhallowtide, a three-day period of celebration and remembrance?
All Souls' Day, Painting by J. Schikaneder, 1888
Allhallowtide is also an opportunity to have some meaningful spiritual experiences in a small group or as part of a family worship time. Try having a love feast on All Hallows’ Eve and an All Souls’ prayer vigil the evening before November 2. If you’re up for doing something unusual, have the prayer vigil in a church cemetery. (If you really want to live on the edge, try a public cemetery!)
Christians love talking about resurrection but we’re not usually comfortable dealing with the subject of death. It’s an enemy, after all, per 1 Corinthians 15:26: “Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end…” The CEB Study Bible note for this verse says, “Mortality, which is connected to human sin, is humankind’s final and unwavering enemy until the resurrection.”
Make no mistake, death is an enemy. But we need not fear it.
I suspect the saints who’ve gone before us would concur.
Helpful links:
All Saints’ Vigil (All Hallows’ Eve)
A global celebration of All Saints' Day
All Hallows’ Eve liturgy (from the Episcopal Digital Network)
All Saints’ Day (Textweek)
The Great Thanksgiving for All Saints and memorial occasions
John Wesley on All Saints’ DayFamily litany for All Saints' Day
A prayer meditation for All Saints' Day
All Souls’ Day (1 and 2)
All Souls’ Day (Textweek)
This is the first article in Shane Raynor's Dark Matter series. Throughout October, Shane is writing from a Christian perspective about topics related to death, evil and the occult.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: ALL SAINTS DAY 2015 by Deborah Sokolove read more
All Saints Day
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44
THEME IDEAS
The true home of God is among humans. In the realm of God, all that is broken will be healed, and all will live in peace, joy, and eternal life.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Isaiah 25, Psalm 24)
The earth and all that is in it belongs to the Holy One.
Look, here is our God, for whom we have waited.
This is the Holy One, for whom we have waited.
Let us be glad and rejoice in our salvation.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Holy One?
And who shall stand in this holy place?
We come, seeking the face of God.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 24, Revelation 21)
Faithful Redeemer, you are the beginning and ending of all things.
You promise to wipe away every tear,
that death and mourning will be no more.
You make your home among us,
and abide with us as our God.
Teach us to live as the saints you call us to be,
that we may truly be your people,
living and doing your will,
in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 24, Revelation 21, John 11)
Patient, Forgiving Spirit, we come seeking your face.
We hold on to ancient angers and hurts, and refuse to believe that you alone can make all things new.
Like Mary and Martha, we have forgotten your promises of eternal life.
Like the crowd that mourned for Lazarus, we have not believed that we would see your glory.
Forgive our unbelief, O God.
Bring us back, and restore our trust in you.
Words of Assurance (Revelation 21)
The Holy One shows us a vision
of a new heaven and a new earth,
where everyone will live in peace and blessing.
Trusting in God’s promise to wipe away all our tears,
in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
Glory to God. Amen.
Passing the Peace of Christ
Rejoicing in the love of the one for whom we wait, let us exchange signs of Christ’s peace:
May the peace of Christ be with you, today and always.
May the peace of Christ be with you, today and always.
Response to the Word (Revelation 21, John 11)
Alpha and Omega, beginning and ending of all creation, in your word we are unbound from death, and brought out into eternal life in you. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Isaiah 25, Revelation 21)
Generous Giver of all that we need, accept these gifts of simple bread and ordinary wine, that we may one day share in your holy feast spread out through all the world. We pray in the name of Jesus, your holy child, who sets the table for all people — a table of rich food and abundant joy. Amen.
Great Thanksgiving
Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give our thanks to the Holy One.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is a right, a good, and a joyful thing
always and everywhere to give our thanks to you,
Alpha and Omega, beginning and ending of all creation.
In the days of Isaiah, you promised to lead
all the nations to your holy mountain,
and swallow up death forever.
You have revealed the coming of a new heaven
and new earth, in which every tear
will be wiped from our eyes,
and all will feast at your heavenly banquet.
And so, with your saints now on earth
and all the company of heaven,
we praise your name
and join their unending hymn, saying:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one
who comes in your holy name. Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, and holy is your son, Jesus Christ.
When he raised Lazarus from the grave,
he showed us all your glory,
giving thanks only to you and praising your name.
(Words of Institution and Memorial Acclamation)
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
so that we may become one with Christ,
one with each other, and one in ministry
to all the world, until all things are made new.
Alpha and Omega, Beginning and Ending,
Spirit of new beginnings, we praise your holy, eternal, triune name. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Psalm 24, Revelation 21)
Go into the world as the living body of Christ,
bringing eternal life to all who seek God’s face. Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Psalm 24)
The earth and all that is in it belongs to the Holy One.
Look, this is our God, for whom we have waited.
Will you come to the hill of the Holy One?
We come, seeking the face of God.
Come, let us worship.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 24)
This is the Holy One for whom we have waited.
We rejoice in our salvation.
This is the Holy One for whom we have waited.
We rejoice in our salvation.
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.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS by Katie Shockleyread more
SERMON OPTIONS: NOVEMBER 1, 2015;… read more
WORSHIP CONNECTION: NOVEMBER 1, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley… read more
ALL SAINTS DAY by David L. Bone
What Is the Communion of Saints?
When we gather in worship, we praise God with believers we cannot see. When we celebrate Holy Communion, we feast with past, present, and future disciples of Christ. We experience the communion of saints, the community of believers––living and dead. This faith community stretches beyond space and time. We commune with Christians around the world, believers who came before us, and believers who will come after us. We believe that the church is the communion of saints, and as a believer, you belong to the communion of saints.
The apostle Paul uses the Greek word koinonia for communion. The subtleties of koinonia embrace community and fellowship. He describes a community bound together in faith and common experience. Koinonia richly depicts believers coming together in the hopes of harmony and worship of God. This is the deep and rich unity we celebrate as the communion of saints.
Authors of the Hebrew Scriptures use two words that we translate as saint: khawseed and kawdoshe. The first speaks to one who is godly, holy, and merciful. The godly person reflects God’s character in his or her actions and life. In other words, a saint becomes a living testimony to God. Kawdoshe and the Greek word hagios, used by New Testament authors, mean “sacred” or “set apart.” Putting these ideas together, the Bible tells us that saints are people set apart by God who live their lives as a witness to the glory of God.
United Methodists understand saints to be believers who exemplify the Christian life. Hence, all Christians strive to be saints in how we live our faith. United Methodists recognize early followers of Jesus to be saints. For example, you may know many United Methodist churches named St. Paul, St. Andrew, or St. Peter. United Methodists do not pray to or worship saints. We also do not think of saints as those who serve as mediators to God on our behalf. All believers enjoy unmediated access to God. The United Methodist Church has no canonization process for sainthood. The church does not set saints apart as a separate group of specialized believers. Rather, it calls all believers saints.
What Are the Attributes of a Saint?
Make no mistake; God makes us saints. We do not make ourselves saints; it is God who does the work. Two attributes of a saint are holiness and righteousness. God calls us to a holy and righteous life. We call this process sanctification. Sanctification is God’s work of grace that helps us live according to God’s will and strive toward holiness.
According to the website Biblestudytools.com, to be holy is to be “set apart.” God sets us apart to be holy, to be sacred. As noted in the Common English Bible Study Bible, 1 Peter 1:15-16 quotes Leviticus 19:2 to encourage early followers of Christ to be as holy as God is holy. Through our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit works in us and through us throughout our lives to make us holy. Our response to this process of sanctification is to live a holy life, a life set apart by and for God.
To be righteous is to be in right relationship with God, which leads us to follow God’s laws of justice and mercy. This relationship is possible through the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. God calls us into relationship with God, so God calls us to righteousness. As Christians, we live a righteous life by doing the will of God in our lives, by following Christ’s teachings. For me, Christ’s teachings in Matthew 25:14-30 and 31-46 give us the best direction for living a righteous life. When we use the gifts that God has given us to further God’s kingdom by serving others in need, we live in right relationship with God.
Holy and righteous living encompasses many attributes of a saint, including acts of mercy and piety. God makes us holy and righteous. How we live that out in our daily lives is how God makes us saints.
Holy Communion
During the sacrament of Holy Communion, the communion of saints becomes more palpable. Both ancient and modern liturgies include “with your people on earth and all the company of heaven.” We join our voices to sing God’s praise with all the saints, living and dead.
The last scene in the classic movie Places in the Heart portrays the communion of saints during Holy Communion. The audience sees Sally Field surrounded by people from her life. Some are alive and join her in worship. Some in the scene have moved out of town. Some have passed away yet appear in the scene as they did in life. All sit together, side by side, and participate in the passing of the bread. The visual reminds us that all believers of all time celebrate together the gift of God’s mercy and grace in Jesus Christ.
When we celebrate Holy Communion, we do so with all the saints. I celebrate with my grandparents who are among the company of heaven, and I celebrate with my parents and my brother’s family who live out of state. I celebrate with my congregation, those in attendance and those not. I celebrate with past, present, and future believers in the communion of saints. My belief in the communion of saints reminds me that God’s gift of salvation is for everyone, everywhere.
In this day of social media and Internet connectivity, the question of offering Holy Communion online has come to light. The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry recently hosted a meeting of church leaders to discuss the possibility. Reverend Greg Neal of Northgate United Methodist Church in Irving, Texas, has offered Holy Communion online since 2003. Neal recognizes that receiving Communion “within a physically localized community of believers” is better. He notes that most people receiving online do so to “supplement and amplify” their experiences in local faith communities. Would offering Communion online enhance or detract from a sense of the communion of saints? While nothing can replace physical touch and physical presence, the communion of saints certainly extends to believers in cyberspace.
All Saints Day
Many churches today will celebrate All Saints Sunday, when we publicly recognize and honor in a variety of ways those saints who have passed away. Many churches read the names of their saints aloud. Some congregations stand as the names are read, and some congregations ring bells or place flowers to mark the occasion.
How do we honor our present and future saints? Every time we baptize someone, we honor a future saint. Every time we celebrate confirmation, we honor present and future saints. We encourage our future saints when we give children their first Bibles. Even openly welcoming children and youth in worship honors our present and future saints.
Saintly Inspiration
When we honor our saints, we recognize that they inspire us to live a saintly life. My father serves as the biggest saintly motivation in my life. My love of Scripture comes from him. He raised us not only to attend worship but also to participate actively as members of a local faith community. He serves the needy and spreads the love of Christ. All of his coworkers and clients knew he was a Christian. He never hides his faith. My father inspires me to live a Christ-centered life, just as his parents inspired him to do the same.
I also draw inspiration from future saints. My niece demonstrates the ease of evangelism. She has a friend who is not from the United States and has not been taught the stories of Jesus. My niece tells her friend all about what she learns at church. Now, her friend’s mother wants to know the stories of Jesus. Children are natural evangelists. They love to retell the stories they have heard, and they have no concerns or fears about inviting their friends to church. We all can learn from these future saints.
We believe in the communion of saints. We believe that we encounter and worship with a community of faith that knows no bounds of space and time. When we receive Holy Communion, we partake at Christ’s Table with past, present, and future saints. The saints in our lives inspire us to live in holiness and righteousness. On this All Saints Sunday, remember those who came before you in this Christian journey. But remember, too, the saints who surround you every day. How can you be a saintly example to them?
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups. FaithLink motivates Christians to consider their personal views on important contemporary issues, and it also encourages them to act on their beliefs.
1SERMON OPTIONS: NOVEMBER 1, 2015;… read more
LOVE THAT LASTS
RUTH 1:1-18
The familiar words from Ruth (vv. 16-17) took on new significance when I heard them read at the wedding of two students. The bride was from Russia; the groom from Virginia. She had only been in America a year. Each of them is still learning the other’s language; but they understand the language of love.
Through book and film Americans witnessed the “love story” about The Bridges of Madison County. In the story, a photographer and a married woman have an affair while her husband is away. For too many that defines love. Although spoken by a young woman to her mother-in-law, the words of Ruth provide a better model for love that lasts.
I. Love That Lasts Develops Through Loss
Naomi and Ruth shared grief in the loss of their husbands. They had experienced famine and other problems. Naomi affirmed that Ruth had treated her kindly through these times of loss (v. 8). The prospect of separation brought tears (v. 9). No doubt these difficulties had strengthened the bond between Naomi and Ruth. Although Orpah also expressed her affection (v. 14), the bond was not enough to keep her from returning to her homeland.
Naomi felt Ruth would lose even more if they stayed together (vv. 12-13). But “Ruth clung to her” and insisted on accompanying her mother-in-law back to Judah. No possible future loss could be as real as Ruth losing the love of Naomi. She had lost her husband; she would not lose Naomi.
My wife and I grieved the loss of our first child. But from the grief came a stronger love for each other. Love that lasts develops through loss, if you are willing to seek the other’s best welfare rather than selfishly continue to nurture the grief.
II. Love That Lasts Grows Through Commitment
Pollster George Barna describes our time as an age of decreased commitment. Authentic love involves commitment: “For better, for worse; for richer or poorer; in sickness or in health. This commitment of love has no boundaries. “Where you go, I will go.” Love requires little to satisfy. “Where you lodge, I will lodge.” Love will adjust. “Your people shall be my people.” Love never ends. “Where you die, I will die,—there will I be buried.”
III. Love That Lasts Comes from Faith
“The cord that drew her was twisted of two strands.” Ruth loved Naomi but she also loved God. She declared, “your God, my God. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (NKJV). The Lord became Ruth’s Lord.
The fruit of the Spirit is love. Truly spiritual people have great capacity to love. Jesus said others would recognize his disciples by the love they have for one another.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13 NJKV). Authentic love lasts. It is the product of faith in Christ, our only hope for lasting relationships. (Bill D. Whittaker)
LIFE IS LIQUID
HEBREWS 9:11-14
In my view of life and its ebb and flow, there are four liquids that must be present in any home. My list includes: ketchup, Mountain Dew soft drink, Armor All protectant, and WD-40 lubricant. If I have those four liquids, I can survive just about any catastrophe!
There is, however, another liquid, without which we cannot survive: blood. Blood is the liquid of life. It surges through our bodies bringing oxygen and food to all the cells that comprise life.
Blood drives are always a fascination to me. If we are honest, most of us are a bit squeamish at the thought of giving blood. Needles and tubes bother even the bravest men and women. But have you noticed that when the need is great enough, when there is a crisis, then even the most anxious people step forward to offer their contribution.
Because of his love, and our need, Christ has offered to our world, the sacrifice of his blood. Through his death on the cross, Jesus has offered a superior sacrifice. In these verses from Hebrews 9, the writer illustrates the superiority of the sacrifice. It is superior in three ways.
I. It Was His Own Blood (vv. 13-14)
On the tenth day of the seventh month of each year, the high priest offered the sacrifice of animals to atone for the sins of the people. Symbolically, he took his own sins and those of his people with him into the Holy of Holies, and there he made sacrifice. Several different animals were used. The blood of bulls was used to atone for the sins of the priest (A little ironic, isn’t it?), and the blood of goats was used to atone for the sins of the people. A special red heifer was used to wash away the sins of anyone having contact with the body of a dead person.
Rather than the blood of animals, Christ offered his own blood to atone for our sins. To offer his blood was to offer his life. His was a perfect sacrifice with no impurities. Even in our technologically advanced age, there is no synthetic substitute for blood. It is a precious human commodity. In the same way, there can be no substitute for the blood of Christ who offered his body on Calvary for the sins of humankind. His sacrifice was superior because it was the offering of his own blood.
II. There Was a Finality to His Sacrifice (v. 12b)
Verse 12b indicates that Christ entered the holy place—into the presence of Almighty God—“once for all.” No more would a yearly sacrifice be made; the sacrifice of Jesus was a complete and final sacrifice. His blood offered that which no animal could give. The blood of animals removed the outward stains of sin; they cleansed the body but not the soul. They were unable to remove the guilt of sin.
Christ is able to forgive completely. The promise of 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) who is faithful and just and will remove our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (guilt).” What freedom! In Christ, the believer never has to confess the same sins more than once. Christ’s forgiveness is not like the old system of sacrifice where the sinner would feel the guilt of his iniquity over and over again. In Christ there is no guilt, but only freedom once that sin is confessed. Christ forgives and removes the guilt of our sins. There is a finality to his sacrifice.
III. It Was a Rational Sacrifice (v. 14)
On the cross, Christ offered himself. It was a voluntary and rational decision. Animals used for sacrifice never had a choice in the matter. They were selected and used by the High Priest. Yet Christ himself chose to offer his life, fully aware of the implications of his decision.
Could there be a greater illustration of the love of Christ than his pilgrimage to the cross? First came the agony of Gethsemane. Next would come the betrayal, the trial, the jeering crowds, and finally the crucifixion. At any point, Christ had the power to say No! and bring the process to a screeching halt. By his own choice, Christ died for us that we might have life. It was a rational sacrifice.
Christ offered his blood to atone for our sins, simply because of his love. (Jon R. Roebuck)
ANYTHING BUT LOVE
MARK 12:28-34
A recent Gallup poll on the faith Americans profess showed that a great majority of people in the United States believe in God. They also believe in heaven, and are confident they will go there after death. Those polled gave a wide variety of answers about what qualifies a person for heaven: being honest, acting kindly toward other people, obeying the Ten Commandments, giving one’s life to Christ, and so forth.
Robert Bellah gives a face to this lack of consensus in Habits of the Heart, in an interview with a woman named Sheila. “Sheila-ism” is her religion; though she believes in God, it is a God whose values and standards are her own, who wants her to do what she thinks is best for herself. The suggestion of moral imperatives from outside oneself is more often than not regarded as repressive, bigoted, and an attack on individual liberty.
It’s an ironic contrast to the spirit of the age in which Jesus lived and taught. In the nineteen references to “scribes” in Mark’s Gospel, eighteen present these experts on the law in a negative light, obsessed with the letter of the law and trying to discredit Jesus. Far from discarding an external, communal standard for righteous living before God, the scribes devoted much time to measuring the extent to which they and others lived up to the standard. Some would say they were infatuated with the law itself.
There is a radical difference between the context in which Mark’s Gospel was written and our own world, yet our Redeemer’s words are equally challenging to both.
I. Hear, O Israel
Jesus answered the scribe’s question, “which commandment is the first of all?” by quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4. These words were recited daily by Jews, who would have understood them as God speaking through Moses, the lawgiver. Therefore, they carried the weight of divine imperative, and also simultaneously reaffirmed Israel’s corporate identity before God as “God’s people.”
Among followers of the Messiah, the Shema would have identified Christ as part of the prophetic tradition of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. Claiming this word as divine imperative to themselves had the additional effect of identifying themselves as people belonging to God in a special relationship.
II. Love the Lord Your God
The capacity for “hearing” the word of God or being called God’s people is not the result of following rules successfully, nor the outcome of doing what feels right to an individual at a particular moment in time. Rather it is a gift from our gracious God, and the appropriate response is love that seeks expression through treasuring God’s good purpose for us. As Saint Francis Xavier wrote, “E’en so I love thee, and will love, and in thy praise will sing; solely because thou art my God and my eternal King.”
III. Love Your Neighbor
The scribe did not ask Jesus for the second commandment, though it, too, is found in the Torah (Lev. 19:18 b). This command is echoed in Romans 13:9 and 1 John 4:7, 8. Eduard Schweizer wrote that it is impossible to keep the first commandment unless one lives according to the second. Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Law, obeyed the two great commandments perfectly, and gave his life for us out of love for the world and love for the Father.
Following Christ means, among other things, becoming like Christ in self-giving love. Like the scribe, we “are not far from the kingdom of God” if we know this—but we have not yet arrived unless we do it, too. Love is perhaps the most difficult commandment: impossible to do without God’s enabling grace. (Carol M. Noren)
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Ruth 1:1-18. Underlying this story are the social realities for single women without a man for support, and laws about leviratic marriage. Older children, teenagers, and adults are interested in detailed explanations of these realities, but younger children get lost in the explanations. The only essential information for listeners of any age is that at the time of this story, women who did not live with their fathers or husbands had very hard lives, and Jewish people did not want foreigners living among them. Consider reading verses 19-22 to clarify the situation of Ruth and Naomi when they returned to Bethlehem. (The Children's Bible in 365 Stories offers helpful ideas for presenting the cultural details simply.)
The focus of this part of the story is on Ruth's difficult, loving decision. Had she, like Orpah, returned to her father's house, she would be staying in her hometown and would have a chance to marry again. If she went with Naomi, she would be a very poor foreigner in a country where foreigners were hated. But Naomi was older now, and needed her. So Ruth decided to go with her.
Children struggle between their desire to do only what they want and the responsibility they are beginning to feel for other members of their families. Ruth provides them with a model, someone who did more than was required, or than was even requested, to take care of a member of her family.
Psalm: 146. Children will hear and understand occasional phrases about God's help and care in this psalm when it is read with expression.
Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-14. Hebrews was written for Jews who had personal experience with the animal sacrifices at the Temple. For today's children, who have no such experience, the text raises confusing questions about why the loving God needs blood (either that of animals or of Jesus) to be able or ready to love us. There are no answers that satisfy literal thinkers. Until their mental abilities develop enough to enable them to hear the text from the point of view of the original readers, and to understand what it meant to them, children are baffled. Though younger children may use the sacrifice language of their elders, they cannot explain its meaning in their own words until early adolescence.
Gospel: Mark 12:28-34. The two great Commandments are familiar to most church children. They have studied them in church school and enjoy encountering them in the sanctuary. They are most helped by everyday examples of people who are following the commands. We express our love for God by singing for God, by using well the gifts God has given us, and by telling God what we are doing (just as we would for any friend). We express our love for others in the way we treat our friends, the people we meet but do not know well (grocery-store cashiers, people riding on the same bus), and even the people with whom we do not get along. Ruth's decision to go with Naomi is an fine example of keeping the Second Commandment.
Watch Words
Do not assume that children know that widows are women whose husbands have died. In a small congregation, the preacher may name some widows the children know and compare their situations to that of Ruth and Naomi.
Adult Christians use blood vocabulary symbolically. Children hear it literally, and the results are confusing. Avoid making statements about the blood of Christ that make it sound like a special substance that was offered to God.
Let the Children Sing
Choose story hymns about the blood of Christ in which blood is used literally (e.g., "Deep Were His Wounds and Red" or "The Old Rugged Cross"), rather than hymns in which it is used symbolically (e.g., "Nothing But the Blood" or "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood").
"Love, Love, Love, That's What It's All About" is included in many church school repertoires. Ask a children's class or choir to sing it as an anthem.
Choose hymns that reflect the two great Commandments: Sing of our love for God with "For the Beauty of the Earth"; sing about loving neighbors with "Help Us Accept Each Other."
The Liturgical Child
1. Because Ruth is a story about two strong women, suggest that women read the Old Testament Lessons today and next Sunday.
2. If the focus is on Ruth, invite worshipers to pray about their families.
Call to Prayer: Families come in all shapes and sizes big, small, and all sizes in between. They may live in one house or be spread all around the world. Families change over the years as people are born, marry, and die. Ruth and Naomi, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were one family. Let us pray for our families.
Prayer: We begin our prayers by thanking you, O God, for families. We thank you for all about them that is good. We thank you for the people in our families who love and care for us. (PAUSE) And we thank you for those we love and care for. (PAUSE) We thank you for the good times we have with our families. (PAUSE) And we thank you for the times our families have stood by us when we needed them. (PAUSE)
But we must admit that our families are not always loving. Hear us as each of us tells you about those in our family with whom we are having trouble. (PAUSE) Hear the ways we have hurt one another. (PAUSE) Forgive us when we think only of ourselves, when we work only for what we want and need, paying no attention to what others want and need. Forgive us, and help us to be as loving as Ruth. (PAUSE)
Because we love them, we pray for those in our families. We share with you what we wish for and worry about, for each one of them. (PAUSE) We know there are some things we need to work on as a family. Help us do the work that is needed. (PAUSE) Most of all, we ask you to be with us. Guide our families and protect us, in Jesus name. Amen.
Sermon Resources
Work through a sequence of comments about blood:
A. Blood is fascinating. Talk about Halloween costumes covered with "blood" and haunted houses in which catsup "blood" spews from victims' mouths. Note that some people faint at the sight of blood.
B. Blood keeps us alive. We can go for three days without water, for seven days without food, but without blood, we die immediately. Describe the biological function of blood and the meaning of the Red Cross call to "Give the gift of life."
C. Blood is often used to prove the closest relationships. Describe Native American blood-brother ceremonies. (Also note the AIDS danger today, to warn children against entering blood-brother pacts with their friends.) Briefly tell about the time Moses splashed blood on the people to show that they accepted the Ten Commandments. Finally, retell the last supper story, when Jesus offered the disciples wine, with the words, "This is my blood . . . ," and talk about what it means to drink the grape juice or wine at communion.
WORSHIP CONNECTION: NOVEMBER 1, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley… read more
All Saints Day
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS (All Saints Day): Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44
SCRIPTURE READINGS (23rd Sunday after Pentecost): Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Come, let us praise the Lord!
P: Let us shout our songs of thanksgiving to Almighty God!
L: For God has done wonderful things for us.
P: God’s love and blessings have been showered upon us.
L: Come, let us praise the Lord!
P: Let us sing songs of great joy to God. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: God is calling you today.
P: Help us to hear God’s call in our lives.
L: God needs your gifts and graces to help others.
P: May we use the blessings which God has given us to benefit others.
L: Come, let us worship and celebrate God’s love for us.
P: Let us show our faithfulness in our words and actions. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2031, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise", offer the following call to worship as directed. Have the organist/instrumentalist play the song through once. The leader should begin the call to worship with great enthusiasm and energy. Pay attention to the exclamation points and make those phrases emphatic]
L. Come, let us worship God and rejoice!
P: We have come to praise God for God’s steadfast love!
L: Let us bring the gift of praise and thanksgiving to God!
All: singing song through once, ending before the key change.
L: Let our praise be great!
P: Let our love of God be known to all!
L: Let us bring the gift of praise and thanksgiving to God!
All: singing song through completely, with the key change included.
L: AMEN!
P: AMEN!
Call to Worship #4
L: Throughout all our lives God is with us.
P: Praise be to God for God’s mercy and love.
L: Even when we are faced with difficult decisions, God’s presence is near.
P: When we don’t know which way to go, God will guide and lead us.
L: Open your hearts today to God’s gently leading.
P: We open our lives to God, that we may faithfully serve God all our days. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Lord, we gather here this day in praise and thanksgiving for all the wonderful things you have done for us. Help us to be faithful disciples in all that we think, do and say, that your great love may be revealed and offer healing to all people. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
How often, O Lord, have we believed that the greatest commandment is our love for ourselves solely. We have not heard the cries of those in need; we have turned our backs on opportunities to serve you by serving others. Many times we have thought only of our own wants and desires and ignored the needs of others. Help us to truly understand the commandments to love you with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Let us care for our neighbors both far and near. Bring us back to your loving light. For we ask these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
In the midst of our darkness and ignorance, the bright light of God’s love shines through, healing our anguished souls. Rejoice, beloved of God, for God’s love and forgiveness are given to you this day. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord, we have a tendency to wander in wildernesses of our own creating. When opportunities to serve you and to make commitments to your service are given, we consult our calendars to see if there is anything else we have to do. We place our needs and our schedules before our service to you. Help us to reorder our priorities. Help us to look again at the wonderful opportunities you give us to be of service to you by working with others; reaching out to heal and help. Bring us to the light of your love once again. Heal our wounded souls. Let us love you truly with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Give us courage and persistence as disciples that your great love and glory may shine through our deeds of lovingkindness. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
Litany/Reading
L: What gifts do we have to bring to the Lord?
P: First, come into God’s presence with humility and peace.
L: What service can we bring to God?
P: Come rejoicing and praising God for all that God has done for you.
L: How shall we witness to these mighty acts of God?
P: Let your love, that abides deep in your heart, the love that God has placed there, be a beacon for others who feel as though darkness has engulfed them.
L: How shall I praise my God?
P: With all that you have and all that you are.
L: Praise be to God who has blessed me and all of us in such mighty ways!
P: Praise be to God who continually blesses our lives and calls to each of us to be a blessing for others. AMEN.
Benediction/Blessing
The pathway is open before you this day. It is a path of peace and hope, brought to others by God’s mighty love and wondrous blessings. Go in peace, bringing hope to all that you meet. Go, blessed ones, to serve God 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.
Definitions:
Risers refer to any structure or support which will raise a portion of the worship center above the main level. Some risers may be a stack of books, others may be made from wood or whatever will give the necessary support to the object which is going to be placed on the riser. I have used pieces of 2" x 4" wood, stacked on top of each other to achieve the height I desired. Most risers will be covered with fabric.
Worship Center: Because so many churches have different worship spaces, I have chosen to call the main space for worship display (worship center). It may be called an altar, a communion table, a platform - whatever is the focal point of the worship area.
Flowers/plants: I am not a "purist" if the definition means having only real flowers and plants in the chancel/worship area. I believe that there are some really beautiful silk flowers which will suffice in times when real plants are not available. However, go with the tradition of your local church. Generally speaking I like to use foliage plants (minimal or non flowering) as accent pieces. "Spiky" plants such as sanseveria, mother-in-law’s tongue, snake plant, are good when you are looking for a harsh, hard, angular effect. Fern (particularly asparagas or Boston) are wonderful along with some ivys, to soften the effect.
Puddling the fabric: Currently interior decorators use the technique with draperies of letting the fabric spill to the floor in a heap, sort of a puddle. It is a less formal design. Puddling the fabric means not creating even edges with the fabric, which is drawing a line, but rather softening the look by creating a "puddle".
SURFACE: Place three risers on the worship center. The tallest riser should be about 10" high, the other two risers may be 6" and 3" respectively. Place a riser in front of the worship center about 6" lower than the table surface.
FABRIC: Cover the entire worship center with green fabric - you may use dark "forest green" or a medium green, but I would stay away from pastel shades or bright "Kelly" greens. If you want to use a print fabric, with various shades of green, make sure that the print is small and gives a sense of texture rather than focusing on the print itself.
CANDLES The tallest riser will have a brass cross upon it, but you may place several 3" pillar candles or other votive candles throughout the worship center.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Generally I would stay away from floral arrangements and focus on foiliage plants , such as ferns and ivy.
ROCKS/WOOD: Not advised for this setting
OTHER: One of my favorite things as a child was creating a "chain of people" by cutting them out from folded paper. I don’t really know what you call it, but that’s how I describe it. In this setting I recommend making individual "people" (kind of paper-doll style), but cutting them out of cardboard, for foam core board and linking them together with paper hearts. The figures could be sized and painted to represent all people, young and old, a variety of races and ethnicities. The scripture focus, both in the Hebrew Scriptures, story of Ruth, and the Gospel lesson for today reminds us that we should love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we should love our neighbor as ourselves. The people, linked with hearts, are a simple graphic demonstration of that connection. If the "people" are created individually, they can then be stored and used in other settings. I recommend that the people be the height of no more than 11 inches or no shorter than 5". Get your youth group or others involved in painting the clothing, and faces on the characters, making sure that both the front and back of each one is painted. Use acrylic paints for the best effect. When you place them in the worship center, lead the "chain" of people through out the center with an additional group on the front riser and on the floor. Because the chain should not tip sideways to accommodate moving from the main level to the risers and then to the floor, make a "chain" of hearts to connect them.
ALL SAINTS DAY by David L. Bone
Martha eagerly looked forward to her DISCIPLE Bible Study group. She found the personal and spiritual dialogue to be the high point of each week. She especially enjoyed being with Jayne, a woman several years younger. Jayne had a way of stating things that always seemed to clarify concepts that were hard for Martha to grasp. Though Jayne was not the group leader, Martha looked to her as a teacher and mentor.
As All Saints Day (November 1) approached, Martha looked forward to thanking God for Jayne, a new saint in her life. In worship, Martha’s church remembered the members who had died during the previous year. But they also celebrated the lives and influences of living saints; those teachers, pastors, friends, musicians, and others who, through their daily life, had shown others the Christian walk and faith.
The next January, Jayne shared with the DISCIPLE group that she had an aggressive and inoperable brain tumor. As her body became weak, her faith became stronger. The Bible study group met at Jayne’s home many times so that she could participate. A few days after the group’s final Communion service was celebrated around her bedside, Jayne joined the Church Triumphant.
Another All Saints Day approached, and this year, Martha grieved that she could no longer count Jayne as one of her living saints. But finding a strength beyond her grief, she asked if she could serve as a worship leader during the All Saints service during which Jayne and others would be remembered. The altar table was filled with unlit candles of all shapes and sizes. As the names of the deceased were read, Martha and another member of the DISCIPLE class lit a candle for each name read. As Jayne’s name was read, Martha lit a candle close to her side of the table. As the wick grew brighter, Martha felt the Holy Spirit offer comfort and peace. This was not an empty liturgical activity for Martha or the other worshipers; it was personal and allowed them the holy space to grieve and to proclaim the resurrection.
A Day to Remember
Many churches celebrate All Saints Day with services of remembrance of saints. It is seldom that Protestants are gathered on November 1, so many churches observe All Saints Sunday each year on the Sunday following November 1. It is a day to remember the saints, "saints" by the New Testament meaning of "all Christian people of every time and place." It is a day to celebrate the communion of saints as we remember those who have died, both in our local congregationsand throughout the Church universal.
For United Methodists, there are many denominational helps for celebrating All Saints Day:
• The United Methodist Hymnal (p. 938)
• The United Methodist Book of Worship (#413–15),
• The Faith We Sing (Worship Planner Edition) (p. 157)
• Zion Still Sings (See “Eternal Life” on page 227 of the Pew Edition)
• 2012-2013 United Methodist Music and Worship Planner (See suggestions for the day)
• The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012 (See suggestions for the day)
Other denominations offer similar resources, and the Internet can offer a wealth of suggestions. (See Ministry Matters' This Sunday bin for All Saints Sunday.)
Gathering the prayers, hymns, liturgies, and other resources is the first step in creating an All Saints remembrance that moves beyond empty ritual and becomes a moment of worship. Look at the resources and select the ones that would seem to work best in your congregation. Then use the creativity of your worship planning team to refine the resource into a golden moment for your congregation.
A Few Ideas
While the names of the deceased are read, candles are lit to signify each person remembered, as in the story above.
While the names are read, handbells are rung. One bell might be rung following the reading of each name. Or a number of bells may be used, some high, some low. One bells is rung after each name, but the pitches and tones are different for each, just like the lives being remembered. These same bells might also be used to accompany a sung response following the reading of the names.
In the weeks prior to All Saints, and even on that day, a clean white tablecloth is made available to the congregation. All are invited to write the names of their saints on the cloth using fabric / permanent markers. The cloth is then used as a parament or on the Communion table.
The 2005 National Convocation of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts was very special in many ways. It was held in San Francisco, California, and celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the group that has become The Fellowship. The opening worship service was intended to remember the founders of the organization and to include the remembrance of deceased members.
The service included some elements of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) services that are found in many Hispanic traditions. A mariachi band greeted worshipers in the outside plaza. Participants were encouraged to use a “craft table” to prepare a remembrance of a saint from their own lives. Following the opening prayer, worshipers brought forth these remembrances and placed them on a table near the altar. Photographs of deceased members were also placed on the table. Marigolds, the traditional flower of Dia de los Muertos, graced the chancel area as well. This took place in a festive atmosphere as the mariachi band played.
On the spot, a tangible and visible reminder of the saints was formed by the members of the congregation. Through the creative gifts of the Holy Spirit, a service that usually remembers persons that few in attendance knew personally had become personal for all.
As you plan your own observance of All Saints Day, may the worship acts you create become personal and holy for your gathered community.
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Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37228 Unied States
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2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37228 Unied States
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