Ministry Matters: "WCA meeting in Chicago — 3 rules of survival — I'm not an obstacle to Christian unity" Ministry Matters in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Wednesday, 12 October 2016
My thoughts on the WCA meeting in Chicago by 
by Shane RaynorAttendees gather before the opening of the Wesleyan Covenant Association meeting in Chicago on October 7.
I was in Chicago on Friday (October 7) for the first meeting of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a group of evangelical United Methodists “committed to the Wesleyan expression of orthodox Christianity.”
As an evangelical United Methodist with conservative theology and a high view of Scripture, I am undoubtedly part of the target audience of this new group. (For United Methodists who know me, follow me on social media, read my writings or listen to my podcasts, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.)
But as an editor of a website that publishes content from across the theological spectrum, I also tried to observe the meeting from the perspective of someone who might not share my theological views.
The first impression I got was that this event didn’t have the political vibe of General Conference or even annual conferences I’ve been to. And that’s understandable. Most of the people in Chicago were on the same page on major points of theology and on the most divisive issues in our church right now (e.g. homosexuality, accountability). When there’s nothing big to fight over, it’s easier to let down your guard and trust people.
The one-day conference was interwoven with worship, led by Mark Swayze of The Woodlands UMC. Often when I’m at a United Methodist event (especially General Conference), worship feels more like the National Anthem at a baseball game. Something we do before we get down to the “real business.” I didn’t feel like that in Chicago. Worship seemed integral to the event.
Mark Swayze leads worship with help from United Methodist representatives from Africa.I was especially moved by the reciting of the Nicene Creed, which is part of the Statement of Faith of the WCA along with the UMC’s Doctrinal Standards.
I don’t want to give the impression that the meeting was apolitical. The possibility of schism and the Council of Bishops’ Way Forward Commission were certainly part of the backdrop of the gathering, and the attendees, by acclamation, approved the Chicago Statement to the Bishops’ Commission after all. Rob Renfroe, President of Good News and one of the organizers of WCA summarized the association’s views this way: “We are not here to promote schism. But we are certainly not here to be naïve either. Change is coming to the United Methodist Church. We all know that. The bishops know that.”
For the most part, however, I sensed that the overriding theme of the meeting was a desire for a 21st century Wesleyan movement, not creating a new denomination or even trying to preserve an existing one.
Don’t misunderstand… there were without a doubt some people in attendance who are frustrated with the current state of the church and would create a new denomination right now if the choice were theirs to make. But the position of the WCA is to wait for a plan from the bishops before trying to make those kinds of decisions.
There were United Methodists there from the African continent as well as representatives from the Methodist Church of Great Britain. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas was in attendance too, as were some United Methodists from the progressive wing of the denomination.
WCA meeting attendees browse the Cokesbury display during the lunch break.It was a fairly low-pressure event, although there was one point where one of the speakers asked everyone who affirmed the purpose and belief statements to stand. Those who were at the conference kicking the tires, observing or who wanted to read the statements more carefully first may have felt a little awkward.
The WCA invited people to become members during the lunch break and it’s my understanding that the response was so overwhelming that there weren’t enough sign-up forms.
Conference attendees sign up to become charter members of the WCA.The conference ended with Holy Communion, led by Bishop Robert Hayes and Bishop Mike Lowry.
One speaker mentioned that she overheard someone say, “Sometimes annual conference is like getting a root canal. But this meeting is like a party.”
Bishop Mike Lowry and Bishop Robert Hayes lead Communion.Indeed it was.
And that got me thinking.
Whether our denomination divides or finds a creative way to keep the various expressions of United Methodism together under one big tent remains to be seen, but this gathering offered a small glimpse of what it might be like to have a church where most everyone shares a common mission, has similar theologies and doesn’t spend a significant amount of time and energy fighting culture war battles. I suspect a conference at the other end of the theological spectrum would offer a similar glimpse for progressives.
And once you catch a glimpse like that, it’s not easily forgotten.
-------
Sponsored
-------
I am not an obstacle to Christian unity 
by Kira SchlesingerBigstock/mavoimages
As those who frequently read my writings on this site know, I write a lot about gender issues and the church, what it is like to be a woman in ministry, and the challenges and joys I face along the way. Living in a geographical context dominated by the more conservative evangelical strains of Christianity, I have grown somewhat accustomed to being challenged on my calling to leadership in the church, to preach and teach, yes, even men. I’ve had 1 Timothy 2:12 quoted at me more times than I can count as proof of what the Bible “clearly says,” despite the fact that the Episcopal Church has been ordaining women to the priesthood for forty years.
If the Anglican Church began as a via media, a middle way, between Geneva and Rome, then there are also disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church. My personal sensibilities lean more towards Rome with regard to sacramental theology and liturgy. In a heavily Church of Christ and Southern Baptist area of the country, I consider my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters allies of sorts.
So it stings a little bit more when documents like this past week’s Common Declaration of Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby view my ordination, and the ordination of women generally, as an obstacle to be overcome, an impediment, in discussions of church unity. Like, we could fully realize Jesus’ vision that “they all may be one” if it weren’t for those uppity women and “questions regarding human sexuality.”
Even with Pope Francis’ willingness to convene a commission to study women’s ordination to the diaconate, I frequently find myself wondering if my Roman Catholic in-laws or even some of my friends view my ordination as invalid or even dangerous. Either I’m just playing church as a small child does or I’m an active threat to Christian unity across Churches. As one commenter put it, the road to full communion between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches “will have obstacles created by Satan,” by which, I suppose, he means my calling, ordination, and ministry are of the devil himself.
My own bishop, The Right Reverend John C. Bauerschmidt, was present and involved at these discussions and was commissioned by the Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury along with his Roman Catholic partner, the Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, Dennis Madden. Though I have experienced him as supportive of my ministry and particularly dedicated to Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, I doubt he experiences the same woundedness that I do by hearing my ordination called an obstacle to Christian unity.
I, too, pray for the unity of the Church, that we may realize Jesus’ prayer. And I believe that these are important steps forward — to be able to worship, minister and dialogue together in the name of Christ. I celebrate being part of a denomination with a commitment to ecumenism despite our many theological differences across the Body of Christ. I am grateful that the Episcopal Church is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, provinces of the Moravian Church in America, and others, and that there are groups in dialogue about full communion with the United Methodist Church. But at what cost must we achieve unity?
As wiser people than I have said, instead of naming the ordination of women and attitudes towards diverse expressions of human sexuality as obstacles to common mission and ministry, perhaps we should name a lack of compassion and acceptance towards our fellow Christians. We are not “impediments,” but are people lovingly created and called by God into the Body of Christ. Instead of blaming women’s ordination, maybe the impediment to Christian unity should be named as “men-only” ordination.
Yes, we should absolutely pursue Christian unity, but we must be careful with how we talk about our disagreements, particularly when the “disagreements” are people. I firmly believe that the Episcopal Church and other denominations that ordain women have been blessed by the fullness of gifts and talents that all who are called bring to the ministry. I have heard stories from colleagues about Roman Catholic clergy on the ground who have been supportive and inclusive in recognizing their ministry and calling, but the language from the top is still disappointing. My calling, my ministry and the ordained ministry of my other female colleagues is not a problem to be solved but a gift to be celebrated.
-------
The 3 rules of survival that will do us in 
by Rebekah Simon-PeterBigstock/Gustavo Frazao
I’ve never heard a denominational executive say these words before: “You were called by God to serve the Kingdom. So do that. Don’t worry about the institutional church.” He stood before some 40 clergy colleagues at a recent clergy orders retreat I led. The room was quiet, stunned.
After years of paying attention to the three rules of survival, he was inviting these pastors to play a different game. Rather than insure the survival of the institutional church, he was inviting them to transcend that worry and reconnect with the life-giving joy of their call. He was right on. The more we pay attention to survival, the more likely we are to die.
I want to share with you the three rules of survival that will do us in. And three rules that just might set us free.
The game of survival is all about keeping the church afloat, alive, open another day. It’s one of the strategies we’ve been busy employing as numbers have gone down, membership and worship attendance has dwindled and doors have closed. Here are the rules of this game and how they do us in:
- Keep the big givers happy. When we put money worries first, what we’re left with is worries. Every new idea, every decision, every ministry has to be judged by whether or not it will upset certain givers. That limits our ability to do ministry. The truth is that God alone is our source, not any particular giver. Limitless abundance is available to us. But that rushing river of abundance slows down to a trickle when we think it can only come through one person or another. While churches do need money to pay bills, fund ministries and advance visions, keeping the big givers happy is the wrong way to go about it. It keeps us small by putting personalities before principles. Jesus didn’t say, “Go and make givers of all nations,” but disciples. Worry doesn’t generate miracles; disciples do.
- Don’t rock the boat. The culture of most churches these days is harmony-seeking, stability-oriented, and internally friendly. On the surface, these seem like the most positive of attributes for a church. They are positive. But prioritizing these behaviors over momentum-oriented visions leads a church to stay stuck. Stuck eventually spells death. Churches that insist on things staying the same will find that the one thing they don’t want to happen — decline and death — becomes inevitable.
- Don’t change anything. When I was beginning pastoral ministry, the common wisdom was, “Don’t change anything for a year.” I look back and wonder why. Yes, getting to know the people as they are, and the culture as it exists, is important. But sometimes churches don’t have a year. If we wait a year to change a dynamic that suffocates life, we may have waited a year too long. A few key funerals is all it takes for a church to slip from maturity into decline. A colleague of mine is so inundated with funerals right now that he feels he can’t help the church envision a new future. Without a new vision, though, and the changes that come with fulfilling it, the church will continue to shrink.
But they’re not the only rules we can play by. Try on these new, forward-thinking rules to see what new life they might bring:
- Put ministry before money. Let the vision of the Kingdom and the ministry it inspires in you lead the way. You’ve heard it said, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” It’s true. Imagine how true it is if what we love is also what God loves! Then certainly the money will follow. Jesus and his apostles brought new life to the world without a budget, an endowment, or memorial gifts. They kept the Kingdom in mind, and God supplied the rest—through all sorts of unexpected ways.
- Make waves. Leaders are called to lead change. That means making waves is part of leadership. Learning how to ride them is what helps a church experience new life. Do you long to challenge injustice, advocate for others, deepen the prayer life of the church, reach out to new and different kinds of people? How about trying new forms of worship or a single-board governance? All of this will rock the boat. And make the good kind of waves. Waves are good because they necessitate movement. I remember from my biology classes that all living things have one thing in common: the ability to move. What will help your church keep moving?
- Speak up about problems. Every church has them: problems. You may have problem relationships, problem committees, or problems in the community. Not talking about them won’t make them go away. Dealing with them is messy. But ultimately hopeful. It means health can return to a system. Do speak up about problems in a way that is direct, invitational and solution-oriented. You’re not the only one that has noticed them. Be a leader by addressing them.
Not sure how to make these changes, or how to stay sane in the midst of the fear and anxiety change can cause? Please contact me; I’ve got your back. I empower church leaders to accelerate vitality and interrupt church decline through creating a culture of renewal.
Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com. She is the author of The Jew Named Jesus and Green Church.
-------
Politics and the poor
by James C. HowellBigstock/obey leesin
Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus said “The poor will always be with you” (Mark 14:7). He wasn’t saying Therefore ignore them, or There’s nothing you can do, or Blame them. He was quoting Deuteronomy 15, where Moses clarifies that our work to care for the poor is a constant responsibility, never to be shirked.Poverty can be politicized, but in God’s mind and heart, poverty is a profoundly theological and moral issue. In Old Testament times, and certainly since Jesus came along, God’s people have an absolute obligation to care about and for the poor. We love Jesus by loving the poor (Matthew 25)! Voting, for followers of Jesus, cannot be reduced to Who will fatten my pocketbook? We hold in our hearts those who have no advocate, who cling to the bottom rungs of the economic ladder, children without means; we strive for a politics that will lift them up and empower them.
Mind you, knowing and abiding by this biblical mandate doesn’t settle which candidate or which party might actually achieve the most for the disenfranchised. But as Christians, we lean toward those who care. I love what John Kasich said during his ill-fated campaign for the Republican nomination: “When we arrive in heaven, St. Peter won’t ask if we kept government small or toed the party line; but he will ask 'What have you done for the poor?' "
I do not know precisely what role government should play; who really does? Many argue that care for the poor should be handled by the private sector. As one who leads in that private sector, I am sure of this: once upon a time, in little rural towns, the private sector could and did care for those in need. But in a post-industrial, massively urban society, for churches to pick up the slack, church members would need to quadruple or hundredtuple their giving for us to do what needs doing. The best, most zealous efforts of both private and public sectors will be required to change our society and the ways in which poor children don’t get adequate nutrition or a decent education — and more.
In the Bible, this is a matter of Justice. The Hebrew word we translate “justice,” mishpat, doesn’t mean the good are rewarded and the wicked punished. No, biblical “justice” is when the poorest, those left out, the strangers and forlorn, are cared for, included and enabled to flourish. A just society grieves any single person who’s disenfranchised; an unjust society blames the needy or lives self-indulgently while leaving the needy to fend for themselves. Do we want to shape an American culture that is more biblically just? Or unjust?
Read Rev. Howell's previous 'Tis the Season articles covering the 2016 election here. This article originally appeared on the author's blog. Reprinted with permission.-------
Sponsored
-------
Poll: Trump support remains steady among evangelicals
by Lauren Markoe / Religion News Service
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer at a campaign rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Oct. 10, 2016. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Mike Segar
(RNS) Donald Trump's support has plummeted in the past week — but white evangelicals are sticking with him.
"Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants are the only ones who are standing firm right now," said Dan Cox, research director at the Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted the poll with The Atlantic Survey.
The poll, released Tuesday (Oct. 11) — and taken during the days surrounding the release of a tape of Trump bragging about forcing himself on women — shows his support has eroded among female voters and most religious groups during the past week.
But white evangelical Protestants show no statistically significant change in their willingness to vote for Trump, with 65 percent of them in his camp.
That contrasts with white Catholics Protestants, for example, who are defecting from the Republican presidential nominee. They went for Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, 56 percent to 31 percent, in a survey concluded on Oct. 2. In this latest survey, white Catholics reversed themselves, favoring Clinton over Trump, 46 percent to 42 percent.
"For Republican candidates, white Christian voters have been crucial, and this white Christian wall — we're starting to see cracks in it," Cox said. "White Catholics and white mainline Protestants — they have strongly supported Republicans. They're divided now (between Trump and Clinton). That's amazing."
And though there aren't numbers yet, he added, there is evidence that Trump is underperforming among Mormons, perhaps making Utah — a historically red state — competitive in the presidential election.
I do not know precisely what role government should play; who really does? Many argue that care for the poor should be handled by the private sector. As one who leads in that private sector, I am sure of this: once upon a time, in little rural towns, the private sector could and did care for those in need. But in a post-industrial, massively urban society, for churches to pick up the slack, church members would need to quadruple or hundredtuple their giving for us to do what needs doing. The best, most zealous efforts of both private and public sectors will be required to change our society and the ways in which poor children don’t get adequate nutrition or a decent education — and more.
In the Bible, this is a matter of Justice. The Hebrew word we translate “justice,” mishpat, doesn’t mean the good are rewarded and the wicked punished. No, biblical “justice” is when the poorest, those left out, the strangers and forlorn, are cared for, included and enabled to flourish. A just society grieves any single person who’s disenfranchised; an unjust society blames the needy or lives self-indulgently while leaving the needy to fend for themselves. Do we want to shape an American culture that is more biblically just? Or unjust?
Read Rev. Howell's previous 'Tis the Season articles covering the 2016 election here. This article originally appeared on the author's blog. Reprinted with permission.-------
Sponsored
-------
Poll: Trump support remains steady among evangelicals by Lauren Markoe / Religion News ServiceSupporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer at a campaign rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Oct. 10, 2016. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Mike Segar
(RNS) Donald Trump's support has plummeted in the past week — but white evangelicals are sticking with him.
"Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants are the only ones who are standing firm right now," said Dan Cox, research director at the Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted the poll with The Atlantic Survey.
The poll, released Tuesday (Oct. 11) — and taken during the days surrounding the release of a tape of Trump bragging about forcing himself on women — shows his support has eroded among female voters and most religious groups during the past week.
But white evangelical Protestants show no statistically significant change in their willingness to vote for Trump, with 65 percent of them in his camp.
That contrasts with white Catholics Protestants, for example, who are defecting from the Republican presidential nominee. They went for Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, 56 percent to 31 percent, in a survey concluded on Oct. 2. In this latest survey, white Catholics reversed themselves, favoring Clinton over Trump, 46 percent to 42 percent.
"For Republican candidates, white Christian voters have been crucial, and this white Christian wall — we're starting to see cracks in it," Cox said. "White Catholics and white mainline Protestants — they have strongly supported Republicans. They're divided now (between Trump and Clinton). That's amazing."
And though there aren't numbers yet, he added, there is evidence that Trump is underperforming among Mormons, perhaps making Utah — a historically red state — competitive in the presidential election.
Overall the poll shows that Clinton holds an 11-point lead over Trump and that she has increased her lead over him for the second week in a row. Nearly half (49 percent) of the poll's 866 likely voters said they would cast a ballot for her, as opposed to 38 percent for Trump. These numbers mark a steep fall in support for Trump, and an edging upward for Clinton.The poll — which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points — went into the field from Oct. 5-9. The tape of Trump speaking lewdly about women and boasting that he could do "anything" with them given his star power was released on Oct. 7.
But Cox warned against overestimating the effect of the tape on voters. Trump was already losing ground with women before the tape's release. His remarks about Miss Universe's weight gain during and after the candidates' Sept. 26 debate helped cement his reputation as a man who degrades women.
The greatest shifts in the past week were among women. Trump’s support among female voters has dropped 5 points, to 28 percent, while his support among male voters fell 1 point, to 48 percent.
Though evangelicals are hardly budging in their willingness to vote for Trump, they have overall lent him significantly less support than they have Republican presidential nominees in the past. Traditionally, the GOP standard-bearer can expect the votes of about 80 percent of white evangelical Protestants. In this campaign, about 65 percent to 70 percent have expressed support for Trump.
But even these numbers baffle many evangelicals and nonevangelicals alike, who say his rhetoric and life story make voting for him impossible.
Trump has shown no sustained interest in his Presbyterianism, has twice divorced and has disparaged Latinos, Muslims and other groups, seeming to defy the biblical command to embrace "the stranger."
Christianity Today, a flagship publication of evangelical Protestantism, editorialized Tuesday against Trump in a piece that argued: "Evangelicals, of all people, should not be silent about Donald Trump's blatant immorality."
Some evangelicals support Trump perhaps not so much because they admire him, but as a foil to Hillary Clinton, who is the focal point of much of their disdain.
But even after the release of the salacious audio Friday, evangelicals could not be faulted for wondering whether Trump's behavior would ever tip their leaders against him — some said they would take their vote elsewhere, but plenty affirmed their support for the Republican nominee.
-------Community organizing
by Dave BarnhartBigstock/dizainstock
What is community organizing?
The first time many Americans heard the phrase community organizing was when it was listed as part of Barack Obama’s resumé in the 2008 election; however, the church has been doing community organizing since its early days. Jesus organized disciples. Within a few hundred years, the whole Mediterranean region was evangelized. John Wesley was a pastor, a reformer and a community organizer. His early Methodist societies reformed prisons, worked to end child labor and established public schools.
Community organizing is not a job with a recognizable uniform, equipment or typical job description. Organizers are more like social entrepreneurs. A community organizer helps a group of people understand their common interests in creating change and build power to change and act.
A community can be a group of people who live in a neighborhood or a group of people with a common interest. Barack Obama, for example, worked in a geographical area with people in the Altgeld Gardens housing project in Chicago to get a city job office in their neighborhood and to address an asbestos problem. A community organizer could also work with cyclists who want better bike infrastructure in their city, parents in poverty who want higher-quality education for their children, disabled persons who want better access to public places in their community or formerly incarcerated persons who want to have their voting rights restored.
It’s often the case that a community doesn’t yet know that it’s a community! Individuals or families struggle along with their own problems, unaware that their pain is a symptom of a larger social problem that others share and that it could be solved if they would work together. One of the first tasks of a community organizer is to build a network by getting people to talk to one another about their lived experience.
Disrupting the old narrative with a new one
I talked with Phyllis Hill, the Southeast regional director of LIVE FREE, a campaign to end gun violence and mass incarceration with an emphasis on eliminating systemic racism. She shared with me some of her thoughts about community organizing and reflected on her experience in the field.
She explains, “Community organizing is really about people recognizing that God has given them innate power and a sense of agency.” She says that we are “co-creators with God” of a new way of living in the world. “Community organizing begins to retell the story for people of faith about who we are in the world. We have to tap into that story in us and in our community to be able to create more healthy, more just, more racially equitable communities.”
Because so much of community organizing depends on casting a vision or creating an alternative future for people to buy into, it depends very much on storytelling and testimony. Hill says, “The transformation begins when people realize that they matter, that their voice matters and their story matters. Somewhere along the way they were probably silenced by someone or by trauma. This can be very healing work. It’s about connecting you to your original purpose.”
A lot of this storytelling happens in one-to-one conversations. People meet to have conversation about the things they’re most passionate about: what worries or concerns they have and what their hopes for their community are.
Often people have a negative narrative in their heads. We begin listening to that narrative instead of “listening to who God says we are,” says Hill. Disrupting the dominant narrative is part of community organizing.
One oppressive narrative says that people who have gone to prison are simply criminals, not human beings with rights: “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” In many states, former prisoners lose the right to vote, sometimes forever, and have trouble finding work once released. This narrative doesn’t acknowledge that people may change or that they may have been innocent in the first place. (Using DNA evidence, the Innocence Project has exonerated nearly 350 people who were wrongfully convicted.) An alternative narrative might say that David, Moses, Rahab and Rachel were all people who broke the law — and yet lived exemplary lives of faith. Joseph (Genesis 39–41) was a wrongly convicted faith hero. Jesus ate with sinners and was wrongfully arrested, convicted and lynched, yet he offers second chances and grace to everyone. In real life, not only do innocent people die, but people who make mistakes can also change.
Getting someone to talk about their experience as a prisoner and listening to their story are essential in addressing the oppressive narrative and creating a new one. If returning citizens are too ashamed to tell their stories, they can’t connect with one another or get other people to listen. Empowering them to share their testimony — a basic Christian concept — is part of the work of the church.
In Christian theology, we talk about “the kingdom of God,” a vision of the world the way God intended. Our relationships with God, with one another, and with the world are just and peaceful. But we also acknowledge the power of evil, which resists that kingdom. We acknowledge both of these concepts when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Getting specific
Phyllis Hill also talks about community organizing as a way of putting that prayer into action. In the case of people who have served their time and paid their debt to society, we can advocate for their voting rights to be restored or for job applications to “ban the box” so they will have better access to employment. We can pressure specific legislators, judges and policymakers to enact specific policies.
She says, “We have to be intentional about naming race — not just identifying abstract problems, but who is specifically affected, and who are the beneficiaries.” Because black people are disproportionately affected by our criminal justice system and disproportionately have their voting rights removed and employment prospects diminished, we need to see this as part of a larger story of racism. As Michelle Alexander points out in her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, it’s now perfectly legal to discriminate against formerly incarcerated people in the same ways it was once legal to discriminate against African-Americans.
All of this means that community organizers have to understand power. Martin Luther King Jr., who was both a theologian and an organizer, said that while Christians are very good at talking about love, they don’t talk enough about power. Yet one without the other is not effective. If we’re not, as Jesus said, “wise as snakes and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), we will fail to understand our own power to create change, or we will ignore the power that’s used to oppress and harm.
Disciples as community organizers
In my work as a church planter, I’ve become a student of effective community organizers, and I’ve realized that much of what the church does is community organizing. We reach out into communities and have deep one-to-one conversations about the important things of life. We uncover hidden areas of need. We raise up leaders to address those needs. We build alliances with other faith communities or workers in the community to extend and deepen our reach.
Reaching out to community organizers in your area is one way the church can connect with the needs of specific communities or groups. But it’s important to remember that transformational work is driven by practices and relationships, not programs. We often compartmentalize our community church work into boxes such as “social justice” or “evangelism” or “missions and outreach.” But in reality, churches that are involved in community organizing are doing it all at once. It’s something we’ve been doing for 2,000 years, bringing good news to the poor and setting the oppressed free.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
-------
Don't panic By Preston MaxwellBigstock/Alex Brylov
Ever have one of “those” weeks? You know, the type of week where you cannot seem to escape the bad news? One of those weeks where you are doing your best to tread water on the emotional tsunami you find yourself in, but you are being repeatedly pounded by the unexpected and overwhelming? At times like these, panic often ensues.
Merriam-Webster defines panic as “the state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally and/or a situation that causes many people to become afraid and to rush to do something.” This definition reveals two interesting aspects of panic, particularly in the church.
Panic “causes many people to become afraid and to rush to do something.” What are we rushing to do? I believe the local church often spends too much time and energy applying program patches and bandwagon Band-Aids in an attempt to resolve much deeper and systemic problems. We fool ourselves into believing a herculean effort is required to resolve such issues, when all it may take is more time to gather the necessary insight. Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” In order to truly resolve issues that run deep, taking the time to analyze and address the root cause may ultimately prove more fruitful.
Secondly, panic “makes someone unable to act or think normally” which may result in rash behavior or inactivity. When panic strikes, church leaders often retreat into a scarcity mindset characterized by statements like, “we need to keep our budget flat” and “people are contributing all they can” and “we need to ride out this bad economic period.” If church leaders remain fearful and continue to operate with “business as usual,” the core problems remain intact. Instead, church leaders should find ways to dive deeper and address the fundamental issues that led to the time of panic. Approaching each challenge with a thoughtful and prayerful mindset will most often lead to appropriate and long-lasting solutions.
Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for everything; so, when faced with stressful situations or challenges in the church, it is best not to panic. In all things, God wants us to seek his wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God is eager to generously supply you with the wisdom to discern and respond to these situations in life and ministry. Humbling ourselves before God’s wisdom is not an escape clause from the difficulties we face, but rather it frees us from the negative effects of panic, knowing the God whose hand measures the width of the universe promises to walk with us through life’s storms.
This post was first published on the Horizons Stewardship blog.-------
Great chasms
by Adam ThomasBigstock/Andrushko Galyna
This past summer marked the tenth anniversary of a fateful decision in my life. I had just started my hospital chaplaincy in Dallas and the two-year long relationship I expected to fill my free time had evaporated mere days before. So I picked up the game. Several of my friends played World of Warcraft, and they encouraged me to give this immersive online fantasy game a try. I did. And I got immersed. I got addicted. And I became detached.
When I returned to school that autumn 10 years ago, I was different. Friends will tell you that I barely left my room during my second year of seminary except to go to classes and meals. Some days were better than others. I could stomach watching a football game in the common room, for instance. But on the worst days — ones in which I had been invited out and had even made a vague commitment to going — I got dressed in going out clothes, laced up my going out shoes, paced the room, argued with myself, grasped the door handle half a dozen times, manufactured some phantom nausea, and put my pajamas back on. Then I logged back into the game. I hated myself those nights. Still coping with the loss of the long-term relationship, I dealt with that decoupling by detaching myself from everyone else, too. Turns out, I needed a coping mechanism for my coping mechanism.
My addiction to the game lasted nearly two years. More often than not, I would choose playing the game over any other activity, even when I didn’t really want to play. Classic addiction. One day, I made the unconscious choice to detach myself from all who cared for me, and the game was there to fill the void. This void was a great chasm of my own creation. At some point, my detachment began to define me and the chasm opened wider. Those words, “great chasm,” jump out at me in Luke 16. In the fanciful story of the afterlife, Abraham tells the rich man that “a great chasm has been fixed” between him and poor Lazarus. But this great chasm does not just exist after their deaths. No. The rich man had been digging the great chasm during his life.
His primary sin was not his indulgence in fine clothes and sumptuous feasts. His primary sin was the same as mine during my gaming addiction. His primary sin was detachment. Every day he walked by the diseased beggar at his gate. He even knew Lazarus by name. But the rich man never helped Lazarus. Even the scraps from his sumptuous feasts never made their way to the beggar’s shriveled stomach. The rich man lived in a gilded bubble, detached from the very need on his own doorstep. He walked by Lazarus every day, but he may have well been on the other side of the Grand Canyon.
How many great chasms do we dig in our society and in our own personal lives? How rare is it these days for well-intentioned folks on either side of a divide to have an honest, respectful conversation? We tend to segment into our subcultures. We pick a cable news channel of one stripe or the other and we never watch anything else. We fine tune our Facebook feeds to weed out anything that we might disagree with. We have forgotten how to listen to honest disagreement because too often these days honest disagreement is mutilated by ad hominem name-calling or internet trolling or simply by walking away from the table. Simply by detaching.
We may be more connected than ever by technology, but the chasms we dig are greater still. This detachment is a sin the church has indulged throughout its history of exclusion. But it’s also a sin that the church can remedy, with God’s help.
This is why religion is so important in today’s world of great chasms. Church, at its best, is a place of reattachment. I’ve mentioned before the popular descriptor of someone who is “spiritual, but not religious.” The popularity of this moniker stems from a misunderstanding on the societal level of what “religion” means. In the modern era, the terms “religion” and “church” took on the connotation of “edifice” — of imposing structure and immutable establishment.
But when we are living the mission God has given us, “church” ends up having little to do with a building and much to do with a people gathered. While structure and doctrine have their necessity, “religion” does not mean structure and doctrine. When you get right down to it, “religion” means “reconnection, reattachment.” Re-lig-io. Just look at the word and think of all the football players who have had surgery for torn ACLs. An ACL tear is repaired by reattaching the torn ligaments to the muscle and bones of the knee. Likewise, “religion” is all about reattaching us to each other, to the world in need, and to the Lord who sends us out to love and serve.
My third favorite musical of all time, Rent, offers a stark view of the reality of our society and shows the utter need for the resources of reconnection, reattachment, and relationship. Near the end of the show, after the characters have dispersed and gone their separate ways, Roger and Mark sing a song called “What You Own.” They begin the song in Santa Fe and New York City respectively. A great chasm of distance stretches between the two friends. In the song, they lament the fact that “living in America, at the end of the millennium, you’re what you own.” In other words, you are the rich man in his gilded bubble, willfully oblivious to Lazarus at the gate.
Then the song shifts to the bridge — the piece of the song that sounds different than the rest and connects the beginning and the end. They sing about that special Christmas Eve last year when their group of friends came together to celebrate life and love. They sing: “What was it about that night? Connection in an isolating age. For once the shadows gave way to light. For once I didn’t disengage.” Roger and Mark realize that opening themselves up to that connection with others leads them to joy and pain and life and death and the grittiness of a love that has survived all the assassination attempts by the forces of detachment.
By the end of the song, Roger has returned to New York and now the chorus has changed. No longer do they sing “You’re what you own.” The bridge in the song has spanned the great chasm. Now they sing: “When you’re dying in America, at the end of the millennium, you’re not alone.”
Church is a place for reattachment. When we go out into the world in peace to love and serve the Lord, we start to fill in our own chasms. We build bridges. We proclaim the shining truth of God to everyone who is neglected at the gate: You are not alone.
Adam Thomas is the author the Unusual Gospel for Unusual People Bible studies and Letters from Ruby. He blogs at WheretheWind.com.-------
Ready or not …
by Paul BonnerBigstock/frannyanne
Teens regularly hear the words, “You’re too young!” Even more often it’s implied, and it feels like an insurmountable barrier during the growing-up years. So, how do you know when you’re ready? And what if you’re not — at least by the world’s standards?
In Detroit, Michigan, a maturing eighth-grade boy had an opportunity to find out for himself if he was ready to be an adult for a month. His math class was without a teacher. Worse, the school was already understaffed. After losing several teachers due to poor school conditions, there weren’t any other options.
Rising to the occasion
“Although the school made a few unsuccessful attempts to find a replacement for the math teacher who resigned, the ‘highest performing’ eighth-grade student ultimately assumed teaching duties for a month,” according to a lawsuit filed by several families whose children attend the school. The eighth grader ended up teaching both seventh and eighth graders after a replacement teacher also quit in light of the difficult conditions: oversized classes, dilapidated facilities, lack of air conditioning and few to no resources. This eighth-grade boy had shown enough understanding of the subject to gain some level of respect from his school’s administrators. So he rose to the occasion and taught the class. There didn’t seem to be much choice.
God’s got your back
Our society places a lot of emphasis and trust in experience, education and degrees. And, of course, more schooling brings more knowledge. But it’s important to remember that God calls not only the equipped — but God also equips the called. Young people can offer unique dimensions of creativity, possibility and optimism to many life situations. The outcome may not always be a guaranteed success, but God loves using unexpected ways and ordinary people to bring about surprising blessings.
Question of the day: How have you seen peers step up in surprisingly mature ways?
Focus scriptures: 1 Timothy 4:7b-12; 1 Samuel 17:8-37, 38-491 Timothy 4:7 But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness. 8 For although physical exercise does have some value, godliness is valuable for everything, since it holds promise both for the present life and for the life to come. 9 Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted 10 (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust.
11 Command these things and teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your youth; on the contrary, set the believers an example in your speech, behavior, love, trust and purity.
1 Samuel 17:8 He stood and yelled at the armies of Isra’el, “Why come out and draw up a battle line? I’m a P’lishti, and you are servants of Sha’ul, so choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he can fight me and kill me, we’ll be your slaves; but if I beat him and kill him, you will become slaves and serve us.” 10 The P’lishti added, “I challenge Isra’el’s armies today — give me a man, and we’ll fight it out!” 11 When Sha’ul and all Isra’el heard those words of the P’lishti, they were shaken and terrified.
12 Now David was the son of that Efrati from Beit-Lechem in Y’hudah named Yishai. He had eight sons; and in the time of Sha’ul he was old — the years had taken their toll. 13 Yishai’s three oldest sons had followed Sha’ul to battle; the names of his three sons who went to battle were Eli’av the firstborn, next to him Avinadav, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest; the three oldest followed Sha’ul. 15 David went back and forth from Sha’ul to pasture his father’s sheep at Beit-Lechem. 16 Meanwhile, the P’lishti approached with his challenge every morning and evening for forty days.
17 Yishai said to David his son, “Please take your brothers five bushels of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; hurry, and carry them to your brothers at the camp. 18 Also bring these ten cheeses to their field officer. Find out if your brothers are well, and bring back some token from them. 19 Sha’ul and your brothers, with all the army of Isra’el, are in the Elah Valley, fighting the P’lishtim.”
20 David got up early in the morning, left the sheep with a helper, took his load and set out, as Yishai had ordered him. He arrived at the barricade of the camp just as the troops were going out to their battle stations and shouting the war cry. 21 Isra’el and the P’lishtim had set up their battle lines facing each other. 22 David left his equipment in charge of the equipment guard, ran to the troops, went to his brothers and asked if they were well. 23 As he was talking with them, there came the champion, the P’lishti from Gat named Golyat, from the ranks of the P’lishtim, saying the same words as before; and David heard them. 24 When the soldiers from Isra’el saw the man, they all ran away from him, terrified. 25 The soldiers from Isra’el said [to each other], “You saw that man who just came up? He has come to challenge Isra’el. To whoever kills him, the king will give a rich reward; he’ll also give him his daughter and exempt his father’s family from all service and taxes in Isra’el.” 26 David said to the men standing with him, “What reward will be given to the man who kills this P’lishti and removes this disgrace from Isra’el? Who is this uncircumcised P’lishti anyway, that he challenges the armies of the living God?” 27 The people answered with what they had been saying, adding, “That’s what will be done for the man who kills him.” 28 Eli’av his oldest brother heard when David spoke to the men, and it made Eli’av angry at him. He asked, “Why did you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is! You just came down to watch the fighting.” 29 David said, “What have I done now? I only asked a question.” 30 He turned away from him to someone else and asked the same question, and the people gave him the same answer.
31 David’s words were overheard and told to Sha’ul, who summoned him. 32 David said to Sha’ul, “No one should lose heart because of him; your servant will go and fight this P’lishti.” 33 Sha’ul said to David, “You can’t go to fight this P’lishti — you’re just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!” 34 David answered Sha’ul, “Your servant used to guard his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear would come and grab a lamb from the flock, 35 I would go after it, hit it, and snatch the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned on me, I would catch it by the jaw, smack it and kill it. 36 Your servant has defeated both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised P’lishti will be like one of them, because he has challenged the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “Adonai, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will rescue me from the paw of this P’lishti!” Sha’ul said to David, “Go; may Adonai be with you.”
1 Samuel 17:38 Sha’ul dressed David in his own armor — he put a bronze helmet on his head and gave him armor plate to wear. 39 David buckled his sword on his armor and tried to walk, but he wasn’t used to such equipment. David said to Sha’ul, “I can’t move wearing these things, because I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40 Then he took his stick in his hand and picked five smooth stones from the riverbed, putting them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the P’lishti. 41 The P’lishti, with his shield-bearer ahead of him, came nearer and nearer to David. 42 The P’lishti looked David up and down and had nothing but scorn for what he saw — a boy with ruddy cheeks, red hair and good looks. 43 The P’lishti said to David, “Am I a dog? Is that why you’re coming at me with sticks?” — and the P’lishti cursed David by his god. 44 Then the P’lishti said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds in the air and the wild animals.” 45 David answered the P’lishti, “You’re coming at me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming at you in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of the armies of Isra’el, whom you have challenged. 46 Today Adonai will hand you over to me. I will attack you, lop your head off, and give the carcasses of the army of the P’lishtim to the birds in the air and the animals in the land. Then all the land will know that there is a God in Isra’el, 47 and everyone assembled here will know that Adonai does not save by sword or spear. For this is Adonai’s battle, and he will hand you over to us.” 48 When the P’lishti got up, approached and came close to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the P’lishti. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, and hurled it with his sling. It struck the P’lishti in his forehead and buried itself in his forehead, so that he fell face down on the ground.
For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.-------
This Sunday, October 16, 201622nd Sunday after Pentecost: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5; Luke 18:1-8
-------
Lectionary Readings:
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Jeremiah 31:27-34
Psalm 119:97-104
or Psalm 19 (UMH 750)
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
Scripture Text: Jeremiah 31:27 (28) At that time, just as I used to watch over them with the intent to uproot, break down, overthrow, destroy and do harm; so then I will watch over them to build and plant,” says Adonai. 28 (29) “When those days come they will no longer say,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
29 (30) Rather, each will die for his own sin;
every one who eats sour grapes,
his own teeth will be set on edge.
30 (31) “Here, the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah. 31 (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,” says Adonai. 32 (33) “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 33 (34) No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, ‘Know Adonai’; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more.”
34 (35) This is what Adonai says,
who gives the sun as light for the day,
who ordained the laws for the moon and stars
to provide light for the night,
who stirs up the sea until its waves roar —
Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name:
Psalm 119:מ (Mem)
97 How I love your Torah!
I meditate on it all day.
98 I am wiser than my foes,
because your mitzvot are mine forever.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
because I meditate on your instruction.
100 I understand more than my elders,
because I keep your precepts.
101 I keep my feet from every evil way,
in order to observe your word.
102 I don’t turn away from your rulings,
because you have instructed me.
103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise,
truly sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 From your precepts I gain understanding;
this is why I hate every false way.
or Psalm 19:1 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,
the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.
3 (2) Every day it utters speech,
every night it reveals knowledge.
4 (3) Without speech, without a word,
without their voices being heard,
5 (4) their line goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he places a tent for the sun,
6 (5) which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber,
with delight like an athlete to run his race.
7 (6) It rises at one side of the sky,
circles around to the other side,
and nothing escapes its heat.
8 (7) The Torah of Adonai is perfect,
restoring the inner person.
The instruction of Adonai is sure,
making wise the thoughtless.
9 (8) The precepts of Adonai are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The mitzvah of Adonai is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
10 (9) The fear of Adonai is clean,
enduring forever.
The rulings of Adonai are true,
they are righteous altogether,
11 (10) more desirable than gold,
than much fine gold,
also sweeter than honey
or drippings from the honeycomb.
12 (11) Through them your servant is warned;
in obeying them there is great reward.
13 (12) Who can discern unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from hidden faults.
14 (13) Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins,
so that they won’t control me.
Then I will be blameless
and free of great offense.
15 (14) May the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart
be acceptable in your presence,
Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.
2 Timothy 3:14 But you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; 15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; 17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
4:1 I solemnly charge you before God and the Messiah Yeshua, who will judge the living and the dead when he appears and establishes his Kingdom: 2 proclaim the Word! Be on hand with it whether the time seems right or not. Convict, censure and exhort with unfailing patience and with teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear. 4 Yes, they will stop listening to the truth, but will turn aside to follow myths.
5 But you, remain steady in every situation, endure suffering, do the work that a proclaimer of the Good News should, and do everything your service to God requires.
Luke 18:1 Then Yeshua told his talmidim a parable, in order to impress on them that they must always keep praying and not lose heart. 2 “In a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected other people. 3 There was also in that town a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me a judgment against the man who is trying to ruin me.’ 4 For a long time he refused; but after awhile, he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God, and I don’t respect other people; 5 but because this widow is such a nudnik, I will see to it that she gets justice — otherwise, she’ll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!’”
6 Then the Lord commented, “Notice what this corrupt judge says. 7 Now won’t God grant justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Is he delaying long over them? 8 I tell you that he will judge in their favor, and quickly! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find this trust on the earth at all?”
The John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Jeremiah 31:27-34
Verse 27
[27] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
I will sow — That is, I will exceedingly multiply them, both with men and with cattle.
Verse 31
[31] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Behold — And not only with the Jews, but all those who should be ingrafted into that Olive. It is not called the new covenant, because it was as to the substance new, for it was made with Abraham, Genesis 17:7, and with the Jews, Deuteronomy 26:17,18, but because it was revealed after a new manner, more fully and particularly, plainly and clearly. Nor was the ceremonial law any part of it, as it was to the Jews, a strict observance of that. It was likewise new in regard of the efficacy of the spirit attending it, in a much fuller and larger manner.
Verse 32
[32] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Not according — The covenant which God made with the Jews when they came out of the land of Egypt, was on God's part the law which he gave them, with the promises annexed; on their part (which made it a formal covenant) their promise of obedience to it.
Verse 33
[33] But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
With — That is, with those who are Jews inwardly.
And write it — The prophet's design is here to express the difference betwixt the law and the gospel. The first shews duty, the latter brings the grace of regeneration, by which the heart is changed, and enabled for duty. All under the time of the law that came to salvation, were saved by this new covenant; but this was not evidently exhibited; neither was the regenerating grace of God so common under the time of the law, as it hath been under the gospel.
Verse 34
[34] And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
I will forgive — God makes the root of all this grace to be the free pardon, and the remission of their sins.
Psalm 119:97-104
Verse 100
[100] I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
Because — The practice of religion is the best way to understand it.
Verse 102
[102] I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
Taught me — By thy blessed spirit, illuminating my mind, and working upon my heart.
or Psalm 19 (UMH 750)
Verse 1
[1] The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The heavens — They are as a legible book, wherein he that runs may read it.
The glory — His eternal power and Godhead, his infinite wisdom and goodness.
Firmament — Or, the expansion, all the vast space extended from the earth to the highest heavens, with all its goodly furniture.
Verse 2
[2] Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
Day — Every day and night repeats these demonstrations of God's glory.
Uttereth — Or, poureth forth, constantly and abundantly, as a fountain doth water; So this Hebrew word signifies.
Knowledge — Gives us a clear knowledge or discovery of God their author.
Verse 3
[3] There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Heard — Or, understood; there are divers nations in the world, which have several languages, so that one cannot discourse with, or be understood by another, but the heavens are such an universal teacher, that they can speak to all people, and be clearly understood by all.
Verse 4
[4] Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Line — Their lines, the singular number being put for the plural. And this expression is very proper, because the heavens do not teach men audibly, or by speaking to their ears, but visibly by propounding things to their eyes, which is done in lines or writings.
Gone — Is spread abroad.
Earth — So as to be seen and read, by all the inhabitants of the earth.
Words — Their magnificent structure, their exquisite order, and most regular course, by which they declare their author, no less than men discover their minds by their words.
Sun — Which being the most illustrious and useful of all the heavenly bodies, is here particularly mentioned.
Verse 5
[5] Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
Bridegroom — Gloriously adorned with light as with a beautiful garment, and smiling upon the world with a pleasant countenance.
Chamber — In which he is poetically supposed to have rested all night, and thence to break forth as it were on a sudden.
Strong man — Conscious and confident of his own strength.
Verse 6
[6] His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The ends — His course is constant from east to west, and thence to the east again. So that there is no part of the earth which doth not one time or other feel the benefit of his light and heat.
Verse 7
[7] The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The law — The doctrine delivered to his church, whether by Moses, or by other prophets. Having discoursed hitherto of the glory of God shining forth in, the visible heavens, he now proceeds to another demonstration of God's glory, which he compares with and prefers before the former.
Perfect — Completely discovering both the nature and will of God, and the whole duty of man, what he is to believe and practice, and whatsoever is necessary to his present and eternal happiness. Whereas the creation, although it did declare so much of God, as left all men without excuse, yet did not fully manifest the will of God, nor bring men to eternal salvation.
Converting — From sin to God, from whom all men are naturally revolted.
Testimony — His law, so called because it is a witness between God and man, what God requires of man, and what upon the performance of that condition, he will do for man.
Sure — Heb. faithful or true, which is most necessary in a witness: it will not mislead any man, but will infallibly bring him to happiness.
Simple — Even persons of the lowest capacities.
Verse 8
[8] The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Right — Both in themselves, and in their effect, as guiding men in the ready way to eternal happiness.
Rejoicing — By the discoveries of God's love to sinful men, in offers and promises of mercy.
Commandment — All his commands.
Pure — Without the least mixture of error.
The eyes — Of the mind, with a compleat manifestation of God's will and man's duty: both which, the works of nature, and all the writings of men discover but darkly and imperfectly.
Verse 9
[9] The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
The fear — The law and word of God, because it is both the object and the rule, and the cause of holy fear.
Clean — Sincere, not adulterated with any mixture. Constant and unchangeable, the same for substance in all ages.
Judgments — God's laws are frequently called his judgments, because they are the declarations of his righteous will, and as it were his judicial sentence by which he expects that men should govern themselves, and by which he will judge them at the last day.
Verse 12
[12] Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Who — Thy law, O Lord, is holy and just and good. But I fall infinitely short of it.
Cleanse — Both by justification, through the blood of thy son; and by sanctification thro' thy holy spirit. Though the first may seem to be principally intended, because he speaks of his past sins.
Secret — From the guilt of such sins as were secret either, from others; such as none knows but God and my own conscience: or, from myself; such as I never observed, or did not discern the evil of. Pardon my unknown sins, of which I never repented particularly, as I should have done.
Verse 13
[13] Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Presumptuous — From known and evident sins, such as are committed against knowledge, against the checks of conscience, and the motions of God's spirit.
Dominion — If I be at any time tempted to such sins, Lord let them not prevail over me, and if I do fall into them, let me speedily rise again.
Verse 14
[14] Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Let — Having prayed that God would keep him from sinful actions, he now prays that God would govern, and sanctify his words and thoughts: and this was necessary to preserve him from presumptuous sins, which have their first rise in the thoughts.
Redeemer — This expression seems to be added emphatically, and with special respect to Christ, to whom alone this word Goel can properly belong.
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Verse 14
[14] But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
From whom — Even from me a teacher approved of God.
Verse 15
[15] And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
From an infant thou hast known the holy scriptures — Of the Old Testament. These only were extant when Timothy was an infant. Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith in the Messiah that was to come. How much more are the Old and New Testament together able, in God's hand, to make us more abundantly wise unto salvation! Even such a measure of present salvation as was not known before Jesus was glorified.
Verse 16
[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
All scripture is inspired of God — The Spirit of God not only once inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists, those that read it with earnest prayer. Hence it is so profitable for doctrine, for instruction of the ignorant, for the reproof or conviction of them that are in error or sin, for the correction or amendment of whatever is amiss, and for instructing or training up the children of God in all righteousness.
Verse 17
[17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
That the man of God — He that is united to and approved of God.
May be perfect — Blameless himself, and throughly furnished - By the scripture, either to teach, reprove, correct, or train up others.
Verse 1
[1] I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
I charge thee therefore — This is deduced from the whole preceding chapter.
At his appearing and his kingdom — That is, at his appearing in the kingdom of glory.
Verse 2
[2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Be instant — Insist on, urge these things in season, out of season - That is, continually, at all times and places. It might be translated, with and without opportunity - Not only when a fair occasion is given: even when there is none, one must be made.
Verse 3
[3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
For they will heap up teachers — Therefore thou hast need of "all longsuffering." According to their own desires - Smooth as they can wish.
Having itching ears — Fond of novelty and variety, which the number of new teachers, as well as their empty, soft, or philosophical discourses, pleased. Such teachers, and such hearers, seldom are much concerned with what is strict or to the purpose.
Heap to themselves — Not enduring sound doctrine, they will reject the sound preachers, and gather together all that suit their own taste. Probably they send out one another as teachers, and so are never at a loss for numbers.
Verse 5
[5] But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Watch — An earnest, constant, persevering exercise. The scripture watching, or waiting, implies steadfast faith, patient hope, labouring love, unceasing prayer; yea, the mighty exertion of all the affections of the soul that a man is capable of.
In all things — Whatever you are doing, yet in that, and in all things, watch. Do the work of an evangelist - Which was next to that of an apostle.
Luke 18:1-8
Verse 4
[4] And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
Matthew 13:1; Mark 4:1.
-------
The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
-------
HOPEFUL EXPECTATION by John D.I. EssickJeremiah 31:27-34
We love to count and rank events, people, athletes, books, and so on. It seems that just about any time I turn on ESPN or wait in line at the supermarket, I am bombarded with rankings and comparisons. Countless bookstore shelves and Internet pages are filled with sundry “Top Ten” lists. It’s not all that different when we come to the Bible. Many of us probably have a life verse, a verse that stands out and influences much of what we do, and that’s okay. And I think if we read the Bible carefully, we find that there are certain stories or characters that just stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of importance or impact. This is not to diminish the lesser-known, more minor elements, but there is no denying that certain parts of the biblical story give meaning to the rest and inform how the subsequent narratives are read. We would certainly argue for Jesus as number one on our list of “Top Ten Bible Characters,” but without previous events and figures (for example, creation, Abraham, the Exodus, and David), the narratives surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus wouldn’t be nearly as rich or meaningful. In fact, the four Gospels ooze complexity and meaning primarily because of that history. Jesus’ own self-understanding was greatly influenced by his understanding of his own religious heritage.
Another event that should probably be in our top ten, as you might guess based on the lectionary’s last two sermons, is the Exile. It is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the Babylonian exile for the people of Israel, for their theology, and for their future. The fall of Jerusalem fundamentally challenged the predominant view of the 325 Promised Land and Israel’s place in it. The destruction of the temple led prophets and priests to think in new ways about how God is present with the people and what authentic worship of the Lord looks like. The tragic failure of the Davidic royal line prompted the people of God to lament their circumstances and vehemently protest their situation. They looked inward, outward, and upward for explanations and answers to painful questions about the nature of suffering, hope, and divine presence. We remember from the readings two weeks ago that part of this painful search for meaning and truth includes authentic lament and truth-telling. Last week we encountered the need to live in the present, the here and now. This week’s readings offer another crucial component of exilic life: hopeful expectation.
As devastating and traumatic as exile is, there is still a word of hope. The same Jeremiah who told the exiles to settle down is now telling them they will resettle and live anew. In fact, today’s Old Testament reading occurs in the midst of a discussion of how this future will look. Jeremiah employs a host of images to convey this beginning, this hope. For one thing, this hopeful expectation looks to the future by understanding the past and the present. The odd thing about hope is that it never ignores the past or present; rather, hope pays close attention to life in honest and open ways. Hope doesn’t need to be kindled on bright days, but on stormy days and during dark nights. In fact, hope is a truthful commentary on the here and now, a prophetic thought that looks to a new dawn, but it is no sugarcoated, fuzzy notion.
We may see this pretty clearly in today’s reading. Did you notice God’s blunt remarks concerning the people’s current status? “I have actively watched over you, my people, but not in ways you might have hoped or thought.” Now that sounds good. I like the sound of that as a follower of God. This spiritual path I’m on isn’t always easy, but it’s good to know that God is watching out for me. But God wasn’t done: “I have watched over [you] to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil” (Jeremiah 31:28). What kind of watchman does that? That’s not the kind of shepherd we want—certainly not the kind we think we need. The promised “coming days” are just around the corner, but they don’t erase a difficult past. Looking to the future means understanding how we arrived. Hopeful expectation means admitting that our present condition needs redeeming and that we are powerless to make it happen. Even in the midst of great evil, plucking up and breaking down, being overthrown and destroyed, even in the midst of all that, God is present and at work. This knowledge is an indispensable ingredient of life in exile; this is a part of living away from one’s true home.
But God isn’t done speaking in this passage. Destruction and evil aren’t the last words. Notice also here the powerful verbal images to describe the “coming days”: sow, build, plant, and forgive. These are all anticipatory verbs pointing to a new beginning, a new chapter. Hopeful expectation understands that the future begins with the digging of a hole for a seed or with words like “I forgive you.” Yet hope, and all the expectation and anticipation it carries, never really gets ahead of itself. Strong trees don’t grow up in a year; troubled relationships don’t heal fully overnight; new habits are not formed in a day. No, a small and vulnerable beginning is a common theme in all these verbs, and that’s just how hope works—that’s just how God works. That’s probably just how most of our top ten biblical stories begin. If we see nothing else here, we see that hopeful expectation never lets go of the possibility that salvation can come to us in the most unexpected ways: on an ark, in a basket floating in the reeds, in exile, in a stable, on a cross, out of a tomb, or in a small but committed community of people who dare to bear the name Christian. Amen.read more-------
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: OCTOBER 16, 2016 by Bill Hoppe22nd Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5; Luke 18:1-8
THEME IDEAS
The word of God connects today’s readings. Jeremiah paints a beautiful image of the word being written on the very hearts of God’s people, a foreshadowing of the beginning of John’s Gospel, where Jesus is described as the Living Word come to dwell within us. The psalmist declares the importance of the word as the source of understanding, wisdom, and guidance. Paul writes to Timothy about the word as the basis for sound teaching, reproof, and correction. In Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow to teach us about patient, persevering prayer. Throughout these readings God’s word is revealed as the foundation of our relationship with God.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 119, Jeremiah 31)
How beautiful is the word of the Lord!
How wise are God’s commandments!
Through the Lord’s precepts, we gain understanding.
Through God’s wisdom, we find truth.
The Lord is our God; we are God’s people.
God’s word lives within us,
for it is written on our hearts.
Living Word, Great Teacher, lead us and guide us!
Amen!
Opening Prayer (Psalm 119, 2 Timothy 3–4)
Lord,
your words are sweet to the taste,
sweeter than honey;
let them be our daily meditation and our study.
Give us ears to hear,
for we marvel at your instruction.
Train us in righteousness,
grant us patience and persistence,
and equip us for every good work.
Inspire our faith,
and give us voices to proclaim your message.
Guide our feet,
keep us from every false way,
for you alone speak the words of life. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (2 Timothy 3–4, Luke 18)
From the least of us, to the greatest, Lord,
we want to know you;
we yearn to follow where you lead us;
we need your guidance.
But even as we listen for your direction,
other voices compete for our attention
with teachings that suit our desires.
Our thoughts drift so far from your truth,
that fables and fancies begin to seem real.
Holy One,
open our hearts and minds.
By your Spirit,
convince, rebuke, and encourage us
as only you can;
teach, correct, and inspire us
in the ways of your salvation. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Jeremiah 31, Luke 18)
When we cry out, God helps us without delay.
Do not lose heart, for the Lord forgives our iniquity
and remembers our sin no more.
Response to the Word (Jeremiah 31, 2 Timothy 3 –4)
Lord, your word forms a strong foundation
on which to build our lives.
Like a sower,
you have planted your truth and your law of love
in our very souls.
Watch over what you have planted
and nurtured within us.
Find us faithful, O God,
that we may take what we have learned
and grow to know you.
For you are the One to whom we belong,
the One to whom we pray. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 119, Jeremiah 31)
Gracious God,
you have granted us wisdom,
understanding, and knowledge
far greater than that of any teacher;
you have given us love and grace
freely from your abundance.
As you have shared your gifts with us,
we share these gifts with you,
that all the world may know you.
As you have led us by the hand,
we offer our hands to your service,
in praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Psalm 119, Jeremiah 31, 2 Timothy 3–4)
May the living word of the Lord dwell with you.
May it live through you.
May it fill your thoughts and deeds.
May it fill your mouth with God’s message of love.
May it sustain you in good times and bad.
May it equip you for a ministry of peace and hope!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Psalm 119)
Guided by the wisdom of the ages,
we follow God’s path.
Turning neither left or right,
we keep God’s ways.
Understanding the needs of our hearts and minds,
we dwell in God’s word.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 119)
How sweet are God’s words,
sweeter than honey!
How sweet are God’s words,
sweeter than honey!… read more-------
WORSHIP CONNECTION: OCTOBER 16, 2016 by Nancy C. Townley22nd Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5; Luke 18:1-8
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Power and might and majesty belong to God who created and is creating.
P: Thanks be to God for God’s mighty wonders.
L: Like the image of the powerful wind, and heavens as a garment, God’s majesty is revealed in all creation.
P: We look around us at the wonders and marvel and the infinite variety and beauty which God has created.
L: Who are we, that God should pay attention to us?
P: We are God’s beloved children, the stewards whom God has selected to care for the world. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2L: We come before God as equal in God’s sight.
P: God knows us thoroughly and loves us completely.
L: None of us is perfect and without blemish.
P: Yet God has called us children and asked us to be compassionate and responsible in our caring and witness.
L: We are called to joyful obedience in God’s realm.
P: Thanks be to God who trusts us and pours abundant love on us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2031, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise", offer the following call to worship. Have a soloist sing the song through one time. The worship leader will then begin the speaking parts with the people responding. Finally all will sing the entire song through one time and conclude with an "Amen".]
Soloist: singing song through one time.
L: We come joyfully to the house of the Lord.
P: We bring our praise and offer our lives to God.
L: This is our gift and our sacrifice - an act of devotion to God.
P: Let us celebrate God’s love with our voices and our lives.
All: singing the entire song through one time.
ALL: AMEN.
Call to Worship #4L: As the rains pour from heaven, soaking the earth that it may produce good things....
P: So God pours love upon us, that we, too, may produce goodness and peace.
L: We have been blessed with many gifts and talents.
P: God desires that we use these gifts and talents for healing, peace, and hope.
L: Come, let us worship and celebrate the mighty love and power of God.
P: Praise be to God who has blessed us in so many ways. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION
Opening PrayerLord, everywhere we look we see the imprint of your creative love. The wondrous works of nature show your majesty. As we gather today to celebrate your love and creation, keep us mindful that we are part of that created order, meant to be stewards and not destroyers. Prepare us to work for you in ministries of peace and justice. AMEN.
Prayer of ConfessionWe can get caught up in selfish pursuits and completely over look the wonders of your creation, O God. All around us are majestic reminders of the beauty you offer to us. But we are weak and easily trapped into attitudes of indifference or destructive behavior. You have not given this world to us that we should destroy it, but rather that we should cherish it and make sure that all receive from its bounty. Forgive our overwhelming greed and selfishness. Help us to let go of the petty desires for wealth, position, and power, and bring us into a ministry which proclaims your love and justice for all your people. These things we pray in the name of the Master Servant, Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.
Words of AssuranceGod hears the cries of our hearts, sees our actions, knows our attitudes. In the midst of our sinfulness, God reaches out to heal and forgive us. Receive the forgiveness which God has offered to you. Live in God’s love. AMEN.
Pastoral PrayerWe are so competitive, Lord. We want to know who will be best and first, and we hope that it is each one of us. You call us special and we interpret it to mean "the best". And we feel that we are entitled to all that is due to the "best". Jesus reminded us that the best of us will be the servants, will be those who are willing to help and witness to others, not for their own honor but for God’s honor and praise. Far too long, we have decided that we know what is best for the whole world. We want to run the "whole show", but we don’t want to listen to you, God. You want us to bring peace, to listen to others needs and wants. We want to impose our wills on everyone. We have gotten way off the track of discipleship. Bring us back, patient God. Shake the dust of arrogance from us and nourish us with humility and joy. Help us to be the kind of disciples that serve you faithfully. For we ask these things in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Litany/Reading
[Note: if the message has a focus on friendship and servanthood, this litany/reading may work well as an introduction to the message.]
Reader 1: I have worked hard to get where I am. I deserve only the very best and I am determined to get it, no matter what!
Reader 2: What can I do with the gifts God has given me? I know my limits, but maybe there is some way I can be of help to someone else.
Reader 1: Listen! You’ve got to watch out for Number One - that’s you, of course. Don’t worry about others. Let them take care of themselves. And if they stumble and fall, it’s not your fault. They made their own choices. You don’t need to feel badly for them. Just take care of yourself.
Reader 2: I can’t live like that. I admit, I can’t make everything right, but I know that there is something that I can do for someone. Yes, it’s true. We make our choices and are responsible for them, but in the meantime, isn’t it important to reach out and help where we can so that the choices available for others may be more full?
Reader 1: That’s the old goody-goody stuff again. This is a dog-eat-dog world and you better get used to it.
Reader 2: Is there some way I can be of help to you?
Reader 1: I don’t need anything from you. You have nothing to offer me.
Reader 2: Perhaps you need a friend, or maybe just a smile? [smiles at Reader 1]
Reader 1: Don’t try to con me with the nice smile. It won’t work.
Reader 2: Why not?
Reader 1: Because it makes me wonder what you really want.
Reader 2: Just to be your friend.
Reader 1: Why?
Reader 2: Why not?
Reader 1: You don’t want anything from me? Just friendship?
Reader 2: Yep. That’s it. Friendship.
Reader 1: [smiles] I guess that’s OK.
Reader 2: [smiles back at reader 1]: Kind of nice, isn’t it?
Reader 1: Yes. It is.
Reader 2: Good. Then, we are friends. Thanks for the gift of your friendship. I appreciate it.
Reader 1: You’re welcome. Thanks for yours also.
[speaking to congregation]: To be a friend.....what a novel concept! Not to manipulate or control or dominate, not to compete, just to be a friend. This new friend of mine, looks like a person who cares about others expecting nothing in return. Interesting. I have a lot to learn.
Benediction/BlessingYou have been called to serve the Lord with gladness. Go from this place knowing that God’s blessings have been poured on you so that you may be a blessing to others. Be at peace and bring the good news of God’s love and peace to all whom you meet. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTSThe traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN
Definitions:Risers refer to any structure or support which will raise a portion of the worship center above the main level. Some risers may be a stack of books, others may be made from wood or whatever will give the necessary support to the object which is going to be placed on the riser. I have used pieces of 2" x 4" wood, stacked on top of each other to achieve the height I desired. Most risers will be covered with fabric.
Worship Center: Because so many churches have different worship spaces, I have chosen to call the main space for worship display (worship center). It may be called an altar, a communion table, a platform - whatever is the focal point of the worship area.
Flowers/plants: I am not a "purist" if the definition means having only real flowers and plants in the chancel/worship area. I believe that there are some really beautiful silk flowers which will suffice in times when real plants are not available. However, go with the tradition of your local church. Generally speaking I like to use foliage plants (minimal or non flowering) as accent pieces. "Spiky" plants such as sanseveria, mother-in-law’s tongue, snake plant, are good when you are looking for a harsh, hard, angular effect. Fern (particularly asparagas or Boston) are wonderful along with some ivys, to soften the effect.
Puddling the fabric: Currently interior decorators use the technique with draperies of letting the fabric spill to the floor in a heap, sort of a puddle. It is a less formal design. Puddling the fabric means not creating even edges with the fabric, which is drawing a line, but rather softening the look by creating a "puddle".
Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
SURFACE: Place a long riser across the back of the worship center. It should stand about 6" higher than the surface of the table.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with green, making sure that the panel comes to the floor but does not "puddle". Place the panel of "hands" down the center of the worship table so that it comes down the front and touches the floor.
CANDLES Place 4-6 votive candles on either side of the panels, and to the side of the front pictures.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Flowers and leafy plants may be used on either side of the cross and on either side of the "hand" panel on the floor in front of the worship center.
ROCKS/WOOD : Not necessary for this setting
OTHER: To create the "hand" panel, I recommend going to a home decorating fabric store and purchasing about 2 yards of room darkening fabric (the kind to cut light out from draperies). You will want the panel to touch the floor in front of the worship center. It should be about 24-28" wide. When the paint is dry on the panel, it may be rolled up for storage. However, before using it, make sure you unroll it and let it hang flat for about a day. Using acrylic paints, have people paint their hands and make a print on the fabric. The hand prints may be of various colors, but I caution against using yellow as it does not show up well. This will need to be done at least a week ahead of the service. Place four pictures on the worship center that represent some form of Servant Ministry in which your church is engaged. You may want to also repeat the pictures as bulletin covers. Plate stands can be used to support the pictures. A cross should be placed on the riser at the back of the worship center, with a definite path leading to the cross.… read more-------
OCTOBER 16, 2016 - THE DRAMA THAT IS SCRIPTURE by William H. WillimonPULPIT RESOURCE
INSPIRING-HUMOROUS-EDGY-CONFRONTING-RELEVANTDOWNLOAD A SAMPLE NOW
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.
Ready to Subscribe?
You now have the new option of subscribing to Pulpit Resource online to allow you easy access at any time. The print version is also still available for subscription. Simply pick the option that best meets your needs to subscribe today.
ONLINE ONLY SUBSCRIPTION – $70 PRINT SUBSCRIPTION – $70 ONLINE AND PRINT SUBSCRIPTION – $80
Alert! Subscribers to Pulpit Resource who purchased through Logos Productions:
If you subscribed to Will Willimon’s Pulpit Resource through Logos Productions before December 31, 2015, we have a record of your postal address and subscription expiration date, but we do not have your account in our system. To continue receiving Pulpit Resource for the life of your paid subscription, you must call customer service at 1-800-409-5346 or email subscriptions@ministrymatters.com. Your new account will not be charged until it is time to renew your annual subscription.read more-------
SERMON OPTIONS: OCTOBER 16, 2016SPEAK AFTER ME
2 TIMOTHY 3:14–4:5A nervous bride was concerned that she might not emotionally survive the trip down the aisle. When she shared her concern with the minister, he offered his advice. "As you make your entrance, focus on just three things. First, look down the aisle. Then, look up to the altar. And then, look at him. He will be smiling encouragement to you."
As she marched down the aisle, the congregation could hear her speaking softly to herself, "I'll alter him. I'll alter him. I'll alter him."
When the apostle Paul sent his final charge to Timothy, he wanted his protégé to understand what he meant by, "Preach the Word." He meant, "Repeat God's Truth. Say what I've been saying. Speak after me."
I. Remember Your Godly Heritage (vv. 14-15)
Timothy would encounter godlessness in his lifetime. Persecutions would challenge his faithfulness. Paul's epistle charged Timothy, "Continue in your godly heritage."
There was the heritage of Paul's teaching. That would keep Timothy faithful. Timothy had first seen and heard Paul's teaching as a young man. He had seen God confirm Paul's life and message. Now the time was coming for Paul's advance to heaven and Timothy must continue the tradition of truth.
There was the heritage of Timothy's mother and grandmother (see 2 Tim. 1:5) . From Timothy's first days they had cared for not only his physical, but also his spiritual needs. They had passed on the faith. It was time for Timothy to continue the tradition by passing on the faith to others.
Finally, there was the heritage of the Scriptures. Its message had led Timothy to Christ and salvation. The teaching of the Scriptures was a heritage of grace that would make others wise to salvation. "Speak after me."
II. Rely on God's Word (vv. 16-17)
To "speak after Paul," Timothy must speak the Scriptures. Nothing added, nothing deleted. Just God's message.
The Scriptures had come from God. They were "God-breathed." The truth of sin, sacrifice, and salvation was not man's truth, but God's. Yes, God had used men to record his message to the world, but it had been God's own wisdom they had written.
God's Word was practically useful. It taught the doctrines essential for faith, it spoke rebuke to those who rebelled, it offered correction to those who strayed, and it trained God's people in right living.
The result of relying on God's Word was that his people would be and do all that God intended for them to be and do. No good work would be lacking in those who relied on his truth. "Speak after me."
III. Proclaim God's Truth (vv. 1-5)
Now it was up to Timothy to proclaim God's truth. Jesus Christ was coming back to judge the faithfulness of his people. With that in mind, Timothy should always "preach the Word." Just as a teacher of little children will demonstrate great patience and careful instruction, so Timothy was to correct, rebuke, and encourage from the Scriptures.
Unfortunately, the time was coming when enemies of the gospel would contradict God's Word. They would change the message to suit themselves, exempting themselves from accountability to God. Timothy must, therefore, stick to his charge. "Speak after me," Paul says, "for I have spoken after God."
There are life and death situations where "getting it right" and "saying it right" make all the difference. The right medicine, the right dosage, the right patient means life or death. God's message, the true message of salvation, must continue to be told. "Speak after me." (Timothy S. Warren)
THE SQUEAKY WHEEL
LUKE 18:1-8Jesus urged his followers to pray and gave them a stunning example of prayer from his own life. Ten times the Gospels record that Jesus prayed. Not only did he teach about prayer but he was also an example of it. Our text appears to be given fresh from the heart of a night of prayer.
I. The ParableThis is one of the few parables that lets us know its focus at the very beginning, "that men are always to pray, and not to faint." Jesus tells the story of a city judge who was hard-hearted. "He feared not God, neither regarded man." He also tells of a widow who was equally as hard-minded. She continues to bring her request to him, "avenge me of mine adversary," in such unrelenting ways that he granted her request just to get rid of her. Jesus gives us this parable as an encouragement to prayer.
The whole life of the Christian should be a life of devotion. To a Christian, to live is to pray. "Pray without ceasing" intends for us to have a life that is, in itself, a prayer. We will not pray much unless we set apart a certain time and season for prayer. While scripture does not instruct us on when to pray, it does give us every encouragement to pray. There is a tradition that James the apostle prayed so much that his knees grew hard from so many hours of kneeling. It is recorded that Hugh Latimer was so much upon his knees during his time of imprisonment that after his confinement, frequently the poor old man could not rise to his meals and had to be lifted up by his servants. Daniel prayed with his windows open at regular intervals—seven times a day. David declared that evening, morning, and at noon would he wait upon God. The Lord means that the believer should pray.
II. The PeopleFirst, we see the judge—stern, unbending, hard-hearted. The stern, hard judge is described in the parable, but we pray to a loving Father who cares for us. The judge is characterized as being devoid of good character: "He feared not God." We pray to the source of all righteousness who is concerned with us. This judge was so bad he confesses his own sin to himself. He feared for nothing but his own ease.
Second, we see the widow. She was a stranger to the judge and she was there without a friend to either plead her case or bribe the judge. There was nothing to encourage her. She came with her need. That was the only thing she brought. The judge and the widow each make us see our duty to pray.
III. The Power of PrayerJesus encourages us to pray and not to lose heart. The woman in the parable prevails, not because of her eloquence, or because of the merits of her case, but because of her insistence.
Prayer is the burning lava of the soul that has a furnace within, a very volcano of power. It is that burning lava of prayer that finds its way to God. No prayer ever reaches God's heart that does not come from our hearts. I know of no better thermometer to our spiritual temperature than this—the measure of the intensity of our prayers.
The intention of this parable is to put focus and fire in our prayers. The squeaky wheel gets results. He who prays without fervency does not pray at all. We cannot commune with God who is a consuming fire if there is no fire in our hearts. Jesus tells us to ask, to seek, and to knock. The intention of this parable is to remind us that when we knock at the door of heaven, we are to knock with bloody knuckles. (William L. Self)… read more-------
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: OCTOBER 16, 2016 
by Carolyn C. BrownFrom a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:27-34.The detailed and varied poetic images in verses 27-28 make it essential that the liturgist explain directly that Jeremiah is promising the people who were in exile in Babylon that God will one day rebuild their nation. With that background, children can hear and respond strongly to the four specific promises:
—The change in the saying about eating grapes promises that people will be held responsible only for their own actions. This is as welcome to today's children, who want to be treated according to who they are and what they do, as it was to Daniel and the other children who were carried into Babylon because their parents had disobeyed God.
—"I will be their God, and they will be my people" promises the security of God's loving closeness (GNB). Children who yearn for a secure place in a strong group, led by a leader who knows them personally, respond to this invitation to be part of God's people.
—"None of them will have to teach his fellow countryman to know the LORD, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest," paints a picture of knowledge that comes not through teachings but through relationships (GNB). Any child who is tired of having to learn about God from teachers welcomes a promise of knowing God personally, rather than learning about God secondhand.
—"I will write [my law] on their hearts" promises that instead of knowing about God or even knowing God, we will find that God lives within us (NRSV). From about the age of four or five, children develop a growing understanding of the way we use the word heart to talk about our deepest, truest commitments. They learn to put a hand on their heart when they say the Pledge of Allegiance, say "cross my heart" as a kind of oath, and cut out valentine hearts for those they love. So, to think of God's will as being written on our hearts will be plausible, if not totally comprehended by even young children.
Psalm: 119:97-104. This section of Psalm 119 might be titled "The Law (or the Bible) and Me." Each verse tells about what the Bible means to "me" or how "I" use the Bible. Because the verses of the acrostic are loosely connected and not particularly meaningful to children, their best use may be as encouragement to worshipers to write their own verses about what the Bible means to them.
Epistle: 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5. This contains more of Paul's encouragement for Timothy. Verses 3:14-17 suggest that studying the Bible is the way to know about God and what God wants us to do. This is not a new idea for children, but one they need to hear emphasized repeatedly.
In 4:1-5, Paul encourages Timothy to do the work of preaching and teaching to which he has been called. He is specifically warned against putting off doing what is difficult. Like Timothy, children often try to put off discipleship until they are older or until it is easier. They need to be reminded that discipleship is never easy. Paul was put in prison for preaching. We do not know what problems Timothy met, but they were problems he wanted to avoid. Like Paul and Timothy, children can expect problems as they do God's work at school and among their friends. Like Paul and Timothy, children are to be strong and patient.
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8. This passage is also about persistence. Jesus uses a story about a villainous judge to make a point. Children are easily confused by this story, unless they are bluntly told that Jesus is saying that even a bad judge will give in to the persistence of an unwanted pest (the woman), so we can expect our loving and fair God to respond to our persistent prayers. They also need to be told bluntly that Jesus was not saying that God is like the bad judge, who only responds when someone becomes a pest.
Watch WordsA covenant is a set of "big" promises between two people or groups. While the promises made in a contract are specific, those in a covenant are broader and affect more of our life. For example, a boss and an employee sign a contract about the work the employee will do and the wages the boss will pay. But when a man and woman marry, they make a covenant to be a family for the rest of their lives.
Point out that the words law, commandments, decrees,precepts, and ordinances are all found in the Bible. Children may understand Psalm 119 better when they substitute the Bible for these words.
Call the Bible the Bible rather than Scriptures, Holy Book, or other names, unless you introduce the names as you use them.
Persistence means sticking with it, not giving up.
Let the Children SingContinue singing the hymns of discipleship mentioned for the last weeks.
"Wonderful Words of Life" celebrates the importance of the Bible for direction and has a chorus that children can sing and may know from church school.
If children are familiar with "Be Thou My Vision," sing it today to celebrate the covenant "written on our hearts."
The Liturgical Child1. Invite an early-elementary children's class to present today's section of Psalm 119, with each child saying aloud one of the short verses. The children stand at the front of the sanctuary like a choir, with each child holding an open Bible, but repeating his or her verse from memory.
2. Create a responsive prayer of confession based on the Ten Commandments. After worshipers read each Commandment, a worship leader offers a prayer about the ways we fail to live with it "written on our hearts." For example:
People: You shall have no other gods before me.
Leader: But there are so many important things we must do, God, and so many we want to do. There are clothes and homes and toys and trips and jobs and awards that we want so badly. Sometimes we write so many wants and dreams on our hearts that they become our gods, instead of You. Forgive us, and write your will in big letters on our hearts.
3. Base the charge and benediction on Paul's charge to Timothy:
IN the presence of God and Christ Jesus, I urge you, just as Paul urged Timothy, to do the work to which God calls you. Be a disciple even when it is inconvenient and risky. Do God's work even when it seems that what you do does not matter. Live by God's rules, even when everyone else is following the rules of me-first and greed. Don't give up. I know you can do this, because you remember that Jesus promised his disciples, "I will be with you always." So go in peace. Amen.
Sermon Resources1. Help children understand Jeremiah's saying about eating sour grapes by describing more familiar eating experiences, such as the response to drinking sour milk, the way a tongue and mouth pucker when biting into a really sour dill pickle, or the burning mouth and tears that follow hot mustard or spicy chili.
2. Illustrate Jeremiah's point about a "covenant written on the heart" by describing the difference between doing a science project that fascinates you and one that is required but does not interest you, or practicing the piano because you really like a song and want to play it beautifully, instead of because your folks tell you to.-------
Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37228, United States
-------
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment