How to address the hot topics by Adam Hamilton
Politicians, preachers, teachers, and others are faced regularly with the challenge of speaking on controversial issues. What makes an issue controversial, among other things, is that a significant number of people understand and interpret the issue differently, and the issue stirs deep emotions for people on both sides.
When preaching, speaking, or teaching on these issues it is particularly important for the speaker to identify his or her goal. I’ll put the question bluntly: Is your goal in speaking on a particular controversial issue merely to irritate or inflame or is it to influence? It’s easy to irritate or inflame members of your audience or congregation. It takes no tact, little skill, and not much research to express your opinions on an issue in a way you believe is convincing, but that manages to alienate half of your hearers. To influence people so that they see things differently — that takes skill and a good deal of homework.
Audiences become most frustrated when a speaker addresses a controversial issue and misrepresents the views of others, or is dismissive of opposing views, or overstates their own views without acknowledging the shortcomings of those views. Here’s what I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, about speaking on controversial subjects:
First, always treat with respect those who hold opposing views. Take the time to read and fully understand their perspectives and their reasoning. Consider the most compelling case they themselves make for the position they hold. Be able to articulate that view as though it were your own. And find positive things to affirm about that view and/or those who hold it. There have been times when, after carefully studying the opposing view on an issue, I have understood the issue differently and modified my own view.
Second, thoroughly examine your position — the arguments for it and against it. Be willing to acknowledge its shortcomings and you’ll find those who hold opposing views to be more likely to give you a hearing. Remove any barbs or incendiary words as you present your side of an issue. The labels used in debating an issue are often designed to elevate one’s own views while denigrating the opponents’ position.
When I preach on these issues I often devote the first one-third of my talk to making the case for one side of the issue, doing so with conviction and passion as though I were articulating my own view. Then I’ll devote the next one-third of my talk to articulating the case for the opposing viewpoint. Again, I seek to articulate this view with knowledge, passion, and conviction.
My hope is that, after hearing the first two-thirds of the message, all hearers, regardless of which side of the issue they fall upon, could say that I’ve captured what they believe and why. At this point I also hope they have heard me express something positive or affirming about each side in the debate. By the time I begin my final one-third of the message people on either side are uncertain which view is my own, but they do know that I understand why they believe what they believe. In the last one-third of the message, I articulate, with humility (while giving permission to my hearers to disagree), my own views on the subject and why I hold them.
That may sound “weak” to some, but here’s what I’ve seen over twenty-five years of addressing difficult subjects: This approach allows me to influence people rather than simply irritate them. It allows me to model an alternative to the increasingly divisive ways hot topics are discussed. And it opens the way for people to understand each other better — even, sometimes, to change their minds. People come to me after these talks and say things like, “I thought my views on this topic were settled. But listening to you helped me think about it differently. I can’t believe it, but my views have changed.”
Most groups are far more diverse than we might believe. A friend of mine pastors a church that is widely considered to be entirely “progressive” or “liberal.” But I’d guess that 25 percent of his congregation watches Fox News and would consider themselves theologically and socially conservative. A member of a conservative congregation in my city once told me he was frustrated by his pastor’s frequent preaching against homosexuality. The preacher must have assumed everyone in the congregation agreed with him, but the man clearly did not agree with his preacher on this issue. He was conservative in many ways, but his friendship with a gay coworker had left him uncomfortable with his pastor’s preaching and unwilling to invite friends or coworkers to church. Be careful not to assume that your audience is of one mind.
If you are speaking to a group that shares common convictions about the controversial topic you are addressing (e.g., you are speaking on the importance of the Second Amendment to an NRA convention) your approach may be different. In that case, you are “preaching to the choir.” But if you are speaking to a diverse group of people who hold differing opinions, your task is to understand the convictions and motives on both sides of the issue.
People interpret controversial issues differently, and there is often some truth in each perspective. If you hope to influence an audience, rather than irritate or inflame them, you should treat those on either side with respect, offer your convictions with humility, then explain the reasons for those convictions. And, if you can, acknowledge the possibility that you don’t have all the answers and may even be wrong. By taking this approach you increase the likelihood that you will not irritate but will actually influence your hearers.
This is an excerpt from Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers by Adam Hamilton. Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press
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Polytheistic Christianity? by Clifton Stringer
Judaism, Christianity and Islam: the three great monotheistic faiths, right?
Not so fast.
Lots could be said about this, and a few points will have to suffice. Here I restrict my comments to the case of Christianity.
1. Christianity doesn't require belief that there is only one divine being. The view that Christianity is ‘strictly’ monotheistic, and so to be contrasted on this score with Hinduism, say, is of mostly modern provenance. What Christianity is and requires is belief that there is only one Creator, and that this God is also the Redeemer.
Take a listen to Psalm 95:3: “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
What's this about “all gods”?
2. Christianity requires worship of only one god, the God who is Creator and Redeemer. Ancient Roman Neoplatonists (like those St. Augustine argued with) were like the peoples of many lands in their philosophical and religious views: They held to the existence of one God (“the One”) and also thought worship of and sacrifice to many lesser gods was perfectly consistent and acceptable.
Christian thought begged to differ. And we should pay attention to how it differed. It did not (mainly, at any rate) ridicule those who worshipped and sacrificed to many gods as stupid for thinking there were various divine beings running around. Rather, Christians told pagans that they were worshipping demons, and needed to turn to Jesus Christ, join the Church, and worship only the Creator.
And notice how St. Paul engages the Athenians in the Areopagus in Acts 17. He sees all their “idols” and “objects of worship.” He doesn't then ridicule them as stupid for affirming multiple gods. Paul is not a prelude to the modern atheist scoffer who says “You and I both disbelieve in all the ancient gods, and I just disbelieve in one more.” Rather, St. Paul points out how “very religious” the Athenians are, and uses the altar with an inscription to the Unknown God as an opportunity to proclaim — who? — the Creator: “The God who made the world and everything in it…”
3. Here's the thing. There are, perhaps, many gods. The Bible often speaks this way. Or maybe not. But in any case, there is only one Creator. And so, as Herbert McCabe OP was wont to point out, “God is not one of the gods.” The transcendent Creator is not a being among beings, not a part of creation or the universe. But “the gods” are. The gods, if they exist, are creatures like us, angels and fallen angels. Any god who would bind humans to its worship is a fallen angel, and, in any case, a creature — not to be worshipped.
4. Still, someone might ask: Why not worship one of the gods, if they're real and powerful? Or, heck, why not worship any other creature, like another human? Here's a short, perhaps enigmatic answer: Our hearts long for the infinite. Our hearts long for infinity, and all creatures are finite. To worship something finite is to enter a relationship with something that, because it is finite just like you, cannot fulfill your longing. This is self-frustrating, and plays out destructively. Worshipping a finite being makes you a slave to it. Only God the Creator, who is infinite and absolutely transcendent, can receive worship in a way that makes for our fulfillment and flourishing.
Only because God is not finite, and not one of the gods, and totally transcendent, can God be genuinely immanent, available in omnipresence to all, the giver of limitless mercy in and through finite things.
“The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.” [Psalm 145:9]
Clifton Stringer is a Ph.D. student in Historical Theology at Boston College and the author of "Christ the Lightgiver" in the Converge Bible Studies series.
Called, ordained, and too busy to argue by Kira Schlesinger
There comes a time when having the same argument over and over again is fruitless. No one’s minds or hearts are changed. Each side becomes further entrenched in their opinions. Energy that could be going towards something meaningful and helpful is wasted. Defending a position or a belief becomes a distraction from doing the actual work we’re called to do. So from now on, I am finished discussing women’s ordination.
Something shifted a few weeks ago when I received a backchannel social media message from a young man asking what it felt like for me to be a woman priest. In the moment, I decided I couldn’t answer in a helpful way and that it wasn’t a discussion that I wanted to have with someone I didn’t know and with whom I couldn’t sit down face-to-face. Besides, I found the question ridiculous though also well-meaning and genuinely curious. I don’t know what it’s like to be a male priest, so how could I compare it with being a priest who also happens to be a woman?
I am finished having arguments about what Paul or someone writing in Paul’s name had to say about the role of women and whether they should or should not teach men or cover their heads or refrain from wearing flashy jewelry. I am finished appealing to the myriad places in the Bible where women lead and preach the gospel. I am finished insisting that Deborah, the Samaritan woman at the well, the women who first witnessed the empty tomb, and the women co-workers with the apostles, Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, are my predecessors, along with all of the women whose names and roles have been erased from Scripture and tradition
My denomination has been ordaining women for over forty years. Some denominations have been ordaining women for longer than that. So why do we keep getting dragged back in to arguments, distracted from the actual work that we are called by God to do: to preach the Gospel and to love and serve the people among whom we work?
I am done being a woman priest, a female priest, or a priestess. My calling as a pastor, priest, and teacher is not qualified or modified by my gender. When I’m at the altar or baptizing a child or at the bedside of the dying, I am not performing my gender as much as my vocation, a vocation that happens to come in the body of a woman. I cannot separate out being woman from being priest and pastor. I cannot separate out being white or straight or a daughter or sister or wife.
There are people out there, good Christian people who are trying to follow Christ as best they can, who think that I am a heretic, that I am going against God’s will for my life and for the church. I’m not going to change their minds with argument or proof-texting Scripture. Right now, I’m leaving that up to God. Besides, I’ve got work to do.
How I learned to stop worrying and enjoy the coffee
By Matt Rawle
This Starbucks red cup thing needs no more press (yeah, so here’s a blog post about it … smooth). Some are upset that Starbucks’ holiday disposable cup doesn’t say anything about Christmas. I would hope that Christians are too busy with doing the things Jesus said to do as he read from the scroll of Isaiah (Luke 4) to worry about cardboard graphics, but with that said, here are my top five things to think about.
1. Use a refillable mug, and fill it with decaf. It seems some folks don’t need any more caffeine.
2. Economy and evangelism have a tense marriage. We should host a potluck, and have them sit down for a good conversation. It seems like one is trying to tell the other how to live rather than listen to what it is about.
3. Jesus actually celebrated Hanukkah. Boycotting an establishment because they say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is just stupid. If someone says “Happy Holidays” to you, just say “Thank you.” Don’t be a jerk. For those keeping score, using “Holidays” is more correct anyway.
4.There is no war on Christmas … however, there is one in Syria.
5. Jesus’ birth is the eye of a storm that continues to turn the world upside down. God emptied the divine self so that we might discover and share abundant and everlasting life. Jesus was born in the lowest place on earth and the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest,” meaning that God has reconciled everything. So fill your cup with good things (red, blue, rainbow … I don’t care) and share goodness sacrificially with the world.
6. Oh … and Thanksgiving comes first. Then Advent.
Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com. He is the author of The Salvation of Doctor Who, Hollywood Jesus and The Faith of a Mockingbird.
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Inerrancy or infallibility: What's the difference?
By Marc CortezShould we say that the Bible is “inerrant” or would it be better to say that it is “infallible”? What do these two terms mean and which is more appropriate for describing the kind of thing that the Bible is and how God uses it in the church today?
Roger Olson raised this question in a recent blog post. Since it’s a question that I often hear my students wrestling with as well, I thought it would be worth a few minutes of reflection. This is especially the case since Olson’s post reflects an ambiguity that I think makes it more difficult for people to understand what’s at stake when talking about these two terms.
In essence, Olson argues that “infallibility” is a better term for describing the Bible than “inerrancy.” And there’s an important sense in which he’s right. My concern is not with the claim that infallibility may be “better” in some meaningful way for describing the Bible as a whole. Instead, I want to focus on how Olson defines the terms themselves and suggest that there’s a more useful way of explaining how they differ. In the end, I think we’ll see that both terms make important but different claims about the Bible.
Quick and dirty Definitions
Olson doesn’t actually define inerrancy. I assume that’s because part of his argument depends on pointing out that there’s too much disagreement about what inerrancy means for it to be an effective concept. (I’ve responded to this kind of argument before, so I’ll just refer you to “Inerrancy and the Death by a Thousand Qualifications” for more on this part of Olson’s post.) Instead, he just points us to the Chicago Statement of Inerrancy for explanation. So let’s just take inerrancy as shorthand for something like “Scripture is without error or fault in all of its teachings,” which Chicago affirms in its opening statements.
In contrast, Olson defines infallibility as the idea that the Bible “cannot fail to communicate the truth we need about God in order to be saved and transformed.” In other words, Olson’s thinks that “infallible” focuses on the conceptual content of the Bible (its truthiness) while “inerrant” focuses on the specific details of the Bible. And he aligns these with different views of “inspiration” — whether the words themselves are inspired (which leads to inerrancy) or whether it’s just the thoughts/concepts of the biblical authors that were inspired (which leads to infallibility).
With these distinctions/definitions, Olson is not doing anything terribly unusual. It’s not hard to find other people offering largely the same definitions and then wrestling with the pros/cons of each term. But there’s a different way of explaining the difference between these terms, one that is also quite common in theological discussions of the Bible, but which I find far more useful for capturing what is really at stake in the discussion.
(One more important note. I’m going to set aside the question of whether it works to make the kind of distinction Olson does between the conceptual content of Scripture and the words the biblical texts use to convey that conceptual content. That’s an important issue worth discussing, but I want to go in a different direction.)
Overlapping definitions
Olson recognizes that many people think these two terms mean basically the same thing. But he rejects this conclusion because he thinks there’s an important difference we need to recognize. It is not at all clear, though, why he thinks this. According to his definitions, they both mean something like “incapable of making mistakes or being wrong” (Webster). The only difference is the aspect of the text in view — i.e. is it the conceptual content of the Bible that cannot be wrong (infallibility) or the words themselves that cannot be wrong (inerrancy). He even seems to think that the theological use of the terms is basically equivalent since the “cannot be wrong” nature of the text flows from its relationship to inspiration. Both terms affirm that something about the text “cannot be wrong” simply in virtue of the fact that God inspired that aspect of the text. On Olson’s definition, then, the terms seem largely synonymous, even though theologians use them to refer to different aspects of the text.
This is what I have in mind when I say that I don’t find such definitions terribly helpful. Viewed in this way, the two terms should be largely interchangeable. We can talk about the inerrant truths of the Bible just as easily as the infallible words. The terms don’t make any real difference to the conversation, only that to which they are applied. (As far as I can tell, by the way, that is largely how the terms have functioned historically.)
Keep in mind that even though I’m about to go on and make a different distinction between these two terms, Olson’s definitions capture the way many people actually use the terms. So, when you hear people make distinctions between the two terms, pay attention. It’s entirely possible that the two terms actually mean the same thing even if they’re being used to affirm different things about the Bible.
A more purposeful distinction
Another way that people often explain the difference, and one that I find more useful, focuses on the idea that people use texts to accomplish different purposes. For example, when I leave home this morning, I can write a note to my daughter in which I leave her the following:
- A list of chores to do after school.
- A promise that I’ll be home by 6:00.
- A description of where she’ll find her backpack (hall closet)
All three of those have different purposes. The first conveys a command, the second a promise and the third a fact.
All three of these statements could be talked about in terms of their “fallibility.” I’m goofy enough that it’s entirely possible for me to mess up any one of those. I could easily have worded the first so that it looked to my daughter like a list of things she could do if she has time after school rather than an explicit list of things she must do regardless of whether she “has time.” Or I could have mistakenly indicated that I’d be home by 6:00 when I really meant that I’d be home by dinner (not necessarily the same thing). And, of course, no one in their right mind thinks that I would actually know where my daughter’s backpack is. So I almost certainly got that one wrong. In other words, it’s not hard to think of ways where each of the three statements could have failed to accomplish what I’d intended.
But saying that one of the statements could have failed to accomplish my purposes is importantly different from saying that one of the statements contained an error. For example, on the analogy above, it’s entirely possible to say that the first statement failed (it did not convey the notion of command that I’d intended) even if the list of chores on the list was factually correct (they were in fact what I wanted her to do). And it’s not at all clear what it would mean to say that a promise (the second statement) could be factually incorrect. Promises don’t primarily give facts; they make commitments. We could say that I failed to live up to my promise if I wasn’t home by six. We could even say that I made a mistake in that I gave the wrong promise. But in that case the “error” is more in the one who promised than in the promise itself. It’s really the third kind of statement where issues of error become more prominent. When the purpose of an utterance is to convey certain kinds of information, we assess the truth value of the statement according to the standards of error or factuality.
(Another important note: Keep in mind that I’m not saying this is what these terms really mean or that we have to use them this way. In reality terms get used in all kinds of different ways. But I am saying that we need to differentiate between the different kinds of purposes texts can have and that defining infallible/inerrant in this way helps us to capture at least some of those distinctions in a useful way.)
Infallibility, inerrancy and the Bible
If we define infallibility and inerrancy in this way, we see that infallibility is the broader of the two terms. It emphasizes the idea that all the texts in the Bible will unfailingly accomplish their purpose. (Or, sometimes the term is used more holistically to convey the notion that the Bible itself unfailingly accomplishes the purpose for which God gave it.) Inerrancy, on the other hand, is a narrower term that refers primarily to those biblical texts whose purpose is to make the kinds of factual claims that we can assess according to the standards of error. On this account, then, I would say that biblical texts that convey (for example) God’s commands, promises and descriptions are infallible because they actually convey what God was really commanding, promising and describing with those texts. But only the latter might properly described as inerrant because they are the ones whose purpose is to make factual statements about the world. (To be precise, even commands and promises can contain factual statements. For example, I could say, “I promise that I was at home yesterday.” That’s a promise which contains an embedded truth claim that could be either factual or errant. But “promise” is still the essence of the statement as a whole.)
Thus, I want to say that the Bible as a whole is infallible and that those biblical texts whose purpose is to make the relevant kinds of truth claims are inerrant. That’s why I said at the beginning that I think infallible is the better term for describing the Bible as a whole. It captures the notion that the Bible unfailingly accomplishes all of its purposes. Inerrancy is the more restrictive term since it focuses properly on only certain kinds of biblical texts (those that make factual kinds of claims). Both are true, but infallibility covers more territory.
Of course, that still leaves us with the interesting task of discerning the various purposes of the biblical texts and which ones are really trying to make the kinds of claims that could be viewed as errant or inerrant. But the essence of biblical interpretation is figuring out what kinds of texts we’re dealing with and what those texts are trying to do. So there’s nothing about that task that is unique to the inerrancy discussion.
And all of this only works if we think that God is actually at work in the biblical texts. It’s only if God himself is the one commanding, promising and describing that we can talk about the texts as being infallible and/or inerrant. Since that’s something that most evangelicals agree on regardless of whether they affirm infallibility or inerrancy, though, we can save that for a different post.
Marc Cortez is a theology professor at Wheaton College, husband, father and blogger, who loves theology, church history, ministry, pop culture, books and life in general. You can follow his other posts at Everyday Theology.
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Why I don't always give people an answer
By Ron EdmondsonI have a theory I practice often.
I’ve been using it for many years — as a leader, father, a friend and a pastor. It’s not always what people come looking to me for, but I think it’s the best practice.
I don’t always give people answers.
- As a pastor, people come to me for answers.
- As a dad, my boys come to me for answers.
- As a friend, people come to me for answers.
- As a leader of a team, people come to me for answers.
But I don’t always give people answers.
I don’t try to solve their problems for them.
I know that seems hard to understand, maybe even cruel of me.
Now, if there is a clear biblical answer for their problem or issue, I give it to them — as I understand it. I’m talking about the issues more difficult to discern. Things such as career choice decisions, the calling in life decisions, who to marry, how to respond to a marriage conflict, etc. — the unwritten answer type decisions.
For those types of issues, I probably have an opinion, but I almost never “have” the answer.
Instead…
- I help people discover a paradigm through which to make the decision.
- I become an objective listener.
- I help them see all sides of the issue.
- I share scriptures whigh may speak to both sides of the decision.
- I serve as an outside voice.
- I connect them with people who have experienced similar issues.
- I may diagram the problem, as I hear it, so they can see the issue on paper.
- I help them learn to pray and listen to God.
- And then I release them to make a decision.
Here is my reasoning…
If I solve the problem:
- I’m just another opinion — and I may be wrong.
- They’ll resent me if it proves to be a wrong decision.
- They may never take ownership of the issue.
- They’ll likely do what they want anyway.
- They won’t learn the valuable skills of listening to the voice of God.
- They won’t learn from experience.
- They will only need someone to give them the answer next time.
My advice:
- Don’t always have an answer.
- Help people form a paradigm through which to to solve their problems or make decisions.
Leaders, parents, friends: Ideally you want people to develop healthy decision-making skills. You want them to gain independence and be able to stand on their own. If you’re always making the decisions for them they will never they will never become all they can be individually.
Are you too quick to have an answer sometimes?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
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4 ways senior pastors can help youth ministry work
By Jason C. StanleyThis article is featured in the Youth Ministry: A Part of the Church or Apart from the Church? (Nov/Dec/Jan 2015-16) issue of Circuit Rider
A few years ago I led a workshop on youth ministry for a conference-wide training event. Prior to this workshop I was leading similar workshops in the designated youth space of the host church. The room they showed me initially was a small adult Sunday school classroom with tables and chairs set up. There was very little room to move around. Just looking at it made me feel uncomfortable.
I asked if I could see the youth space and perhaps use that room instead. The staff member from the host church looked at me sideways and then led me down the hall, around the corner, through a big, heavy door, and down another long, dark hallway. At the end of that hallway was another heavy door. Through that door was the youth room.
The situation reminded me of how we tend (sometimes without even knowing it) to relegate our youth to the basement or the far corners of the church, both in physical location and in their involvement in the life of the church. As a result, programming for youth becomes a separate enterprise from the ministry opportunities of the whole congregation.
Let me be clear: there are plenty of age-specific moments of discipleship for youth, but there are also important moments for discipleship that are intergenerational. A successful youth ministry should not be measured by the number of students present on Sunday nights or in youth worship. A successful youth ministry should be measured by the integration of youth into the life of the church.
Youth are full members of the body of Christ through their baptism. When the waters of baptism fall upon them, so does the Spirit who calls and beckons them to ministry through the church. The sacred words spoken by the elder and the congregation initiate the baptized person into the community of faith—the same community that promises to nurture them so they can experience Christ’s call to transform the world.
Senior pastors are the master gardeners when it comes to cultivating a congregation where youth are a part of the body of Christ, not apart from the body of Christ. I surveyed some senior pastors and youth ministers and gleaned from these conversations four ways in which senior pastors can be the master gardeners.
1. Include youth in worship leadership.
So often youth are limited to worship leadership as acolytes, or they’re only invited to participate on Youth Sundays, which in some churches only occur once a year. Youth, as members of the congregation, can and should be engaged in worship leadership in other ways. The senior pastor can encourage youth—or encourage other leaders to ask youth—to serve as liturgists, communion stewards, technicians, prayer leaders, ushers, song leaders, and any other role where their talents meet the worship needs of the church. Here are some examples from the pastors I surveyed:
- Alice had taken dance classes most of her childhood and into her teen years. She sensed a call to form a small dance troupe that would provide liturgical dances on a regular basis during worship. A small group of youth with musical talent oozing out of them formed a small band, learned a set or two of songs, and began leading worship about once a month. Likewise, Matthew was in theater at his high school and brought to life many of the lead roles in their plays. When given a chance to bring John Wesley to life on Aldersgate Day, he was more than willing.
Ministers like Rev. Alan Combs of the Virginia Conference acknowledge that when youth are incorporated into the worship life of the church, it benefits the whole congregation. For Alan, a practice that encourages youth to participate as full members includes “involving them more deeply in the rhythms and special events of the liturgical year.” For example, Alan engaged the youth in burning the palms for Palm Sunday and had them help him strip the altar during Holy Week.
One of the things Alan did to cultivate this involvement was to create a lectionary Bible study that met once a week for any youth who were interested. “I had regular opportunities to reflect on the text for Sunday with the youth,” Alan said, “but it also gave us opportunities to talk about elements of the liturgy, and we even came up with ideas for the worship service in the midst of some of the discussions.”
2. Encourage intergenerational ministry.
Youth ministry is relational at its core. Young people thrive when they’re able to form meaningful relationships with adults in the congregation who love them just as they are. Too often churches are segregated by ages. Brett, a youth minister in Virginia, said that “intergenerational ministry provides
a space for youth to become active participants where they discover their gifts and learn how to tell their stories.”
The senior pastor sets the tone for this to happen.
Rev. Alison Hendley of San Rafael First UMC in the California Nevada Conference treats youth as full members of the congregation. She told me that “intergenerational community is vital, especially in these times of disperse families.” One of the ways she builds intergenerational community is by encouraging a mix of people at each table for fellowship time. “Youth benefit from guidance and friendships with older members, and the older people find pride in our youth,” she said.
3. Plan church-wide mission trips.
Mission trips and missional activities are a primary way that young people discern the call of God in their lives. They are also primary ways to build intergenerational community. Many of the senior pastors and youth ministers I talked to use service projects in the community to connect the generations in their churches. Here are some more examples from our discussions:
- A youth group’s successful week of mission in the local community sparked a flame in the congregation to be more involved. As a result, children, youth, and adults now work together during mission days in their community, preparing homes for the winter months, doing minor home repairs, and building wheelchair ramps. This intentional building of intergenerational community has enriched the overall life of the congregation. The senior pastor was there, too—not as a leader but as a participant working alongside the youth leaders.
- Another youth group learned about an opportunity to hand out bagged lunches to the homeless in Washington, D. C. With the help of their senior pastor, they were able to organize this outing. After they came back and told their stories, the adults wanted to go, too, and it quickly began a church-wide mission project.
Tim is a former youth minister in Virginia and another one of the people I surveyed. He told me he was highly impressed when the senior pastor at his church cut time out of his sermon “in order to allow youth participants to share their mission experiences with the congregation.”
4. Provide space for youth voices to be heard.
From the floor of Annual Conference, a youth delegate stood up to speak passionately about how the church has hurt and condemned her friends for who they are. This youth was using her voice to urge her church to be open and welcoming to all people. From the same floor at the same Annual Conference, a layperson spoke to share the opposite view of the youth and uttered, “Bless your heart,” directly to the youth speaker.
While there is space to respect difference of opinions, there is little need to speak to a youth member of the body of Christ as if she were a child who didn’t understand “adult things.” Tim, the former youth minister, said he has experienced similar disrespect from a senior pastor speaking negatively about youth and youth culture, even from the pulpit.
Too often, the voices of youth members are left out of the discussion of major issues in the church. When Brett, the youth minister from Virginia, came to Lane Memorial UMC, he knew that the church was striving to include youth as full members. “One of the key ways they were doing this,” he said, “is by having youth in the room on important decisions.” At Lane Memorial, youth were a vital part of their visioning process. As a result, youth are now serving on teams that are giving life to their vision. This practice is very important because, as Brett put it, “it gives the youth a voice. They’re not simply given the jobs that no one else in the church wants to do.”
The senior pastor’s role in cultivating a congregation that welcomes youth as full members of the local expression of the body of Christ is vital. As Rev. Erica Koser, an ordained deacon in the Minnesota Conference, said, youth “are active and crucial participants in the life of our congregation.” Youth are not the church of the future; they are the church of right now. Senior pastors can lead the way and encourage others to include youth as full members of the congregation.
And sometimes all that’s needed is for a senior pastor to say, “Yes, you can do that.”
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What's the most important stewardship job ever? By Rebekah Simon-Peter
What’s the most important stewardship job ever? It’s not the person who collects the money, counts the money or deposits the money. It’s not the person who heads up the annual campaign or chooses a stewardship theme. It’s not the person who tallies or takes the spiritual gifts inventory, or who pledges their time, talents, and treasure to the church. All of this is important. But none of it is the most important stewardship job. In fact, this particular job has nothing to do with money.
Last week I met with the person who has THE job in question. He didn’t know it at the time. Neither did I. But as we plumbed the depths of his job description, it quickly came to light.
There it was in black and white: His job was to be the steward of the vision for the entire region for his denomination. He was to make sure that the vision was kept alive, interpreted and implemented. That’s the most important stewardship job, ever. Except, of course, for the person who holds that position in your congregation.
What does this have to do with money, you ask? The prophet is quick to remind us that without a vision the people perish. What the prophet doesn’t mention is even more dire: Without a vision, hope and purpose perish, financial support dries up and the congregation itself withers and dies. That leaves a heartbreaking vacuum in the center of your community. All that you once provided — prayer, love, compassion, acceptance, small group ministry, meeting space, communal worship, friendship, potlucks, a listening ear, help for people far and near — is now gone. People are less likely to give money to support a budget than they are to support a Kingdom-oriented vision. That makes the steward of the vision the most important stewardship job ever.
So who stewards the vision in your congregation? Who is responsible for its existence, interpretation and implementation? Who is making sure that the vision guides all that you do? These are important questions for every congregation to answer. Denominations as a whole, regional bodies, and nonprofits would be wise to pose this question, too.
If you can’t name a person or a team whose responsibility it is to steward the vision, then consider the following two options.
1. Either vision so naturally arises in your congregation that it doesn’t need a specific home.
2. Or, vision has been long forgotten.
If it’s alive and well, pause to acknowledge the visionaries among you. Then look throughout your structures, meetings and results to make sure that the vision is actually getting implemented. If it is, celebrate! You are a gifted, focused and results-oriented bunch. You get things done. It’s probably time for you to come up with your next vision! Keep the momentum going.
If vision has been long forgotten in your setting, it’s time to get to work. Pronto. There’s no time to lose. Likely, your congregation has shrunk, giving has shrunk, and you are more concerned with maintenance than mission, comfort than outreach, and paying the bills than making a real difference in the world. You may not know it, but you’re living on borrowed time. These are the kind of congregations most likely to flounder and close.
How do you start? Decide that it’s time to get off life support and back into the stream of life. Then, re-establish the most important stewardship job ever. How? Prayerfully task a team with creating a vision. Keep in mind that a vision is uncomfortable. It expands what people think is possible. It pushes you to accomplish something you haven’t yet done. It’s not the re-statement of ministries or activities you are already doing. That means it’s bold, forward-thinking, and probably scary. But it is worth giving your time, talents and treasure to. Be sure to give the visioning team the leadership, time, resources, respect and prayer support they’ll need to begin the process. Lastly, get on board with it. Work together to prayerfully, purposefully communicate and implement the vision. Without it, everything perishes.
Not sure what a vision is or how to establish or implement it? Contact me to discover if Creating a Culture of Renewal is the right option for you. New groups are starting in 2016.
Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com. She is the author of The Jew Named Jesus and Green Church.
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The Iowa Caucus mob
By Courtney T BallThere is a phrase in Latin, mobile vulgus, which means "the fickle crowd". Mobile vulgus is where we get the English word "mob". In ancient Rome, the mob became a dangerous political force which Emperors learned to pacify with free food and circuses.
Every four years in my home state of Iowa, the circus comes to us as we gear up for the Presidential caucus season. It's a little taste of power and limelight in an otherwise ignored state as would-be Emperors (well, technically would-be Presidents) test their skills at playing to the fickle crowd.
Donald Trump proved himself to be rather good at it for a while. The brash, irreverent, attention addict knew how to make a big splash among Iowa's most impulsive crowd of voters. But it couldn't last. When you start out that loud, people turn their heads at first but eventually have to tune you out.
Ben Carson's soft-spoken faith is a little easier on the ears. Now that the starting horns have blared and the chariot-race has begun, Iowa voters are beginning to remember that this election is a marathon. We've still got three months of this circus left just to get to the first caucus. We might appreciate some time away from the lions and gladiators. It's sort of like when we leave the carnival rides of the midway during the Iowa State Fair and amble through the Ag Building to check out the Butter Cow and some prize-winning produce. It's nice to feel a little homey and nostalgic for a while.
We see the same thing happening in the Democratic race. Lightning rod Bernie Sanders has energized the left with his fiery rhetoric and given Hillary a run for her money in the early race. But already it's becoming harder for him to hold the public's attention.
It must be maddening as a Presidential candidate to try to judge what the Iowa Circus Mob will decide to think next. Iowans employ a frustrating level of whimsy when choosing who they might caucus for. Sure, you've got your die-hard fans like in any sport--the people who get really upset when their team doesn't win--but most of us in Iowa have grown a little too used to the hype to give the process much weight. We like the attention we get when the candidates and the cameras pause for long enough to focus on us, but most of us know it's not real. We're just as cynical and weary of it all as the rest of the country; maybe more so.
We can't take the process too seriously just yet. Like most of the country, even with all the hoopla here, we won't really tune in until next year, most of us well after caucus-time. We'll let some of these hot-burning meteors flame out and then see which candidates have enough staying power to garner our serious consideration.
But in the meantime, it's an entertaining show and good for our economy, especially those in the media business. For example, here in Cedar Rapids where I live, our local TV station was purchased this year for $100 million, a crazy amount of money for a local station. Why? Because the buyers wanted to own a top-ranked television station during a presidential election cycle. They want to sell ads.
Since I live here and have written for Ministry Matters before, they asked me to offer some reflections on the Iowa Caucuses over the next few months. Future articles might focus on how different candidates talk about faith, or how their policies have been influenced by their religious beliefs. For now, however, I have to say that like many Iowans, I just don't believe it's all that fruitful to analyze the circus or the mob it attracts just yet.
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This Sunday, November 15, 2015
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost: 1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (or Psalm 113); Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8
Read more…
Lectionary Readings
Sunday, 15 November 2015
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
1 Samuel 1:4-20
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
Sunday, 15 November 2015
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
1 Samuel 1:4-20
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
Lectionary Scriptures
1 Samuel 1:4 One day, when Elkanah was sacrificing, he gave a portion of the sacrifice to his wife P’ninah and portions to each of her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, even though Adonai had kept her from having children. 6 Her rival taunted her and made her feel bad, because Adonai had kept her from having children. 7 He did the same every year; and each time she went up to the house of Adonai, she taunted her so much that she would cry and not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying, and why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 So Hannah got up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. ‘Eli the cohen was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of Adonai. 10 In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried. 11 Then she took a vow; she said, “Adonai-Tzva’ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head.” 12 She prayed for a long time before Adonai; and as she did so, ‘Eli was watching her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart — her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard — so ‘Eli thought she was drunk. 14 ‘Eli said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Stop drinking your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a very unhappy woman. I have not drunk either wine or other strong liquor; rather, I’ve been pouring out my soul before Adonai. 16 Don’t think of your servant as a worthless woman; because I have been speaking from the depth of my distress and anger.” 17 Then ‘Eli replied, “Go in peace. May the God of Isra’el grant what you have asked of him.” 18 She replied, “May your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her face was no longer sad. 19 They got up early in the morning and worshipped before Adonai, then returned and came to their house in Ramah.
2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
Elkanah had sexual relations with Hannah his wife, and Adonai remembered her. 20 She conceived; and in due time she gave birth to a son, whom she named Sh’mu’el, “because I asked Adonai for him.”
Psalm 16:(0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
3 The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.
Hebrews 10:11 Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.[Hebrews 10:13 Psalm 110:1] 14 For by a single offering he has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy.
15 And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “ ‘This is the covenant which I will make
with them after those days,’ says Adonai:
‘I will put my Torah on their hearts,
and write it on their minds . . . ,’ ”[Hebrews 10:16 Jeremiah 31:32(33)]
17 he then adds,
“ ‘And their sins and their wickednesses
I will remember no more.’ ”[Hebrews 10:17 Jeremiah 31:33(34)]
18 Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed.
19 So, brothers, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. 20 He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet, by means of his flesh. 21 We also have a great cohen over God’s household. 22 Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting — with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.[Hebrews 10:22 Ezekiel 36:25] 23 Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other.
And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Mark 13:1 As Yeshua came out of the Temple, one of the talmidim said to him, “Look, Rabbi! What huge stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “You see all these great buildings?” Yeshua said to him, “They will be totally destroyed — not a single stone will be left standing!”
3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Kefa, Ya‘akov, Yochanan and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what sign will show when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Yeshua began speaking to them: “Watch out! Don’t let anyone fool you! 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will fool many people. 7 When you hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off, don’t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. 8 For peoples will fight each other, and nations will fight each other, there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines; this is but the beginning of the ‘birth pains.’
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for 1 Samuel 1:4-20
Verse 4
[4] And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
Portions — Out of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings, the greatest part whereof fell to the offerer, and was eaten by him, and his friends or guests, before the Lord. And out of this he gave them all portions, as the master of the feast used to do to the guests.
Verse 5
[4] And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
Portions — Out of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings, the greatest part whereof fell to the offerer, and was eaten by him, and his friends or guests, before the Lord. And out of this he gave them all portions, as the master of the feast used to do to the guests.
Verse 5
[5] But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
Shut up her womb — Yet Elkanah did not withdraw his love from her. To abate out just love to any relation, for the sake of any infirmity which they cannot help, is to add affliction to the afflicted.
Verse 6
[6] And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
Her adversary — Peninnah: so her envy or jealousy made her though so nearly related.
Verse 7
[7] And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
When she went-This circumstance is noted as the occasion of the contention, because at such times they were forced to more society with one another, by the way, and in their lodgings; whereas at home they had distinct apartments, where they might be asunder; and then her husband's extraordinary love and kindness was shewed to Hannah, whereby Peninnah was the more exasperated; then also Hannah prayed earnestly for a child, which hitherto she had done in vain; and this possibly she reproached her with.
Did not eat — Being overwhelmed with grief, and therefore unfit to eat of the sacred food. Which they were not to eat in their mourning.
Verse 8
[8] Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
Ten sons — Oughtest thou not to value my hearty love to thee, more than the having of as many sons as Penninah hath? She would willingly change conditions with thee.
Verse 9
[9] So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
A seat — Or, throne; for it is manifest it was raised higher than ordinary, chap. 4:18. Here he might sit, either as the judge; or rather as high-priest, to hear and answer such as came to him for advice, and to inspect and direct the worship of God.
Temple — That is, of the tabernacle, which is frequently so called.
Verse 10
[10] And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
Bitterness — That is, oppressed with grief.
Prayed unto the Lord — They had newly offered their peace-offerings, to obtain the favour of God, and in token of their communion with him, they had feasted upon the sacrifice: and now it was proper to put up her prayer, in virtue of the sacrifice. For the peace-offerings typified Christ's mediation, as well as the sin-offerings: since by this not only atonement is made for sin, but an answer to our prayers obtained.
Verse 11
[11] And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Give him — That is, consecrate him to God's service in his temple.
No razor — That is, he shall be a perpetual Nazarite.
Verse 12
[12] And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
Continued — Heb. multiplied to pray. By which it appears that she said much more than is here expressed. And the like you are to judge of the prayers and sermons of other holy persons recorded in scripture, which gives us only the sum and substance of them. This consideration may help us much to understand some passages of the bible.
Verse 13
[13] Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
Drunken — Because of the multitude of her words, and those motions of her face and body, which the vehemency of her passion, and the fervency in prayer occasioned.
Verse 16
[16] Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
Count not, … — Thus when we are unjustly censured, we should endeavour not only to clear ourselves, but to satisfy our brethren, by giving them a just and true account of that which they misapprehended.
Verse 18
[18] And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Find grace — That favourable opinion and gracious prayer which thou hast expressed on my behalf, be pleased to continue towards me.
Sad — Her heart being cheared by the priest's comfortable words, and especially by God's spirit setting them home upon her, and assuring her that both his and her prayers should be heard, it quickly appeared in her countenance.
Verse 19
[19] And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
Remembered — Manifested his remembrance of her by the effect.
Verse 20
[20] Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
Samuel — That is, Asked of God.
Psalm 16
Verse 2
[2] O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
[2] O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
To thee — Thou dost not need me or my service, nor art capable of any advantage from it.
Verse 3
[3] But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
But — I bear a singular respect and love to all saints, for thy sake, whose friends and servants they are, and whose image they bear. This more properly agrees to David, than to Christ, whose goodness was principally designed for, and imparted to sinners.
Verse 4
[4] Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
Sorrows — Having shewed his affection to the servants of the true God, he now declares what an abhorrency he has for those that worship idols.
Offerings — In which the Gentiles used sometimes to drink part of the blood of their sacrifices.
Names — Of those other gods mentioned before.
Verse 5
[5] The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
The Lord — I rejoice in God as my portion, and desire no better, no other felicity.
Cup — The portion which is put into my cup, as the ancient manner was in feasts, where each had his portion of meat, and of wine allotted to him.
Lot — My inheritance divided to me by lot, as the custom then was.
Verse 6
[6] The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
Lines — My portion, which was measured with lines.
Are fallen — In a land flowing with milk and honey, and above all, blessed with the presence and knowledge of God.
Verse 7
[7] I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
The Lord — Hath inspired that wisdom into me, by which I have chosen the Lord for my portion, and am so fully satisfied with him.
Reins — My inward thoughts and affections, being inspired and moved by the holy spirit.
Instruct — Direct me how to please God, and put my whole trust in him.
Night — Even when others are asleep, my mind is working upon God, and improving the silence and solitude of holy meditations.
Verse 8
[8] I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
I have set — I have always presented him to my mind, as my witness and judge, as my patron and protector. Hitherto David seems to have spoken with respect to himself, but now he is transported by the spirit of prophecy, and carried above himself, to speak as a type of Christ, in whom this and the following verses were truly accomplished. Christ as man did always set his father's will and glory before him.
Right-hand — To strengthen, protect, assist, and comfort me: as this assistance of God was necessary to Christ as man.
Moved — Though the archers shoot grievously at me, and both men and devils seek my destruction, and God sets himself against me as an enemy, yet I am assured he will deliver me out of all my distresses.
Verse 9
[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
My glory — My tongue, which is a man's glory and privilege, above all other living creatures.
Rejoiceth — Declares my inward joy. For this word signifies not so much eternal joy, as the outward demonstrations of it.
My flesh — My body shall quietly rest in the grave.
Shall rest — in confident assurance of its incorruption there, and of its resurrection to an immortal life: the flesh or body is in itself, but a dead lump of clay; yet hope is here ascribed to it figuratively, as it is to the brute creatures, Romans 8:19.
Verse 10
[10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Hell — In the state of the dead.
Holy one — Me thy holy son, whom thou hast sanctified and sent into the world. It is peculiar to Christ, to be called the holy one of God.
To see — To be corrupted or putrefied in the grave, as the bodies of others are.
Verse 11
[11] Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Life — Thou wilt raise me from the grave, and conduct me to the place and state of everlasting felicity.
Presence — In that heavenly paradise, where thou art gloriously present, where thou dost clearly and fully discover the light of thy countenance; whereas in this life thou hidest thy face and shewest us only thy back-parts.
Right-hand — Which he mentions as a place of the greatest honour, the place where the saints are placed at the last day, and where Christ himself is said to sit, Psalms 110:1.
Pleasures — All our joys are empty and defective: But in heaven there is fulness of joy. Our pleasures here are transient and momentary; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore. For they are the pleasures of immortal souls, in the enjoyment of an eternal God.
Hebrews 10:11-25
Verse 11
[11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Every priest standeth — As a servant in an humble posture.
Verse 12
[11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
Every priest standeth — As a servant in an humble posture.
Verse 12
[12] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
But he — The virtue of whose one sacrifice remains for ever.
Sat down — As a son, in majesty and honour.
Verse 13
[13] From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Psalms 110:1.
Verse 14
[14] For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
He hath perfected them for ever — That is, has done all that was needful in order to their full reconciliation with God.
Verse 15
[15] Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
In this and the three following verses, the apostle winds up his argument concerning the excellency and perfection of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ. He had proved this before by a quotation from Jeremiah; which he here repeats, describing the new covenant as now completely ratified, and all the blessings of it secured to us by the one offering of Christ, which renders all other expiatory sacrifices, and any repetition of his own, utterly needless.
Verse 16
[16] This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Jeremiah 31:33, etc.
Verse 19
[19] Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Having finished the doctrinal part of his epistle, the apostle now proceeds to exhortation deduced from what has been treated of Hebrews 5:4, which he begins by a brief recapitulation.
Having therefore liberty to enter, —
Verse 20
[20] By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
By a living way — The way of faith, whereby we live indeed.
Which he hath consecrated — Prepared, dedicated, and established for us.
Through the veil, that is, his flesh — As by rending the veil in the temple, the holy of holies became visible and accessible; so by wounding the body of Christ, the God of heaven was manifested, and the way to heaven opened.
Verse 22
[22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us draw near — To God.
With a true heart — In godly sincerity.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience — So as to condemn us no longer And our bodies washed with pure water - All our conversation spotless and holy, which is far more acceptable to God than all the legal sprinklings and washings.
Verse 23
[23] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The profession of our hope — The hope which we professed at our baptism.
Verse 25
[25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Not forsaking the assembling ourselves — In public or private worship.
As the manner of some is — Either through fear of persecution, or from a vain imagination that they were above external ordinances.
But exhorting one another — To faith, love, and good works.
And so much the more, as ye see the day approaching — The great day is ever in your eye.
Mark 13:1-8
Verse 4
[4] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Two questions are here asked; the one concerning the destruction of Jerusalem: the other concerning the end of the world.
[4] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Two questions are here asked; the one concerning the destruction of Jerusalem: the other concerning the end of the world.
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Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 | United States
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Sermon Story "Answered Prayer out of Deep Depression" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 15 November 2015 with Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:4 One day, when Elkanah was sacrificing, he gave a portion of the sacrifice to his wife P’ninah and portions to each of her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, even though Adonai had kept her from having children. 6 Her rival taunted her and made her feel bad, because Adonai had kept her from having children. 7 He did the same every year; and each time she went up to the house of Adonai, she taunted her so much that she would cry and not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying, and why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 So Hannah got up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. ‘Eli the cohen was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of Adonai. 10 In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried. 11 Then she took a vow; she said, “Adonai-Tzva’ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head.” 12 She prayed for a long time before Adonai; and as she did so, ‘Eli was watching her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart — her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard — so ‘Eli thought she was drunk. 14 ‘Eli said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Stop drinking your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a very unhappy woman. I have not drunk either wine or other strong liquor; rather, I’ve been pouring out my soul before Adonai. 16 Don’t think of your servant as a worthless woman; because I have been speaking from the depth of my distress and anger.” 17 Then ‘Eli replied, “Go in peace. May the God of Isra’el grant what you have asked of him.” 18 She replied, “May your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her face was no longer sad. 19 They got up early in the morning and worshipped before Adonai, then returned and came to their house in Ramah.
Elkanah had sexual relations with Hannah his wife, and Adonai remembered her. 20 She conceived; and in due time she gave birth to a son, whom she named Sh’mu’el, “because I asked Adonai for him.”
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We have story of Hannah who was one of to wives to her husband, Elkinah. Even though Elkinah loved her more than the other wife, she was unable to conceive a child for her husband. During their trips to the Tabanacle or Temple where Eli was the High Priest, the other wife would give Hannah a hard time because she has not given their husband any children and she did. This made Hannah weep and unable to eat anything in their campsite. Yes, Elkinah said to Hannah that he loved her so much and gave her double the portion for sacrifice being better to her than 10 sons. This comforted her enough to eat and drink after they provided the sacrifice of the peace offerings. Hannah after she was done with the meal, she went into the sanctuary to pray to God from her deep depression to anser her pray to allow her to conceive a son with her husband, Elkinah. Even though whe was praying with out words and was not drunk, the High Priest, Eli, thought she was and told her so. Hannah defended herself saying to Eli that he should not think she is drunk and a loose woman because she is grieved in prayer to God for something to be given to her. Eli said to Hannah to go in peace and may both our prayers for your need to be answered. This reminds me of today how there are people who desire a child or something to be given to them to be a blessing from God. When God does answer their prayers and give them a child, when the child turned out to be a child with disabilities, they went into a deep depression asking God how coul He give them a child with a disability because how society and the church treats people with disabililties. They began to realize that through this child God has given to them, they began to see more of God's Love for His all of His Creations. An added blessing from God was learning new ways God teaches them about His faithfulness and love as well as His Mercy and Peace. We come to realize how much we miss all of God's blessings and teachings by not fully including people with disabilities within all aspects of the church activities as we come and eat the Body of Jesus and drink His Blood through the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive from God singing the Hymn "My soul is filled with joy in God my Savior" by Emily R. Brink (1986) or "A Mother’s Prayer (HANNAH'S SONG)" by Rachel Aldous
Verse:
My sweet baby on loan from above.
No better treasure could I more love.
I stand here beside your bed as I pray
Ilay my hand on your head and I say:
Chorus:
May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days.
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways.
May His hand bless your future with
friendships that last.
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast
Verse:
I stare in wonder at your tiny frame.
Just to think that God knows you by name.
He knows every hair on your beautiful head.
He knows all your thoughts before they are said.
Chorus:
May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways.
May His Hand bless your future with
friendships that last.
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast.
Prayer:
May God grant you peace
in the midst of a storm.
May God give you strength even
when you’re forlorn.
May you answer the door when
Jesus comes knocking.
May wisdom guide when
your mouth is talking.
May discretion protect you
and keep you pure.
May you never stumble
or fall for a lure.
May your heart remain humble
to the very end.
May uprightness and truth
be what you defend.
May the world not ensnare
or change who you are.
May the light that's within you
shine like the stars.
May angels surround you
body, spirit, mind.
May favor and peace be yours to find.
May rejection and pain
never reach you.
May your spirit grow bold
for what you’re called to.
As you rest in God’s care I will rest, too.
Knowing that Jesus is watching over you.
Amen.
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Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California, United States
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THE LEGACY OF CHRIST by Chris J. Hayes
Mark 13:1-8
Jesus’ conversation found in the beginning of today’s text was difficult to hear and hard to understand for the disciples who sat with Jesus so long ago. In many ways it is also difficult for us to understand and hear these words two thousand years later: Jesus is describing the life that is to come for the disciples and for those who will follow. His intention is not to scare the disciples, but to prepare them and help them understand that there are certain things that are important as he prepares to leave.
As I sat next to my friend John in the ICU and watched him take his last few breaths in this life, I reminisced about the many gifts and graces he offered me during our friendship. He had given so much to the church, to the community, to his family, and to me personally. In many ways, I felt as though John and I understood this world from a similar perspective. In addition, we had served together, worshiped together, and met together on many occasions. We had become good friends and John was someone I respected and admired. There are many holy moments in life and one of the most holy is that time when a person leaves this physical life and goes on to life eternal. In that moment God is truly present. I said several things to John that I had meant to say for years and prayed with him more than once during those last few hours. Perhaps there is freedom in that holy space to open up to what God has in store and what God is doing in the here and now.
As Jesus tells his disciples good-bye and prepares for the trials and persecutions that are to come, there are several things that Jesus obviously thinks are important to pass on before he goes. Perhaps it is the holiness of the moment as they sit together, or perhaps it is clarification about what God will do. Jesus tells of the destruction that will come and the trouble that will face the people of this earth, but he also gives his friends some words of advice. Jesus tells the disciples to be aware and to watch out for those who will try to take the name of Christ and lead the disciples astray. Jesus knows that the disciples have been dependent upon him and he worries about their future path. Out of this care and concern, Jesus tells them to keep the teachings and the path that he has set for them and that no matter what destruction or persecution may come, to remain faithful to his guidance.
Jesus has many discourses with his disciples and friends and many of these are about future things that will occur. Mark 13 is unique in the eschatology that is presented surrounding the temple and the end times. The destruction of the temple is often seen as an allusion to the passion of Christ just a few chapters away. In this case, however, Jesus is telling about things that will not be seen in his life, but rather things that are to come in the fullness of time. Why would Jesus make such a point of this? Perhaps it is to warn the disciples and to give them the best chance possible with what will come.
One way we can pass on what is most important to us in life is to consider the world after our time in it has passed and consider what we can and should do to help those who will remain here after. Some people in the secular world think of this in terms of leaving a personal legacy that people can remember and look up to, but for the Christian, we already have the legacy to admire. Our job is to help persons see that legacy more clearly by what we offer during our life. One of the things I appreciated most about my friend John is that you never questioned what he was thinking or believing; he stated things clearly and definitively and you never wondered where he stood or what he thought. It is because of this, that, although John is no longer with us here in this life, there is no question about what was most important to him. He spent life pointing others to Christ and to the important things in life, and he left a legacy, not of himself, but of God’s work of love.
Jesus wants to remind, encourage, and warn the disciples and us that there are many opportunities to hear legacies and create legacies that will draw us off course from where God intends for us to be, but when we follow the legacy of the Christ, we can weather the storms and trials that come and we can move forward in faith.
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WORSHIP ELEMENTS: NOVEMBER 15, 2015 by Sara Dunning Lambert
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (or Psalm 113); Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8
THEME IDEAS
As she copes with the tragedy of childlessness, Hannah, the mother of sorrows, praises God continually. After the birth of Samuel, Hannah, the mother of joy, still exults in her Lord. Her faith is a source of comfort, strength, and guidance throughout her life. The imagery of the lowly lifted up and the proud brought down by God’s knowledge and authority brings truth as well as warning. Psalm 113 echoes Hannah’s exaltation, blessing and glorifying the Lord who is to be praised. The New Testament readings add the dimension that Christ has shown us the “new and living way” of faith, hope, and love. As we travel together as disciples in Christ, striving to love God and one another, we must encourage and support our individual and corporate journeys. While there will be many challenges, both known and unknown, our strength and comfort are always in the Lord.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (1 Samuel 1, Psalm 113, Hebrews 10, Mark 13)
My strength is exalted in my God.
Despite sorrows and sadness, anxieties and vexations, we praise your name, O Lord.
For the power of the Lord gives me strength,
and the love of the Lord gives me hope.
With Hannah, the mother of sorrows,
we bless the name of the Lord, today and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, God is with us.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
We praise your holy name, O God.
From Hannah, the mother of joy,
we learn the bounty of unwavering hope.
Let your servant find favor in your sight, O Lord.
Hardship is a constant companion.
We must rely on the selfless example of Christ
to show us the way to truth, life, and love. Amen.
—OR—
Call to Worship (1 Samuel 1 & 2)
Come worship the Lord who is in our midst today.
There is no Holy One like our God.
Like Hannah of old, we raise our voices
to praise the Lord of strength.
There is no Rock like our God.
We prepare to listen and learn
with open hearts and open minds.
There is no Source of knowledge like our God.
We trust that righteousness will come
on the heels of God’s judgment.
There is no Justice like our God.
May the Son of our God lead us into faith.
There is no Guide like our God.
Come worship the Lord who is in our midst today.
Opening Prayer (1 Samuel 1, Hebrews 10)
Holy One,
there is no God like you.
In praise and thanksgiving,
we come before you
ready to learn of your power,
ready to follow your path for our lives.
Through days of jubilation as well as dejection,
help us realize your influence in the world.
We ask simply for ears to hear,
eyes to see,
and minds to comprehend
the blessings you bestow. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (1 Samuel 1, Hebrews 10, Mark 13)
Rock of Salvation,
you give children to the barren
and strength to the feeble;
you exalt the poor
and lift up the needy.
We praise your holy name from morning to night,
yet we build walls that separate us: from you,
from one another, from the world,
even from ourselves.
We place stumbling blocks
in the way of goodness and truth.
We are led astray by promises of earthly treasure.
We confess our fallibility
and seek solace in the mother of our joy.
Teach us to pray and praise without pause,
confessing hope ceaselessly.
Guide us in our efforts
to encourage one another,
to work together for good in the world,
and to prepare for the day of the Lord.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10)
Our hearts are sprinkled clean and our bodies washed with the water of God’s love. Through the gift of Jesus Christ, God assures us that we are pardoned, forgiven, absolved, and released from our sin.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Hebrews 10)
Christ offers peace to all who will accept it. Share the love of God and encourage one another with hope as you greet one another in faith:
The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you! Amen.
Response to the Word (1 Samuel 1, Hebrews 10)
Like God’s servant of old, we glorify the Rock of our faith. As a mother delights in her children, so our God delights when we follow the way of Christ. May these words live in our hearts and turn our minds toward the one who brings us life.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (1 Samuel 1, Psalm 113, Hebrews 10, Mark 13)
Today, O Lord,
we offer you our sacrifice
of time, energy, and love,
knowing full well they are mere tokens
of the awesome faith you inspire within us.
Accept these gifts,
that they may continue the good work in Christ —
in our church, in our community,
and in the world.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Invitation to Communion (1 Samuel 1, Hebrews 10, Mark 13)
There is no Holy One like the Lord, no Rock like our God. From sorrow to joy, we celebrate and exalt our God together. Our Loving Parent, who entreats us to love one another, has offered us the beloved Son, the Christ. Our lives are redeemed with this amazing sacrifice. All who embrace this gift are invited to the communion table, to share with brothers and sisters who love, encourage, and nourish one another in faith. Come, eat, drink, live.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (1 Samuel 1, Psalm 113, Mark 13)
May the Holy One, the Rock of our salvation, bless us now! Join together in faith to work for truth and honesty. As God loves you, carry that love out into the world in peace, hope, and faith.
—OR—
Benediction (1 Samuel 1 & 2)
Go in peace, remembering a mother’s faith in God —
a faith that provided her with comfort and strength
in her time of need.
May you pray unfailingly, grow steadily,
and love constantly. Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (1 Samuel 1, Mark 13)
We gather in the name of the Holy One, Rock of Life,
Ever Loving God, Strength and Power,
Love and Gentleness.
Come into the fold.
Join the journey,
and follow the way of Christ today!
—OR—
Contemporary Gathering Words (1 Samuel 1)
There is no God like our God!
Praise God’s name forever!
Come, listen to what God has in store.
Praise God’s name forever!
Sing with joy, like a mother with a newborn baby.
Praise God’s name forever!
Pray without pausing, like a father waiting for news of a loved one.
Praise God’s name forever!
Bless God from sunup to sundown.
Praise God’s name forever!
Bless the name of the Lord forever!
Praise God’s name forever!
Praise Sentences (1 Samuel 1, Psalm 113, Hebrews 10, Mark 13)
Bless the name of the Lord forever!
The Rock of Life, the Holy One is here.
Praise God’s name!
Despite misery and heartache,
God is with us.
In times of joy and happiness,
God is with us.
Praise God’s name!
Praise God’s name!
Praise God’s name!
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.
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: NOVEMBER 15, 2015September 16th, 2015 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 1:4-20. The story of Samuel's birth suggests several interesting areas for exploration. First, children are pleased that God took the side of the pestered person. Since most children, at one time or another, feel as pestered and unhappy as Hannah, they are relieved to know that God cares for such people and works to help them. Just as God did not choose the wife with many children to be Samuel's mother, God might choose the less-than-straight-A student or the non-star athlete for special work.
Similarly, they find security in hearing that God can and does act to right what look like hopeless situations. Just as God surprised Hannah, God can surprise us!
Finally, it brings up the always interesting subject of birthdays. Hearing the story of Samuel's birth invites children to hear stories of other births and the truth that God is involved in planning for and guiding each one. If it is the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the story may lead to thanking the God who creates us as we are, sets us in unique families, and watches over us.
WARNING: Hannah's answered prayer leads some children to ask why God has not answered their prayers especially when they have prayed as earnestly as Hannah did about situations as critical as hers.
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 2:1-10. If children hear in advance that this is a prayer Hannah prayed when Samuel was born, and they hear it read with great feeling, they will catch the meaning of occasional lines.
Epistle: Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18), 19-25. This lection summarizes the series of readings on Christ as the high priest. To understand it, the reader needs to have understood the previous points about the perfection and finality of Christ's sacrifice, and the function of Christ's blood. Children who have heard these points have lost interest in the whole idea. Those who have not heard them in previous weeks are quickly overwhelmed by explanations of the whole idea on a single Sunday.
Verses 22-25 are more child-accessible. They are a call to gather under the leadership of Christ, our High Priest, to worship, to care for one another, and to encourage one another to be good disciples. Children respond well when this call is illustrated with examples of specific things they can do to answer the call. The Good News Bible offers an easier translation for children.
Gospel: Mark 13:1-8. In their history classes, older children are learning the stories of the rise and fall of nations, and in the process, they often read about people who lived through periods of great change. They therefore are beginning to grasp that some events, which at the time may have seemed like the end of the world, in the long run proved to be only small changes. With this knowledge, they can accept Jesus' insistence that nothing not even the Temple, or Jerusalem lasts forever. Only God is forever.
Older children need to hear Jesus' warning about people who claim that they know when the end of the world is coming, or those who say that they are leading God's people toward the final day. Because they will inevitably hear such claims, they need to be told clearly, and in advance, by the leaders of their church, to ignore them.
This text can be paired with Hannah's song, to emphasize the wisdom of trusting only God's love and power.
Watch Words
Speak of God's loving care, rather than God's providence.
Do not let Jesus' talk of the end of time lead you to speak about the apocalypse or millennium without explaining the terms.
Let the Children Sing
If the focus is on God's providence, highlight the verses about family love in "For the Beauty of the Earth," and enjoy the repeated phrases in "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" and "God Will Take Care of You."
If the focus is on the Gospel, "Hymn of Promise" offers simple words about everyday things like seeds and butterflies.
The Liturgical Child
1. Read the story of Samuel's birth from The Children's Bible in 365 Stories, rather than from a Bible translation. While one would not want to make a habit of reading the free translations of storybooks instead of the Bible itself, this particular story is so winsomely told that it helps both children and adults appreciate what happened more fully than does the Scripture.
2. Have a young mother take the role of Hannah, to read Hannah's song with all the feeling tha Hannah expressed.
3. Invite the children to join you as you sit on the steps. Describe how Americans from other parts of the country feel when they visit Washington, D.C., for the first time. Point out that the disciples felt the same way when they saw the Temple in Jerusalem. Just as the tourists are proud and often feel that a country that could build such buildings and monuments will last forever, the disciples felt that the Temple and Jerusalem would last forever. With this background, open the Bible on your lap and read about the conversation between Jesus and his disciples as they looked at the Temple. You may want to conclude with some summary remarks, such as "Nothing but God lasts forever."
4. In the chancel, prominently display a birthday cake with one candle on it. At the end of the service, give each worshiper a cupcake with one candle. (Perhaps an older-children's class could be ready to pass them out.) Suggest that as the cupcakes are eaten, people recall the stories of their birth and give thanks to God for all the ways God cares for them.
5. Offer a responsive prayer to God. A worship leader cites a variety of seemingly hopeless situations, in which God surprises us with powerful, loving care (e.g., an enemy becomes a friend at the end of the Cold War; we find that we can do something we were frightened to try). To each, one the congregation responds:
"There is no Holy One like the Lord!
There is no Rock like our God!"
Sermon Resources
1. Tell the birth dates, and perhaps the stories of the births, of the youngest and oldest members of the congregation.
2. Tell stories of other special births from the Bible: Abraham and Sarah, who thought they were too old to have a baby; Naomi and Ruth, who expected to live out their lives as poor widows until Ruth married Boaz and Obed was born; Zechariah, who was so surprised when he learned that Elizabeth would have a son that God struck him mute until John was born; and so forth. Also recall the "normal" births (such as that of Moses) of people whom God loved and used to raise up God's involvement in all births.
3. Tell stories about leaders who announced that the end of time was coming soon and convinced people to give them all their money. The false leaders promised that the money would be used to save others and that the givers would be rewarded in the new world. While children and adults tend to laugh when they hear some of these, the stories prepare them to evaluate new claims.
SERMON OPTIONS: NOVEMBER 15, 2015
A MOTHER FOR ALL TIMES
1 SAMUEL 1:4-20
In Ponca City, Oklahoma, an artist depicted in a statue some of the women who helped settle the West. The pioneer woman has a bonnet and long dress. With in one hand she holds a Bible close to her heart. With the other hand she leads her child. Her face is turned upward and her eyes gaze into the distance. She is striding boldly across the prairie.
Consider this image for today’s mother. Date book in hand, desktop computer on her shoulder, she heads to the car. Her child is running to catch up with her. They are eating a breakfast pastry, late for the car pool stops on the way to the child development center!
Both of these images contrast with Hannah, who is described in 1 Samuel 1. Hannah could probably identify more with the pioneer woman, but she still offers a contemporary model for today’s mother.
I. A Mother with Sorrow
Many mothers today understand Hannah’s struggle because your home isn’t a bed of roses either. One news account listed the home as society’s violent place. Jealousy tears apart family relationships. Couples who yearn for a child silently grieve with every news account of child abuse. Divorce pits family members against one another.
Mothers may even be misunderstood by the church. Hannah’s preacher saw her praying at the altar and thought she was drunk (v. 13). A mother going through a divorce told me, “I guess I’ll have to find another church. Not one member has said a word to me during this rough time. Maybe they don’t know what to say, or they think I’m an embarrassment to the church.”
Every mother, every home has problems, or will. For Hannah they continued “year by year” (v. 7). The tears easily flowed; her appetite diminished. Her husband worried. Instead of giving up she turned to God.
II. A Mother with Faith
A time of trouble is no time to give up on God and his people. Hannah kept fellowship in the house of God (v. 7). She prayed to the Lord, pouring out her soul before him (vv. 10-11, 15-16). Worship and prayer change the face of our problems. Perplexed by evil, the psalmist said, “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood” (Ps. 73:16-17 NKJV).
Faith finds new courage in the promises of God. Hannah received the word to “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him” (v. 17). The promise was enough. She “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad” (v. 18 NKJV). Sorrows and problems find resolution in the promises of God. Countless individuals have by faith “subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises” (Heb. 11:33 NKJV).
George Barna wrote: “What an incredible state of affairs. The family is deteriorating before our very eyes and little is being done to save it. Millions of Americans cannot even describe the meaning of “family values” (Absolute Confusion, Regal Books, 1993, p. 143).
Let’s pray and work together toward the goal of letting both church and home preach God’s will and God’s truth. May both church and family be a place where we can find rest, comfort, and security in God’s love. (Bill D. Whittaker)
FROZEN BY FEAR, FREED BY GRACE
HEBREWS 10:11-14, 19-25
Some animals have a tendency to freeze when overtaken by fear. Rather than run or scurry away, they stand motionless, until overtaken by that which is causing the threat. More than one deer, raccoon, or possum has been caught in the headlights of an automobile, only to freeze in terror and become struck by the automobile.
People can act likewise. Psychologists indicate that fear can grip us and keep us from action. I read of a man struck by a train at a railroad crossing. He lived to tell his story, saying he both heard and saw the train coming his direction, but he was unable to take a step. It was as if his feet had been cemented to the ground.
Other fears are equally paralyzing. The fear of rejection, humiliation, embarrassment, or failure can keep us from taking positive steps in relationships and in our daily living. Fear can even affect the way we relate to God. Because of our sin, our guilt, and our feelings of inadequacy, we may fear the presence of God. We fear his wrath, his judgment, his scrutiny.
The writer of Hebrews offers some good news to soothe our fears. No longer are we to allow fear to freeze us, but rather we are to let grace free us. Through Christ our Lord, we can have confidence as we relate to God.
As the perfect high-priest, Christ has offered a complete and final sacrifice. He now sits enthroned at the right hand of God (v. 12). Because of his work, Christians are being made holy and therefore are able to enter the presence of the Almighty God. As believers, we now have confidence to draw near to God, to hold fast to our hope, and to invest in others.
I. Christ Gives Us Confidence to Draw Near to God (v. 22)
We have confidence to draw near to God’s presence. Separating the Holy of Holies from the common people was a huge veil. Humans belonged on one side and God on the other. Only the high priest could go in, and only then on the day of Atonement. Christ has provided a “new and living way” to enter into the presence of God.
Through Christ, God reaches through the veil and draws us in. What we could not do on our own, Christ has done for us. We can draw near to God as a welcomed child because of the work of our Lord.
It is with great anticipation that we approach the throne of God. And yet there is to be no fear, only the calm assurance of Christ’s confidence. We come in confidence because we have been cleansed. Our hearts are cleansed from all guilt and our bodies are cleansed from sin. And so in faith and in confidence we run to God and seek his face. We have been freed by grace to do so.
II. Christ Gives Confidence to Hold Fast to Our Hope (v. 23)
The ultimate hope of the Christian is contained in two simple statements. First, Christ arose from the grave. Second, Christ is coming again. These two words of affirmation and faith comprise our hope. The book of Hebrews reminds us to hold fast to our hope. We must never lose our grip on what we believe. The confidence for doing so is found in verse 23, “For he who has promised is faithful.”
You’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “God said it and I believe it.” God is indeed faithful and therefore we can trust all of the promises that he has made. We need only look back to envision our hope for the future, for if we believe in the promises of God, we must also believe in the return of our Lord. We therefore build confidence in our lives and not fear, knowing that God has promised the faithful return of Christ. By holding fast, our faith is enriched and our hope is grounded.
III. Christ Gives Confidence to Invest in Others (v. 24)
As believers, we are to consider how we can constructively spur others on to Christian growth and maturity. We are to take up the ministry of encouragement. Through our faith, others should learn love and the doing of good works. We are not Christians merely for our own sakes, but for the sake of others. We must become contagious communities of faith, encouraging others to grow.
True disciples of Christ are called to make investments in the lives of people. To “spur” others toward maturity will require time, effort, prayer, and example. Though we may feel inadequate, perhaps even spiritually impoverished, God still can use us to build his kingdom if we will invest our lives into the lives of others.
When the automobile first appeared on the scene, thousands of Americans joyfully bought them. It did not take long for the joy to wear thin as many motorists found their cars bogging down along the roadways. The paths made by horses and buggies had too many ruts and puddles for cars to move about freely. To bring back the joy, Henry Ford started an ambitious campaign to introduce street paving to America. He assembled teams and provided them with equipment to begin paving “seed miles” across the nation. From town to town, these crews would pave a one-mile stretch of smooth road. When motorists first drove on the smooth surface, the exhilaration proved too great and soon miles and miles of roadway appeared as the joy of driving gripped the country.
Small investments can bring great rewards, especially those that are eternal in nature. In Christ, we can make a difference in others by spurring them to abundant life and good deeds.
God loves you and longs to enjoy fellowship with you. Rather than be frozen by fear at that thought, allow the grace of Christ to free you to experience the riches of his Kingdom. (Jon R. Roebuck)
COUNTDOWN WITHOUT NUMBERS
MARK 13:1-8
Americans who remember the beginnings of the space age will recall the excitement—and apprehension—about the nation’s first orbital flight. Regular classes were forgotten as the children at my school gathered in front of a black-and-white television to watch the rocket launch. Would John Glenn really circle the earth and return safely? Could such a thing be done? We didn’t know, but we kept our eyes on the screen and listened eagerly for each progress report. Our teachers assured us we were watching history in the making, and they were right.
Suspense, timing, and reminders from a Teacher are part of the scene from today’s Gospel reading. Jesus had left the temple for the final time and had taken his disciples to the Mount of Olives, higher than the temple mount, where they could see the entire city. The odd remark by one disciple, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” was met with an even stranger prophetic utterance from Jesus: “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
This interchange serves as introduction to the only long discourse in Mark’s Gospel, often called “The Little Apocalypse.” Verses 1-8 are part of an entire chapter dealing with signs of the end of the age. It is appropriate, therefore, to look at these verses in their context. What are the underlying themes in this prophecy shortly before the Passion, and how do they address the contemporary church?
I. The End of the Age Will Come
The phrase “second coming” does not appear in this chapter, though the revelation or appearance of the Christ is a theme. The destruction of the temple (which burned in A.D. 70), famines, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, are not signs of the end, but “birth pangs”—signs preceding the end and confirming Jesus prophecy.
The church for centuries has declared its eschatological belief in reciting this line of the Apostles Creed: “from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” Ever since this conversation with Peter, James, John, and Andrew, followers of Jesus have believed the Savior will come again.
II. No One Knows When This Will Happen
The first question the disciples asked the Master was, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” It is a question followers (and nonfollowers) of the Messiah still ask. Throughout history and even today, self-appointed prophets have made a cottage industry of predicting when the end of the world will come. The Cold War, the Gulf War, and other events have all been accompanied by literature identifying current events with eschatological names and symbols. But Christ said to the disciples, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (v. 32). Christians should therefore be skeptical of anyone who claims to have inside information, for this contradicts the testimony of the Gospels.
III. Followers of Jesus Are to Be Ready
Jesus instructions were to take heed and watch, for we do not know when the time will come. For disciples of any age, this means striving to grow in the knowledge and love of God, witnessing and serving in Jesus name, and trusting the Lord’s faithfulness. It also means resisting “false Messiahs” and the temptation to second-guess God’s timetable. Finally, it means looking forward expectantly to God’s future. As the writer of Revelation concluded: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Carol M. Noren)
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