|
BIBLICAL OBEDIENCE AND A WAY FORWARD
Biblical obedience and
a way forward
Paul Franklyn interviews retired United Methodist Bishop Roy Sano about the UMC and the conversations surrounding same-sex marriage, homosexual practice, and biblical obedience. This is part of a series of podcasts connected with the book “Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church.” LISTEN Paul Franklyn interviews retired United Methodist Bishop Roy Sano about the UMC and the conversations surrounding same-sex marriage, homosexual practice, and biblical obedience. Ministry Matters previously published a blog post by Bishop Sano titled "Biblical Obedience." This is part of a series of podcasts connected with the book Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church. <iframe src="http://www.spreaker.com/embed/player/standard?episode_id=4791133" style="width: 100%; height: 131px; min-width: 400px;" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Revival
Online ‘Revival’ event
featuring Adam Hamilton
Thursday August 7 at 3pm ET
FREE — Sign up now!
We'll be interviewing Pastor Adam Hamiton live on August 7 at 3pm ET about his latest project, “Revival.” We'll discuss Adam's travels to England where he followed the life of John Wesley, and we'll talk about the defining characteristics of a Wesleyan Christian. We'll also include some of your comments and questions from social media. FIND OUT MORE | SIGN UP NOW
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1o1NwGGvG3vmVGEEFQcqGQHty1MScULKjtt7dRvEQB3I/viewform
We'll be interviewing Pastor Adam Hamiton live on August 7 at 3pm ET about his latest project, Revival. We'll discuss his travels to England where he followed the life of John Wesley, and we'll talk about the defining characteristics of a Wesleyan Christian. We'll also include some of your comments and questions from social media. The webinar is free, but you can sign up in advance to reserve a spot and receive updates and reminders before the event.
CHRISTIANS: THERE'S ONLY ONE SIDE TO PICK IN ISRAEL VS. PALESTINE
Christians: There's only one side to pick in Israel vs. Palestine
by Matt Darvas
Right now the world’s press, social-media, Christian circles and church halls around the world are buzzing with the dangerous claims and accusations of influential pastors, politicians, leaders and laypeople, who each insist that there is a ‘side to pick’ in the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.
But what side would Jesus take?
When my wife and I visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories last year as part of a study tour run by a leading seminary from the United States, I was shocked. No, it was more than that, I was totally dismayed and my heart deeply grieved. We were here to learn about the one who taught love for the enemy, justice for the oppressed, healing for the sick and the need for peace and goodwill between all men. And yet when it came to the very real crisis playing out right before us, it was as if this man’s teachings were like the ancient ruins that we would drive from place to place to visit — admired, appreciated, even treated with a sense of awe but ultimately left behind as something belonging to another time, with little or no relevance to the conflict that now raged around them.
During that trip, the first time we drove in sight of the separation wall that separates Israel from the West Bank, we were peppered rapid fire with the passionate but heavily biased opinions of our onboard mandatory Israeli tour guide (whose comments were met to my disbelief by the quiet nods and tacit approval of the other lovely, but in my opinion, rather uncritical passengers).
It wasn’t that there was no merit to some of what our Israeli guide was saying (who was otherwise a decent guy who I got along with quite well), it’s just that we were being given no opportunity to hear from the other side as well. Not once did we get to speak to a Palestinian, not even to one of tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians.
So, desperate to hear both sides of the conflict, we stayed on in Israel and organised for ourselves to enter the West Bank in the search for our own answers.
Let me just stop now and explain why this is for me personally, such a difficult and complex issue to begin to address, and why it is one that I approach with the upmost sensitivity, respect, and if I’m honest, a fair bit of fear too.
Firstly, my addressing this topic has the very real potential to offend and be misunderstood by those closest to me, my family.
My father’s parents are both ethnically Jewish and amongst the tiny few from their own families that escaped the horrors of the Holocaust and its concentration camps. That makes my Dad Jewish. On my wife’s side are stories of suffering too. Her Jewish grandparents fled as refugees from Egypt, which means that my mother-in-law is proudly Jewish (and rightfully so). And finally — since Jewish culture determines that one’s ethnicity runs through the mother’s blood line when both parents are not Jewish — my wife is Jewish despite her father hailing from the UK. Therefore, our future children will also be by birth, ethnically Jewish too (a fact which I am proud of).
Secondly, I claim no ‘expertise’ in the region with only a basic understanding of the complex historical, religious and geopolitical factors that fuel the current conflict.
However, it has reached the point where I am so deeply grieved by what so many Christians and prominent leaders think they can say on this subject of ‘whose side’ we should be taking (the very worst instances being those argued and defended on the grounds of scripture that has often been terribly mishandled and torn from it’s original meaning and context) that I felt I needed to share my thoughts, if only just to find some clarity for myself.
So, having hopefully clearly and humbly stated my position, here are my
Three reasons why there is only ONE side Christians can take in the Israel vs. Palestine conflict:
1. Both sides are suffering terribly and both are guilty of harming one-another.
I believe that every man, woman and child is made in the image of God. Therefore, the loss of any life, be it Palestinian or Jewish, grieves the heart of God immeasurably and should grieve us similarly. Death counts should not be used to ‘pick sides’. The media has focused a great deal on the loss of lives in Palestine, which has included an appallingly high number of children. Yet what often gets left behind is the death toll that would be if Israel’s Iron Dome System were not in place. Make no mistake both sides are guilty of seeking to inflict heavy casualties on each other.
I also don’t believe there are grounds for taking sides based on the events of history both recent and past. The Jewish people’s suffering is plain to see. As a result of both having experienced the holocaust, and their current vulnerability in a region where some of their closest neighbours have made it very clear that they would prefer the state of Israel’s non-existence, it is right for us to sympathise with the people of Israel, and it is essential that we do what we can to protect their right to existence.
However, though the hardships of Palestinians are often far ‘less’ seen by the mainstream evangelical Church, they are still incredibly real and present. They include the destruction of traditional family homes, the loss of livelihoods and the constant sense of humiliation forced upon them by mandatory check-points and their treatment as "second class citizens."
2. If there are Palestinians and Israelis who can work together for peace, what excuse do the rest of us have?
Again often ignored by the media are the proliferation of organisations and campaigns being led by everyday Palestinians and Israelis ‘on the ground’ who are desperately reaching out to each other in the hope of fostering peace in order to create a future of mutual co-existence. Their stories are both incredible and inspiring. A few of note include:
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF): Made up of 600 families from both Palestinian and Israeli backgrounds that have lost children in the conflict, who believe that speaking together and practicing reconciliation are the only options if there is to be peace.
The Tent of Nations: Situated near Bethlehem on the historical land of Bishara Nassar, a Palestinian Christian who lived on the land his entire life. Today it is a place where youth from around the world are invited to come together to ‘build bridges’ whilst farming the land in order to stop its confiscation by Israeli forces.
Breaking the Silence: Is run by veteran combatants of the Israeli military who, “Have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories…. and the price paid for a reality in which young soldiers face a civilian population on a daily basis, and are engaged in the control of that population’s everyday life.”
Christian Peacemaker Teams: Bring together Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers to resist injustice through nonviolent protest, education and the creation of spaces for reconciliation and peace.
3. Jesus gives us only ONE side to “pick.”
And he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will inherit the earth.”
I don’t know of any other way that this statement can possibly be interpreted other than in its most literal form, which is that Jesus really wanted us to take no other side than that of peace.
And furthermore, with his command to, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Every single justification for retribution, the use of violence and the practice of Christians taking sides in any conflict, must surely come crashing down.
It was as if Jesus knew that violence would only deliver more violence, and hatred only produce more hatred…
If we who are called to be “children of the light” insist only on fueling the darkness by propagating the rhetoric of one side over another, then sadly darkness is all we will ever get. And yet the Kingdom is coming, hope is on the way. Let us Christians, of all people, not be the ones to stand in its way.
Question: It’s time to share your thoughts. Do you think Christians are justified in picking a side in this conflict?
(Please keep comments in line with the spirit of 1 Peter 3:8 - Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.)
UPDATE: Thousands of people have read this article since it was originally posted. I have made this short video in response to the many (great) questions, comments and concerns that have been raised. I don’t claim any ‘expertise’ on this difficult topic, nor am I seeking to be ‘right’, I simply want to start a conversation on what Jesus’ command ‘to be peacemakers’ might look like in all of this. Matt
<iframe width="600" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7EaAcJq65v8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Matt blogs at MattDarvas.com. You can subscribe to his blog to receive future posts on all things justice, culture, faith and life.
DEVELOPING THE SPIRIT OF A CHILD IN A MONTESSORI WAY
Christian education and the Montessori method by 
Debi Miller
Debi Miller
One hundred seven years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori instituted the Montessori Method, a revolutionary teaching method completely based on the development of a child. Though this method has been around for awhile, it is still not as well known in mainstream education, let alone in the Christian realm.
Dr. Montessori was an Italian physician and educator. She graduated from the University of Rome as one of Italy’s first female physicians. During her first years after college, she became interested in working with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This allowed her time to focus on observing and scientifically tracking which methods did and did not work to improve skills for these children. During her time in this field, her students took the state exam that was given to all children of the same age across Italy. Her methods had proven that they were incredibly helpful to children with disabilities. As a result, Dr. Montessori asked why it was okay to just stop there. She felt that if she was able to improve the skills of children with different special needs, why couldn't more be expected of their typically developing peers?
After working and developing new ways of teaching children with disabilities, she decided to open a school in a poor, inner-city area or Rome in 1907. This was the first “Casa Dei Bambini” or “Children’s House.” She spent many, many years observing children and adapting her method to how a child actually grows and develops. The materials she developed were a result observation of how a young child learns. She traveled to observe children of different cultures and found that all children, no matter what country, physically develop the same proving that her method could be used worldwide.
So, what is the Montessori method?
Montessori education focuses on the whole child. It allows the child freedom to develop his physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual sides. The Montessori approach accomplishes this through hands-on materials, one-on-one individualized lessons, freedom of movement, teaching grace and courtesies, and allowing the child to develop at her own pace. The prepared environment is geared towards a specific age group spanning 3 years (for example: 3-6 years old, 6-9 years old) where the older children teach the younger children when able. Studies have shown children learn more from peer tutors than from adult teachers. Not only do they learn from each other, but because of freedom of choice in the classroom, they learn from themselves and the self-correcting materials. They can practice a lesson over and over until it is actually mastered.
As the traditional view of education continues to try to make it better for all children, it seems that people become more and more up in arms about what their children are doing in school. Standardizing testing has run rampant throughout the country and have the end results shown an increase in learning? In my opinion (and many others), it has not. It has shown which students are able to memorize facts and equations for a test and which students cannot do so. Future graduates of education programs from colleges are all taught that children all learn at different levels, in different ways and at different paces. These graduates come out of universities excited to teach and reach every student. They hit the door of their classroom and they find that their hands are tied. They may not stray from the curriculum (fear of their students failing the standardized test), they cannot possibly teach to every child’s level, they may not let children repeat more challenging lessons because they must move on (to get to everything on the test). More and more researchers are coming up with Montessori-like ideas to help improve traditional schooling, but it cannot be truly used in a traditional setting until all adults in the traditional schools develop a respect for the child; for who chidren are as humans, how they develop and how they learn.
My Montessori experience
I became involved in the Montessori world after I graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania with a dual major in Elementary and Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education. I quickly realized that this field was not for me. I had to give reading lessons to a class with half of typical 5th graders and half children with learning disabilities. How was I to prepare a reading lesson for the reading levels between kindergarten and 7th grade? My cooperating teacher was not able to help me. She told me just to teach to the middle which didn’t make sense to me. Later, I was to give the PA standardized test to my students with learning disabilities. Many of them cried, one called himself “stupid” several times, and only one child actually attempted the test. Even though I was able to see him work hard and struggle through the test, I knew his answers were wrong and he was failing.
This led me to search out other educational options for children. I was hired as an assistant at a private Montessori school. I remember seeing 4 year olds doing 4 digit addition using hands on materials. I remember seeing 2.5 and 3 year olds pouring water, scrubbing tables and learning sounds. I saw a student walking on an ellipse, holding a flag to keep her balance. I saw a teacher sitting one-on-one with a student, while the other twenty-four in the classroom worked and walked around the room without needing any attention from adults. It was a perfect world for a child. I knew I needed to be in this type of teaching setting. A year and a half later, I had completed my Montessori Primary training and got my Masters in Teaching from Belmont University.
During my Montessori training, I learned more about how our culture of education came to be. It was during the industrial revolution when factory businesses were booming. The thought was, “If we can produce products quickly in a factory, we should do the same for our children.” Thus, the factory model of education was born. Each year, one teacher would dump as much knowledge into these empty vessels and after a year, these vessels would be ready to move onto the next “grade,” just waiting for another year of knowledge dumping to occur. This is not following any sort of child development.
Montessori classrooms
Hearing about what a Montessori classroom is like may bring up a lot of questions. The best way to understand Montessori is to observe a classroom. There are a lot of misconceptions about Montessori. Many people think Montessori schools are only for gifted children, or only for children with special needs. The truth is Montessori is for every child, but sometimes not every family. It is a lifestyle choice and when carried over into the home, it really helps the child to flourish. Some people think that Montessori classrooms must be absolute chaos if the children are allowed to “do whatever they want.” This is untrue. The philosophy does not say to let the children run wild. Children are supposed to be given as much freedom as they can handle, and there are limits to that freedom (rules that everyone in the classroom agrees upon). You can read about more common misconceptions here.
Montessori and religious education
Many people think Montessori is a religious education. This is not necessarily true. Dr. Montessori was a devout Catholic, though she knew if she put Christianity into her education philosophy, children around the world may not be able to take part. She decided to ask Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi to take over the religious arm of Montessori Education. They developed “The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd,” a Montessori philosophy based Christian education program. Some Montessori schools choose to be non-secular, while others use the Catechesis in their traditional program.
The Catechesis inspired another form of Christian education called “Godly Play” by Jerome Berryman. Both of these methods have their roots in Montessori. If children can learn incredible things through the Montessori method (according to studies, much more than typical peers in other education programs) starting at the youngest of ages, it only makes sense that we should teach them about Christianity in the same manner.
Christianity can be an extremely difficult concept to teach to young children who learn best by touching, feeling and manipulating objects. Nevertheless, churches across the country continue to do Christian education through worksheets and art projects. In this method (like traditional teaching), the idea is that the teacher has all of the knowledge and needs to impart it to the young students. How many Christians would admit to having all knowledge of Christianity, Jesus and God? In Matthew 18:3, we are actually told to “change and become like little children” to enter the kingdom of God. (NIV) Why is this? I feel this is because children have a very different view of God and feel even closer than many adults do. They see the world differently. They have a lot to say about this subject from their own hearts. They have a lot of wisdom and knowledge that many adults will never know because the belief is children are empty vessels and can only be dumped into.
In the Catechesis and Godly Play models, children are treated respectfully, as equals, with the idea that they have important thoughts and questions. They learn through hearing the Bible, manipulating objects to tell the Bible stories, and are encouraged to come up with amazingly thoughtful and deep questions and thoughts toward the stories. They are shown the stories in a visual manner, are encouraged to retell the story themselves (deep learning) and teach it to other children (teaching is the true test of mastery). Silence is taught as an important human necessity and as a daily activity (something many of us especially families need more of).
This is just the beginning of how amazing Christian education could be if it was taught in a way that children develop and learn. There is a way to help children learn about the amazing God we have and it does not need to include cutting and pasting a picture of Jesus every week. It does not need to include students memorizing Bible verses for candy. It can be a deep, meaningful relationship with God and the church.
Books of interest
"Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius" by Angeline Stoll Lillard. Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press. (ISBN 9780195369366)
"How to Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way" by Tim Seldin. Copyright © 2006 by DK. (ISBN 9780756625054)
"Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education" by Trevor Eissler. Copyright © 2009 by Sevenoff. (ISBN 9780982283301)
The Good Shepherd and the Child: A Joyful Journey by Sofia Cavlletti. Copyright © 2007 Liturgy Training Publications. (ISBN 9781568541570)
Books about and written by Jerome Berryman
To see an example of Montessori view this YouTube video from Mt. Juliet Montessori Academy
7 SERMON MISTAKES
7 sermon mistakes by 
Ed Trimmer
Ed Trimmer
While I have been an ordained United Methodist preacher for almost forty years I spend more time listening to sermons than I do preaching them. I am in extension ministry and part of my role is to listen to other folks preach. Over the years I find preachers making some common mistakes. Here is my quick list of the most common mistakes that drive me crazy about sermons—how about you? What’s on your list?
The sermon is not faithful to the text.
I realize that I am not like most listeners to sermons in that I have a significant knowledge of scripture but it drives me crazy when the “main” point of the sermon either has nothing to do with the scripture OR the main point is not a faithful exegesis of the scripture. And one is quoting scripture all over the sermon which usually means no real exegesis was done in the first place or can be done since the preacher is just finding bits and pieces of scripture that they think illustrate their point(s).
The sermon is not relevant to the lives of the people hearing the sermon.
Most sermons should interact with the human condition and it may be impossible to interact with your specific human condition in every sermon as people may be unique. However, when week after week the sermon has nothing to do with the lives of those hearing the sermon, it is irrelevant.
The sermon does not “hang together.”
I realize that not all sermons must be written as if for an English class with a main thesis that is then explained. But when a sermon wanders here, there and everywhere and cannot be followed the listener quickly disengages and the sermon is ignored. In talking with a few district superintendents lately, this is one of the main concerns they have after listening to “their” preachers.
The sermon is not authentic.
While one can glean “good” stories and interesting illustrations from the internet and literature a sermon needs to be authentic to the preacher. More and more I hear preachers preaching someone else’s sermon and it just does not ring true. Additionally, it is often through the sermon parishioners have an opportunity to get to know the preacher and their faith. Were you called to preach or were you called to read someone else’s sermon?
The sermon does not offer God’s grace.
Need I say more?
A misunderstanding of how the Holy Spirit works.
The Holy Spirit cannot be “controlled” by us. It comes and goes as it wills. Thus believing that you can control or manipulate the Holy Spirit to show up whenever you want it to or whenever you preach is a total misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit. We must prepare mightily in our preparation of worship and the sermon hoping and praying that the Holy Spirit will be found in our preparation and in our preaching.
And lastly
When did “um” or “ah” or “you know” become a significant part of our attempts to communicate with each other?
That's a quick list I put together after hearing a friend try, in a two hour workshop, to help people learn to preach in a Certified Lay Ministry class. What would you add to this list? He did a great job by the way!
MY PROBLEM WITH PLURALISM
My problem with pluralism by 
John Meunier
John Meunier
On Friday, I attended afternoon prayers at the local Islamic Center with my colleagues from CPE. After the prayers were over, one of the Muslim gentlemen came over to our group and started to evangelize us with stories about how the Quran explains that Jesus did not die on the cross.
I appreciated his efforts, even if they were a bit of an embarrassment to our host. Our host tried to get us away from our evangelizer and apologized for his brother in the faith’s tactics. As it turns out, many advocates of interfaith pluralism find evangelism awkward and uncouth.
This is a big part of why I find pluralism so difficult to embrace.
I find it difficult because I live in a culture that wants to put claims on people that are inconsistent with the gospel. And here, when I speak of the culture contrary to the gospel, I do not mean people like my Muslim evangelizer. I mean majority American culture.
Pluralism is the watchword of that culture. It says what we believe about God does not really matter, so long as we keep it to ourselves. As long as what we believe stays locked up inside our own heads and behind our church doors, everything is fine. The culture wants us buying Big Macs and paying our taxes on time. Religion gets in the way of that, and so our culture tries to keep religion a private matter, something best not shared or discussed in mixed company. Our culture uses the word “preach” as a pejorative term. “Don’t preach at me.”
Preaching itself is a struggle against the notion that every American has a God-given right to decide for himself or herself what the truth is and to live the life that they think best suits them. Opening up a Bible and saying the God revealed in its pages is the one who should determine who we are and how we live crashes head long into much of the value system promoted in American culture.
This message goes under the cover of saying Christians should not try to convert Jews or Muslims, but there is no reason at all why the logic of the message is limited to fellow monotheists. Americans have a lot of beliefs and practices that run counter to the gospel.
If we think it is wrong to try to evangelize Jews or Muslims of Hindus, then why should we consider it okay to evangelize pagans or materialists or those who are vaguely spiritual but not religious?
In other words, I have a hard time with pluralism precisely because I believe the people in the churches I serve need Jesus Christ. If I thought they could be just as well off with any set of beliefs that they happened to find suitable for themselves, then I would not bother to preach. But if I am convinced that preaching Jesus Christ and his gospel is good for the people who show up in the pews where I serve, then I should think it is good for people who worship other gods as well.
Or that is how it seems to me.
John blogs at johnmeunier.wordpress.com.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH?
What does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? by 
Clifton Stringer
Clifton Stringer
God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24 NRSV)
"What is worship in spirit and truth?" the preacher asked. His answer to his own question, delivered with no small amount of passionate aplomb: "You can't define it, but you know it when you see it." He was a gifted preacher, but very unhelpful when it came to answering the biblical question he placed in our minds!
So... What is worship in spirit and truth?
The tradition does not contain only one settled interpretation of what “spirit and truth” in John 4:24 mean. Rather, we are offered many, often complementary, interpretations. A handful of such can be found in St. Thomas Aquinas’ lectures on John 4.
Yet the late neoscholastic extraordinaire, Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., says something while speaking of Mary’s “divine maternity” (which refers to the fact that she is mother of God incarnate) that opens up an interesting interpretation of John 4:24. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange says this in his Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought. He writes:
To become Mother of God, Mary had to give her consent to the realization of the mystery. By this consent, as tradition says, she conceived her Son, not only in body, but also in spirit, in body, because He is flesh of her flesh, in spirit, because He awaited her consent. But her act of consent was given, says St. Thomas, in the name of the human race.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange speaks of Mary’s consent to the incarnation, which we see in Scripture in Luke 1:38: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange interprets Mary’s consent as Mary’s conceiving Jesus “in spirit” (as distinct from “in body”). If “in spirit” may be taken to mean “consentingly,” we thus see an interesting way to interpret the sense of what Jesus is saying in John 4:24. On this reading, he means something like: Those who worship God must worship consentingly and in truth.
What we gain by this interpretation is clarity about the intrinsic freedom of true Christian worship. Just as Mary freely says yes to the plan by which God will save humankind by becoming incarnate in Jesus Christ, so every true worshiper must say yes to God’s revelation inwardly in order to truly worship.
This also makes it clear why worship “in spirit” is connected to worship “in truth.” The truth in question is the truth of God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ (c.f. John 1:14). This is a truth that only saves insofar as it is received — that is, insofar as we say yes to it. Every time a Christian worships the Father she says yes to (that is, she gives her consent to and receives) Jesus Christ (who is the truth, John 14:6). From this we may see that the church’s yes is typified by Mary’s yes — Mary’s yes is the archetype of the church’s yes and each of our many yesses. Mary is in this way a picture of the church, and is a model disciple.
Further, we may see that in Christian worship the church is constituted anew as the Bride of Christ by saying yes to his offer of fruitful covenant love. This is especially the case at the celebration of the Eucharist, as each Christian, giving consent, receives the Lord in the flesh with open-handed embrace or open-mouthed kiss. That is worship in spirit and truth.
21 WAYS TO KEEP A CHURCH FROM GROWING
21 ways to keep a church from growing by 
Ron Edmondson
Ron Edmondson
I was once asked to help a church process how to get younger people to attend. After we discussed some change recommendations a man pulled me aside and said, “Son, we don’t need no fancy ideas around here. We like being a small church.”
I soon learned he represented the feelings of the church as a whole. They thought they wanted to reach younger people, but the truth was — when faced with change — they were really satisfied with the church as it had been for many years.
There’s nothing wrong with being a small church. Let me say that again — There is nothing wrong with being a small church. In fact, in some communities, what is considered small is actually large by comparison to churches in larger cities. I’m not opposed to small churches, but I do have a problem with some small church mentalities.
I think there is a difference.
As long as there are lost people nearby, I believe the church has much work to do. And, any organization, Christian or secular, that refuses to accept some changes will stop growing and eventually die.
The fact is that growing a church is hard work. It’s relatively easy to keep things small or stop growth.
In fact, I can come up with lots of ways I’ve seen that keep a church from growing.
Here are 21 of them:
Make the entry to serving in the church lengthy or complicated
Develop followers not leaders
Squelch any dream except the pastor’s own
Refuse new people a voice at the table
Make sure everyone knows who is in charge — and it’s not Jesus
Cast your vision — but only once
Only do “church” inside the building
Demand that it be done the way it’s always been done
Give up when change is resisted
Make excuses when things go wrong
Quit dreaming
Resist any organized system, strategy or plans to grow the church
Stop praying
Insist you have all the answers before you “walk by faith”
Never challenge people
Treat new people as outsiders
Always refer to the past as the good times
Put more energy into structure than serving
Allow gossip to fester
The ministerial staff does everything
Be stingy investing in the next generation
Whenever I do a post like this I get a common — and expected — question. Well, if these are ways not to grow a church, then what are some ways to grow a church? And, that is one of the main topics I write about in other posts. But, for simplicity sake, try doing the opposite of some of these I’ve listed and see how they help the church to grow.
What am I missing? What else will keep a church from growing?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
FINDING GOD IN YOUR LUCKY CHARMS
Finding God in your lucky charms by 
Tom Fuerst
Tom Fuerst
A few weeks ago, I went into Walgreens to get a heating patch and some Bengay. After nearly a week of pain in my neck and shoulder and two chiropractor visits, I’d exhausted my stock of heating pads and my patience. Walgreens is supposedly at the corner of Happy and Healthy, but I entered at the corner of Argh! and I’m Going to Ruin Someone!
In fact, my mood was so dark that when I entered Walgreens, I not only didn’t notice, but didn’t care that the sun was out, the air was cool, and it was the nicest day we’d had in months.
But the bright, springy day was nothing compared to the lady behind the counter, who smiled at me big-as-life when the sliding doors opened. She asked if I needed help, and I replied, “No,” even though I’ve never had to purchase Bengay and didn’t even know where to start.
I knew my irritable state couldn’t handle very much of her ilk. “Captain Cheery over there is just a bit too much for me today,” I remember thinking to myself.
Within a few minutes, I’ve found my heating pads and Bengay and I make my way back to the counter. I tried to counter my irritability with a quick and polite, “How are you?”
I didn’t really mean it. I just wanted to fulfill my end of the Small Talk Social Contract.
But of course Captain Cheery took that as an invitation to sermonize.
I spent the next few minutes listening to her talk about how God has given us a beautiful day, how the sun and the blue sky are God’s gift to us, and how she’s grateful for his grace. You know, the usual bunnies and sunshine stuff.
I listened.
Patiently.
Well, to be honest, I listened more than patiently. I listened almost jealously.
I’ve never really been a person who sees God in every ray of sunshine or every bowl of Lucky Charms. I’ve never really been a person who sees the fingerprints of God every spring when the flowers wake up.
When I hear people say they see God in a sunny day, my first thought goes to the yearly cycles of nature. When I hear people talk about seeing God in their Lucky Charms, I wonder if that flippin’ leprachaun didn’t douse those marshmallows with something sinister to make them “Magically religious!” And when I hear people talk of seeing the fingerprints of God all over their lives, I think about the fact that there has never been a single instance in my life that I couldn’t explain with an appeal to something much more natural than divine intervention.
It’s not that I don’t believe. I do. I believe fervently. I believe in God and trust in Christ.
But belief has never been that easy for me.
It’s not that I doubt Captain Cheery or anyone else’s experience (Well, okay, maybe the Lucky Charms people). I’m grateful that they can see God in sunshine and rain.
It’s just that I can’t. And I’ve never really been able to do so. Faith is hard work for me. Sure, some days it’s a little harder than other days. But it’s never easy. A long time ago I had to come to terms with the fact that doubt and faith are not antithetical realities. It’s been good for me to see that, even within the Bible, there are people who seem less inclined to seeing God under every rock, and yet God still seems to work through them. One cannot read nearly half the Psalms, or Job, or Ecclesiastes without walking away with the feeling that faith is not easy for even some of the biblical writers.
And even the faith that does come to some of these biblical writers is a greyer kind of faith — in the words of Martin Marty, a “wintry” kind of faith. Instead of celebrating sunshine and flowers, these writers are crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” and “Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
These are my people. People of faith — staunch faith — who happen to also come by faith through a difficult daily path.
On the bright side, I’ve learned that I’m not alone. There are many of us who struggle with faith, many of us who always have doubt on the horizon, who don’t need certitude to make us feel a connection with God, and who don’t need to feel a connection with God to know that God has a connection with us.
And to be honest, I’ve learned a lot by watching my fellow Christians who have the ability to see God in sunshine and flowers. I find myself quite jealous of them. And I’ve even come to appreciate the Captain Cheery here and there that God brings into my life.
So, I listened to Captain Cheery with patience. I listened with jealousy. I listened with appreciation. And I left the store praising God for the yearly seasonal cycles. I thanked God for holding the world together by the power of his word. And I thanked God that even though faith does not come easy for me, it still does come.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS NEVER HUMANE
The death penalty is never humane by 
James Alan Fox / USA Today
James Alan Fox / USA Today
(RNS) The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits punishments deemed to be cruel and unusual, a standard to which capital punishment does not rise, at least according to the U.S. Supreme Court. But with yet another botched execution, the third over the past six months, the cruelty is becoming pretty usual.
It was disturbing enough that the state of Arizona last week took nearly two hours to execute convicted double-murderer Joseph Rudolph Wood, during most of which time he appeared to witnesses to be gasping for breath and grunting in pain. To me, however, equally disturbing is how many people rejoiced over the poor excuse for justice.
One commenter remarked that “The more pain the criminal feels the better.” Another was anything but concerned about the mishap: “I really don’t care if he suffered. I hope it hurt like hell. I hope his last moments were full of pain and terror.”
A simple post by a third online contributor reflected total satisfaction with the prolonged ritual, “Sounds like success to me!” Similar unsympathetic comments were posted on other news websites.
The struggle to identify the right mixture of drugs to perform lethal injections stems directly from the oppositional consensus concerning the American way of punishing murderers.
Certain nations prohibit execution drugs to be exported to the United States. Drug manufacturers, whose core mission is to promote health and healing, refuse to allow their products to be used for such nefarious purposes. Further complicating matters, medical professionals keep as much distance as possible from the procedure out of their ethical commitment to doing no harm. As a result, correctional officials are fumbling and bumbling to find the right solution.
Notwithstanding the disgraceful outpouring of joy over Wood’s ordeal, in one respect I, too, was encouraged by the botched execution. As a longtime opponent of capital punishment, my sense of encouragement is radically different from the vengeance-minded folks who espoused their venomous views publicly.
Having witnessed a speedy and smoothly orchestrated execution by lethal injection, I am distressed when the death penalty is successfully carried out in a so-called “humane” fashion.
I am concerned about relentless efforts to make the administration of capital punishment streamlined, straightforward, and simple. Although It should never be easy to kill a person, even one convicted of a heinous crime. To the contrary, the execution ritual should be excruciating for everyone involved. Each time we take a life in the name of justice, the controversy over capital punishment should be at the forefront.
The focus of the debate should not, however, be about the most efficient means of putting a condemned murderer to death, but about whether we should be retaining the barbaric and archaic practice in the first place.
By allowing executions to continue, even now when murder rates are low, the U.S. joins China, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan on the Top 5 List for executions, and earns disdain from our peer nations throughout Europe and elsewhere.
Over the past decade, the arguments for capital punishment have shifted. Research has largely disputed the claim of deterrence, and various accounting analyses have demonstrated the high cost of the death penalty. As a consequence, death penalty advocacy has become less an issue of public safety and protecting society from dangerous criminals, and more about symbolism.
Not only are many Americans tolerant of death chamber mishaps, but some accept an occasional miscarriage of justice. As many as a third of those polled by Gallup favor capital punishment even while believing that an innocent person has been executed.
For them, a show of force against the criminal element is most important. For them, apparently, it doesn’t completely matter which criminals we kill (even an occasional innocent is acceptable) or how we kill them (a measure of suffering is OK, too). They just have a visceral need for executing criminals to feel that good wins over evil.
WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP
When you feel like giving up 
by Kimberly MacNeill
by Kimberly MacNeill
<iframe width="600" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j7Cl3lEEwOg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Read: Micah 7:1-7 then go to God in prayer—talk to God about those areas in your life where you feel like giving up (allow for a time of silence to listen).
DANGEROUS DREAMERS
Dangerous dreamers by Wendy Joyner
Genesis 37:1-28
The story of Jacob’s family would make a wonderful television miniseries. As we read the tale of the twelve sons of Jacob, we can see so many elements of the story that ring true to not only ancient times but our modern times as well. At the beginning of Genesis 37, we see clear signs of sibling rivalry and family dysfunction. We are told outright that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son. Jacob “loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves” (Genesis 37:3). Jacob demonstrates his favoritism, and it causes resentment among the brothers. Then, to make matters worse, Joseph is a tattletale. We are told that he was a helper to his brothers in their work and that he “brought a bad report of them to their father” (v. 2). All of these factors create animosity between the brothers, and “they hated [Joseph], and could not speak peaceably to him” (v. 4).
Yet I think the straw that broke the camel’s back and caused true division among the brothers was not simply the favoritism or the tattling, but Joseph’s dreams. Joseph dreams of sheaves bowing down to his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. It is in the sharing of these dreams that “they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words” (37:8). Joseph’s dreams place him in a position of honor and authority, and neither his brothers nor his father respond well to this vision of the future. Yet, we know that these dreams are from God, and speak to the future of not only Joseph but also his family for generations to come.
My reflections on this passage have caused me to wonder about the hatred that Joseph’s brothers felt for him. Things come to a head rather quickly in the story after Joseph goes to find his brothers as they shepherd the flocks. “They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him’ ” (37:18-20). The dreams that Joseph articulates most threaten the brothers. When they hear Joseph share the vision of the future that God has given to him, they respond in violence and hatred. History proves that it is sometimes the dreamers in our world that we find most threatening.
I think about Martin Luther King, Jr., articulating a dream of unity. We remember his sermon on the Washington Mall, where he spoke of a day when people would be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. This was a dream from God about a future of hope and inclusiveness. The dreamer was a threat to the status quo, and, ultimately, those who resisted his words and his dream silenced him.
I think of Archbishop Oscar Romero, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in San Salvador. Archbishop Romero was a pioneer in liberation theology, and he worked with the poor and oppressed. He spoke with a strong, clear voice about the need for basic human rights to be observed. He lived his life among those who had the least in terms of material possessions. Romero was a dreamer, and he was assassinated as he presided over worship.
I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who fought against Nazism in World War II. He was a leader in the Confessing Church and became involved in the anti-Hitler resistance movement. He was arrested, charged, and found guilty of sedition in a plot to assassinate Hitler. He was hanged for his resistance to Nazism, but he continues to speak to us through his writings, as he encourages the church to live out its prophetic calling within community. Bonhoeffer was a dreamer who bravely lived out what his conscience dictated, even when it meant going against the powerful structure of Nazism and public sentiment.
These three individuals are just a few examples of those who have been spoken to by God, and who showed great courage in living out their convictions. They had a dream of what a just world would look like, and they spoke the truth of God to all who would listen. They were not embraced, however, and each paid the price with his life. Dreamers like Joseph sometimes end up in the bottom of a dark, deep pit.
The church today continues to need those who are open to the movement of God in their lives, and who will dream divine dreams of what the world might become through the power and grace of God. Yet we must realize that to be a dreamer can often be dangerous. Those around us are not always willing to hear words of challenge or confrontation. The community of faith is sometimes resistant to the very changes that are most needed. The world will not understand the way of Jesus Christ. Those around us may not embrace the ways of God.
Dreamers sound naive at best and crazy at worst. Dreamers proclaim that the meek are blessed. Dreamers demand that the outcasts be welcomed. Dreamers beat plowshares into pruning hooks. The world is in need of dreamers. Are we willing to risk our lives in proclaiming the truth? Are we willing to risk our lives to embrace the dreams of God?
-------
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, 3 August 2014
Color: Green
Scripture Readings: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21
Genesis 32:22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions.
24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.
26 The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”
Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”
27 The man said, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Jacob.”
28 The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”
29 Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”
The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”
31-32 The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. (This is why Israelites to this day don’t eat the hip muscle; because Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint.)
Psalm 17: A David Prayer
1-2 Listen while I build my case, God,
the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.
Show the world I’m innocent—
in your heart you know I am.
3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night—
You’ll find I’m just what I say I am.
My words don’t run loose.
4-5 I’m not trying to get my way
in the world’s way.
I’m trying to get your way,
your Word’s way.
I’m staying on your trail;
I’m putting one foot
In front of the other.
I’m not giving up.
6-7 I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.
So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.
15 And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I’ll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.
Romans 9: God Is Calling His People
1-5 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites . . . If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!
Matthew 14: Supper for Five Thousand
13-14 When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15 Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16 But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17 “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21 Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
-------
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary:
Genesis 32:22-31
Verse 24
[24] And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Very early in the morning, a great while before day. Jacob had helped his wives and children over the river, and he desired to be private, and was left alone, that he might again spread his cares and fears before God in prayer. While Jacob was earnest in prayer, stirring up himself to take hold on God, an angel takes hold on him. Some think this was a created angel, one of those that always behold the face of our Father. Rather it was the angel of the covenant, who often appeared in a human shape, before he assumed the human nature. We are told by the prophet, Hosea 12:4, how Jacob wrestled, he wept and made supplication; prayers and tears were his weapons. It was not only a corporal, but a spiritual wrestling by vigorous faith and holy desire.
Verse 25
[25] And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
The angel prevailed not against him - That is, this discouragement did not shake his faith, nor silence his prayer. It was not in his own strength that he wrestled, nor by his own strength that he prevails; but by strength derived from heaven. That of Job illustrates this, Job 23:6. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; had the angel done so, Jacob had been crushed; but he would put strength in me: and by that strength Jacob had power over the angel, Hosea 12:3. The angel put out Jacob's thigh, to shew him what he could do, and that it was God he was wrestling with, for no man could disjoint his thigh with a touch. Some think that Jacob felt little or no pain from this hurt; it is probable be did not, for he did not so much as halt 'till the struggle was over, Genesis 32:31, and if so, that was an evidence of a divine touch indeed, which wounded and healed at the same time.
Verse 26
[26] And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Let me go — The angel, by an admirable condescension, speaks Jacob fair to let him go, as God said to Moses, Exodus 32:10. Let me alone. Could not a mighty angel get clear of Jacob's grapples? He could; but thus he would put an honour upon Jacob's faith and prayer. The reason the angel gives why he would be gone is because the day breaks, and therefore he would not any longer detain Jacob, who had business to do, a journey to go, a family to look after.
And he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me — He resolves he will have a blessing, and rather shall all his bones be put out of joint, than he will go away without one. Those that would have the blessing of Christ must be in good earnest, and be importunate for it.
Verse 27
[27] And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
What is thy name? — Jacob (saith he) a supplanter, so Jacob signifies. Well, (faith the angel) be thou never so called any more: thou shalt be called Israel, a prince with God. He is a prince indeed, that is a prince with God; and those are truly honourable that are mighty, in prayer. Yet this was not all; having, power with God, he shall have power with men too; having prevailed for a blessing from heaven, he shall, no doubt, prevail for Esau's favour. Whatever enemies we have, if we can but make God our friend, we are well enough; they that by faith have power in heaven, have thereby as much power on earth as they have occasion for.
Verse 29
[29] And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? — What good will it do thee to know that? The discovery of that was reserved for his death-bed, upon which he was taught to call him Shiloh. But instead of telling him his name, he gave him his blessing, which was the thing he wrestled for; he blessed him there, repeated and ratified the blessing formerly given him. See how wonderfully God condescends to countenance and crown importunate prayer? Those that resolve though God slay them, yet to trust in him, will at length be more than conquerors.
Verse 30
[30] And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Peniel — That is, the face of God, because there he had seen the appearance of God, and obtained the favour of God.
Verse 31
[31] And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
He halted on his thigh — And some think he continued to do so to his dying day. If he did, he had no reason to complain, for the honour and comfort he obtained by his struggle was abundantly sufficient to countervail the damage, though he went limping to his grave.
Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Verse 1
[1] Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
The right — Regard my righteous cause.
Verse 2
[2] Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
Sentence — Judgment on my behalf.
Come — From thy tribunal.
Verse 3
[3] Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
Proved — Or, searched or tried it, by many temptations and afflictions.
Night — When mens minds being freed from the distraction of business, and from the society of men, they act more vigorously and freely, according to their several inclinations.
Tried — As gold-smiths do metals.
Nothing — Nothing of unrighteousness.
Purposed — I have resolved, upon deliberation, as the word implies.
Mouth — I am so far from practising against Saul's life, as they charge me, that I will not wrong him so much as in a word.
Verse 4
[4] Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
Concerning — Observing the works of the men of this age, how wicked they are, I was resolved to take more care in ordering my own actions.
By — By the help of thy blessed word.
Paths — The customs and practices.
Destroyer — Or, of the violent man: such as Saul, and his courtiers and soldiers.
Verse 7
[7] Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
By — By thy great power.
Verse 15
[15] As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
I will — I do not place my portion in earthly treasures, but in beholding God's face, in the enjoyment of God's presence and favour; which is enjoyed in part in this life, but not fully.
Satisfied — The time is coming, wherein I shall be abundantly satisfied with beholding thy face.
Awake — When I arise from he dead.
Likeness — With the image of God stamped upon my glorified soul.
Romans 9:1-5
Verse 1
[1] I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
In Christ — This seems to imply an appeal to him.
In the Holy Ghost — Through his grace.
Verse 2
[2] That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
I have great sorrow — A high degree of spiritual sorrow and of spiritual Joy may consist together, Romans 8:39. By declaring his sorrow for the unbelieving Jews, who excluded themselves from all the blessings he had enumerated, he shows that what he was now about to speak, he did not speak from any prejudice to them.
Verse 3
[3] For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
I could wish — Human words cannot fully describe the motions of souls that are full of God. As if he had said, I could wish to suffer in their stead; yea, to be an anathema from Christ in their place. In how high a sense he wished this, who can tell, unless himself had been asked and had resolved the question? Certainly he did not then consider himself at all, but only others and the glory of God. The thing could not be; yet the wish was pious and solid; though with a tacit condition, if it were right and possible.
Verse 4
[4] Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Whose is the adoption, … — He enumerates six prerogatives, of which the first pair respect God the Father, the second Christ, the third the Holy Ghost.
The adoption and the glory — That is, Israel is the first-born child of God, and the God of glory is their God, Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalms 106:20. These are relative to each other. At once God is the Father of Israel, and Israel are the people of God. He speaks not here of the ark, or any corporeal thing. God himself is "the glory of his people Israel." And the covenants, and the giving of the law - The covenant was given long before the law. It is termed covenants, in the plural, because it was so often and so variously repeated, and because there were two dispositions of it, Galatians 4:24, frequently called two covenants; the one promising, the other exhibiting the promise.
And the worship, and the promises — The true way of worshipping God; and all the promises made to the fathers.
Verse 5
[5] Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
To the preceding, St. Paul now adds two more prerogatives. Theirs are the fathers - The patriarchs and holy men of old, yea, the Messiah himself.
Who is over all, God blessed for ever — The original words imply the self-existent, independent Being, who was, is, and is to come.
Over all — The supreme; as being God, and consequently blessed for ever. No words can more dearly express his divine, supreme majesty, and his gracious sovereignty both over Jews and, gentiles.
Matthew 14:13-21
Verse 13
[13] When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
Jesus withdrew into a desert place — 1. To avoid Herod: 2. Because of the multitude pressing upon him, Mark 6:32: and 3. To talk with his disciples, newly returned from their progress, Luke 9:10: apart - From all but his disciples. John 6:1.
Verse 15
[15] And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
The time is now past — The usual meal time. Mark 6:35; Luke 9:12.
-------
Worship Connection by Nancy C. Townley
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: Come, all who are hungry and thirsty.
P: The Lord will provide for our needs.
L: Come this day to the table of the Lord.
P: Here we will find welcome and sustenance.
L: Come to this time of gathering and praise.
P: Lord, we come with open hearts and spirits to receive your gracious gift of love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: Welcome to this house of the Lord.
P: We thank you for this kind greeting.
L: This is a place of hope, healing, and challenge.
P: Our hearts and spirits are in need of God’s healing touch.
L: Here you will be cherished and nurtured.
P: Praise be to God, who offers to us such a place of comfort. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2269, “Come, Share the Lord,” offer the following call to worship as directed. You will need to have two soloists as well as a small choral ensemble or choir.]
L: Come and celebrate the good news of God’s love.
P: We come, bearing burdens and worries.
L: God will give you healing and fill your souls with joy.
Choral Ensemble: singing verse 1 of “Come, Share the Lord”
L: We are no longer strangers.
P: We are community, gathered, forgiven and loved.
Soloist: singing verse 2 of “Come, Share the Lord”
L: Our Lord joins us in this feast and celebration.
P: Our hearts are ready to receive our Savior
Choral Ensemble: singing verse 3 of “Come, Share the Lord”
Call to Worship #4:
L: Even in the middle of summer, our hearts can be burdened.
P: Stress and worry do not seem to take vacations.
L: You have come to a special place where you can find relief and healing.
P: Thanks be to God for providing us with such blessings.
L: Come, prepare your hearts to receive God’s gracious gift of love.
P: We open our hearts and spirits in thanksgiving to God. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Invocation
Saving God, we come to you this day from times that are hectic. We are pulled in many directions. Open our hearts to receive you. Deliver us from the temptation to just give up and flounder in the rough waters of life. Reach out to us with your strength and power and bring us closer to you. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
Opening Prayer
Lord, we come to you this day in the midst of our summer months. For many this is a time of relaxation; but for others, the burdens, worries, and cares continue to weigh them down. Be with each of us as we open our ears to hear your words, our hearts to feel your presence, and our spirits to receive your healing touch. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious Lord, we are filled with a mixture of feelings today. Some of us are rejoicing in the wonderful time of rest and relaxation; while others continue to seek relief from the burdens and worries that they bear. All of us stand in need of your refreshing and nourishing love and forgiveness. You know how many times we have turned our backs on those in need; we have been too busy, to preoccupied with our own problems. Cause us to turn around and see instances in which we can be of help and comfort to someone else. Give us strength and courage to truly be your loving disciples in the ways in which we care for others. Forgive us when we stray from the paths of righteousness and peace. These things we offer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Rejoice! God’s love is poured over you this day for healing, restoration, and hope. Feel the power of God’s mercy in your life. Go into God’s world knowing you are forgiven and blessed, and be a blessing to others. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord, we have heard the story of Jacob as he wrestled with the angel, how he asked for the angel to bless him. We, too, come to you for blessing. There are so many times in our lives in which we have felt alienated, downtrodden, alone. It is easy for us to wallow in our misery, to whine about all the perceived injustices that have been heaped upon us. But you encourage us to stand strong; to seek the blessings that you have provided for us; to recognize the many ways that you are with us, giving us strength and courage. Be with us again, precious Lord. Guide our lives. As we have brought our prayers before you for those near and dear to us, seeking healing and hope for them; let us also remember that those same mercies are lavished upon us, not because we deserve them, but because of your great and generous love for us. Help us receive these blessings and, in turn, be a blessing to someone else. For we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. AMEN.
Reading
[Today’s reading is done in conjunction with music from THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2254, “In Remembrance of Me.” You may want to have either a small choral ensemble or a soloist sing the suggested verses.]
Reader:
I’m exhausted! What’s that saying? I think it’s “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.” Well, that’s me. It doesn’t seem to matter how much I do or how fast I do something, I am always playing
“catch-up.” I am trying to run uphill all the time. Where are you, Jesus? I thought you were supposed to help me! I thought you might take some of my burden and carry it. Please help me. Please help me.
Voice:
Come, and rest in me. I am with you. I will give you nourishment. Do not panic. All will be well. Here, I have food and drink for your soul. Take and eat and find peace.
Soloist: singing verse 1 of “In Remembrance of Me”
Reader:
I know that I am being selfish. I’m whining about all my problems and thinking that I’m the only one in the world that is burdened. I really know that’s not true. I just don’t know what else to do. I feel so weak, so unable to do anything for anyone else, never mind doing what I need to do for myself. Please come and give me strength, Lord.
Voice:
I have never left you. Place your hand in mine. You are given strength and courage to do many things, to help others as well as to help yourself. Place your trust in me, for I will not fail you.
Soloist: singing verse 2 of “In Remembrance of Me”
Reader:
Lord, forgive me. You have given yourself for me and for all people. You have offered your life and your love freely to all of us. We just need to place our trust in you. I am sorry for the ways I have lost my focus on you, Lord. I keep looking for the “quick fix” to all my problems, and the answer is always in trusting in your mercy and healing love. Thanks for your presence with me, even when I don’t recognize it. Keep being with me, Lord. Give me a nudge when I need it; forgiveness when I do stupid and thoughtless things. Help me look to you in all my needs.
Voice:
Beloved one, I am always with you.
Soloist: Singing verse 3 of “In Remembrance of Me”
Benediction
The Lord has forgiven and restored you. You are strengthened for ministry in the name of Jesus Christ. Go in peace and may God’s peace flow through you to others. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional Color for this Sunday is: GREEN
[Even though the scripture today concerns the feeding of the 5,000+ people, I have chosen to identify the burdens and struggles (represented by the rocks, sticks, and chains) in our lives. In the center of the worship center, you should have a plate with an uncut loaf of bread and a chalice with the communion wine/juice. You may place some grapes and wheat near the communion set.]
SURFACE:
Place three risers on the worship center; one in the center back (this will be for the brass cross); the other two to the right and left, but forward of the one in the center. Place a riser in front of the worship center, about a foot lower than the surface of the main table. Provide enough space in the worship center for a chalice and place of bread. Do not crowd the table.
FABRIC:
Cover the worship center in burlap, making sure that all the risers are covered. Place pieces of green fabric over all the risers, including the riser in the front of the worship center.
CANDLES:
Place two 10” white pillar candles on either side of the cross, making sure that they are not obscured by the other two risers on the worship center.
FLOWERS/PLANTS:
Place several green “leafy” plants at the base of the worship center. On top of the worship center, place a “spiky” plant, such as mother-in-law’s tongue, snake plant, or other spiky looking plant on either side of the candles on the worship center.
ROCKS/WOOD:
Place piles of rocks and broken sticks on the riser in front of the worship center. Place piles of rocks on one of the risers on the main worship center.
OTHER:
Place a small basket, rather worn and beaten, turned over on its side on the other riser on the worship center. Put some old rusted chains in the basket so that they are spilling out onto the worship center and trailing over the side. You will also need a brass cross for the center riser on the table. You will need a plate with an uncut loaf of bread and a chalice containing the communion wine/juice. You may add bunches of grapes and stalks of wheat, but make sure that you are able to retrieve the Communion elements from the table if you are going to use them in the actual Communion service, otherwise they may stand as representational elements.
-------
Ministry Matters
201 8th Avenue South
Nashville, Tennessee 37202 United States
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment