'The Bible tells me so!' Really? by James A. Harnish
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The battle for the BibleIn his must-read book, The Soul of America, historian Jon Meacham defines the struggle of our time as “The Battle for Our Better Angels.” I couldn’t agree more.
But followers of Christ are also engaged in a deeper struggle that is nothing less than “The Battle for the Bible.” Or, at least, the battle for a better reading of the Bible.
Let’s face it: the Bible is probably the most respected and least read book in America. The new Museum of the Bible in Washington could be a visual metaphor for the way we honor the Bible as a relic of our past while we abuse, distort or ignore it in the present.
The “self-help” Bible
A cartoon in The New Yorker depicted a bookstore clerk saying, “The Bible … that would be under self-help.”
Some people tout the Bible as a self-help manual which, if followed carefully, guarantees health, wealth and a great sex life. To be sure, Scripture is chock full of practical guidance the biblical writers call “wisdom.” But it is not general, all-purpose, self-help sort of wisdom. It is wisdom with the purpose of forming lives that are consistent with God’s purpose for us and our world. The guarantee is not success as the world defines it, but holiness.
The abused Bible
There are also folks who honor the Bible without deeply reading or studying it. They are often well-intended, church-going people who think they know what the Bible says and attempt to apply it to their lives without practicing the disciplines of thoughtful study and prayerful reflection on what the book actually says.
A sad example is Attorney General Sessions’ innane attempt to justify a brutal immigration policy with a quirky reference to Romans 13, a notoriously difficult passage of scripture which also provided biblical support for slavery in America and the Third Reich in Nazi Germany.
Biblical scholars Richard Hays and Ellen Davis make the point that “reading Scripture is a difficult thing to do well … making good sense of the Bible and applying that sense wisely to our lives is a hard thing to do.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. xv.) But it’s more than worth the effort! They conclude that Scripture is “indispensable if we are to view the world realistically and hopefully.” (p. 9)
How to read the Bible
How do we read the Bible in a way that makes sense to our brains and a difference in our lives? A few suggestions in no particular order.
Read the Bible in community. The Bible is inherently communal. The Old Testament books emerged out of the life of the Hebrew community. The New Testament books grew out of the life of the early church. This is the church’s book and we read it best when we read it in community with other faithful people and within the context of the insights of people in the Body of Christ across the generations. Disciple Bible Study continues to be the best resource I know for this kind of study.
Read the Bible through Jesus. The Gospel declares that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) E. Stanley Jones often reminded us that Scripture is “not the revelation of God, for that would be the Word become word, but it is the inspired record of the Revelation — the Revelation was seen in the face of Jesus Christ — the Word became flesh.” (The Word Became Flesh, p. 66,136) We read Scripture best when we read it through the lens of the words and way, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we run into a difficult passage (of which there are plenty!), a good question to ask is: Does this look like Jesus?
Read the Bible for transformation. We read the Bible not only for information, but for transformation. James Howell declared that “embodied reading is perhaps the only kind reading that is finally appropriate to these texts, which are about, and are intended to provoke, changed lives.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. 100). The Bible is the story of ordinary saints and sinners like every one of us whose lives were radically transformed by God’s action in creation, in history, and in the human heart. We read scripture best when we listen for the way the written word can become the living Word in our experience.
We could do worse than to read this old hymn text each time we open the Bible.
Master, speak! Thy servant heareth,
Waiting for Thy gracious word,
Longing for Thy voice that cheereth
Master, let it now be heard.
I am list’ning, Lord, for Thee;
What hast Thou to say to me?
Master, speak! and make me ready,
When Thy voice is truly heard,
With obedience glad and steady,
Still to follow every word
I am listening, Lord, for Thee:
Master, speak, oh, speak to me!
Does the Bible really tell me so? Only if I read it!.
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Girls need clergywomen by Kira Schlesinger
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Most arguments over the ordination of women usually center on theology and scripture, but in their new book She Preached the Word: Women’s Ordination in Modern America, authors Benjamin Knoll and Cammie Jo Bolin ask the question, “What difference does the presence of prominent female religious figures make for girls and young women?” Their research uncovered some startling answers, namely that women who had female congregational leaders in their youth enjoyed higher levels of self-esteem as adults.With low levels of self-esteem being linked to higher levels of depression, anxiety and lower levels of relationship success and job satisfaction, these findings potentially have a large impact. Women who grew up with their most influential congregational leader being a woman are as likely as men to be employed full-time and to obtain another full year of education. Knoll and Bolin found this to be the case even controlling for a number of other factors. Considering that 60% of Americans report that they never had a female religious leader growing up, this affects a great number of women.
Those of us who grew up and currently worship in traditions and denominations that ordain women might overlook this research. But even in Mainline traditions, where we frequently pride ourselves on our progressive views on gender, there are many girls who will still grow up without exposure to female religious leaders. Growing up in a large Episcopal church in Texas, most of the clergy I remember were men. In worship, most of the visible lay participants were men — lectors and ushers in dark suits — while the women of the altar guild exercised their ministry behind the closed doors of the sacristy. I never had a question of whether women could be ordained, but I rarely witnessed women serving as congregational leaders in public.
Despite ordaining women, female pastors are more likely to serve in part-time positions or outside of the church walls in chaplaincies, and though the number is on the rise, only ten percent of congregations have a woman in senior or solo leadership. In their article, Knoll and Bolin point out that behavior modeled by one gender or another becomes internalized as distinctly masculine or feminine, including exposure to religious leadership. On the flip side, I love hearing stories of children who primarily attend a congregation with female leadership first being exposed to male religious leadership, upon which they frequently exclaim, “I didn’t know that boys could be pastors!” But when children, and particularly girls, only see men in positions of leadership, they begin to associate gender, leadership, and self-confidence.
How can churches respond to these findings? In the consumerist model of “church-shopping,” one might take into consideration if a church has female clergy on staff and in public positions of leadership, particularly for families raising young girls. For smaller congregations with only one clergyperson, they can make sure that girls are still exposed to women preaching and participating in leading worship. Leadership that includes both genders holds the possibility of improving the gender gap in leadership outside the church walls by modeling female leadership in action within them.
Thanos and the God of the Right by Rick Quinn
Like millions of other movie goers around the globe, I recently took in the latest saga in the Marvel Comics Universe, Avengers: Infinity War. Ok…I saw it twice. And I’m sure that I left the theater with many of the same impressions that millions of other viewers had. I was drawn in by the attention to character development and the personality dynamics. I was kept surprised by some of the plot developments (I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum), but I also came away with some thoughts about how we often distort the conception of God in ways that reflect our own insecurities and fears.That last sentence might have graced your eyes, dear reader, in a manner similar to how a hard record needle scratch is received by the ears. You might have clamored back to the opening sentence. Didn’t he say he watched a comic book movie? Let me attempt to explain. Comics, like other forms of literature, can offer an insight into ourselves. “We live in the stories we tell ourselves.” Prominent Scottish comic writer Grant Morrison put it this way in his book, Supergods: Our World in an Age of the Superhero. He claims our increasingly secular culture often lacks any convincing spiritual leadership and that superhero stories can be a window into our greatest fears, desperate longings, and even highest aspirations.
Perhaps what sparked this recognition for me was the apocalyptic scene with driverless cars careening and crashing throughout Manhattan reminiscent of the rapture movies of the 1970’s or their Left Behind successors of the 21st century. Perhaps it was the plot point of the antagonist’s quest to collect the “infinity stones” in order to obtain infinite power that would allow the possessor to bring any act of will to reality. In any case, I came away considering Thanos as a stand in for a certain view of God that often seems prevalent in the American fundamentalist/evangelical cultural imagination.
Without going too far down the rabbit hole of comic book lore, let me start with a brief description of Thanos, the antagonist in the movie and within the Marvel Universe. In the Marvel mythos, Thanos is a son of an Eternal born on Saturn’s moon, Titan. He gains enormous strength and unsurpassed knowledge, and because of a quite literal fascination with Death (personified in the comics), he seeks the Infinity Stones, six gems of cosmic power scattered throughout the universe. If collected together, the bearer of those stones would possess infinite power.
While Marvel makes clear that the possession of such infinite, coercive power in the hands of Thanos is wrong — he’s the bad guy after all — there is often a way of presenting the God of Christianity in such terms. It emerges when religious leaders blame natural disasters or widespread poverty, famine or disease as God’s judgment of a particular group or nation. Hints of it occur when concern for the climate that requires decisive action and changed lifestyles is rejected because “God is in control.”
Maybe I wonder too much about the these issues today because of the growing American cultural slide towards authoritarianism. In a climate of fear and uncertainty, the promise of an individual power strong enough to make right what seems wrong by fiat can be compelling. After all, if we think we are under threat, isn’t the most logical solution the exercise of a force powerful enough to eliminate or to defeat that threat?
In some ways the cruelty that emerges from such a theology is natural. At a gut level, we know that the all-powerful god who bends reality to will fails to show up in the ways in which we would desire. The absence does not deter; instead, it spurs the creation of a religion that substitutes this absence with a religious structure that incarnates coercive power into its worldview. Rather than let this absence spur one to theological reflection — a consideration of whether this is indeed the God-given expression by the witness of Jesus of Nazareth — we take this god formed in the image of our insecurities and fears as a divine warrant to exercise our “compassion” for others in coercive terms. In this case, punitive measures are preferred over restorative care. Retribution becomes the face of justice as we express our implicit assumptions that the world is divided in a binary of the pure and impure, rendering the necessity of two different modes of dealing with others. How did we get here?
Fr. Richard Rohr points out that the deformation of Christianity into a religion primarily concerned with providing an evacuation plan for the next world might have something to do with the aggressive resistance to the vulnerability embedded in the call to lose one's self. This denial that Jesus hints at is too radical for us. In its stead, we invent a self-denial that is only delayed gratification.
Part of the narrative appeal of Thanos in Infinity War is precisely his apparent struggle to achieve the infinite power by which he will save us by destroying half of us. His portrayed anguish is sublimated by his sheer will to save us. This is so often the god who was presented to me in church. When we are stripped of any agency or ability to participate in the divine will, the result is a theological outlook in which arbitrary, coercive power must be exercised on our behalf. We lack the necessary ability to cooperate in our own redemption.
Thanos’ plan works within an economy of a grand scale. It is audacious, bold, and inspires shock and awe. Only those with the requisite will to carry it out are to be counted on. He is the one with the will carry it out. His faithful disciples, the children of Thanos, present this powerful reckoning as a cause for joy, even and especially for those who suffer and are destroyed in its wake. They are to rejoice, for their heretofore insignificant life is taken up into the grander plan.
This is the logic of sovereign power. The grand scale economy is the story because utility is the goal and the good. A power that solves things by coercion cannot but disempower those affected. Their worth is only measured in this grand economy of scale by their participation in it, whether they chose to thrive or to suffer annihilation as collateral damage. Thanos cannot give without taking away. As one of Thanos’ agents tells the suffering remnants of Asgard, “Hear me and rejoice! You are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to the balance.”
An illuminating detail which appears in the Infinity Gauntlet, the comic series which inspired the story of the movie, is that Thanos comes to believe that divinity as he understands it (ultimate, coercive power) calls for clear thinking unburdened from the chaos of emotion. He then uses his infinite power at one point to rid himself of flesh and vulnerability. It proves to be his downfall. The power to bend reality to one’s will and to control all that goes on may seem attractive, but does it square with the faith claim that the divine is revealed in a peasant carpenter from Palestine?
In Christianity, as seen through the lens of the Incarnation, we experience another economy: an economy of grace and love, an economy of the small scale. It appears wasteful as it tosses aside concerns of utility; it encourages the paradoxical practices of emptying oneself and finding the face of God in the suffering other. It leaves the ninety-nine to pursue the one. It is foolishness. It offers no guarantees. It invites us to an emptying of pretensions to power because it is a power that is empty, powerless, and foolish to the children of Titan.
ACCIDENTAL ATHEIST
When our twenty-something server asked for our drink order, I asked for sweet tea. Tongue in cheek, I added, “I’m not sure Jesus will love you if you don’t have sweet tea.”
Without missing a beat, she smiled warmly and said, “Well, I’m an atheist, so that really doesn’t matter to me. But we do have sweet tea.”
I immediately liked this woman. More for her response than for the sweet tea. And she seemed to enjoy the brief exchanges with Sharon and me each time she stopped by to check in with us.
If time had allowed for a serious conversation, I might have said something like this: “You know, sometimes I’m an atheist, too.” Sometimes, I’m an accidental atheist.
Most people think that atheists reject the idea that God exists. When they say that there is no God, atheists put the notion of a divine being on a list that includes unicorns and faeries. By contrast, faith places God on the existing-being list with stars and alligators and Dachshunds.
This is not the sort of atheism I stumble into. I suppose that’s largely because I don’t think of faith primarily as giving assent to or rejecting this or that set of ideas. Instead, faith is believing. And believing is following a Way.
The late Marcus Borg once made the point that believing in God — or believing in Jesus more specifically — would best be thought of as be-loving. Putting that in a slightly different way, following Christ means to walk the way of love. The way that Jesus embodied, exemplified, and inspires.
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The way of love is a way of intentional response. We experience God’s love for us in various ways and respond to that love. As the theologian Karl Rahner once said somewhere, the Christians of the future will be mystics or there won’t be any Christians at all.Jesus taught everyone that we are God’s beloved children. He wouldn’t have had to tell us this if it were obvious. The world kicks plenty of us around, tosses us aside, and treats us like something on the bottom of somebody else’s shoe.
People go hungry, go homeless. Get fired and get abused. People languish in jail and know cruelty at the hands of those who should nurture and protect them. We all face challenges and disappointments and wrenching heartaches. Moreover, an elite group of rich and powerful people (called oligarchs by some) seem intent on establishing once and for all that they are the winners and some people are just losers.
The Way of Jesus is a radical alternative. We are God’s beloved, and so is everyone and everything we encounter — however bruised and battered and disfigured by circumstances they may be. Each step we take is response, response to the love we’ve been given as gift. Pure, unearned, unachieved, unconditional love.
We love because we have been loved. We feed the hungry, mend the wounded, comfort the suffering. But we don’t stop there. We ask a clarifying question: In a world of abundance, why is anyone hungry? Why is there so much needless suffering? The Creator did not have such a world in mind. And so love moves us to realign the world with God’s dream.
This is where I slip into atheism. I don’t reject creeds or scoff at Scripture or argue with theologians. I slip into cynicism. I grow discouraged. My heart sinks when I read in the media of one more political outrage, one more hate-fueled attack, one more economic measure aimed at privileging the few at the expense of the many.
I stumble. I forget, mostly only momentarily, that love is calling me to courage, boldness, and perseverance. God is acting. What seems impossible is not impossible; the Holy One has done and will do the impossible through frail and fragile hands like ours.
My occasional atheism is accidental. I stumble and fall on the way. But because I’m not alone, friends help me to stand again, to dust myself off, and to take the next step. The Way is always about just taking the next step. No matter what.
"Accidental Atheist: When love doesn’t seem believable." originally appeared on Looking for God in Messy Places. Reprinted with permission. Find more books by Jake Owensby here.
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RESCUED FROM DARKNESS by Rose Taylor
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It’s the stuff of nightmares: darkness, rising water, narrow passages, lack of oxygen, and fear. Twelve members of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach became trapped in a cave on Saturday, June 23. On Monday, July 2, the boys and coach were discovered 4 kilometers inside the cave on a rocky ledge by British divers. Although there was enormous relief when the coach and team were found, the rescue efforts would be precarious and dangerous. Sadly, on Friday, July 6, a former Thai Navy SEAL died while attempting to transport oxygen to the coach and team.Answered prayers
People all over the world were praying that all the boys and their coach would be rescued safely. However, before the rescue effort could begin, the boys had to be taught by experts to use scuba gear. Then each boy was accompanied by two divers and had to squeeze through narrow, flooded passage ways. Each trip out of the cave took hours. On Sunday, July 8, four of the boys were rescued from the cave and by Tuesday, July 10, all twelve boys and their coach had been successfully rescued. Prayers were answered!
Jesus paid the ransom
The fall of humanity lurched the world God declared as “very good” into a state of darkness and depravity due to sin. God promised a Savior, but no human could come to the rescue because each human was held hostage by the darkness of sin. Hope began to wane that rescue was possible. Paul writes in a letter to the Galatians that when the fulfillment of time came, God sent God’s Son to rescue us from the darkness of sin (4:4). Jesus paid the ransom for our freedom by his death and resurrection. Those of us who have been rescued from darkness must live as witnesses to the light of salvation available through Jesus the Christ.
Question of the day: What does salvation mean to you?
Focal scriptures: Zechariah 9:9; John 3:14-17; Ephesians 1:
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Tziyon!
Shout out loud, daughter of Yerushalayim!
Look! Your king is coming to you.
He is righteous, and he is victorious.
Yet he is humble — he’s riding on a donkey,
yes, on a lowly donkey’s colt.; John 3:14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.; Ephesians 1:7 In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free — our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace 8 he has lavished on us. In all his wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us his secret plan, which by his own will he designed beforehand in connection with the Messiah 10 and will put into effect when the time is ripe — his plan to place everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Shout out loud, daughter of Yerushalayim!
Look! Your king is coming to you.
He is righteous, and he is victorious.
Yet he is humble — he’s riding on a donkey,
yes, on a lowly donkey’s colt.; John 3:14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.; Ephesians 1:7 In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free — our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace 8 he has lavished on us. In all his wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us his secret plan, which by his own will he designed beforehand in connection with the Messiah 10 and will put into effect when the time is ripe — his plan to place everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship. (Complete Jewish Bible).
For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.
Why don’t first-time donors repeat their gift?
Some of your church members will finally take the plunge and make a first-time gift to the church. Sometimes, it is the only gift they ever make and you might never know why. After significant study, non-profit researchers learned the number one reason first-time donors never make a second contribution. Can you guess what it is?
It’s not because they were ignored. Sending a personal thank you is recommended, however, it is not the most important factor in receiving a repeat gift.
It is not because they felt their gift was wasted or unnecessary. At the beginning stages of giving, people aren’t typically concerned about the stewardship of their gifts.
It’s not even because they lost interest in the organization. Their interest in the community doesn’t disappear overnight. Their interest in your ministry may continue, but they choose not to give again.
So, why do some first-time donors never repeat their gift?
The number one reason first-time donors don’t make a second gift — they were asked for a second gift BEFORE being thanked for the first one.
Receiving a sudden second solicitation can feel impersonal.
Likely we have all had this experience of being asked for another gift too soon after making a first-time donation. Charities seize the opportunity to ask for a gift because they think, based on your gift, you are sympathetic to their cause. As soon as your check lands on the executive director’s desk, another solicitation arrives in your mailbox. It feels impersonal and greedy.
Has this happened in your church? It shouldn’t.
We are the church! We are all about love, and grace, and gratitude (among other things.) Expressing gratitude lets donors know you care about them, not just their finances.
How you say thank you is as important as how you ask for support. Your plan for acknowledging first-time donations should consider the following:
1) First-time givers should receive a thank you note within a week of making the donation.
2) Your thank you note should include information about how donations are making an impact through your church. Connect their donation with the church’s ability to achieve its God-given vision.
3) Do not make a second ask in the letter — the letter is 100% gratitude.
Here is a sample thank you letter to first-time donors to get you started.
Church of England plans to test aspiring clergy for skills, aptitude — and narcissism
CHURCH OF ENGLAND PLANS TO TEST ASPIRING CLERGY FOR SKILLS, APTITUDE — AND NARCISSISM by Catherine Pepinster / Religion News Service
Anxiety about the quality of those who aspire to become clergy is rooted in the series of child sex abuse scandals that have emerged from Anglicanism’s mother church over the past 20 years. In testimony given last March to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse — the public body set up to investigate abuse in many organizations, including churches — Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner said his diocese could use psychological testing of ordinands to assess whether they are suitable. He said the testing is “something we will be starting later this year.”
Last week, Julian Hubbard, director of the Church of England’s Ministry Division, said in a statement, “This has been given added focus by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the requirement to provide greater assurance on the effectiveness of the selection process. So we are examining its potential as a means to identify candidates who might pose a risk to others.”
“But this is not only about safeguarding,” Hubbard added. “It is vital to use all means available to find people with the right skills and aptitudes for this unique, but very challenging, calling.”
The Church of England currently uses a variety of assessment methods for prospective ordinands, including lengthy interviews, written exercises, questionnaires, group discussions and detailed references.
But Leslie Francis, a canon professor of religions and education at Warwick University and an expert on psychological profiling of clergy, said more intensive testing can help spot pathologies such as narcissism.
“Both introversion and extroversion can reflect the divine image,” said Francis, “but it is also very wise for the church to consider pathologies.”
In the book Let Us Prey: The Plague of Narcissist Pastors and What We Can Do about It, researchers R. Glenn Ball and Darrell Puls estimate, based on their 2015 study, that about a third of ministers in one mainline Protestant denomination in Canada showed signs of a narcissistic personality. Narcissists often come to apprehend God as a rival, not a loving presence, and eventually may see themselves as God.
Francis said narcissism can give pastors “a confidence in their own ability to the disparagement of others,” and a tendency to see “the black side of others rather than the contribution people make to the church. There is a temptation to bully and demean.”
In extreme cases, Francis said, clergy can display what psychologists call “the dark triad”: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. But he also warned that more rigorous testing could exacerbate a trend in the Church of England to recruit conventional clergy who do not rock the boat.
A study that Francis conducted with Greg Smith, published recently in the journal Theology, compared the psychological type and temperament of curates ordained in 2009 and 2010 to more than 700 clergy who had been similarly profiled in 2007. They found that increasing numbers of clergy in Church of England pulpits are conventional and less inclined to take an innovative approach to ministry.
“There is a nervousness in the Church of England about its economic security, and some managing types are thought to keep the show on the road. But then some creativity is overlooked,” he said.
Dr. Jim Somerville, Pastor of Richmond's First Baptist Church and co-founder of A Sermon for Every Sunday, preaches a sermon on this week's Gospel lesson from John 6:1-21 called "Was It Stone Soup?" "This miracle that occurred on a hillside in Galilee," he says, "this feeding of the multitude, was a mathematical miracle. But was it a miracle of multiplication, addition, or division?"
THIS SUNDAY, 29 July 2018
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. 2 Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3 David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. 4 David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. 7 When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. 9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” 11 Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. 13 David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.”; Psalm 14:1 (0) For the leader. By David:
(1) Fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile,
not one does what is right.
2 From heaven Adonai observes humankind
to see if anyone has understanding,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But all turn aside, all alike are corrupt;
no one does what is right,
not a single one.
4 Don’t they ever learn,
all those evildoers,
who eat up my people as if eating bread
and never call on Adonai?
5 There they are, utterly terrified;
for God is with those who are righteous.
6 You may mock the plans of the poor,
but their refuge is Adonai.
7 How I wish Isra’el’s salvation
would come out of Tziyon!
When Adonai restores his people’s fortunes,
Ya‘akov will rejoice, Isra’el will be glad!; Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. 16 I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, 17 so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, 18 so that you, with all God’s people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah’s love, 19 yes, to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing, so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the Messianic Community and in the Messiah Yeshua from generation to generation forever. Amen.; John 6:1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias), 2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick. 3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim. 4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up; 5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, “Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.) 7 Philip answered, “Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for them — each one would get only a bite!” 8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim‘on Kefa, said to him, 9 “There’s a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Have the people sit down.” There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand. 11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b’rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, “Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.” 13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, “This has to be ‘the prophet’ who is supposed to come into the world.” 15 Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for. (Complete Jewish Bible).
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. 2 Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3 David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. 4 David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. 7 When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. 9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” 11 Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. 13 David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” (Complete Jewish Bible).
The biblical writers were suspect with regard to public relations. They revealed most dirty secrets, foibles, and skeletons concerning major Bible characters. We read of Adam the liar, Jacob the cheat, Moses the murderer, and the mentally impaired Saul. Then we find David—brave shepherd boy, Israel’s greatest king, God’s favorite—caught in a steamy affair with the wife of Uriah. Proof of the Bible’s veracity is that the dirty linen was rarely washed; the editors rarely censored the truth. We should be thankful. If we did not know the mistakes of the ancient Bible heroes, we would more likely repeat their errors. We might learn as much through the vice and failures of these characters as from their virtues and victories.
The story of David and Bathsheba, tragic as it was, reveals to us the subtle power of temptation and the step-by-step progression into deeper sin. Step one happens to all of us; temptation crosses our paths daily. For David, it was sexual temptation. For you, it may be something else. David had resisted the temptations of power, fame, and wealth. These “usual suspects” did not corrupt him. Temptation came at David’s weak point: he was a romantic.
We regularly pray for God to “lead us not into temptation,” knowing that temptation is a routine, unavoidable part of life. Even Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. It was not David’s fault that Bathsheba was visible at her bath. Strolling on the rooftop, he had an innocent encounter that could happen to any of us. Here is what happened to me.
Years ago, we were staying overnight with my wife’s family. I went to the bedroom we had been using and knocked. I heard my brother-in-law’s voice reply, “Come in.” I opened the door, and to my shock, there stood my sister-in-law in her underwear! She screamed, I closed the door and turned red. My brother-in-law, it turns out, was in the room next door; he thought I had knocked on his door so he invited me in. My sister-in-law, even in her unmentionables, was covered up better than the modern bikini, and we all had a good laugh. After all, it was her husband who had inadvertently invited me in!
We can understand how David’s peeping might have been innocent. If David had simply said “oops” and turned away, he might have defeated temptation instantly. But he didn’t. He stared. He examined this beautiful naked woman as animal instinct took over. David moved then from the first step of innocent temptation to the second: lust. Even President Jimmy Carter, the Baptist Sunday school teacher, admitted being guilty of lust. In our sex-crazed culture, it is difficult to avoid.
Sex is not the only ubiquitous temptation. We can’t keep temptations from coming to mind, whether it be envy or covetousness or anger. But we can keep them from becoming obsessive. Martin Luther wrote: “You can’t keep a bird from flying over your head; you can keep it from building a nest in your hair.” Our attitude toward temptation should be something like my dad’s attitude toward stray dogs. If a stray dog came into our yard, Dad would not allow us to feed it. He said if you feed a stray, it makes its home with you—you’ll never be rid of it. If you feed an impure thought, sin will make its home with you.
This brings us back to David: he fed his lust. He went on to the third step. He inquired about his fantasy. He invited Bathsheba to his palace. Perhaps David still intended no harm. But from there, he took the final step: active sin, putting thoughts into action. David slept with Bathsheba.
So that we would not be hypocrites and Pharisees, Jesus warned us that even evil thoughts could be sinful. Nevertheless, once a sinful thought becomes an action, the damage is greater. God can easily forgive us for mental sins and free us from any harmful consequences. But actions always have costly consequences that forgiveness alone cannot undo.
For David and Bathsheba, their adultery had a serious consequence: pregnancy. Her husband, Uriah, was off at war. David could not contrive any way to make it look like the child was Uriah’s. His secret sin would soon become public. This led to an even deeper sin: David conspired to have Uriah murdered!
How could this be possible? How could a godly man like David fall to such a low level of deceit and murder? The day he saw Bathsheba on the roof, he did not think: “I will break my marriage vow, enjoy that woman, and kill her husband.” No, the sin began incrementally. This is how evil works. Evil weaves its temptations slowly, subtly, insidiously, and deceitfully. We fail to see how deeply we are entangled in sin until it is too late. We are blinded to the secondary costs of sin, the consequences upon ourselves and upon innocent others. Sin and temptation blur the facts; the fantasy is always more beautiful, easier, and less costly than reality. In our fantasy, no one gets hurt by sin; in reality, everyone is hurt.
Again, this is not a lesson just about adultery. The steps to sin revealed in David’s sad story are universal. Your weak point, your emotional “hot spot,” may be different; it may be a temptation to money, or power, or selfishness, or something else.
So what are we to do in the face of temptation? Simple. Turn away. An example: Three men being interviewed for a job as bus driver were each asked the same question: “How close could you drive to the edge of a cliff without losing control of the bus?” The first applicant said, “I could get within a foot of it without a problem.” The second applicant boasted, “I have a strong, steady grip on the wheel. I could drive within four inches of the precipice.” But the third one wisely said, “I don’t know—I would never drive that close to danger.” Would you like to guess who got the job?
When we toy with temptation, we are too close to the edge. Stay away from the precipice! Make a decision for love to reign. Keep your vows to God and to spouse. Stay strong in prayer, in Bible reading, in church attendance. Be honest with spouses and seek help from friends. We may, with God’s help, have the strength to flee at sin’s first appearance. As David later learned and wrote in what we believe was his seventy-third psalm, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:26).
The final word from the life of King David is one of grace. Despite David’s terrible sins, God forgave him. And God will forgive you and me. David also wrote, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you” (Psalm 86:5 NIV). Amen.
Too often we have been fools in word or deed.
Still, the Lord looks from heaven
for those who seek God.
May we be found among the company
of the righteous!
Deliver us from evil, O God.
Restore your people’s fortunes.
Lord, only in you can we find refuge. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. 16 I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, 17 so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, 18 so that you, with all God’s people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah’s love, 19 yes, to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing, so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the Messianic Community and in the Messiah Yeshua from generation to generation forever. Amen. (Complete Jewish Bible).)(Ephesians 3)
Holy One,
we bow our hearts before you this day.
Strengthen us in our innermost being
and dwell in our hearts through faith.
May we be rooted and grounded in Christ,
whose love is beyond all knowledge.
Help us comprehend even the smallest part
of the beautiful mystery of your grace.
Grant that we may experience the fullness
of your presence with us. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 14)
Who among us hasn’t wondered if God really exists?
Who among us hasn’t recoiled in revulsion
when reflecting upon the depraved
and loathsome acts we might be capable of?
Who among us hasn’t felt the agony
of a life lived apart from God’s love?
Yet in our emptiness, in the depths of our despair,
the Lord seeks us out;
the Lord hears our cries;
the Lord becomes our refuge
and our strength.
In you, gentle savior, our hearts are glad;
we rejoice in your salvation.
We pray to you in spirit and in truth. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Ephesians 3)
The love of God is your firm foundation;
by faith you are rooted deeply in the Lord.
May you know the breadth and length
and height and depth of the love of Christ,
which surpasses all human knowledge.
May you attain the fullness of being,
the fullness of life that God brings.
Response to the Word (Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)(John 6:1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias), 2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick. 3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim. 4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up; 5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, “Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.) 7 Philip answered, “Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for them — each one would get only a bite!” 8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim‘on Kefa, said to him, 9 “There’s a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Have the people sit down.” There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand. 11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b’rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, “Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.” 13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, “This has to be ‘the prophet’ who is supposed to come into the world.” 15 Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for. (Complete Jewish Bible).)
Lord, from emptiness, you create substance—
when we hunger,
you fill us from your abundance;
when all seems lost,
you bring hope and salvation,
you make possible the impossible.
We are overcome with joy,
but we are also terrified of your power.
Calm and strengthen our hearts
as we hear your assurance,
“It is I: Do not be afraid.” Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)
Gracious Lord,
you have lavished upon us
the riches of your glory.
As Jesus fed the masses, providing enough for all
with more than enough left over,
so you have fed us and provided for us.
You shelter us, care for us,
and bring us safely to each stop on our journey.
As you have given to us out of your abundance,
we return our offering to you
with praise and thanksgiving.
In the name of the Savior, we pray. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Ephesians 3)
May you know the richness and fullness
of God’s grace.
May you experience every dimension
of the love of Christ.
May the Spirit dwell within you through faith.
To the Holy One, whose power works within us
to accomplish more than we could ask
or imagine or comprehend,
be glory forever and ever! Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (2 Samuel 11, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)
When we see what we want, do we simply take it?
How much better to receive a gift freely given.
If our unbridled desires lead us astray, do we admit it?
How much better to bow before our Maker.
Do we know anything? Have we learned anything?
How much better to know the indescribable love of God.
you have covered the barren places in our lives
with the riches of your grace.
In the agony and emptiness of our sin,
you have filled us with forgiveness.
From a small portion of food,
you have given us sustenance for a lifetime.
Glory and praise to you forever! Amen!
Praise Sentences (Psalm 14)
Praise the Lord, our refuge!
Praise the Lord, our strength!
Praise the Lord, our deliverer!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1L: Come, rest your spirits in the Lord.
P: We come, hungering and thirsting for God’s word.
L: This is a place of peace and hope, where all may be fed and healed.
P: Bring us to the time of healing.
L: Come, place your trust in God who is always near you.
P: Open our hearts, Lord, to hear your word and feel your presence AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Today is a day especially created for you to find peace and hope.
P: In the midst of our hectic lives, we surely need such a time as this.
L: Come, rest in the Lord.
P: Our souls long for God’s refreshing love.
L: Let the demands of your week melt away in God’s presence.
P: Refresh and restore us, O Lord, we pray. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 347 "Spirit Song", offer the following call to worship]
Choir/Soloist: singing verse 1 of "Spirit Song"
L: Let your hearts be open to the Lord today.
P: Let our spirits be ready to feel God’s power and love.
L: Let go of all the things that bind you in pain and sorrow.
P: Help us to place our trust in God.
Congregation: singing verse 2 of "Spirit Song"
L: Come, let us praise the God of love.
P: Let us bring our hearts to God. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4
L: Turn your hearts to God.
P: What shall we do when we are worried?
L: Place your trust in God’s love and mercy.
P: What shall we do when our lives seem too crowded and busy?
L: Take time for the refreshing words of God’s love for you.
P: Open our hearts, O Lord, and make us ready for your words to us. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, we come into your presence this morning with the busy schedules of summer activities crowding our lives. Our souls need to be fed and yet we seem powerless to find nurture and feeding that will sustain us. Open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts this day to hear your words of hope and healing for us. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
You know how we are, Lord. We say that we will take time to refresh our spirits and our souls and then we quickly crowd our lives with activities to the point of exhaustion. We turn to you for feeding and nurture, asking you to give us something to sustain us through our times. We even are willing to tell you what we have, but when we look closely, we discover that we bring so little to you. Take what we have, our gifts and our needs. Heal and forgive us when we boldly disobey your word. Remind us that you have given to us all that we need to serve you in this world. The world abounds with your miracles of love and hope. Open our eyes to see them and our hearts to know that these are from you and not of our own making. Heal and restore us to your everlasting love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Cease your fearful fretting! God’s love is lavished upon you. It is always there for you, offering healing and hope. Rest in God’s love. AMEN.
PASTORAL PRAYER
What powerful images the scriptures present today, Lord, of Jesus feeding the thousands of people who have gathered. The Gospel lesson tells us that with the small offering of five barley loaves and two fish, he offered sustenance to the many. We wonder about this and have our doubts that such a thing could really happen in today’s world. We see the big picture, the thousands of dollars that are spent on trivial things, but we do not hear about the small wonders that are performed everywhere in your name as good people reach out to those in need. Take away our blindness and our doubt. Surround us with a strong faith that, when we hear the words of healing, we may confidently know that you are in the midst of all our lives. Heal our wounded spirits. Restore in us a spirit of joy. As we have lifted names of dear ones in our prayers before you, O God, we ask your healing blessing on each of their lives and situations. We also ask your healing mercies on all areas in which there is strife, oppression, and despair. Comfort your people with your love. Empower your disciples to serve you fully in your world. We ask this in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
LITANY/READING
L: There are people in need whom we encounter each day.
P: How shall we care for them? Their need is so great!
L: What gifts do you have?
P: We have so little.....our energy, our love, our willingness to serve.
L: Those are not little gifts. With those gifts, mighty work can be done.
P: You have worked miracles in our lives, Lord.
L: Now you are being sent as those who bring the good news to people in need.
P: We place our trust in God’s presence.
L: Place your hope in God’s eternal love.
P: As we go to serve, may we also be thankful for the many ways in which God has blessed us.
L: Now is the time to serve and witness to God’s good news.
P: Now is the time to let go of our doubts and trust in God’s guidance. AMEN.
BENEDICTION, BLESSING
You have been given every good gift for proclaiming God’s presence and God’s love. The world is thirsting for this good news. People struggle for words of hope and peace. As you have been blessed, now go to be a blessing in God’s Name. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
Note: If you are using the Gospel lesson today, there are several visual directions you could take. One would be the traditional display of baskets with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish (if you are using fish, make sure that they are dried fish, and only use them for display for the service and then remove them - they will give off an odor which, by itself, will claim the attention of the congregation - and believe me, you don’t want that!!). You may also consider the image of Christ walking on water. John’s gospel does not do much with that story, so my focus would be on the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
SURFACE: Place 5 risers on the worship center. The tallest of the risers (about 10") should be in the upper left corner, diagonal (kitty-corner) to the center line. The other risers may be placed as you choose on the top of the worship center. Place a riser about 6-8" high in front of the worship center to the right.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with burlap, preferably Landscaper’s Burlap, which is loosely woven, letting the fabric drape down from the table and over the riser in front.. On the top riser use a 16" square fabric of cream colored cloth or some other earth tone material - this may be dark or light, depending upon your choice. Use a matching square of fabric on the riser in front of the worship center.
CANDLES: On one of the risers on the worship center, place an 8" pillar candle - it may be white or cream colored. You may want to wrap it in raffia or a band of burlap to give it a roughened texture.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: I would place some "spiky" plants, like mother-in-law’s tongue, or snake plant, in earthenware pots in front of the worship center to the left. Place a jade plant or other succulent plant near the top riser and use several smaller succulents on the worship center to break the "brown-ness" of color.
ROCKS/WOOD: Small stones and rocks may be placed throughout the worship center at your discretion. I’m not sure I would use wood in this setting, but if you have a piece that works well in the display, go for it.
“Modest, my foot!” she exclaimed. “I just don’t want to have to clean up all that mess!”
King David learned that sin invites us to a party and leaves us to clean up the mess it leaves in our lives. The account of David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba recorded in 2 Samuel 11 reveals three common aspects of sin to motivate us not to play with fire.
I. When You Sin, You Can Expect Public Exposure
David wanted to keep his sin a private experience. In his attempt to remain anonymous David employed others to act on his behalf. He surveyed individuals in the palace to find who the woman next door was. One person told David her name was Bathsheba (v. 3). David also sent others to bring Bathsheba to the palace.
When Bathsheba became pregnant, she sent a messenger to tell David the news. Sin can be defined as an outward expression of inward resistance or rebellion to God’s purpose. Even individual acts are known by God. David’s choice had consequences beyond his own spirituality. Bathsheba’s shame, Absalom’s and Uriah’s deaths, and preservation of the act in scripture all made a moment of private desire a public event.
II. Sin Results in Accelerated Panic
Verses 6-14 do not reflect a calm and composed response: David panicked. Immediately he sent for Uriah under false pretenses. When Uriah arrived, David tempted him with the privilege of going home to wash his feet, or rest. David also tempted him with royal advantage by catering a feast at Uriah’s house (v. 8). The pace quickened when David realized Uriah slept on the porch. Uriah was enticed to an altered state of mind through intoxication. David’s attempt was not foiled just by Uriah’s patriotism. Even intoxicated, Uriah was more pious than David.
Out of desperation the king became more aggressive. Uriah carried his own death wish as part of a well-orchestrated murder plot. David’s actions could never cover his sin. Panic only accelerated the consequences.
III. Personal Exemption: Obedience to God
Personal exemption is a third dimension of the sin event exposed by specific words throughout this text. Notice the supporting characters in this drama.
The word Bathsheba means “daughter of Sheba” or “daughter of oath.” It was David who disregarded the ritual cleansing rites. Bathsheba was so respected that as “the wife of Uriah” she is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:6.
Uriah means, “Yahweh is my light.” According to verse 11, the ark accompanied the army, implying that it was a holy war. Uriah acted with honor, and from innocence. Out of loyalty he never failed to live up to his title, the servant of David (v. 21).
When you outwardly express an inner resistance to the will of God you can expect the public exposure of your sin to result in an accelerated panic that throws life out of control. Or you can experience personal exemption from the consequences of sin by conditioning your life to obey God. (Barry J. Beames)
A Prayer for All Seasons
Ephesians 3:14-21
Is there a special prayer that has great meaning in your life? For some it might be the Lord’s Prayer. For others, the Prayer of Saint Francis has special significance. Both of these prayers are written in the first person: “Our Father, who art in heaven”; “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.”
What if we’re feeling the need to pray for another person or community, but are not sure how to pray? Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Ephesians gives us a good model for such intercession, as he asks essentially three things for them: power, love, and the fullness of God.
I. We Pray for Power
Paul prays for the church to be strong (v. 16). Immediately we think of physical strength, or financial strength, or mental strength. But this prayer is for strengthening “in your inner being with power through his Spirit.” In other words, this intercession asks that the Ephesian church be strong where it really counts: deep within. As easily as we might tend to ask for other kinds of strength for another person or for a congregation, this prayer bypasses those strengths for an inner power that steadies and strengthens every other aspect of one’s life. This power—spiritual power—is the very best means of support.
II. We Pray for Love
The next phrase of Paul’s prayer asks for Christ to dwell in their hearts as they become “rooted and grounded in love” 6. 17). Notice that love is not a free-form emotion that waxes and wanes, comes and goes, ebbs and flows. Neither is it a feeling that we conjure up and tailor to our own disposition.
Love is a “groundedness,” a “rootedness,” deriving from the occupancy of Christ within the very heart. In other words, there is an objectivity about this love, having to do with the standard of self-giving set by Christ. It is Christ who is to order the heart toward love by living there; such a love should grow deeper, stronger and sturdier with time.
I remember a small Inter-Varsity booklet entitled My Heart, Christ’s Home The title speaks for itself, and in the course of the booklet various “rooms” in the person’s heart are opened up to the question of whether Christ is really welcome there. It is one thing to visit with a friend over lemonade on the front porch, and quite another to invite someone into our medicine cabinet, the family room, or the refrigerator! “May Christ dwell in your hearts,” the prayer goes, probably knowing full well how subversive and life-changing such an intercession could turn out to be.
III. We Pray for Fullness
Lastly, Paul prays for something rather peculiar. Put in other words, I would say he’s praying for the Ephesian church to be slightly overwhelmed. Here he wants them to comprehend the incomprehensible: breadth, length, height, depth, love that surpasses knowledge . . . so that “you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (v. 19). It is with such a fullness that we can pray with the psalmist, “You, LORD, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands” (Ps. 16:5, GNB).
Power for faithful Christian living; hearts of love; a sense of the fullness of God in our lives. These are not things we should pray only for others; let’s ask God to make each of these things living realities in our own lives. (Paul R. Escamilla)
A Miracle of Multiplied Witness
John 6:1-21
On the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in an area where much of the ministry of Jesus occurred, there is a small church at a place called Tabgha. Built by Benedictine Fathers in 1982, this church is on the site of two earlier churches, the first built about A.D. 350 and the second about a hundred years later. The second church was destroyed in the early seventh century, and over 1,300 years passed before archaeologists excavated the site and found the remains of the two churches.
In their excavations the archaeologists found a beautiful mosaic that had formed part of the altar of the second church building. The mosaic shows a basket of loaves, with a fish on either side of the basket. Very early in the Christian community’s life, this site was apparently regarded as the place where Jesus feeding of the multitude occurred.
It is not surprising that the early Christians would have marked this particular event from the life of Jesus. This miracle story, or “sign” as John would have designated it, was very important in the early church. It is the only miracle of Jesus that is reported in all four Gospels.
After a particularly intense period of ministry, Jesus had gone off by himself. But the crowds followed him, and at the end of the day they were hungry. So Jesus had the people sit down; he took five loaves and two fish from a boy in the crowd, gave thanks to God, and distributed the food. After everyone had eaten, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of fragments. And the crowd wanted to make Jesus king, but he went off by himself.
What do you make of this experience reported by all the Gospel writers? All kinds of attempts have been made to rationalize the story: everyone who had food must have shared it; the feeding really referred to spiritual food; it was a symbolic prefiguring of Holy Communion; it was a literal miracle of multiplying food. But all these approaches seem to miss the point.
The text leaves an element of mystery in the account. It says only that the people ate what they wanted and were satisfied. It preserves the element of mystery. Halford Luccock wrote: “The story is a wonderful picture of a tremendous truth of Christian history, that Jesus does multiply above measure for human use whatever of worth is put into his hands. Whatever we give him he will enlarge for the service of human need” (The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7, p. 743). And George Buttrick once said: “The main truth is that of alliance between man’s little and God’s abundance. Let reminder be given for our cheer that, if we do what we can in trust and consecration, God will give the increase” (The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7, p. 432).
Is it not sufficient to say that our task as disciples is simply to do what we can in trust and consecration and leave the increase to Christ? Is it not sufficient to say that our task as disciples is to offer what we can to the causes of Christ—our efforts, energies, money, prayers, concerns, time, love—and allow Christ to take what we offer individually and make of it corporately far more that we are able?
From a Child's Point of View Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:1-15. The story of David and Bathsheba is not one most people would choose to tell children. David's key problem, however, … read more
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: JULY 29, 2018 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:1-15.The story of David and Bathsheba is not one most people would choose to tell children. David's key problem, however, was not adultery, but a willingness to break the rules to get what he wanted, and that willingness is something children understand. In early childhood, children assume that the most powerful people (the grown-ups, the teachers, the biggest kids) have the right to make the rules. So they learn from David's story that even the greatest king is subservient to God's rules. Many older children are realizing that rules can be negotiated for the good of the group. This discovery changes their attitude toward rules. As they begin living with negotiated rules, they empathize with David's temptation to ignore those that did not work to his advantage at the moment and are reminded that rules are to be obeyed.
Most children do not understand David's maneuvers in verses 6-13, but they do understand David's murder of Uriah. Therefore, consider reading either the entire chapter or verses 1-5 and 14-15, instead of 1-15. The Good News Bible uses the most "delicate" vocabulary in telling this story.
Psalm: 14. If the psalm is introduced as a poet's response to disobedience like David's, children will catch occasional lines condemning those who break God's rules. A child's paraphrase of "There is no God" is "I will not be caught" or "What I do will not matter."
Epistle: Ephesians 3:14-21. Children will understand little of Paul's message as it is read from any translation. But if the passage is compared to the wishes expressed by families in wedding toasts or on birthday cards, they enjoy exploring Paul's prayer-wishes for Gentile Christians. His wish is that they (and we) will experience and recognize God's great love and will feel God's presence, giving us inner strength.
The images of being rooted in God's love and built on a foundation of God's love need to be illustrated with everyday examples for instance, a person who knows that God made her and loves her will be disappointed, but will not lose all hope in herself when she loses a championship. Sermons which cite such examples help children build self-esteem, based on the love of God, who created them.
Older children in the middle of sports-oriented summers also benefit from descriptions of the inner strength (rather than the physical strength) that Paul wishes for his friends.
Gospel: John 6:1-21. Most church children are familiar with the feeding of the five thousand. They tend to associate it with Jesus' care of people's needs and take it as an indication of Jesus' willingness to take seriously and use a child's contribution.
When it is pointed out to them, older children understand that John was less like a historian telling us exactly what Jesus did, and more like a person telling us who his best friend is by relating stories about what that friend did and said. They will, however, depend upon the preacher to point out what John is telling us about Jesus in these two stories that Jesus had great powers (he could feed thousands of people with five loaves and a few fish, and he could walk on water) and that Jesus came to feed or nourish people. The next four Gospel lections tell what it means for Jesus to feed people.
Watch Words
In David's story, sin is breaking the rules. His adultery was stealing someone else's wife.
In John, bread is a code word for what we need to live. Sometimes we call money "bread" because we use it to buy what we need to live. Use bread carefully. Children are easily confused when a word is used both literally and symbolically.
Let the Children Sing
"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy" is a good hymn to explore phrase-by-phrase in a sermon about God's great love. Though it includes many unfamiliar words, it also includes some vivid images of the vastness of God's love.
Imagine yourselves among those Jesus fed while singing "I Come with Joy" (whether or not you celebrate communion).
The Liturgical Child
1. Display a basket of small loaves of bread on the chancel table, or hang a banner featuring several loaves of bread and some fish. (The banner might be a summer project for a children's group or class.)
2. To create a Prayer of Confession based on Psalms 14, a worship leader describes a series of ways we rationalize our disobedience. The congregation responds to each one with, "We say it will not matter, but it does. Forgive us." For example:
Lord, you instruct us to be honest, but we lie when we think we can get away with it. We tell only the part of the truth that makes us look good. And we answer only the questions that are asked. (RESPONSE) Lord, you instruct us not to steal, but we . . . . Assurance of Pardon: There is a God. What we do does matter. But God, who insists that we live by the rules, also loves us and forgives us, and gives us the power to try again. Thanks be to God!
3. Before reading the Gospel, invite a crowd of worshipers of all ages, perhaps the front rows of people, to sit with you on the steps. Describe the similar crowd that had gathered around Jesus. Read John 6:1-15 from a Bible held in your lap. Then without announcement, a second worship leader in the lectern (away from the crowd) begins, and reads verses 16-21.
4. Feature intercessory prayer (prayer for others). Describe your congregation's practice of praying for others just before that time in the service. Compare your practice with Paul's prayer for the Gentiles. Consider asking the congregation to identify groups for whom they would like the church to offer prayer-wishes this morning. Then be especially careful to pray with language and sentences simple enough for children to follow.
Sermon Resources
1. Children's explanations of why they disobey rules reflect what David might have thought:
"But the big kids (or name a specific bigger kid) always do it. And I'm in fourth grade now, so "
"But it's my birthday!" (And I thought the usual rules would not apply on my birthday.)
"But I wanted it so much!"
"I knew it was wrong, but I didn't think anyone would mind just this once! I won't do it again, I promise."
2. Jesus said he came to feed us. Many professions are, or can be, feeding professions teaching, medicine, social service. By identifying specific ways these professionals "feed people," children begin to understand what Jesus meant when he said he came to feed people.
3. Corrie ten Boom was a Christian imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews. After the war, during a service at which she spoke about forgiveness, a man she recognized as a cruel prison guard came to shake her hand. She did not want to touch him and felt no forgiveness for him, even though she knew she should. She willed her hand to meet his, but it would not move until she felt a power from beyond her travel from her shoulder down her arm toward the man. With that power, she was able to not just shake his hand, but to really forgive him. She knew that that power was Christ's love.
No sermon is a solo production. Every preacher relies on inherited models, mentors in the preacher’s past, commentaries on biblical texts by people who have given their lives to such study, comments received from members of the congregation, last week’s news headlines, and all the other things that make a sermon communal.
No Christian does anything on their own. We live through the witness of the saints; preachers of the past inspire us and judge us. Scripture itself is a product of the community of faith. A host of now-forgotten teachers taught us how to speak. Nobody is born a preacher.
Pulpit Resource is equivalent to sitting down with a trusted clergy friend over a cup of coffee and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Whenever I’ve been asked by new preachers, “How can I develop as a preacher?” my usual response is, “Get in a group of preachers. Meet regularly. Learn how to give and how to receive help. Sort through the advice of others, and utilize helpful insights.”
That’s Pulpit Resource.
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But followers of Christ are also engaged in a deeper struggle that is nothing less than “The Battle for the Bible.” Or, at least, the battle for a better reading of the Bible.
Let’s face it: the Bible is probably the most respected and least read book in America. The new Museum of the Bible in Washington could be a visual metaphor for the way we honor the Bible as a relic of our past while we abuse, distort or ignore it in the present.
The Primary Theme Fleshed out with brief, pithy nuggets of thought, idea jump-starters, or questions designed to spur the preacher’s imagination.
Topical Essays These 700 word essays cover a variety of current and critical topics for the preacher—contributed by leading homileticians.
Full Sermons The full text from six to twelve sermons will be included. Additional are available online. These sermons will highlight best practices, unique approaches, and fresh voices.
Sermon Series Ideas This section will briefly outline and describe ideas for unique sermon series based on lectionary readings.
"As a weekly preacher, I often find that preparing for preaching and crafting sermons are spiritual disciplines for me. It is a time in which I try to quiet all of the other 'to do' lists that occupy much of my ministry. This resource from Abingdon Press will now be a partner in those conversations, almost like a new personal devotional guide. I am grateful for additional voices who can help me make space for God’s Living Word." - Shannon J Kershner, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL
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HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR FIRST-TIME DONORS REPEAT THEIR GIFT by Kristine Miller
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The Law of Inertia states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an external force. The same tends to be true about church donors. Church members who do not contribute are challenging to inspire. When someone donates for the first time, it is cause for celebration! However, knowing how and when to respond to a first-time gift will ensure a repeat donation. Repeat donors will provide significant resources that enable your church to fulfill its vision. Here’s what to do.Why don’t first-time donors repeat their gift?
Some of your church members will finally take the plunge and make a first-time gift to the church. Sometimes, it is the only gift they ever make and you might never know why. After significant study, non-profit researchers learned the number one reason first-time donors never make a second contribution. Can you guess what it is?
It’s not because they were ignored. Sending a personal thank you is recommended, however, it is not the most important factor in receiving a repeat gift.
It is not because they felt their gift was wasted or unnecessary. At the beginning stages of giving, people aren’t typically concerned about the stewardship of their gifts.
It’s not even because they lost interest in the organization. Their interest in the community doesn’t disappear overnight. Their interest in your ministry may continue, but they choose not to give again.
So, why do some first-time donors never repeat their gift?
The number one reason first-time donors don’t make a second gift — they were asked for a second gift BEFORE being thanked for the first one.
Receiving a sudden second solicitation can feel impersonal.
Likely we have all had this experience of being asked for another gift too soon after making a first-time donation. Charities seize the opportunity to ask for a gift because they think, based on your gift, you are sympathetic to their cause. As soon as your check lands on the executive director’s desk, another solicitation arrives in your mailbox. It feels impersonal and greedy.
Has this happened in your church? It shouldn’t.
We are the church! We are all about love, and grace, and gratitude (among other things.) Expressing gratitude lets donors know you care about them, not just their finances.
How you say thank you is as important as how you ask for support. Your plan for acknowledging first-time donations should consider the following:
1) First-time givers should receive a thank you note within a week of making the donation.
2) Your thank you note should include information about how donations are making an impact through your church. Connect their donation with the church’s ability to achieve its God-given vision.
3) Do not make a second ask in the letter — the letter is 100% gratitude.
Here is a sample thank you letter to first-time donors to get you started.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND PLANS TO TEST ASPIRING CLERGY FOR SKILLS, APTITUDE — AND NARCISSISM by Catherine Pepinster / Religion News Service
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LONDON (RNS) — Responding to growing concern about the kinds of priests the Church of England is attracting, Anglican leaders are considering expanding its assessments of clergy candidates to include more rigorous psychological testing.Anxiety about the quality of those who aspire to become clergy is rooted in the series of child sex abuse scandals that have emerged from Anglicanism’s mother church over the past 20 years. In testimony given last March to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse — the public body set up to investigate abuse in many organizations, including churches — Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner said his diocese could use psychological testing of ordinands to assess whether they are suitable. He said the testing is “something we will be starting later this year.”
Last week, Julian Hubbard, director of the Church of England’s Ministry Division, said in a statement, “This has been given added focus by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the requirement to provide greater assurance on the effectiveness of the selection process. So we are examining its potential as a means to identify candidates who might pose a risk to others.”
“But this is not only about safeguarding,” Hubbard added. “It is vital to use all means available to find people with the right skills and aptitudes for this unique, but very challenging, calling.”
The Church of England currently uses a variety of assessment methods for prospective ordinands, including lengthy interviews, written exercises, questionnaires, group discussions and detailed references.
But Leslie Francis, a canon professor of religions and education at Warwick University and an expert on psychological profiling of clergy, said more intensive testing can help spot pathologies such as narcissism.
“Both introversion and extroversion can reflect the divine image,” said Francis, “but it is also very wise for the church to consider pathologies.”
In the book Let Us Prey: The Plague of Narcissist Pastors and What We Can Do about It, researchers R. Glenn Ball and Darrell Puls estimate, based on their 2015 study, that about a third of ministers in one mainline Protestant denomination in Canada showed signs of a narcissistic personality. Narcissists often come to apprehend God as a rival, not a loving presence, and eventually may see themselves as God.
Francis said narcissism can give pastors “a confidence in their own ability to the disparagement of others,” and a tendency to see “the black side of others rather than the contribution people make to the church. There is a temptation to bully and demean.”
In extreme cases, Francis said, clergy can display what psychologists call “the dark triad”: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. But he also warned that more rigorous testing could exacerbate a trend in the Church of England to recruit conventional clergy who do not rock the boat.
A study that Francis conducted with Greg Smith, published recently in the journal Theology, compared the psychological type and temperament of curates ordained in 2009 and 2010 to more than 700 clergy who had been similarly profiled in 2007. They found that increasing numbers of clergy in Church of England pulpits are conventional and less inclined to take an innovative approach to ministry.
“There is a nervousness in the Church of England about its economic security, and some managing types are thought to keep the show on the road. But then some creativity is overlooked,” he said.
HOW TO DO SHORT-TERM MISSIONS WITHOUT LONG-TERM HARM by Youth Ministry Partners
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Mission trips have become a staple in youth ministries across the United States. However, it's often difficult to integrate students' experiences on the field with their lives back home. In this podcast Ben sits down with Jen Bradbury a veteran youth worker with 15 years of experience leading mission trips both domestically and internationally. Jen lays out a philosophy for mission trips that connects what happens on the field with students' lives at home, and she dives into how to create a comprehensive missions strategy that has the chance to leave a lasting impact on teens, congregations and the world.Dr. Jim Somerville, Pastor of Richmond's First Baptist Church and co-founder of A Sermon for Every Sunday, preaches a sermon on this week's Gospel lesson from John 6:1-21 called "Was It Stone Soup?" "This miracle that occurred on a hillside in Galilee," he says, "this feeding of the multitude, was a mathematical miracle. But was it a miracle of multiplication, addition, or division?"
This Week's Sermon
B36.2: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
This sermon is from A Sermon for Every Sunday, a series of lectionary-based video sermons designed for use in worship, Bible study, small groups, Sunday school classes or for individual use. This SundayTHIS SUNDAY, 29 July 2018
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. 2 Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3 David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. 4 David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. 7 When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. 9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” 11 Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. 13 David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.”; Psalm 14:1 (0) For the leader. By David:
(1) Fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile,
not one does what is right.
2 From heaven Adonai observes humankind
to see if anyone has understanding,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But all turn aside, all alike are corrupt;
no one does what is right,
not a single one.
4 Don’t they ever learn,
all those evildoers,
who eat up my people as if eating bread
and never call on Adonai?
5 There they are, utterly terrified;
for God is with those who are righteous.
6 You may mock the plans of the poor,
but their refuge is Adonai.
7 How I wish Isra’el’s salvation
would come out of Tziyon!
When Adonai restores his people’s fortunes,
Ya‘akov will rejoice, Isra’el will be glad!; Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. 16 I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, 17 so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, 18 so that you, with all God’s people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah’s love, 19 yes, to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing, so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the Messianic Community and in the Messiah Yeshua from generation to generation forever. Amen.; John 6:1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias), 2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick. 3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim. 4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up; 5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, “Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.) 7 Philip answered, “Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for them — each one would get only a bite!” 8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim‘on Kefa, said to him, 9 “There’s a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Have the people sit down.” There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand. 11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b’rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, “Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.” 13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, “This has to be ‘the prophet’ who is supposed to come into the world.” 15 Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for. (Complete Jewish Bible).
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. 2 Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3 David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. 4 David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. 7 When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. 9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” 11 Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. 13 David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” (Complete Jewish Bible).
The biblical writers were suspect with regard to public relations. They revealed most dirty secrets, foibles, and skeletons concerning major Bible characters. We read of Adam the liar, Jacob the cheat, Moses the murderer, and the mentally impaired Saul. Then we find David—brave shepherd boy, Israel’s greatest king, God’s favorite—caught in a steamy affair with the wife of Uriah. Proof of the Bible’s veracity is that the dirty linen was rarely washed; the editors rarely censored the truth. We should be thankful. If we did not know the mistakes of the ancient Bible heroes, we would more likely repeat their errors. We might learn as much through the vice and failures of these characters as from their virtues and victories.
The story of David and Bathsheba, tragic as it was, reveals to us the subtle power of temptation and the step-by-step progression into deeper sin. Step one happens to all of us; temptation crosses our paths daily. For David, it was sexual temptation. For you, it may be something else. David had resisted the temptations of power, fame, and wealth. These “usual suspects” did not corrupt him. Temptation came at David’s weak point: he was a romantic.
We regularly pray for God to “lead us not into temptation,” knowing that temptation is a routine, unavoidable part of life. Even Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. It was not David’s fault that Bathsheba was visible at her bath. Strolling on the rooftop, he had an innocent encounter that could happen to any of us. Here is what happened to me.
Years ago, we were staying overnight with my wife’s family. I went to the bedroom we had been using and knocked. I heard my brother-in-law’s voice reply, “Come in.” I opened the door, and to my shock, there stood my sister-in-law in her underwear! She screamed, I closed the door and turned red. My brother-in-law, it turns out, was in the room next door; he thought I had knocked on his door so he invited me in. My sister-in-law, even in her unmentionables, was covered up better than the modern bikini, and we all had a good laugh. After all, it was her husband who had inadvertently invited me in!
We can understand how David’s peeping might have been innocent. If David had simply said “oops” and turned away, he might have defeated temptation instantly. But he didn’t. He stared. He examined this beautiful naked woman as animal instinct took over. David moved then from the first step of innocent temptation to the second: lust. Even President Jimmy Carter, the Baptist Sunday school teacher, admitted being guilty of lust. In our sex-crazed culture, it is difficult to avoid.
Sex is not the only ubiquitous temptation. We can’t keep temptations from coming to mind, whether it be envy or covetousness or anger. But we can keep them from becoming obsessive. Martin Luther wrote: “You can’t keep a bird from flying over your head; you can keep it from building a nest in your hair.” Our attitude toward temptation should be something like my dad’s attitude toward stray dogs. If a stray dog came into our yard, Dad would not allow us to feed it. He said if you feed a stray, it makes its home with you—you’ll never be rid of it. If you feed an impure thought, sin will make its home with you.
This brings us back to David: he fed his lust. He went on to the third step. He inquired about his fantasy. He invited Bathsheba to his palace. Perhaps David still intended no harm. But from there, he took the final step: active sin, putting thoughts into action. David slept with Bathsheba.
So that we would not be hypocrites and Pharisees, Jesus warned us that even evil thoughts could be sinful. Nevertheless, once a sinful thought becomes an action, the damage is greater. God can easily forgive us for mental sins and free us from any harmful consequences. But actions always have costly consequences that forgiveness alone cannot undo.
For David and Bathsheba, their adultery had a serious consequence: pregnancy. Her husband, Uriah, was off at war. David could not contrive any way to make it look like the child was Uriah’s. His secret sin would soon become public. This led to an even deeper sin: David conspired to have Uriah murdered!
How could this be possible? How could a godly man like David fall to such a low level of deceit and murder? The day he saw Bathsheba on the roof, he did not think: “I will break my marriage vow, enjoy that woman, and kill her husband.” No, the sin began incrementally. This is how evil works. Evil weaves its temptations slowly, subtly, insidiously, and deceitfully. We fail to see how deeply we are entangled in sin until it is too late. We are blinded to the secondary costs of sin, the consequences upon ourselves and upon innocent others. Sin and temptation blur the facts; the fantasy is always more beautiful, easier, and less costly than reality. In our fantasy, no one gets hurt by sin; in reality, everyone is hurt.
Again, this is not a lesson just about adultery. The steps to sin revealed in David’s sad story are universal. Your weak point, your emotional “hot spot,” may be different; it may be a temptation to money, or power, or selfishness, or something else.
So what are we to do in the face of temptation? Simple. Turn away. An example: Three men being interviewed for a job as bus driver were each asked the same question: “How close could you drive to the edge of a cliff without losing control of the bus?” The first applicant said, “I could get within a foot of it without a problem.” The second applicant boasted, “I have a strong, steady grip on the wheel. I could drive within four inches of the precipice.” But the third one wisely said, “I don’t know—I would never drive that close to danger.” Would you like to guess who got the job?
When we toy with temptation, we are too close to the edge. Stay away from the precipice! Make a decision for love to reign. Keep your vows to God and to spouse. Stay strong in prayer, in Bible reading, in church attendance. Be honest with spouses and seek help from friends. We may, with God’s help, have the strength to flee at sin’s first appearance. As David later learned and wrote in what we believe was his seventy-third psalm, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:26).
The final word from the life of King David is one of grace. Despite David’s terrible sins, God forgave him. And God will forgive you and me. David also wrote, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you” (Psalm 86:5 NIV). Amen.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
THEME IDEAS
Today’s readings are full of apparent contradictions: faith and sin, acceptance and rejection, strength and weakness, fullness and emptiness. Yet every vile deed lamented by the psalmist is offset by God’s deliverance. If King David was truly that same psalmist, who could know this truth more intimately than the one who had an infamous affair with Bathsheba? Contrast his loathsome selfishness with the incredible selflessness of Jesus, who transformed a meal sufficient for only a few into a feast for five thousand. This is what Paul speaks of as the redemptive power of God’s love, the power to abundantly achieve far more than anything we might ask for or understand.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship
(Psalm 14:1 (0) For the leader. By David:
(1) Fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile,
not one does what is right.
2 From heaven Adonai observes humankind
to see if anyone has understanding,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But all turn aside, all alike are corrupt;
no one does what is right,
not a single one.
4 Don’t they ever learn,
all those evildoers,
who eat up my people as if eating bread
and never call on Adonai?
5 There they are, utterly terrified;
for God is with those who are righteous.
6 You may mock the plans of the poor,
but their refuge is Adonai.
7 How I wish Isra’el’s salvation
would come out of Tziyon!
When Adonai restores his people’s fortunes,
Ya‘akov will rejoice, Isra’el will be glad! (Complete Jewish Bible).)
Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” (1) Fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile,
not one does what is right.
2 From heaven Adonai observes humankind
to see if anyone has understanding,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But all turn aside, all alike are corrupt;
no one does what is right,
not a single one.
4 Don’t they ever learn,
all those evildoers,
who eat up my people as if eating bread
and never call on Adonai?
5 There they are, utterly terrified;
for God is with those who are righteous.
6 You may mock the plans of the poor,
but their refuge is Adonai.
7 How I wish Isra’el’s salvation
would come out of Tziyon!
When Adonai restores his people’s fortunes,
Ya‘akov will rejoice, Isra’el will be glad! (Complete Jewish Bible).)
(Psalm 14)
Too often we have been fools in word or deed.
Still, the Lord looks from heaven
for those who seek God.
May we be found among the company
of the righteous!
Deliver us from evil, O God.
Restore your people’s fortunes.
Lord, only in you can we find refuge. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. 16 I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, 17 so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, 18 so that you, with all God’s people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah’s love, 19 yes, to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing, so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the Messianic Community and in the Messiah Yeshua from generation to generation forever. Amen. (Complete Jewish Bible).)(Ephesians 3)
Holy One,
we bow our hearts before you this day.
Strengthen us in our innermost being
and dwell in our hearts through faith.
May we be rooted and grounded in Christ,
whose love is beyond all knowledge.
Help us comprehend even the smallest part
of the beautiful mystery of your grace.
Grant that we may experience the fullness
of your presence with us. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 14)
Who among us hasn’t wondered if God really exists?
Who among us hasn’t recoiled in revulsion
when reflecting upon the depraved
and loathsome acts we might be capable of?
Who among us hasn’t felt the agony
of a life lived apart from God’s love?
Yet in our emptiness, in the depths of our despair,
the Lord seeks us out;
the Lord hears our cries;
the Lord becomes our refuge
and our strength.
In you, gentle savior, our hearts are glad;
we rejoice in your salvation.
We pray to you in spirit and in truth. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Ephesians 3)
The love of God is your firm foundation;
by faith you are rooted deeply in the Lord.
May you know the breadth and length
and height and depth of the love of Christ,
which surpasses all human knowledge.
May you attain the fullness of being,
the fullness of life that God brings.
Response to the Word (Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)(John 6:1 Some time later, Yeshua went over to the far side of Lake Kinneret (that is, Lake Tiberias), 2 and a large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miracles he had performed on the sick. 3 Yeshua went up into the hills and sat down there with his talmidim. 4 Now the Judean festival of Pesach was coming up; 5 so when Yeshua looked up and saw that a large crowd was approaching, he said to Philip, “Where will we be able to buy bread, so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now Yeshua said this to test Philip, for Yeshua himself knew what he was about to do.) 7 Philip answered, “Half a year’s wages wouldn’t buy enough bread for them — each one would get only a bite!” 8 One of the talmidim, Andrew the brother of Shim‘on Kefa, said to him, 9 “There’s a young fellow here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But how far will they go among so many?”
10 Yeshua said, “Have the people sit down.” There was a lot of grass there, so they sat down. The number of men was about five thousand. 11 Then Yeshua took the loaves of bread, and, after making a b’rakhah, gave to all who were sitting there, and likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 After they had eaten their fill, he told his talmidim, “Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.” 13 They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the miracle he had performed, they said, “This has to be ‘the prophet’ who is supposed to come into the world.” 15 Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing him, in order to make him king; so he went back to the hills again. This time he went by himself.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for. (Complete Jewish Bible).)
Lord, from emptiness, you create substance—
when we hunger,
you fill us from your abundance;
when all seems lost,
you bring hope and salvation,
you make possible the impossible.
We are overcome with joy,
but we are also terrified of your power.
Calm and strengthen our hearts
as we hear your assurance,
“It is I: Do not be afraid.” Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)
Gracious Lord,
you have lavished upon us
the riches of your glory.
As Jesus fed the masses, providing enough for all
with more than enough left over,
so you have fed us and provided for us.
You shelter us, care for us,
and bring us safely to each stop on our journey.
As you have given to us out of your abundance,
we return our offering to you
with praise and thanksgiving.
In the name of the Savior, we pray. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Ephesians 3)
May you know the richness and fullness
of God’s grace.
May you experience every dimension
of the love of Christ.
May the Spirit dwell within you through faith.
To the Holy One, whose power works within us
to accomplish more than we could ask
or imagine or comprehend,
be glory forever and ever! Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (2 Samuel 11, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)
When we see what we want, do we simply take it?
How much better to receive a gift freely given.
If our unbridled desires lead us astray, do we admit it?
How much better to bow before our Maker.
Do we know anything? Have we learned anything?
How much better to know the indescribable love of God.
—OR—
Contemporary Call to Worship (2 Samuel 11, Psalm 14, Ephesians 3, John 6)Holy One, you have covered the barren places in our lives
with the riches of your grace.
In the agony and emptiness of our sin,
you have filled us with forgiveness.
From a small portion of food,
you have given us sustenance for a lifetime.
Glory and praise to you forever! Amen!
Praise Sentences (Psalm 14)
Praise the Lord, our refuge!
Praise the Lord, our strength!
Praise the Lord, our deliverer!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © Abingdon Press.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1L: Come, rest your spirits in the Lord.
P: We come, hungering and thirsting for God’s word.
L: This is a place of peace and hope, where all may be fed and healed.
P: Bring us to the time of healing.
L: Come, place your trust in God who is always near you.
P: Open our hearts, Lord, to hear your word and feel your presence AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Today is a day especially created for you to find peace and hope.
P: In the midst of our hectic lives, we surely need such a time as this.
L: Come, rest in the Lord.
P: Our souls long for God’s refreshing love.
L: Let the demands of your week melt away in God’s presence.
P: Refresh and restore us, O Lord, we pray. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 347 "Spirit Song", offer the following call to worship]
Choir/Soloist: singing verse 1 of "Spirit Song"
L: Let your hearts be open to the Lord today.
P: Let our spirits be ready to feel God’s power and love.
L: Let go of all the things that bind you in pain and sorrow.
P: Help us to place our trust in God.
Congregation: singing verse 2 of "Spirit Song"
L: Come, let us praise the God of love.
P: Let us bring our hearts to God. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4
L: Turn your hearts to God.
P: What shall we do when we are worried?
L: Place your trust in God’s love and mercy.
P: What shall we do when our lives seem too crowded and busy?
L: Take time for the refreshing words of God’s love for you.
P: Open our hearts, O Lord, and make us ready for your words to us. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, we come into your presence this morning with the busy schedules of summer activities crowding our lives. Our souls need to be fed and yet we seem powerless to find nurture and feeding that will sustain us. Open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts this day to hear your words of hope and healing for us. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
You know how we are, Lord. We say that we will take time to refresh our spirits and our souls and then we quickly crowd our lives with activities to the point of exhaustion. We turn to you for feeding and nurture, asking you to give us something to sustain us through our times. We even are willing to tell you what we have, but when we look closely, we discover that we bring so little to you. Take what we have, our gifts and our needs. Heal and forgive us when we boldly disobey your word. Remind us that you have given to us all that we need to serve you in this world. The world abounds with your miracles of love and hope. Open our eyes to see them and our hearts to know that these are from you and not of our own making. Heal and restore us to your everlasting love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Cease your fearful fretting! God’s love is lavished upon you. It is always there for you, offering healing and hope. Rest in God’s love. AMEN.
PASTORAL PRAYER
What powerful images the scriptures present today, Lord, of Jesus feeding the thousands of people who have gathered. The Gospel lesson tells us that with the small offering of five barley loaves and two fish, he offered sustenance to the many. We wonder about this and have our doubts that such a thing could really happen in today’s world. We see the big picture, the thousands of dollars that are spent on trivial things, but we do not hear about the small wonders that are performed everywhere in your name as good people reach out to those in need. Take away our blindness and our doubt. Surround us with a strong faith that, when we hear the words of healing, we may confidently know that you are in the midst of all our lives. Heal our wounded spirits. Restore in us a spirit of joy. As we have lifted names of dear ones in our prayers before you, O God, we ask your healing blessing on each of their lives and situations. We also ask your healing mercies on all areas in which there is strife, oppression, and despair. Comfort your people with your love. Empower your disciples to serve you fully in your world. We ask this in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
LITANY/READING
L: There are people in need whom we encounter each day.
P: How shall we care for them? Their need is so great!
L: What gifts do you have?
P: We have so little.....our energy, our love, our willingness to serve.
L: Those are not little gifts. With those gifts, mighty work can be done.
P: You have worked miracles in our lives, Lord.
L: Now you are being sent as those who bring the good news to people in need.
P: We place our trust in God’s presence.
L: Place your hope in God’s eternal love.
P: As we go to serve, may we also be thankful for the many ways in which God has blessed us.
L: Now is the time to serve and witness to God’s good news.
P: Now is the time to let go of our doubts and trust in God’s guidance. AMEN.
BENEDICTION, BLESSING
You have been given every good gift for proclaiming God’s presence and God’s love. The world is thirsting for this good news. People struggle for words of hope and peace. As you have been blessed, now go to be a blessing in God’s Name. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
Note: If you are using the Gospel lesson today, there are several visual directions you could take. One would be the traditional display of baskets with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish (if you are using fish, make sure that they are dried fish, and only use them for display for the service and then remove them - they will give off an odor which, by itself, will claim the attention of the congregation - and believe me, you don’t want that!!). You may also consider the image of Christ walking on water. John’s gospel does not do much with that story, so my focus would be on the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
SURFACE: Place 5 risers on the worship center. The tallest of the risers (about 10") should be in the upper left corner, diagonal (kitty-corner) to the center line. The other risers may be placed as you choose on the top of the worship center. Place a riser about 6-8" high in front of the worship center to the right.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with burlap, preferably Landscaper’s Burlap, which is loosely woven, letting the fabric drape down from the table and over the riser in front.. On the top riser use a 16" square fabric of cream colored cloth or some other earth tone material - this may be dark or light, depending upon your choice. Use a matching square of fabric on the riser in front of the worship center.
CANDLES: On one of the risers on the worship center, place an 8" pillar candle - it may be white or cream colored. You may want to wrap it in raffia or a band of burlap to give it a roughened texture.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: I would place some "spiky" plants, like mother-in-law’s tongue, or snake plant, in earthenware pots in front of the worship center to the left. Place a jade plant or other succulent plant near the top riser and use several smaller succulents on the worship center to break the "brown-ness" of color.
ROCKS/WOOD: Small stones and rocks may be placed throughout the worship center at your discretion. I’m not sure I would use wood in this setting, but if you have a piece that works well in the display, go for it.
OTHER: Willow or wicker baskets, unpainted, or other "rough" baskets may be placed in the worship center. Have a willow basket placed on its side on the top riser on the left. Place five loaves of Italian Bread, or Hard crusted rolls, or a collection of bread spilling from this basket. You may place the two fishes prominently displayed from the same basket. Place smaller loaves in various baskets on the worship center, and again, place a basket, leaning on its side on the riser in front of the worship center with some small crusty rolls in it. If you wish, you may use a cloth napkin to line the lower basket and place the rolls on that cloth. That is up to you.
Don’t Play with Fire
2 Samuel 11:1-15
For most of her life, a seventy-year-old cleaning woman had worked for the company. Fellow employees decided to honor her and planned a surprise party to express their appreciation. When news of the party was leaked and the woman found out about the plans, she pleaded for them not to throw the party. “That’s sweet of you,” said her boss, “but it’s not necessary for you to be so modest.”“Modest, my foot!” she exclaimed. “I just don’t want to have to clean up all that mess!”
King David learned that sin invites us to a party and leaves us to clean up the mess it leaves in our lives. The account of David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba recorded in 2 Samuel 11 reveals three common aspects of sin to motivate us not to play with fire.
I. When You Sin, You Can Expect Public Exposure
David wanted to keep his sin a private experience. In his attempt to remain anonymous David employed others to act on his behalf. He surveyed individuals in the palace to find who the woman next door was. One person told David her name was Bathsheba (v. 3). David also sent others to bring Bathsheba to the palace.
When Bathsheba became pregnant, she sent a messenger to tell David the news. Sin can be defined as an outward expression of inward resistance or rebellion to God’s purpose. Even individual acts are known by God. David’s choice had consequences beyond his own spirituality. Bathsheba’s shame, Absalom’s and Uriah’s deaths, and preservation of the act in scripture all made a moment of private desire a public event.
II. Sin Results in Accelerated Panic
Verses 6-14 do not reflect a calm and composed response: David panicked. Immediately he sent for Uriah under false pretenses. When Uriah arrived, David tempted him with the privilege of going home to wash his feet, or rest. David also tempted him with royal advantage by catering a feast at Uriah’s house (v. 8). The pace quickened when David realized Uriah slept on the porch. Uriah was enticed to an altered state of mind through intoxication. David’s attempt was not foiled just by Uriah’s patriotism. Even intoxicated, Uriah was more pious than David.
Out of desperation the king became more aggressive. Uriah carried his own death wish as part of a well-orchestrated murder plot. David’s actions could never cover his sin. Panic only accelerated the consequences.
III. Personal Exemption: Obedience to God
Personal exemption is a third dimension of the sin event exposed by specific words throughout this text. Notice the supporting characters in this drama.
The word Bathsheba means “daughter of Sheba” or “daughter of oath.” It was David who disregarded the ritual cleansing rites. Bathsheba was so respected that as “the wife of Uriah” she is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:6.
Uriah means, “Yahweh is my light.” According to verse 11, the ark accompanied the army, implying that it was a holy war. Uriah acted with honor, and from innocence. Out of loyalty he never failed to live up to his title, the servant of David (v. 21).
When you outwardly express an inner resistance to the will of God you can expect the public exposure of your sin to result in an accelerated panic that throws life out of control. Or you can experience personal exemption from the consequences of sin by conditioning your life to obey God. (Barry J. Beames)
A Prayer for All Seasons
Ephesians 3:14-21
Is there a special prayer that has great meaning in your life? For some it might be the Lord’s Prayer. For others, the Prayer of Saint Francis has special significance. Both of these prayers are written in the first person: “Our Father, who art in heaven”; “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.”
What if we’re feeling the need to pray for another person or community, but are not sure how to pray? Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Ephesians gives us a good model for such intercession, as he asks essentially three things for them: power, love, and the fullness of God.
I. We Pray for Power
Paul prays for the church to be strong (v. 16). Immediately we think of physical strength, or financial strength, or mental strength. But this prayer is for strengthening “in your inner being with power through his Spirit.” In other words, this intercession asks that the Ephesian church be strong where it really counts: deep within. As easily as we might tend to ask for other kinds of strength for another person or for a congregation, this prayer bypasses those strengths for an inner power that steadies and strengthens every other aspect of one’s life. This power—spiritual power—is the very best means of support.
II. We Pray for Love
The next phrase of Paul’s prayer asks for Christ to dwell in their hearts as they become “rooted and grounded in love” 6. 17). Notice that love is not a free-form emotion that waxes and wanes, comes and goes, ebbs and flows. Neither is it a feeling that we conjure up and tailor to our own disposition.
Love is a “groundedness,” a “rootedness,” deriving from the occupancy of Christ within the very heart. In other words, there is an objectivity about this love, having to do with the standard of self-giving set by Christ. It is Christ who is to order the heart toward love by living there; such a love should grow deeper, stronger and sturdier with time.
I remember a small Inter-Varsity booklet entitled My Heart, Christ’s Home The title speaks for itself, and in the course of the booklet various “rooms” in the person’s heart are opened up to the question of whether Christ is really welcome there. It is one thing to visit with a friend over lemonade on the front porch, and quite another to invite someone into our medicine cabinet, the family room, or the refrigerator! “May Christ dwell in your hearts,” the prayer goes, probably knowing full well how subversive and life-changing such an intercession could turn out to be.
III. We Pray for Fullness
Lastly, Paul prays for something rather peculiar. Put in other words, I would say he’s praying for the Ephesian church to be slightly overwhelmed. Here he wants them to comprehend the incomprehensible: breadth, length, height, depth, love that surpasses knowledge . . . so that “you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (v. 19). It is with such a fullness that we can pray with the psalmist, “You, LORD, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands” (Ps. 16:5, GNB).
Power for faithful Christian living; hearts of love; a sense of the fullness of God in our lives. These are not things we should pray only for others; let’s ask God to make each of these things living realities in our own lives. (Paul R. Escamilla)
A Miracle of Multiplied Witness
John 6:1-21
On the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in an area where much of the ministry of Jesus occurred, there is a small church at a place called Tabgha. Built by Benedictine Fathers in 1982, this church is on the site of two earlier churches, the first built about A.D. 350 and the second about a hundred years later. The second church was destroyed in the early seventh century, and over 1,300 years passed before archaeologists excavated the site and found the remains of the two churches.
In their excavations the archaeologists found a beautiful mosaic that had formed part of the altar of the second church building. The mosaic shows a basket of loaves, with a fish on either side of the basket. Very early in the Christian community’s life, this site was apparently regarded as the place where Jesus feeding of the multitude occurred.
It is not surprising that the early Christians would have marked this particular event from the life of Jesus. This miracle story, or “sign” as John would have designated it, was very important in the early church. It is the only miracle of Jesus that is reported in all four Gospels.
After a particularly intense period of ministry, Jesus had gone off by himself. But the crowds followed him, and at the end of the day they were hungry. So Jesus had the people sit down; he took five loaves and two fish from a boy in the crowd, gave thanks to God, and distributed the food. After everyone had eaten, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of fragments. And the crowd wanted to make Jesus king, but he went off by himself.
What do you make of this experience reported by all the Gospel writers? All kinds of attempts have been made to rationalize the story: everyone who had food must have shared it; the feeding really referred to spiritual food; it was a symbolic prefiguring of Holy Communion; it was a literal miracle of multiplying food. But all these approaches seem to miss the point.
The text leaves an element of mystery in the account. It says only that the people ate what they wanted and were satisfied. It preserves the element of mystery. Halford Luccock wrote: “The story is a wonderful picture of a tremendous truth of Christian history, that Jesus does multiply above measure for human use whatever of worth is put into his hands. Whatever we give him he will enlarge for the service of human need” (The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7, p. 743). And George Buttrick once said: “The main truth is that of alliance between man’s little and God’s abundance. Let reminder be given for our cheer that, if we do what we can in trust and consecration, God will give the increase” (The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7, p. 432).
Is it not sufficient to say that our task as disciples is simply to do what we can in trust and consecration and leave the increase to Christ? Is it not sufficient to say that our task as disciples is to offer what we can to the causes of Christ—our efforts, energies, money, prayers, concerns, time, love—and allow Christ to take what we offer individually and make of it corporately far more that we are able?
I believe I know at least part of the reason the early Christians regarded this experience of Jesus so seriously. They had seen the attractive and expansive power of the gospel to nourish spiritual hunger and to minister to physical need. And this experience from the life of Jesus reminded them of both dimensions of the gracious and loving ministry of Christ and the church. They believed in the miracle of multiplied witness because they had both received and shared its power. (J. Lawrence McCleskey)
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: JULY 29, 2018 by Carolyn C. BrownFrom a Child's Point of View Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:1-15. The story of David and Bathsheba is not one most people would choose to tell children. David's key problem, however, … read more
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: JULY 29, 2018 by Carolyn C. Brown
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:1-15.The story of David and Bathsheba is not one most people would choose to tell children. David's key problem, however, was not adultery, but a willingness to break the rules to get what he wanted, and that willingness is something children understand. In early childhood, children assume that the most powerful people (the grown-ups, the teachers, the biggest kids) have the right to make the rules. So they learn from David's story that even the greatest king is subservient to God's rules. Many older children are realizing that rules can be negotiated for the good of the group. This discovery changes their attitude toward rules. As they begin living with negotiated rules, they empathize with David's temptation to ignore those that did not work to his advantage at the moment and are reminded that rules are to be obeyed.
Most children do not understand David's maneuvers in verses 6-13, but they do understand David's murder of Uriah. Therefore, consider reading either the entire chapter or verses 1-5 and 14-15, instead of 1-15. The Good News Bible uses the most "delicate" vocabulary in telling this story.
Psalm: 14. If the psalm is introduced as a poet's response to disobedience like David's, children will catch occasional lines condemning those who break God's rules. A child's paraphrase of "There is no God" is "I will not be caught" or "What I do will not matter."
Epistle: Ephesians 3:14-21. Children will understand little of Paul's message as it is read from any translation. But if the passage is compared to the wishes expressed by families in wedding toasts or on birthday cards, they enjoy exploring Paul's prayer-wishes for Gentile Christians. His wish is that they (and we) will experience and recognize God's great love and will feel God's presence, giving us inner strength.
The images of being rooted in God's love and built on a foundation of God's love need to be illustrated with everyday examples for instance, a person who knows that God made her and loves her will be disappointed, but will not lose all hope in herself when she loses a championship. Sermons which cite such examples help children build self-esteem, based on the love of God, who created them.
Older children in the middle of sports-oriented summers also benefit from descriptions of the inner strength (rather than the physical strength) that Paul wishes for his friends.
Gospel: John 6:1-21. Most church children are familiar with the feeding of the five thousand. They tend to associate it with Jesus' care of people's needs and take it as an indication of Jesus' willingness to take seriously and use a child's contribution.
When it is pointed out to them, older children understand that John was less like a historian telling us exactly what Jesus did, and more like a person telling us who his best friend is by relating stories about what that friend did and said. They will, however, depend upon the preacher to point out what John is telling us about Jesus in these two stories that Jesus had great powers (he could feed thousands of people with five loaves and a few fish, and he could walk on water) and that Jesus came to feed or nourish people. The next four Gospel lections tell what it means for Jesus to feed people.
Watch Words
In David's story, sin is breaking the rules. His adultery was stealing someone else's wife.
In John, bread is a code word for what we need to live. Sometimes we call money "bread" because we use it to buy what we need to live. Use bread carefully. Children are easily confused when a word is used both literally and symbolically.
Let the Children Sing
"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy" is a good hymn to explore phrase-by-phrase in a sermon about God's great love. Though it includes many unfamiliar words, it also includes some vivid images of the vastness of God's love.
Imagine yourselves among those Jesus fed while singing "I Come with Joy" (whether or not you celebrate communion).
The Liturgical Child
1. Display a basket of small loaves of bread on the chancel table, or hang a banner featuring several loaves of bread and some fish. (The banner might be a summer project for a children's group or class.)
2. To create a Prayer of Confession based on Psalms 14, a worship leader describes a series of ways we rationalize our disobedience. The congregation responds to each one with, "We say it will not matter, but it does. Forgive us." For example:
Lord, you instruct us to be honest, but we lie when we think we can get away with it. We tell only the part of the truth that makes us look good. And we answer only the questions that are asked. (RESPONSE) Lord, you instruct us not to steal, but we . . . . Assurance of Pardon: There is a God. What we do does matter. But God, who insists that we live by the rules, also loves us and forgives us, and gives us the power to try again. Thanks be to God!
3. Before reading the Gospel, invite a crowd of worshipers of all ages, perhaps the front rows of people, to sit with you on the steps. Describe the similar crowd that had gathered around Jesus. Read John 6:1-15 from a Bible held in your lap. Then without announcement, a second worship leader in the lectern (away from the crowd) begins, and reads verses 16-21.
4. Feature intercessory prayer (prayer for others). Describe your congregation's practice of praying for others just before that time in the service. Compare your practice with Paul's prayer for the Gentiles. Consider asking the congregation to identify groups for whom they would like the church to offer prayer-wishes this morning. Then be especially careful to pray with language and sentences simple enough for children to follow.
Sermon Resources
1. Children's explanations of why they disobey rules reflect what David might have thought:
"But the big kids (or name a specific bigger kid) always do it. And I'm in fourth grade now, so "
"But it's my birthday!" (And I thought the usual rules would not apply on my birthday.)
"But I wanted it so much!"
"I knew it was wrong, but I didn't think anyone would mind just this once! I won't do it again, I promise."
2. Jesus said he came to feed us. Many professions are, or can be, feeding professions teaching, medicine, social service. By identifying specific ways these professionals "feed people," children begin to understand what Jesus meant when he said he came to feed people.
3. Corrie ten Boom was a Christian imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews. After the war, during a service at which she spoke about forgiveness, a man she recognized as a cruel prison guard came to shake her hand. She did not want to touch him and felt no forgiveness for him, even though she knew she should. She willed her hand to meet his, but it would not move until she felt a power from beyond her travel from her shoulder down her arm toward the man. With that power, she was able to not just shake his hand, but to really forgive him. She knew that that power was Christ's love.
INSPIRING-HUMOROUS-EDGY-CONFRONTING-RELEVANT
Welcome to the new Pulpit Resource from Will Willimon. For over three decades Pulpit Resource helps preachers prepare to preach. Now in partnership with Abingdon Press, this homiletical weekly is available with fresh and timely accessibility to a new generation of preachers.No sermon is a solo production. Every preacher relies on inherited models, mentors in the preacher’s past, commentaries on biblical texts by people who have given their lives to such study, comments received from members of the congregation, last week’s news headlines, and all the other things that make a sermon communal.
No Christian does anything on their own. We live through the witness of the saints; preachers of the past inspire us and judge us. Scripture itself is a product of the community of faith. A host of now-forgotten teachers taught us how to speak. Nobody is born a preacher.
Pulpit Resource is equivalent to sitting down with a trusted clergy friend over a cup of coffee and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Whenever I’ve been asked by new preachers, “How can I develop as a preacher?” my usual response is, “Get in a group of preachers. Meet regularly. Learn how to give and how to receive help. Sort through the advice of others, and utilize helpful insights.”
That’s Pulpit Resource.
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The battle for the Bible
In his must-read book, The Soul of America, historian Jon Meacham defines the struggle of our time as “The Battle for Our Better Angels.” I couldn’t agree more.But followers of Christ are also engaged in a deeper struggle that is nothing less than “The Battle for the Bible.” Or, at least, the battle for a better reading of the Bible.
Let’s face it: the Bible is probably the most respected and least read book in America. The new Museum of the Bible in Washington could be a visual metaphor for the way we honor the Bible as a relic of our past while we abuse, distort or ignore it in the present.
The “self-help” Bible
A cartoon in The New Yorker depicted a bookstore clerk saying, “The Bible … that would be under self-help.”
Some people tout the Bible as a self-help manual which, if followed carefully, guarantees health, wealth and a great sex life. To be sure, Scripture is chock full of practical guidance the biblical writers call “wisdom.” But it is not general, all-purpose, self-help sort of wisdom. It is wisdom with the purpose of forming lives that are consistent with God’s purpose for us and our world. The guarantee is not success as the world defines it, but holiness.
The abused Bible
There are also folks who honor the Bible without deeply reading or studying it. They are often well-intended, church-going people who think they know what the Bible says and attempt to apply it to their lives without practicing the disciplines of thoughtful study and prayerful reflection on what the book actually says.
A sad example is Attorney General Sessions’ innane attempt to justify a brutal immigration policy with a quirky reference to Romans 13, a notoriously difficult passage of scripture which also provided biblical support for slavery in America and the Third Reich in Nazi Germany.
Biblical scholars Richard Hays and Ellen Davis make the point that “reading Scripture is a difficult thing to do well … making good sense of the Bible and applying that sense wisely to our lives is a hard thing to do.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. xv.) But it’s more than worth the effort! They conclude that Scripture is “indispensable if we are to view the world realistically and hopefully.” (p. 9)
How to read the Bible
How do we read the Bible in a way that makes sense to our brains and a difference in our lives? A few suggestions in no particular order.
Read the Bible in community. The Bible is inherently communal. The Old Testament books emerged out of the life of the Hebrew community. The New Testament books grew out of the life of the early church. This is the church’s book and we read it best when we read it in community with other faithful people and within the context of the insights of people in the Body of Christ across the generations. Disciple Bible Study continues to be the best resource I know for this kind of study.
Read the Bible through Jesus. The Gospel declares that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) E. Stanley Jones often reminded us that Scripture is “not the revelation of God, for that would be the Word become word, but it is the inspired record of the Revelation — the Revelation was seen in the face of Jesus Christ — the Word became flesh.” (The Word Became Flesh, p. 66,136) We read Scripture best when we read it through the lens of the words and way, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we run into a difficult passage (of which there are plenty!), a good question to ask is: Does this look like Jesus?
Read the Bible for transformation. We read the Bible not only for information, but for transformation. James Howell declared that “embodied reading is perhaps the only kind reading that is finally appropriate to these texts, which are about, and are intended to provoke, changed lives.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. 100). The Bible is the story of ordinary saints and sinners like every one of us whose lives were radically transformed by God’s action in creation, in history, and in the human heart. We read scripture best when we listen for the way the written word can become the living Word in our experience.
We could do worse than to read this old hymn text each time we open the Bible.
Master, speak! Thy servant heareth,
Waiting for Thy gracious word,
Longing for Thy voice that cheereth
Master, let it now be heard.
I am list’ning, Lord, for Thee;
What hast Thou to say to me?
Master, speak! and make me ready,
When Thy voice is truly heard,
With obedience glad and steady,
Still to follow every word
I am listening, Lord, for Thee:
Master, speak, oh, speak to me!
Does the Bible really tell me so? Only if I read it!
A cartoon in The New Yorker depicted a bookstore clerk saying, “The Bible … that would be under self-help.”
Some people tout the Bible as a self-help manual which, if followed carefully, guarantees health, wealth and a great sex life. To be sure, Scripture is chock full of practical guidance the biblical writers call “wisdom.” But it is not general, all-purpose, self-help sort of wisdom. It is wisdom with the purpose of forming lives that are consistent with God’s purpose for us and our world. The guarantee is not success as the world defines it, but holiness.
The abused Bible
There are also folks who honor the Bible without deeply reading or studying it. They are often well-intended, church-going people who think they know what the Bible says and attempt to apply it to their lives without practicing the disciplines of thoughtful study and prayerful reflection on what the book actually says.
A sad example is Attorney General Sessions’ innane attempt to justify a brutal immigration policy with a quirky reference to Romans 13, a notoriously difficult passage of scripture which also provided biblical support for slavery in America and the Third Reich in Nazi Germany.
Biblical scholars Richard Hays and Ellen Davis make the point that “reading Scripture is a difficult thing to do well … making good sense of the Bible and applying that sense wisely to our lives is a hard thing to do.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. xv.) But it’s more than worth the effort! They conclude that Scripture is “indispensable if we are to view the world realistically and hopefully.” (p. 9)
How to read the Bible
How do we read the Bible in a way that makes sense to our brains and a difference in our lives? A few suggestions in no particular order.
Read the Bible in community. The Bible is inherently communal. The Old Testament books emerged out of the life of the Hebrew community. The New Testament books grew out of the life of the early church. This is the church’s book and we read it best when we read it in community with other faithful people and within the context of the insights of people in the Body of Christ across the generations. Disciple Bible Study continues to be the best resource I know for this kind of study.
Read the Bible through Jesus. The Gospel declares that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) E. Stanley Jones often reminded us that Scripture is “not the revelation of God, for that would be the Word become word, but it is the inspired record of the Revelation — the Revelation was seen in the face of Jesus Christ — the Word became flesh.” (The Word Became Flesh, p. 66,136) We read Scripture best when we read it through the lens of the words and way, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we run into a difficult passage (of which there are plenty!), a good question to ask is: Does this look like Jesus?
Read the Bible for transformation. We read the Bible not only for information, but for transformation. James Howell declared that “embodied reading is perhaps the only kind reading that is finally appropriate to these texts, which are about, and are intended to provoke, changed lives.” (The Art of Reading Scripture, p. 100). The Bible is the story of ordinary saints and sinners like every one of us whose lives were radically transformed by God’s action in creation, in history, and in the human heart. We read scripture best when we listen for the way the written word can become the living Word in our experience.
We could do worse than to read this old hymn text each time we open the Bible.
Master, speak! Thy servant heareth,
Waiting for Thy gracious word,
Longing for Thy voice that cheereth
Master, let it now be heard.
I am list’ning, Lord, for Thee;
What hast Thou to say to me?
Master, speak! and make me ready,
When Thy voice is truly heard,
With obedience glad and steady,
Still to follow every word
I am listening, Lord, for Thee:
Master, speak, oh, speak to me!
Does the Bible really tell me so? Only if I read it!
By Magrey deVega
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PREACHING ANNUAL 
The Abingdon Preaching Annual includes:The Primary Theme Fleshed out with brief, pithy nuggets of thought, idea jump-starters, or questions designed to spur the preacher’s imagination.
Secondary or Parallel Themes Two or three themes or streams of thought that are related to but separate from the primary theme offered.
Worship Helps Including Gathering Prayer, Collect, Pastoral Prayer, Congregational Prayer, Responsive Reading, and a Closing Prayer or Benediction.Topical Essays These 700 word essays cover a variety of current and critical topics for the preacher—contributed by leading homileticians.
Full Sermons The full text from six to twelve sermons will be included. Additional are available online. These sermons will highlight best practices, unique approaches, and fresh voices.
Sermon Series Ideas This section will briefly outline and describe ideas for unique sermon series based on lectionary readings.
"As a weekly preacher, I often find that preparing for preaching and crafting sermons are spiritual disciplines for me. It is a time in which I try to quiet all of the other 'to do' lists that occupy much of my ministry. This resource from Abingdon Press will now be a partner in those conversations, almost like a new personal devotional guide. I am grateful for additional voices who can help me make space for God’s Living Word." - Shannon J Kershner, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL
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