Missionary Renegade: "Preaching to the polarized — Clergy compensation — Maintaining your sanity during election season" Ministry Matters in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Monday, 15 August 2016

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

"Preaching to the polarized — Clergy compensation — Maintaining your sanity during election season" Ministry Matters in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Monday, 15 August 2016

"Preaching to the polarized — Clergy compensation — Maintaining your sanity during election season" Ministry Matters in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Monday, 15 August 2016

Preaching to the polarized by Tom Berlin
This article is featured in the Does Preaching Matter? (Aug/Sep/Oct 2016) issue of Circuit Rider
As the election year continues, pastors will want to speak to important issues that will present themselves in political debates, interviews, and statements to the press. This year in particular we have seen numerous moments when both political parties have provided opportunities for sermons that almost write themselves. Pastors should be aware, however, that in times of extreme political polarization, even the best and most biblically faithful preaching will come under intense scrutiny. If you’re going to take on complicated political issues, you will have to work with great skill to craft messages that remind people of the legacy of their Christian faith while not unnecessarily dividing the congregation along the way. The reason that pastors may pursue such sermons is that people are often looking for a safe place to consider topics that are important to the nation and world. If you advertise a sermon series on some of these topics, you may find interest from both your members and the people in your community who don’t attend church.
When I start into a sermon series that is going to take on tough topics, there are some attitudes I want to carry:
Be humble. I am a pastor, not an expert on healthcare, race, economics, global terrorism and defense, or a host of other election-year topics. I need to be humble about my opinions and do the research that allows me to consider all sides of the matter. When I start with humility, I don’t dive into prophetic diatribes or make Jesus appear to be a Republican or Democrat. I begin by looking for authors or people in my church and community who have content knowledge on the topic and who can instruct me about what I should be reading to prepare. These sermons take more time to craft because not only are you making a hermeneutical link to scripture, you also have to find the relevant facts that inform the conversation. When I’m humble I can read and listen to the voices that are speaking to the issue and find the important contributions that I will share during the sermon. In most congregations people hold a variety of viewpoints. We tend to characterize congregations as leaning one way or another in unison, but the reality in most churches is that there are people on each side of most issues. People who believe their views are in the minority may just not voice them as often, or at all. Humility seeks to honor this experience of community—that we respect and love each other in our differences.
One practice that helps me retain humility is to pretend that the people I’m quoting are actually in the sanctuary where I’m preaching. It’s easy to denigrate the opinions of others, especially when I disagree with them. But I rarely do it when the person is actually present. It’s easy to make the quote that supports my view seem like the only salient argument. When I pretend that all parties are in the sanctuary, however, I tend to speak fairly about the views they represent. In truth, all partiesare in the sanctuary. The membership of the church I serve, Floris UMC, represents a broad ideological spectrum. It’s important that I treat everyone with respect and share their views in such a way that those on both sides of the spectrum think I’m being fair.
Be interesting. Often sermons on hard topics can be fairly predictable. If you have preached weekly and spent time in conversation with church members, people may think they know where you stand on many topics. If they open the bulletin, read the sermon title, and believe they can forecast your conclusion before you give the opening sentence, it’s game over. In order to be interesting, I share background information that’s relevant. I will try to find new material that helps people have a fresh look at the topic. In a recent series on racism, I researched “redlining,” the practice used by the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s where real estate maps were marked in red to show the areas where certain minorities owned the majority of homes. Bank mortgages and home insurance were more expensive to homeowners in those areas, since race was listed as a major factor of investment risk. The redlined areas lost value quickly and kept wealth transfers of accumulated equity from one generation to another from happening. Most people who commented on the sermon said they had never heard of this practice and could see the economic impact it would have on African American families. They understood the far-reaching consequences of institutional racism in a new way. When you offer fresh information that’s interesting, it gives people a chance to see the world from a new perspective.
Be fair. Issues raised during an election year are complicated. Candidates that offer simple solutions to hard issues like the income gap, immigration, national defense, or the economy are suspect. You will be, too. The key to these sermons is to present at least two perspectives on these topics in a manner that everyone feels is fair, even if they disagree on those perspectives. One way to do this is to sit down with people in your church ahead of time and share what you are going to say in the sermon. Ask them if this fairly reflects their view. Seek their advice on improving the material. They will be far more likely to attend and invite friends if they know you’re being fair and balanced as you prepare the sermon. When sharing these perspectives, help people see the biblical tradition that informs them. This will help people who disagree assume the best about each other.
I find it helpful to state my opinion on the sermon topic and share how scripture informs my thinking. This is the shortest part of the sermon. My desire isn’t to convince others but to model the vulnerability necessary for people with differing perspectives to live in Christian community. It’s amazing how much more latitude people will give you if they trust that you’re honest about your opinion and fair to theirs.
Finally, consider other forums where hard issues can be discussed. A small group study for interested parties could be launched. A reading list can be offered. At Floris UMC we’re currently offering a series called “Open to Discussion: Important Election Issues.” We’ve invited qualified members of our community and church to talk about three important topics: the economy, global terrorism and defense, and healthcare. At each session, there are speakers who represent the Republican and Democratic side. Each person shares a twenty-minute presentation. They take ten minutes apiece responding to what the other presenter shared before hearing questions from the audience. I moderate these sessions and ask the questions, which come in text messages or on note cards from the audience. The stated goal of these evenings is to have a Christian conversation about a hard topic. I meet with the speakers ahead of time over dinner so they can get to know each other. I remind them that modeling good behavior is a key goal of the event. People in our church are very grateful for an evening when speakers offer facts and outlooks in a manner that respects the opinions of others, even when we disagree. When people walk away from one of these events or one of my sermons saying that they learned something, are more thoughtful about all sides of the issue, and felt engaged in Christian dialogue, I know we have accomplished our goals.

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Answer the 'So what?'

By Adam Hamilton
This article is featured in the Does Preaching Matter? (Aug/Sep/Oct 2016)issue of Circuit Rider
Bigstock/leeser
The professor of my college preaching class told the story of an old preacher who came to realize that his preaching was having little impact. He recognized that while his preaching was generally interesting and delivered with conviction, he routinely failed to ask anything specific of his congregants. And so they seemed largely unchanged by his sermons. This was a rare and important insight. The preacher took a sheet of paper and wrote two words in huge letters across the page. He taped the paper to the top of the pulpit, where his sermon manuscript was meant to lay. Every week when he concluded his sermon and picked up his manuscript, he would see these two words, words that formed the question he felt he must be able to answer at the end of each sermon: so what?
Great speeches, sermons, and talks have a clear answer to the question “So what?” That answer is clear not only to the speaker but to the listeners as well. They should know what you are asking of them or have a clear idea of how they can and should respond to the message. The “So what?” is usually a specific call to action. In sales this is called asking for the sale or simply “the ask.” I sold women’s shoes in a high-end department store while in college. Women loved to come in and try on five, six, and sometimes seven pair of shoes. Then they’d say, “Thank you, I’m going to think about it.” This had happened over and over, when a seasoned salesman pulled me aside and told me, “You’ve got to ask for the sale. Whichever of the shoes she seemed most interested in, ask if you can ring them up for her. You’ll find when you do, she’ll often say yes. She’s waiting for you to ask.”
I often hear speeches or sermons that end without the speaker ever giving “the ask.” If the talk was good and compelling, then I want to do something about it, to take the next step or respond in some way. When no clear call to action is issued, I want to stand up and ask the preacher or speaker, “What do you want me to do in response to your message?”

This article is excerpted from the book Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers, from Abingdon Press.
Harry Emerson Fosdick was one of the great preachers of the first half of the twentieth century. He taught preaching at Union Theological Seminary in New York, but he also taught speaking at Columbia University’s law school. He taught law school students and seminary students alike that when he preached he imagined the Riverside Church, where he served, was a courtroom and the congregation was the jury. He envisioned himself as a prosecuting attorney, or a defense attorney, making the best case he could for the sermon’s key theological, moral, or biblical idea. At the end of the message, he would give his closing arguments and pointedly ask the congregation for the verdict he was preaching toward. When I preach I often imagine the congregation in this way and seek to offer as persuasive a “case” and “closing argument” as possible. Then I ask them for a decision or course of action following the message. Fosdick’s example is helpful for secular speakers, too. If you hope to effect any sort of change as a result of your speaking, then it’s just as important for you to answer the “So what?”
Your speaking will have the greatest impact when you directly ask the audience to do something, to take a next step, or to make a change. Consider the purpose of your speech, talk, or sermon—the why, who, and what—and give your audience a meaningful way to respond.
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Preaching with a hammer: PURSUING JUSTICE IN A TIME OF FEAR By Jacob D. Myers
This article is featured in the Does Preaching Matter? (Aug/Sep/Oct 2016) issue of Circuit Rider
Philosophy should be done with a hammer, Friedrich Nietzsche once said. So, too, preaching.
Nietzsche penned these words in the context of his (in)famous attack on those foundational doctrines and concepts that structured the beliefs and practices of his day. Such notions have the look of divinity; but when we listen closely we can hearthat they are hollow: mere idols. Nietzsche was on to something, something of great significance for teaching elders in particular.
Nietzsche’s hammer metaphor vacillates. At points, his hammer is a tuning fork, gently tapping this or that idea to ascertain its degree of solidity. Elsewhere, Nietzsche displays his penchant for rockhounding, wielding a tiny trim hammer to coax stone into new and beautiful forms. The last form his metaphor takes—and the one with which Nietzsche is most commonly associated—is that of a sledge. We can see him, arms stretched high, knuckles white, mustache quivering, as he drives cold philosophical steel into ideological bedrock.
I would argue that in our contemporary climate of political strife, economic uncertainty, and xenophobia, preachers require all three hammers in their homiletical tool belts. Homiletical hammers expose us to God’s deconstruction, God’s righteousness. In the preaching event we are drawn along with our congregants into the world of holy scripture, which places a big fat question mark over the world of our contemporary assumptions. Such preaching challenges our ideologies, which are first cousins to idols; they share the same root (eidos), after all. There are (at least) three ways that preachers may brandish hammers of deconstruction in their preaching ministries.
First, homiletical deconstruction strikes against our understanding of otherness, helping us to tune our lives to the pitch of hospitality resounding throughout scripture.
Amid talk of forty-foot walls and deportation of US citizens who do not share our beliefs and customs, the church needs preachers who will tune their voices to the pitch of divine hospitality. Such hospitality has two essential aspects.
The first aspect of such hospitality is a hallowed-out space that emerges when and where we make room for the other. In preaching hospitality, the preacher sounds a note dissonant with the privileging of selfhood and sameness that has preoccupied Western culture since Descartes.
Hospitality, in the terminology of phenomenologist Jean-Luc Marion, is also a “saturated” space when and inasmuch as the other arrives.[i] In other words, hospitality inaugurates a space of genuine encounter that overwhelms my capacity to judge the other according to my preconceived categories. The person of the other appears as if fully present to me, as if within my grasp; and yet, the saturated otherness of the other remains other, exceeding my gaze, safeguarding the other’s singularity and inimitability.
Preaching toward hospitality need not be complicated. Calling for gender-neutral bathrooms can lead toward hospitality by questioning gendered ideologies. Likewise, a sermon calling to transform your church’s back field into a space where local refugees could grow crops alongside church members may challenge simplistic notions of ethnic difference and national identity. Such preaching rises above the cacophony of the political din, allowing us to embody God’s unconditional welcome.
Second, homiletical deconstruction chips away at false conceptions of selfhood, molding and shaping us to conform to God’s likeness in Jesus Christ.
Contemporary preachers battle against a barrage of discourses never before faced by our homiletical forbearers. The near instantaneous proliferation of voices through the Internet, and social media in particular, produces a clamor over which the preacher struggles to be heard. Madison Avenue spends billions of dollars a year to define us as consumers. Lobbyists and pundits work tirelessly to ground our identities in this or that party or political perspective.
Preaching with a hammer can bring epistemological and spiritual healing by calling contemporary notions of selfhood into question by God’s word.
As a concrete example, consider the ways in which US society privileges whiteness—a most pernicious ideology. As theologian James Cone puts it, “The poison of white supremacy is so widespread and deeply internalized by its victims that many are unaware of their illness, and others who are often do not have the cultural and intellectual resources to heal their wounded spirits.”[ii] To be sure, race—along with other identity markers (gender, sexuality, class, etc.)—shape both our consciousness and experiences. Homiletical deconstruction is not aimed at eradicating or ignoring difference; rather, it aims to mold self-understanding in light of God’s celebration of particularity. Such deconstruction resists binary constructions that divide us from each other and from ourselves. The designation “white” is powerful only to the extent that it is set in dominant opposition to “black.”
Preaching that affirms that #blacklivesmatter and challenges racist monikers like “thug” or “welfare queen” is not unlike the rockhound’s trim hammer. Through such preaching, the preacher proclaims the good news that we are all children of God and worthy of love and respect.
Third, homiletical deconstruction smashes ideologies of race, ethnicity, and class, exposing us to God’s righteousness beyond prejudicial construals of justice.
Preaching with a hammer boldly challenges systems and structures that pervert justice. Such preaching works to dismantle national apathy toward the prison industrial complex, which disproportionately condemns men and women of color, those with mental illness, and the poor.
Accordingly, such preaching decries the persistence of capital punishment, which continues to favor the rich-and-guilty over the poor-and-innocent. In his eye-opening book, Just Mercy, lawyer-activist Bryan Stevenson drives a prophetic sledge to the foundation of America’s claims to justice when he writes, “The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. . . . The real question of capital punishment in this country is not do they deserve to die, but do we deserve to kill?”[iii]
Preaching with a hammer breaks up the substratum bolstering economic and racial discrimination, reverberating with an ancient call for justice.
Our world needs more hammer-wielding preachers, those who are unafraid to challenge systems that perpetuate marginalization and oppression. Such preaching sounds a clarion call that does not confuse Christianity for capitalism or church for nationalism. Such preaching strikes political turmoil with faith, uncertainty about the future with hope, and fear of the stranger with love—the church’s abiding tools.
[i] See Jean-Luc Marion, In Excess: Studies in the Saturated Phenomenon, trans. Robyn Horner and Vincent Berrand (New York: Fordham University Press, 2002).
[ii] James H. Cone, “Theology’s Great Sin: Silence in the Face of White Supremacy,” Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 55 (2001): 3.
[iii] Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2014), 313.
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Why read Scripture? Modern illness, premodern cure

By Clifton Stringer
St. Augustine in his study / Sandro Botticelli c. 1490
To understand why a Christian ought desire to read, kiss, taste and drink the words of Scripture is to transcend the terms under which we live and speak in modernity.
To show why this is so and how it bears on reading and interpreting Scripture, I need to say something about Christian characterizations of what a human being is, and also what it is to be fallen. Our fallen state is the the arena in which inspired Scripture is a salutary gift; our sinfulness is the sickness in which reading and interpreting Scripture is a healing medicine.
The human person in spiritual health, sickness and healing
In a lively and deep stream of Christian thought running through the tradition, sin is figured as sickness and God/Christ as physician. In our sickness, we are unable to raise our minds, hearts, lives in offering to the glory of the Holy Trinity as we ought.
Humans, formed as we are of spiritual soul and material body, are in one way a midpoint between the spiritual/angelic and material parts of creation, while in a similar way we are happily situated between material creation and the immaterial Creator. Picture the Genesis 2 story in which "the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life" (2:7). To spring upward from the material toward the divine like a rose bush or tomato vine straining toward the sun is our health. The fallen contrast to this Godward orientation, the state of sin, is by definition a state of some kind and degree of idolatry. Rather than reaching doxologically upward to God, we are turned in on ourselves (as Augustine will say) and turned downward toward creation. We are desiring self or the material creation, and almost always both, the way we ought desire God. The result is that we are darkened in intellect and disordered in will. (Think Romans 1:21 and following.)
Idolatry, then, is our problem, and we become addicted to idolatry like I intermittently become addicted to checking Twitter on my phone first thing in the morning rather than praying to God. The disordered lust for created things and material things becomes reflexive, habitual, second nature to us.
Yet God, in love for humankind, devises a fitting medicine for our sickness. In taking on flesh — the very kind of material that has become the snare of our idolatry — God lovingly enfolds our idolatrous addiction and weakened nature in order to nurture us back to health. In adoring Jesus Christ, who is at once human (and so spiritual and material) and divine (and so utterly immaterial), we are adoring God, even as we adore him in his fleshly birth, his life with each of his prophetic deeds, his fleshly sufferings and death upon the cross, his resurrection and ascension. (See Athanasius' On the Incarnation, or Augustine'sThe Trinity book 4, to reflect on how God in Christ enfolds and surpasses our idolatry problem.)
We are too weak to contemplate and adore the immaterial Trinity, but not too weak to worship a human or an idol. And so God saves us by compassionately giving us a human to worship who is not an idol, but is true God, God in person. Here and now, as Augustine would have us notice, there is no pure nature, only fallen nature and the Church's biblical and liturgical regimen for healing fallen nature.
And this brings us to the healing function of reading and interpreting Scripture.
Reading Scripture: Modern illness, premodern cure

Secular modernity, from one perspective, is the project of attending and giving priority in our shared/public/civic/professional lives to matters which, when given this social-constitutive priority, the Christian tradition diagnoses as idols. Plenty of caveats and asterisks apply to a sweeping statement like this, yet they don't fundamentally invalidate it: when attending to "the immanent frame" we are by definition not attending to the Creator God who transcends the world even in his manifestation within it. (If you have time, there is much to be learned from Cyril O'Regan in this lecture.) And the project of attending exclusively to the immanent can't help being idolatrous. The result is that modernity is that age in which we can mobilize power in unprecedented ways to combat and overcome some specific symptoms of idolatry (which we also sometimes misdiagnose with wildly destructive results), yet with each intervention reinfect ourselves with the sickness. Modernity lacks the cure for what ails it.
This agenda of immanence, as has been illustrated in recent years in a volcanic eruption of academic literature, has misshaped the ways we approach Scripture in modernity. This has been most pervasive in the academy, but has also infected the life of the Church. (Think of the veneration of the historical critical method, now somewhat on the wane, and also to some extent the varieties of Marxist, feminist, and postmodern criticism. Each of these styles of scholarship exist in Christian varieties as well as immanentist varieties: one need not reject any of them, only recognize that singly and together they are all on their own terms inadequate to Christian biblical interpretation.)
I once served as an associate pastor in a once-large, once-prominent congregation that, in the second half of the 20th century, was served for about a decade by a senior pastor who periodically assured the congregation from the pulpit that one doesn't have to believe in Jesus Christ's resurrection to be a Christian. This is the immanentist project simultaneously disemboweling Christian biblical interpretation and, indeed, the Christian faith altogether.
Reduced to an immanent frame, the modern study of Scripture, all too often, misses the point. Absent a theological account of how Scripture operates "for us and for our salvation", there is no apparent reason the individual books of Scripture should be published together, and no reason individual books, of the Pentateuch, say, should have been laboriously and intergenerationally stitched together in the first place. (See Robert Jenson's chapter in The Art of Reading Scripture for a succinct reflection.)
As it happens, the wide and deep theological stream discussed above, which is in the Western medieval church an Augustinian stream, can offer elegant accounts of the way Scripture operates for the restoration of our health.
Scripture, like our own flesh, and like the flesh of Jesus Christ, is material, the stuff of creation. Inasmuch as it is material, it is 'below' the human person, who is spirit and matter. Yet, exactly because it is 'below' us, Scripture is accessible to our sin-sick and idol-addicted minds. Just as the Son of God manifests in humble form to be within reach of us at our weakest and worst, so in Scripture the Word of God is given in humble form. By the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), the praises of God are sung in Scripture in the countless natural languages that flourish on the earth, kudzu like, after Babel (Gen 11:1-9). God speaks to us in a humble, even earthy, and sometimes disturbing or outlandishly human manner, in order to meet us where we are and raise us into the fellowship divine:
"It was therefore to purify the human mind of such falsehoods that holy scripture, adapting itself to babes, did not shun any words, proper to any kind of thing whatever, that might nourish our understanding and enable it to rise up to the sublimities of divine things. Thus it would use words taken from corporeal things to speak about God with, as when it says Shelter me under the shadow of your wings (Ps 17:8); and from the sphere of created spirit it has transposed many words to signify what was not in fact like that, but had to be expressed like that; I am a jealous God (Ex 20:5) for example, and I am sorry I made man (Gn 6:7).... The divine scriptures then are in the habit of making something like children's toys out of things that occur in creation, by which to entice our sickly gaze and get us step by step to seek as best we can the things that are above and forsake the things that are below." — Augustine, The Trinity, 1.1.2
Even when our soul is bowed down to the dust, licking the bitter dust of our sinfulness and mortality, Scripture is within reach, its cadences within earshot. Like the Lord who, in public spectacle, let the prostitute slather costly perfume on his feet, and wash them with her hair, so Scripture gives us countless ways to adore and caress the body of the Lord. "The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord" (Dei Verbum 6.21).
Reduced 'downward' to the immanent frame, Scripture ceases to be medicinal. It has no healing power. Yet, reduced 'upward' to the active and loving omniscience of the Trinity, Scripture is precious medicine to reinvigorate and restore health. Received as gift and divine communication, Scripture draws us at length upward, empowering us by its Christ-imitating path of descent and ascent to do likewise.
The humble words of Scripture let the sick and fallen speak truly of the transcendent Lord, lovingly read, kiss, taste and drink the Word of the Lord.
When the infinite surpasses and enfolds the finite, the immanent terms of modernity cease to obtain and fail to restrain.
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.
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The new ministry strategy: Show up

By David Staal
Bigstock/Lipnicki
Loneliness is a large and growing problem. God said in Genesis 2 that it’s not good to be alone, and that truth remains unchanged. Data continues to pile up that proves God’s point. Go figure.
Good news: Every church has the solution. But do they know?
Although we’re hardwired to connect, our society has gone wireless. Why? Look no further than busyness. It’s like a firewall that prevents one person from noticing what’s happening with another person.
Yet, when given the chance and a calorie of forward motion, compassion knows how to outmaneuver complexity. I had to take a trip to Haiti to figure this out.
While there, our missions team assisted local tradesmen rebuilding homes an earthquake tore down, ignored the chemical-warfare-like odor emanating from burning trash, and prayed for wind. We also visited an orphanage for several hours.
A week later, we returned home—but a part of me stayed in Haiti after someone ambushed my heart. No, I didn’t meet God in anything to do with the earthquake’s damage. No, he didn’t seem to appear in any smelly fires. And he certainly had no presence in the wind, or lack thereof. Instead, an unexpected sacred moment came in unusually quiet and unspectacular fashion. It took place at the orphanage when I met a Haitian boy no older than three.
Without a doubt, the American team brought joy to the orphanage. Partially from the beachballs and bottles of bubbles, partially from the small candy packs, and mostly from our group’s high spirits, the result of a day spent away from the construction site. Despite the appeal of revelry, one little boy drifted off to sit alone, under a tree and against a wall. The truth is that people who most need someone to show up for them very often appear a step or two away from all the action.
I barely noticed him as I chased a ball kicked out of a lively scrum that bopped and booted anything inflated and brightly colored. A shallow drainage ditch separated the quiet plot of shade he occupied and the rest of the compound. Maybe it was curiosity caused by his tears; maybe it was a divine nudge. Who knows—but I rolled the ball toward the crowd, turned away from them, and made a long stride across the trench to sit down next to the little guy.
The only Haitian-Creole words I know include my name, age, and how to ask for the nearest bathroom. He was only three and rightfully knew no English. Good news: to show up for someone doesn’t require clever words. Or sometimes, any words at all. Silence is so under-appreciated and under-utilized.

Show Up: Step out of your story and into someone else's (Dust Jacket Press, 2016)

With all the fun going on all around him, why did he feel so sad? No easy answer came to mind. So I thought about his life. This beautiful little fella arrived in the world like everybody else, but his life took a very different turn. To live in an orphanage means he spends every day with a lot of people but doesn’t have parents. He has to compete for attention, and the competition looks stiff. Real young, real small—he’s probably overlooked a lot. From watching how the kids interact with one another, he definitely experiences a lot of injustice within these walls; in games, in meals, and in life overall. With nothing to call his own, he finally has a fun-looking beachball kicked his way, only to have someone take it right away. Countless scrapes, putdowns, and pushes out of the way. This is not the way life is supposed to work. No mom to hold him. No dad to defend him. No one to rely on. No wonder he was sad.
His life brought tears to my eyes, too, so I scooched closer. There we sat, under a tree and against a wall next to a ditch full of stagnant grey water, tears streaming down our faces. Unable to communicate but clearly able to connect at a level deeper than any conversation could ever flow.
With eyes fixed on the drainage swill, his hand grabbed hold of my little finger and squeezed. Not the grip of someone trying to inflict pain. Rather, the clutch of someone sharing pain and not wanting to let go of the one person who noticed. Eventually, maybe four of five minutes later, he popped up and before I could even shift my weight to stand, he let go of my finger and wrapped both arms around my neck. Definitely the best hug I’ve ever received.
He took a half step back, and as we both wiped tears off our cheeks, a grin appeared and his eyes went bright—as if a window shade abruptly rolled open to reveal full sunshine. As quick as a bullet, he ran toward the crowd and the chaos, reloaded for fun.
It’s easy to watch people from a safe distance. It’s easy to fear speaking the wrong words or feel too busy. It’s easy to do little or nothing, or to stay safely within the walls of what’s familiar and comfortable. The people held down by loneliness rarely lift up their voices to ask for help. If we wait until asked to show up for someone, the wait will run long. In most cases, such a request will never happen. It’s hard to make a personal difference from a distance—even when the separation measures only a few steps.
Money will not fill the gap. The orphanage receives strong financial support. They possess plenty of toys, food, and a sturdy structure. But all that made no difference in the moment with my little friend. His was a more basic need, felt by more people than you and I can comprehend. What he needed most is something everyone can do: anyone can care enough to sit down and stay a moment. Even me.
Was the direction of his life altered that day? Nope. That’s not the point of this story. In the process of an act as ridiculously simple as a shared moment of time and attention and reaction to his life, my little friend opened my eyes to what the world needs most—people willing to show up for one another. No process to follow. No expectations. Not even effort to fix the situation. Meet him where he’s at regardless of where I’ve come from.
Loneliness is a hole people find themselves in, for whatever the reason. I’ve been that person enough to know the only solution: someone willing to show up and extend a hand—or even just a pinky.This article is an excerpt from the book Show Up: Step out of your story and into someone else’s (Dust Jacket Press, 2016) by David Staal.-------

The role of preaching in a growing church

By Dan Wunderlich
Thanks for checking out this episode of Art of the Sermon! Be sure to subscribe through iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. If you enjoy this episode, leave a review on our podcast’s page in the iTunes store. This will help others discover the show!

ART OF THE SERMON

Guest: Adam Weber – Founding and lead pastor at Embrace Church, the fastest growing United Methodist Church [Show notes
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This Sunday August 21, 2016

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17

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Lectionary Readings:

Sunday, 21 August 2016
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost:

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17

Scripture Text for Jeremiah 1:4 Here is the word of Adonai that came to me:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you;

before you were born, I separated you for myself.

I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

6 I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim, I don’t even know how to speak! I’m just a child!” 7 But Adonai said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m just a child.’

“For you will go to whomever I send you,

and you will speak whatever I order you.

8 Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you, says Adonai,

to rescue you.”

9 Then Adonai put out his hand and touched my mouth, and Adonai said to me,

“There! I have put my words in your mouth.

10 Today I have placed you over nations and kingdoms

to uproot and to tear down,

to destroy and to demolish,

to build and to plant.”

Psalm 71:1 In you, Adonai, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

2 In your righteousness, rescue me;

and help me to escape.

Turn your ear toward me,

and deliver me.

3 Be for me a sheltering rock,

where I can always come.

You have determined to save me,

because you are my bedrock and stronghold.

4 My God, help me escape from the power of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

5 For you are my hope, Adonai Elohim,

in whom I have trusted since I was young.

6 From birth I have relied on you;

it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

Hebrews 12:18 For you have not come to a tangible mountain, to an ignited fire, to darkness, to murk, to a whirlwind, 19 to the sound of a shofar, and to a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further message be given to them — 20 for they couldn’t bear what was being commanded them, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned to death”;[Hebrews 12:20 Exodus 19:12–13] 21 and so terrifying was the sight that Moshe said, “I am quaking with dread.”[Hebrews 12:21 Deuteronomy 9:19]

22 On the contrary, you have come to Mount Tziyon, that is, the city of the living God, heavenly Yerushalayim; to myriads of angels in festive assembly; 23 to a community of the firstborn whose names have been recorded in heaven; to a Judge who is God of everyone; to spirits of righteous people who have been brought to the goal; 24 to the mediator of a new covenant, Yeshua; and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better things than that of Hevel.

25 See that you don’t reject the One speaking! For if those did not escape who rejected him when he gave divine warning on earth, think how much less we will escape if we turn away from him when he warns from heaven. 26 Even then, his voice shook the earth; but now, he has made this promise:

“One more time I will shake

not only the earth, but heaven too!”[Hebrews 12:26 Haggai 2:6, 21]

27 And this phrase, “one more time,” makes clear that the things shaken are removed, since they are created things, so that the things not shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we have received an unshakeable Kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may offer service that will please God, with reverence and fear. 29 For indeed,

“Our God is a consuming fire!”[Hebrews 12:29 Deuteronomy 4:24; 9:3; Isaiah 33:14]

Luke 13:10 Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. 11 A woman came up who had a spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years; she was bent double and unable to stand erect at all. 12 On seeing her, Yeshua called her and said to her, “Lady, you have been set free from your weakness!” 13 He put his hands on her, and at once she stood upright and began to glorify God.

14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant that Yeshua had healed on Shabbat, spoke up and said to the congregation, “There are six days in the week for working; so come during those days to be healed, not on Shabbat!” 15 However, the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Each one of you on Shabbat — don’t you unloose your ox or your donkey from the stall and lead him off to drink? 16 This woman is a daughter of Avraham, and the Adversary kept her tied up for eighteen years! Shouldn’t she be freed from this bondage on Shabbat?” 17 By these words, Yeshua put to shame the people who opposed him; but the rest of the crowd were happy about all the wonderful things that were taking place through him.

The John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Jeremiah 1:4-10

Verse 4

[4] Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Then — When he was first called to his office.

Verse 5

[5] Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

I sanctified — I ordained thee for this public service. He speaks thus to Jeremiah, not to the other prophets, because he stood in need of greater encouragement than they, both in respect of the tenderness of his years, and the difficulties which he was to encounter with.

The nations — To other nations besides the Jews.

Verse 7

[7] But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Thou shalt speak — Fear not, I will make thee eloquent and courageous.

Verse 9

[9] Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Then — God having excited the prophet by command and promise, now in a vision confirms him, either by the hand of an angel, or by himself in some visible shape.

Verse 10

[10] See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The kingdoms — Having now received his commission, he is directed to whom he is to go; to the greatest, not only single persons, but whole nations, as the Babylonians, Persians, and Egyptians.

To pull down — That is, to prophecy that I will pull down; which I will as certainly effect, as if thou hadst done it thyself: for, according to scripture-usage, the prophets are said to do that which they foretell shall come to pass.

To plant — Metaphors taken from architects and gardeners: either the former words relate to the enemies of God, and the latter to his friends; or rather to both conditionally: if they repent, he will build them up, he will increase their families, and settle them in the land; if they do not, he will root them up, and pull them down.

Psalm 71:1-6

Not Avaiable.

Hebrews 12:18-29

Verse 18

[18] For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

For — A strong reason this why they ought the more to regard the whole exhortation drawn from the priesthood of Christ: because both salvation and vengeance are now nearer at hand.

Ye are not come to the mountain that could be touched — That was of an earthy, material nature.

Verse 19

[19] And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

The sound of a trumpet — Formed, without doubt, by the ministry of angels, and preparatory to the words, that is, the Ten Commandments, which were uttered with a loud voice, Deuteronomy 5:22.

Verse 20

[20] (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

For they could not bear — The terror which seized them, when they heard those words proclaimed, If even a beast, etc. Exodus 19:12, etc.

Verse 21

[21] And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

Even Moses - Though admitted to so near an intercourse with God, who "spake to him as a man speaketh to his friend." At other times he acted as a mediator between God and the people. But while the ten words were pronounced, he stood as one of the hearers, Exodus 19:25; Exodus 20:19.

Verse 22

[22] But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

But ye — Who believe in Christ.

Are come — The apostle does not here speak of their coming to the church militant, but of that glorious privilege of New Testament believers, their communion with the church triumphant. But this is far more apparent to the eyes of celestial spirits than to ours which are yet veiled. St. Paul here shows an excellent knowledge of the heavenly economy, worthy of him who had been caught up into the third heaven.

To mount Sion — A spiritual mountain.

To the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem — All these glorious titles belong to the New Testament church.

And to an innumerable company — Including all that are afterwards mentioned.

Verse 23

[23] To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

To the general assembly — The word properly signifies a stated convention on some festival occasion.

And church — The whole body of true believers, whether on earth or in paradise. Of the first-born-The first-born of Israel were enrolled by Moses; but these are enrolled in heaven, as citizens there. It is observable, that in this beautiful gradation, these first-born are placed nearer to God than the angels. See James 1:18.

And to God the Judge of all — Propitious to you, adverse to your enemies.

And to the spirits — The separate souls.

Of just men — It seems to mean, of New Testament believers. The number of these, being not yet large, is mentioned distinct from the innumerable company of just men whom their Judge hath acquitted. These are now made perfect in an higher sense than any who are still alive. Accordingly, St. Paul, while yet on earth, denies that he was thus made perfect, Philippians 3:12.

Verse 24

[24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

To Jesus, the mediator — Through whom they had been perfected.

And to the blood of sprinkling — To all the virtue of his precious blood shed for you, whereby ye are sprinkled from an evil conscience. This blood of sprinkling was the foundation of our Lord's mediatorial office. Here the gradation is at the highest point.

Which speaketh better things than that of Abel — Which cried for vengeance.

Verse 25

[25] See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Refuse not — By unbelief.

Him that speaketh — And whose speaking even now is a prelude to the final scene. The same voice which spake both by the law and in the gospel, when heard from heaven, will shake heaven and earth.

For if they escaped not — His vengeance.

Much more shall not we — Those of us who turn from him that speaketh from heaven - That is, who came from heaven to speak to us.

Verse 26

[26] Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

Whose voice then shook the earth — When he spoke from mount Sinai.

But now — With regard to his next speaking.

He hath promised — It is a joyful promise to the saints, though dreadful to the wicked.

Yet once more I will shake, not only the earth, but also the heaven — These words may refer in a lower sense to the dissolution of the Jewish church and state; but in their full sense they undoubtedly look much farther, even to the end of all things. This universal shaking began at the first coming of Christ. It will be consummated at his second coming. Haggai 2:6.

Verse 27

[27] And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

The things which are shaken — Namely, heaven and earth.

As being made — And consequently liable to change.

That the things which are not shaken may remain — Even "the new heavens and the new earth," Revelation 21:1.

Verse 28

[28] Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Therefore let us, receiving — By willing and joyful faith.

A kingdom — More glorious than the present heaven and earth.

Hold fast the grace, whereby we may serve God — In every thought, word, and work.

With reverence — Literally, with shame. Arising from a deep consciousness of our own unworthiness.

And godly fear — A tender, jealous fear of offending, arising from a sense of the gracious majesty of God.

Verse 29

[29] For our God is a consuming fire.

For our God is a consuming fire — in the strictness of his justice, and purity of his holiness.

Luke 13:10-17

Verse 11

[11] And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

She was bowed together, and utterly unable to lift up herself — The evil spirit which possessed her afflicted her in this manner. To many doubtless it appeared a natural distemper. Would not a modern physician have termed it a nervous case?

Verse 15

[15] The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

Thou hypocrite — For the real motive of his speaking was envy, not (as he pretended) pure zeal for the glory of God.

Verse 16

[16] And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

And ought not this woman? — Ought not any human creature, which is so far better than an ox or an ass? Much more, this daughter of Abraham - probably in a spiritual as well as natural sense, to be loosed?

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The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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WHEN COMPASSION TRUMPS LAW by Ryan Wilson
Luke 13:10-17
During Jesus’ day, the temple was still the main place for Jews to congregate and worship on important religious holidays; however, the synagogue was the place where people would gather for the reading of the Law. It was a house of study. Apparently, Jesus was a regular attendee of the local synagogues (Luke 4:16). Picture him sitting among other teachers of the day, listening, asking questions, reading, and interpreting Scripture.
The stooped woman had come to the synagogue for reasons unknown to us. Maybe she wanted to hear Scripture read or interpreted? Maybe she was looking to be healed? Maybe a family member had simply brought her along? Who knows? Whatever her reasons for coming, it’s interesting that the woman makes no request of Jesus to heal her. She is not the one who approaches Jesus. He sees her and calls out healing to her. In other places we hear that someone’s faith has helped to heal them. It is intriguing that nothing is said of this woman’s faith before or after Jesus heals her.
Jesus takes the initiative and says to her, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” But when the woman straightens up and begins to praise God after Jesus lays hands on her, the synagogue leader immediately calls foul! His objection is based on the fourth commandment, to remember and rest on the Sabbath.
In Jesus’ day, there were certain codes of conduct and laws of appropriate behavior for the Sabbath. The Ten Commandments had been given after the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. These laws were meant to help the new and free Israelite nation become the people of God by living in ways that honored God and built good human relationships. Through the centuries, the teachers of the law added and interpreted the commandments so that they became legal requirements. By Jesus’ day, there were many things that one could or could not do on the Sabbath. The synagogue leader reminds Jesus of the rabbinic principle that healing on the Sabbath is allowed only in critical cases, not for chronic conditions. Jesus dodges the whole issue of healing on the Sabbath and focuses on the issue of meeting human need rather than the issue of healing. Jesus focuses on releasing someone from bondage and suggests that in doing so, he honors the Sabbath and keeps the fourth commandment.
Jesus asks those who question his actions to reason with him. He basically says, “If you’d do something for your animal, would you not also do it for another human being? If an animal were bound, would you not untie it from the manger and lead it to water on the Sabbath?” Surely what they would do for an ox, they would do for another human being.
Jesus plays on the Greek words for “bound” and “loose.” If the law permitted the loosing of a bound animal for watering on the Sabbath, should it not be permitted for this woman—this daughter of Abraham—who has been bound for eighteen years? Can she not be loosed from Satan’s bond? God delivered the Israelites, who had been bound in Egypt as slaves, so isn’t the unbinding of this woman also a good thing?
Concern over the suffering of fellow human beings takes precedence over obligations related to keeping the Sabbath. Compassion always trumps law! Jesus challenges the religious community to think about what keeping the Sabbath really means. Does it mean just following the prescribed order of worship each week? Does it mean following the ceremony to the letter of the law no matter what happens? Jesus knows that religious people can be the most rigid kinds of folks when it comes to following a prescribed way of practicing their religion.
Jesus isn’t abolishing the Law of Moses, but helping the people in the synagogue have a better understanding of how to apply the law. The laws were given to help enhance life, not stifle it. Compassion will be the rule for all who follow Jesus. Jesus performs an act of service for this woman that was overdue for eighteen years. The announcement of the good news is an invitation to celebrate. Jesus confers on the woman a status of dignity by calling her a “daughter of Abraham.” The laying on of hands was a conferral of blessing.
We have our own written and unwritten laws. Christian churches have made rules, laws, regulations, and other prohibitions to try to protect the Sabbath. Laws have even been passed to force people to go to church. But what Jesus suggests is that the real idea behind the Sabbath is positive affirmation of humanity. We confuse the intent of Sabbath-keeping with our own ideas of rest or with that which makes the Sabbath restrictive and unpleasant.
Jesus reminds us that Sabbath is made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath. The commandment to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy does not give us exact instructions on how to do it, but Jesus reminds us that the command was not given to stifle life. God’s concern for Sabbath-keeping is for the health and well-being of God’s people.Jesus is bold in taking the initiative to release this woman, knowing he will be questioned. We may wonder if we would do something that we knew was right, even if in doing it, we knew it would probably create a crisis or a controversy. Whether we admit it or not, every church has procedures and protocols for what is supposed to happen at church. Breaking with these and doing something to loosen the bonds for human need is not always popular, but it seems to be Jesus’ way of remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. read more
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WORSHIP ELEMENTS: AUGUST 21, 2016 by Jamie D. Greening
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Color: Green
Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17
Theme Ideas
Luke's gospel uses the occasion of a miracle to communicate other spiritual truths. Physical healing can lead to an understanding for the need for liberation from oppression, spiritual pain, or anything that cripples the soul. Psalm 71 similarly reverberates with a powerful prayer for deliverance. God's sovereignty, and knowledge of human beings in the womb, provides an opportunity to address such topics as sanctity of human life, individuality, calling, purpose, the family, and election. The theme of worship is strong throughout the readings: Jesus teaching in the synagogue, God as our refuge (sanctuary), God's word on Jeremiah's lips, and acceptance and freedom through a powerful God. The contrast of fear and acceptance in Hebrews and Luke reminds worshipers of the inclusive nature of the gospel, and of the attractiveness of grace.
Call to Worship (Hebrews 12)
We have not come to a frightening mountain
or a scary place.
We have no fear or trembling.
This is a heavenly place where angels dwell.
We have come to be the church.
We have come to the mediator between God
and humankind: Jesus Christ our Lord.
We come with reverence and awe.
Call to Worship (Jeremiah 1, Hebrews 12)
Reach out your hand and touch our mouth, O God,
that authentic praise may flow freely from our lips.
Put your words in our mouths, O Lord,
that we might exalt you with reverence and awe.
Empower us to speak truth to the nations
and to build your kingdom here on earth.
Let it be so today. Amen. Alleluia.
Contemporary Gathering Words (Psalm 71)
In a world of pain and trouble, we need a place to heal.
Here and now, we have come into the presence of God
our healer.
God is our rock and our refuge.
We seek deliverance from the evils of sickness, illness,
and disease.
God is our rock and our refuge.
Let the old and the aging, the young and the innocent,
the confused and the lost, turn to the Lord in hope.
God is our rock and our refuge.
Praise Sentences (Hebrews 12)
Praise the Heavenly Father,
the judge of the living and the dead.
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ,
the mediator of a new covenant.
Praise the Holy Spirit,
the fire from heaven that descends to enliven our souls.
Praise the triune God,
whose perfect communion is worthy of our worship.
Opening Prayer (Jeremiah 1, Psalm 71)
Sovereign Lord,
you have brought your word to us today.
Before the womb's wonders were our home,
you knew us as unique individuals,
sacred parts of your creation.
In the mystery of the womb you protected us.
Out of the womb you have brought us.
Empower us to ministry and mission,
with the confidence of your divine touch. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Seasonal)
Lord of all creation,
we pause before you today,
laying our hectic lives on the altar before you.
Summer's warmth and rest are almost gone,
and our minds are turning to the time ahead:
students and educators are thinking about school;
farmers are thinking about crops and fall harvests;
business people are thinking about profit margins
and quarterly reports;
politicians are thinking about elections;
retailers are thinking about the holidays.
As we bow our heads before you,
help us put aside today's worries
and tomorrow's fears,
that we may worship and revel
in your presence today. Amen.
Unison Prayer (Luke 13)
Lord God, we have come to hear you speak to our hearts.
Yet there is much that binds us and blunts our hearing.
As your daughters and sons, we appeal to you for
healing and liberation—
set us free!
From cancer, AIDS, and heart disease—
set us free!
From diabetes, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's—
set us free!
From multiple sclerosis, birth defects, chemical
dependency, and depression—
set us free!
Through modern medicine and the miracles of science—
set us free!
Through your healing touch, bless our lives,
as only you can bless—
set us free! Amen.
Benediction (Hebrews 12)
Having been warmed by the spiritual fire of our God,
let us leave this place with unshakable courage
and reverent awe.
Benediction (Luke 13)
On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue,
and a crippled woman was healed.
Jesus set her free.
After he touched her, she rose up and praised God.
As we depart today, may God set us free.
May we lead lives worthy of our calling,
and may your praise be always upon our lips.From The Abingdon Worship Annual edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © Abingdon Press. The Abingdon Worship Annual 2017 is now available.read more
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WORSHIP CONNECTION: AUGUST 21, 2016 by Nancy C. Townley
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: With great rejoicing we come to the house of the Lord today!
P: God is our refuge and our stronghold.
L: The power and love of God flow through this gathering.
P: We place our whole trust in God’s mighty compassion for us.
L: Come, let us worship the Lord!
P: Let us celebrate the presence of God here in this place and in all our lives. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: Give to the Lord your whole trust.
P: We place our lives in God’s care.
L: Know that God has always and will always be with you.
P: We place our spirits in God’s embrace.
L: Worship God in confidence and peace.
P: We open our hearts to God’s incredible love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2123, “Loving Spirit,” offer the following call to worship as directed.]
Soloist: singing verse 1 of “Loving Spirit” TFWS p. 2123.
L: God has placed God’s hand on you for healing and restoration.
P: Praise God who lavishes such love on us.
L: God has called you to special service and witness.
P: Praise God who encourages us to use our gifts to help others.
Soloist: singing verse 1 of “Loving Spirit” TFWS, p. 2123.
L: Let us rejoice and praise God!P: Let our hearts and lives reflect God’s mighty love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4:
L: In the midst of trouble and turmoil, God is our refuge.
P: God is our mighty fortress and shield.
L: In God's strength we shall be healed.
P: In God's love we shall witness the Good News.
L: Come, let us worship God, grateful for God's wondrous power.
P: Open our hearts, Lord, that we might truly become bearers of peace and justice. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Lord God, whose power and mercy have extended to all ends of creation, pour your love on us this day that we might be healed and be made ready to serve you by serving others in this world that you have created. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
Lord God, we are so bound by rules and regulations that we fail to see the human need that goes beyond the bounds of structures. We easily relegate compassionate service to those agencies in our society that have that as their mandate, forgetting that you have given us the supreme mandate to care for one another, even as you have cared for us. We turn our backs on those in need, giving the responsibility to someone else. “Let someone else do the work,” we proclaim. And in that proclamation we have revealed our selfishness and our inability to be your disciples. Stop us from our selfish ways, and heal our hardened hearts. Forgive us, again, as you have so often before when we have failed to be your witnesses and workers. Help us become involved in ministries of peace and justice right where we are, for there is no where in creation where your love is not needed. Let us bring messages of love and hope to all people. Bring us to an understanding of the partnership of healing and hope that abides in your service. For we ask these things in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Though we have failed time and time again to be God's people, yet God heals and forgives us. God is with us always, ready to lift and guide our lives. Place your life and your cares in God's loving presence. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Summer is almost over and we wonder where the time went, Lord. We look at all the plans we had, those that we accomplished and those that are now to be put aside for another time. We look ahead to the busy year of witness and service and wonder if we are ready to truly work for you. The rest that we craved at the beginning of the summer now seems to have slipped rapidly away, leaving us breathlessly facing the upcoming autumn season. Help us, O Lord, feel your strengthening presence with us. Help us place our trust in you, knowing that you will empower and enable us to be in service. As we have brought the names and concerns of those who are dear to us to this service of prayer, seeking your healing, compassionate love; let us also be willing to place our needs and concerns before you. Give us a powerful sense of restoration and reconciliation to you, for we ask these things in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Litany/Reading
[The Artistic Elements for this day work with this reading. Prior to the beginning of worship, place 1/4 size sheets of paper in each bulletin. The heading on the top of the sheet should read, "My struggles and cares." Have people write out what their struggles and cares will be. During the reading or following the reading, have the ushers collect the slips of paper and place them in the baskets on the worship center.]
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2215, "Cares Chorus," offer the following reading as directed.]
Soloist: Singing the chorus of "Cares Chorus" through one time.
L: From the troubles of the world and of the nation we come to you, O Lord.
P: Lord, help us to be agents of peace and hope in these troubled times.
L: From the strife of city and village, from the politics of deception and fear, we come to you, O Lord.
P: Lord, help us to discern your love and reconciliation for all people.
Soloist: Singing the chorus of “Cares Chorus” through one time.
L: From the struggles within families and individuals as they strive of healing, we come to you, O Lord.
P: Lord, help us to listen to your healing words of love and seek ways of peace.
L: From illness and alienation, from desperation and loneliness, O Lord, we come to you.
P: Lord, bring us your peace and hope; strengthen us to be your people in loving service to you by serving others.
Soloist: singing the chorus of “Cares Chorus” through one time.
L: Lord, we cast all our cares upon you.
P: We lay our burdens down at your feet.
L: And anytime that we don’t know what to do.
P: We will cast all our cares upon you. AMEN.
[At the conclusion of the above reading, the worship leader may offer this statement:
“Lord, we have come to you this day, place our lives, our burdens, our cares in your loving power. Heal us and strengthen us. Give us courage to serve you all our days. For it is in the name of the Master Healer, Jesus Christ, that we pray. AMEN.”]
Benediction
Lord, this day you have healed us and restored us. You have given us new strength and courage to serve you in this world. Now we go in peace and confidence, ready to be your people in all places and at all times. Praise be to you, Might God of love and mercy! AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.
Note: Whenever you do an artistic interpretation or presentation for worship, it is helpful to write a small paragraph or several sentences for the Sunday bulletin explaining the symbolism both of colors and of items used.
SURFACE:
Place three risers on the worship center. The tallest of the risers should be placed at the center back; it should be about 6" in height. On this riser you will be placing a cross. The other two risers may be placed slightly forward on each side of the center riser. Small baskets will be placed on each riser.
FABRIC:
Cover the worship center with green fabric--it may be solid color or have a small tone-on-tone pattern, but should not be bright stripes or large prints. The fabric should puddle down onto the floor in front of the worship center.
CANDLES:
By each of the baskets, place a small votive candle. Place a large white pillar candle in front of the cross on the worship center.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE:
Generally I would discourage using flowers in this setting. I would use "leafy" plants, such as ivy or fern to soften the edges. I would also place large ferns near the base of the worship setting.
ROCKS/WOOD:
Some clusters of small stones may be placed near the baskets and at the base of the worship center to give texture.
OTHER:
Gather baskets of various sizes, about 5-12" in diameter. Place them on their sides on the risers on the worship center and at the base of the worship center. In these baskets, the slips of papers on which the people have written will be placed.read more
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SERMON OPTIONS: AUGUST 21, 2016
HOW DARE YOU?
HEBREWS 12:18-29
In a "Peanuts" comic strip, good old Charlie Brown is reading while Lucy swings. He says, "It says here that the world revolves around the sun once a year." Lucy gets this totally stunned look on her face and says, "The world revolves around the sun? Are you sure? I thought it revolved around me."
We all know people like that, people who think the world revolves around them, and when we have to deal with folks like that, one of our immediate responses is, "How dare you?"
I. Attitudes Make a Difference
It is easy to take offense at such an arrogant, selfish attitude. Such presumptuous pride sets our teeth on edge like fingernails on a chalkboard or the thought of a sauerkraut milkshake. Sometimes pride even gives us cause to be humble; especially when we look at our lives in light of the Son of God's sacrifice for us.
II. Our Attitude Should be Thanksgiving
In this letter the author gives a glorious invitation: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe" (v. 28). We give thanks but our inward reaction to the invitation is "How dare we?" How do we approach God, let alone offer "an acceptable worship"?
A prosperous farmer, while being interviewed by a newspaper reporter, was asked to tell the secret of his success. He told about an old rooster he had observed on his father's farm. "This rooster could peck harder, jump faster, fly higher, and fight better than any other rooster in the place. But he lost most of his fights, even against punier roosters. The trouble was that just as he was winning a fight, he would stop to crow." As Christians we can't afford to let that attitude rule.
A city bus driver had a passenger who was upset about something and let loose a string of invectives that would burn the ears off an elephant. Everyone on the bus was shocked and embarrassed. When the bus stopped and the profane rider got ready to disembark, the bus driver said, "Excuse me, sir, you left something behind." The passenger growled, "Yeah, what?" And the bus driver said, "A bad impression."
When we are haughty and arrogant in our faith and in our witness, all we leave is a bad impression. Does that describe you? When we are haughty, arrogant, demanding, and rude there's no faith and no room for Christ. There's no room for love, mercy, or grace. When there is no room for faith, love, mercy, or grace, then there is no "acceptable worship with reverence and awe."
Our Lord and Savior died for us. Contrary to what Lucy thought, the world doesn't revolve around us. There is nothing for us to be arrogant about. Instead, we're called to give thanks.
The thankful spirit shows reverence and awe. Thankfulness acknowledges that all we have and are comes from God. When we acknowledge that, there can be no haughtiness and pride. How dare we? We dare to come to God, through a thankful heart filled with awe and reverence. (Billy D. Strayhorn)
MAKING THE CROOKED STRAIGHT
LUKE 13:10-17
The setting of the text is a Jewish synagogue on a sabbath. Other than Jesus, the names of the characters of Luke's recorded drama are unknown. The focus is on a person being healed. The intent is the demonstration of the crooked becoming straight at the loving hand of the Lord.
According to the records of the Gospel writers, at this point in his ministry, Jesus was no longer teaching and preaching in the synagogues. On this particular sabbath, he did return to teach. This is the last account of his doing so. His presence in the synagogue where the lady in desperate need had come to worship was for her one of God's divine appointments. Like many worshipers today, she came to "church" anticipating more of the accustomed sameness. Because she met Jesus, she left a new person. And so may we!
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah shouted the need to make the rough places smooth and the crooked ways straight for the coming of the Lord. In Luke's account, a back is made straight at the coming of the Lord because its crookedness is taken away by his healing.
Many today need lives that are made straight by the hand of the Lord. In all the ways of our crookedness, Jesus calls us to wholeness. We can stand erect and straight in him.
I. The Concern of the Lady (vv. 11-12)
The Scripture says that the lady had been "bowed together." This was a term for the curvature of the spine. When Jesus saw her, he called to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity" (13:12 NIV). Also, he laid his hands on her. In his healing ministry, Jesus healed by speaking to the person. He also healed by touching that part of the body that was to be healed. In all likelihood, Jesus put both hands on her back. She was immediately healed, and began to praise God for her great blessing of wholeness.
For a period of eighteen years, she had suffered. Since the Jews traced all evil to the power and presence of Satan, she had been judged as a great sinner. Even as a "daughter of Abraham," she had been held captive. Now, on the Lord's day, in the Lord's house, by the Lord's Son, she had been set free.
Freedom from bondage to Satan, sin, and self is available today through the same Lord Jesus Christ. He is waiting for your faith response to his grace to be free in him.
II. The Complaint of the Leader (vv. 13-14)
Such a miracle should cause rejoicing. Instead, it prompted censure on the part of the president of the synagogue. He was indeed a hypocrite, for he acted as if he had concern for the people. In fact, he was more committed to preserve the status quo than to celebrate a miracle of God.
The implication is that the leader was aghast at the action of the woman, when obviously his tirade was directed to Jesus. He decided that healing was work. Therefore, Jesus had worked on the sabbath. Jesus had broken the strong cords of legalism. Law was more important than persons. Adherence to man's interpretation was more valuable than an individual. The debate still goes on: Law or grace? Legalism or freedom? Blind, unquestioned submission or individual priests unto God?
III. The Compassion of Christ (vv. 15-17)
The Jews said healing was acceptable if the person's life was in danger. The lady's need was not so critical that it could not wait a day to be healed. Yet, God's love is immediate. His concern is always in the present tense. And his love is ever now! Out of his constant compassion, Jesus brought new life to her. He did it in the today of her life when, so often, we delay to another day to express our love and care in the life of one in desperate need.The text ends with a party. The party poopers have been "put to shame." The people are rejoicing at the glorious thing Jesus had done. The lady who stands at last erect, strong, and straight is leading the parade. (John Lee Taylor) read more
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WORSHIP FOR KIDS: AUGUST 21, 2016 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10. The story of God's call to Jeremiah speaks pointedly to children at the beginning of a school year. With help from…
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10. The story of God's call to Jeremiah speaks pointedly to children at the beginning of a school year. With help from the preacher, children can hear that just as God knew Jeremiah before he was born and had a plan for his life, God knew them before they were born and has plans for their lives. They are not to offer Jeremiah's excuse, "I'm too young," but to be willing to live as God's people wherever they are—even at school. They appreciate God's empathy for their fears, represented in both a warning and a promise. The warning is not to be afraid of them. (Them may be teachers who intimidate students; demanding courses and tests; other kids who are smarter or more athletic; or vicious bullies). God knows that it is easy to be frightened, so we are sent out with a promise: I will be with you and protect you.
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17. Children are interested in the possibility of being bent over. They imagine what a person would look like terribly bent over (maybe walking with a cane that could touch the chin) and how being that bent would affect what you could do. Some may have head the story of the hunchback of Notre Dame and have an idea of how hard life would be for such a person. Consequently, they are ready to join the crowd in being happy about what Jesus did for the woman.
Because sabbath observance is not currently an issue for most children, they slide over Jesus' criticism of the religious leaders that brought such joy to the crowd.
Epistle: Hebrews 12:18-29. This is a passage for advanced Bible students. Children and many adults will not understand it as it is read. Rather than introduce and explain the comparison between the people worshiping God at the foot of Mount Sinai and Christians worshiping God, simply state the writer's message—that we are to worship God and be happy because God is so awesome. God rules all people of all ages and has acted through Jesus Christ to build an invisible, never-ending community which we are invited to join. For children, this is mainly an invitation to celebrate God's love and power as they hear it described in the Bible (e.g., the healing in today's Gospel) and as they experience it themselves.
Watch Words
To avoid the giggles that follow mention of wombs, use the Good News Bible for the Old Testament lessons and psalm.
Let the Children Sing
Praise God with rejoicing hymns. "Now Thank We All Our God" and "Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty" are two of the easiest for children to understand. Though the vocabulary of "Holy, Holy, Holy" is difficult for children, the repeated phrase describing the awesome God—"Holy, holy, holy"—sets the mood and can be sung by even nonreaders.
Choose hymns about healing carefully. Most of them equate physical and spiritual healing in ways that battle children. The seven verses of "When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee," however, are a happy recalling of the many people (including the bent-over woman) Jesus healed. It can be sung in unison by a children's choir or the congregation. Or it can be sung responsively, with a children's choir or soloist singing the verses and an adult choir or the congregation singing the double refrain in each verse. (Find this new hymn in The United Methodist Hymnal.)
The next several Sundays focus on themes of repentance and commitment. Choose one of the following to sing several times during the series: "Be Thou My Vision," "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian," or "Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated." Consider using one as a "hymn of the month" to build the children's familiarity.
The verses of "Go Forth for God" do not make much sense to children, although they enjoy the repetition of the first and last lines of each verse and can sing them (if nothing else) when they are pointed out by the worship leader.
The Liturgical Child
1. Give the simple story in Luke a dramatic reading. Take the parts of the religious leaders and Jesus. Point your finger menacingly and speak with great indignation when reading the accusations of the religious leaders. Then, with hands turned up in resignation, voice Jesus' amazed response.
2. In the mood of the people celebrating Jesus' healing ministry among them, and of the writer of Hebrews describing God's awesome activity, create a praise litany celebrating what God is doing in your congregation. In advance, ask several people to describe briefly one way God is at work in your congregation. Give each person a specific assignment, such as the church's Bible school, youth mission trips or camps, special church-wide events, mission work of the congregation, seasonal glories, national and international events in which you see God at work, and so forth. Include people who represent all ages and groups in the congregation. To each person's description, the congregation responds: Truly God is at work among us.
Have one practice session with speakers during which you can help them edit their statements (if needed) and prepare for a smooth presentation. In a small sanctuary, speakers may stand to speak loudly and clearly from their seats. In larger sanctuaries, they will need to be near microphones.
3. Use Jeremiah's call for a "back-to-school" Charge and Benediction. Ask all worshipers who will attend school this fall to stand, then say: Hear the word of the Lord. I knew you before I gave you life. I chose you before you were born. I send you now to school. Study and learn. Be my people in the classroom. Stand up for my ways in the lunchroom and on the playground. Be my witnesses on the bus.
Ask all who will not be students this fall to stand also, then say: Hear the word of the Lord to you. I also knew you before I gave you life. I chose you before you were born. Do not say to me, "I am only a housewife," or "I am the least important person in my office." I am sending you to that office or factory or community. Be my people. Stand up for my ways. Speak my words to those you meet.
And all of you, students, teachers, business folks, homemakers, remember God's promise to Jeremiah and to you. God says, "Do not be afraid. I will be with you to protect you. I will put my words in your mouth." So go in peace.
Sermon Resources
Most sermons are aimed at adults, with some efforts to include children. Because the beginning of school is such an intense time for children, it is worth planning a "back-to-school" sermon aimed at the children. Because adults have been where the children are now, and because the whole culture gets in a back-to-work frame of mind as summer ends and fall schedules begin, adults resonate with the situation and translate school examples to their workplaces.
Jeremiah's call is a natural text with which to remind children that God made them and has
a plan for them. It is an opportunity to build self-esteem, especially for those children who do not do well in school. It Is also an opportunity to send children to school to be faithful disciples and witnesses to God's love, forgiveness, and justice.read more
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AUGUST 21, 2016 - FEAR AND FIRE by William H. Willimon
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Welcome to the new Pulpit Resource from Will Willimon. For over three decades Pulpit Resource helps preachers prepare to preach. Now in partnership with Abingdon Press, this homiletical weekly is available with fresh and timely accessibility to a new generation of preachers.

No sermon is a solo production. Every preacher relies on inherited models, mentors in the preacher’s past, commentaries on biblical texts by people who have given their lives to such study, comments received from members of the congregation, last week’s news headlines, and all the other things that make a sermon communal.
No Christian does anything on their own. We live through the witness of the saints; preachers of the past inspire us and judge us. Scripture itself is a product of the community of faith. A host of now-forgotten teachers taught us how to speak. Nobody is born a preacher.
Pulpit Resource is equivalent to sitting down with a trusted clergy friend over a cup of coffee and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Whenever I’ve been asked by new preachers, “How can I develop as a preacher?” my usual response is, “Get in a group of preachers. Meet regularly. Learn how to give and how to receive help. Sort through the advice of others, and utilize helpful insights.”
That’s Pulpit Resource.
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