Gods Of Gold
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
The lectionary text from the Hebrew scriptures assigned for this week -- Aaron's creation of the golden calf -- is one of the most vivid scenes in the Bible. On the surface, it's a story about idolatry, about rejecting God... and God's initial reaction is not unlike that of a rejected lover, as he erupts in fury and tells Moses to "let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them" (them of course being the unfaithful people of Israel). But as team member Dean Feldmeyer points out in this installment of The Immediate Word, what really underlies the Israelites' entreaties to Aaron is a deep sense of frustration over a perceived lack of leadership, one epitomized for them by the absence of Moses. It's a scene that is not so far from our current experience as we might imagine -- indeed, a key element of today's cultural zeitgeist is a deep frustration resulting from a sense in many quarters that our systems -- whether political, financial, educational, or even religious -- are creaking if not entirely breaking down. The simmering anger at the heart of street protests in the Wall Street financial district and growing disenchantment with the failings of democracy feeds off the same emotions as those that animated the Israelites' approach to Aaron, whose reaction is entirely characteristic of a modern politician currying favor with his political base. But as Dean notes, while our frustration may be genuine, our search for answers poses us with a challenge -- to take the easy, popular path like Aaron, or to follow the true leadership of God... which at times can be an infinitely more difficult road.
Team member Ron Love shares some additional thoughts on the parallels between the Israelites and modern folk, and he points out that the Israelites' impatience was symptomatic of a much more fundamental problem -- forgetting what God had done for them, and thereby diverting the anchoring focus of their lives from God to themselves. As Ron discusses, the same loss of memory is endemic to a contemporary civilization that is rooted in individualism, self-interest, and self-reliance. As Ron notes, it is precisely when we forget what place God should play in our lives that we begin to look inward for leadership rather than following the true leadership that the Lord offers to us.
Gods of Gold
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 32:1-14; Philippians 4:1-9
"[A]s for this MosesÖ we do not know what has become of him" (Exodus 32:1).
Sure that they had been abandoned by Moses, alone and afraid, the children of Israel turned to Aaron. But Aaron was a weak leader, a "windcock politician" who turned in the direction of the prevailing wind. The people wanted him to make a God that they could see -- and rather than upset the people, he did as they asked. He made a calf of gold, a throwback to their days in Egypt, empty and useless. But it made the people happy, if only for a few days, and it made him popular.
Not much has changed.
THE WORLD
There seems to be a distinct lack of real leadership in our government. Our elected officials are more interested in making people momentarily happy than dealing with real, long-term problems. They grandstand and posture over esoteric political philosophy while real problems go unsolved and in some cases even grow worse. They refuse to compromise if it will cost them even a single vote.
We look back at the founders of our country and the sacrifices they were prepared to make and we say: As for this Adams, this Washington, this Madison, this Jefferson... we do not know what has become of them.
Nicholas Kulish, writing in the September 28 edition of the New York Times, declares that today's young people have lost their faith in democracy. The headline? As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around the World.
In the opening paragraphs, Kulish notes that young people in such diverse locations as Spain, India, England, Israel, and the United States are marching, demonstrating, and shouting their disgust with democracy -- a political system that has, they say, failed to deliver on its promises. But delve a little further into the article, to where the young demonstrators are allowed to speak for themselves, and we discover that it isn't democracy that they are disgusted with... it is politicians.
Frustrated by collapsing economies, endless wars, and ineffective, constantly bickering politicians operating in a system that seems to be compromised, corrupted, and rendered useless by small, special interests, they are ready to throw everyone out and start afresh with new people -- and, if necessary, a whole new system.
As for the promises that were made, the hope that was kindled when we went to the voting booth... we do not know what has become of them.
The frustration with our lack of political leadership has even made its way into the corner offices of corporate America. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is leading a charge to voluntarily stop contributing to the election campaigns of all politicians until they show that they are able to put their differences aside and actually solve the nation's problems.
"The fundamental problem is that the lens through which Congress approaches issues is reelection. The lifeblood of their reelection campaigns is political contributions," Schultz said in an email to other business leaders. Whether big donors or small ones, he says, Americans should stop giving and see if it galvanizes Washington to act.
"The debt crisis," he said," is really the symbol of a larger problem, which is that our leaders are not leading,"
As for politicians who actually lead... we do not know what has become of them.
Our political parties, in their effort to answer the cries of the people, respond like Aaron, bending to the prevailing winds and creating gods of their own making.
In their book That Used to Be Us, Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum suggest that two of the golden gods that are being lifted up before us are Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt -- not the real men themselves, but the iconic versions that their respective political parties have created for popular consumption. The Democrats have lionized FDR and the Republicans have mythologized Reagan to the point that their reputations do not even begin to resemble the real men who were willing to forge coalitions and create compromises for the good of the country.
As for the real FDR and the real Ronald Reagan... we do not know what has become of them.
THE WORD
Two polar opposites.
On the one end is Aaron, whose goal is to keep the people pacified and reasonably happy. He will give them whatever they ask for in order to achieve that goal. He is what Edmund Burke called a "windcock politician," turning in the direction of the prevailing wind. He is not interested so much in what is good or right or true, but in what is popular.
On the other end is YHWH, who is ready to destroy the whole bunch for their apostasy. Step aside, he tells Moses in verse 10. I'm going to destroy them all and start over with you and your children.
It is Moses who occupies the middle ground.
First he convinces YHWH not to destroy his people by reminding him of the promises he made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob/Israel. And hearing again his own promises, God "changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people" (v. 14).
(God changed his mind? Wow! There's a whole other sermon, right there!)
After convincing God not to destroy the people, Moses goes down the mountain and straightens out Aaron and the people with some penalties that seem pretty harsh -- until we remember the one God had in mind for them.
The answer to the problems the people face is, ironically, not to be found in either extreme but in the center where Moses resides.
It is in the center where we find those leaders -- political leaders, yes, but others too, leaders of business and education and the church as well -- who lead not according to their emotions or the prevailing winds of popularity but by the strength of their character.
Here, at the center, is where we find those who have heard and taken seriously Paul's admonition in Philippians 4:8 to consider what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and worthy of praise.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Indicative
A key touchstone in this text is that feeling of being lost and/or abandoned that was experienced by the children of Israel. You can almost hear them saying: "Moses has been gone for more than a month, and for all we know, he's dead. If we stay here, eventually our water and food will run out. We have to move, but we need someone to lead us. When Moses was with us, his God led us. But Moses is gone. Aaron, make us a God that can lead us."
We cannot talk about getting out of the desert unless we have led our congregation into that desert first. We have all been lost. We have all known that desperation wherein we would have followed anyone who promised to lead us out of our desert of fear, pain, grief, doubt, debt, or despair.
Now come the messiahs who promise to lead us out of the desert. All but one are hucksters and con men selling snake oil and golden idols. Useless, nay, dangerous!
But one among them speaks the truth. He says, "Arise, take up your bed, and walk." He says, "Neither do I condemn you." He says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Imperative
Now we decide who we will follow and who we will emulate. Will we turn with Aaron in the direction of the popular, prevailing wind? Or will we seek that which is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and worthy of praise?
The text leaves us not with an answer but a challenge.
ANOTHER VIEW
Let Us Not Forget!
by Ron Love
Exodus 32:1-14; Philippians 4:1-9
David Brooks recently wrote a column for the New York Times on the loss of morality among young adults. In his piece Brooks reviewed a book titled Lost in Transition written by Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith. Smith concluded that young people today have not "given much or any thought to morality." They could agree that extreme behavior was wrong, such as rape and murder; but for many, cheating in school, cheating on a partner, and drunken driving were not moral considerations. Moral choices for this age group always returned to the same standard -- "a matter of individual choice." Morality became an issue of individualism, relativism, and nonjudgmentalism. After discussing Smith's findings, Brooks ended his column (titled "If It Feels Right...") with these words: "In most times and places, the group was seen to be the essential moral unit. A shared religion defined rules and practices. Cultures structured people's imaginations and imposed moral disciplines. But now more people are led to assume that the free-floating individual is the essential moral unit. Morality was once revealed, inherited, and shared, but now it's thought of as something that emerges in the privacy of your own heart."
What is so disturbing about the research revealed in this article is that it underlines how individualism has replaced the community and the authority of church doctrine. Where we were once guided by the Torah and the Beatitudes, moral decisions are now based on individual perception. The individual has taken precedence over the community. Self-interest trumps society. "What works for me" has replaced "What's good for all." In discussing morality, Paul writes: "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me" (Philippians 4:9). But the learning for this generation no longer looks to Paul and the authors of the scriptures, but only to a self-written ethical standard.
This loss of learning has compelled the Jewish community in Pittsburgh to embark upon an intensive educational program for its young people. When Rosh Hashanah began this past week on September 28, the Jewish community entered into year 5772. There are 42,000 Jews in greater Pittsburgh, but 75% of the young people are not involved in any Jewish activities. A fund of $17 million has now been established by the Pittsburgh Jewish community to send Jewish children and young adults to camp and to make a pilgrimage to Israel in order to learn about and become excited about their faith. Cindy Shapira, who chairs the fund, said, "We are launching the community phase of the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future around the celebration of the Jewish New Year, because it's not just about celebrating our past but moving forward and looking at the vision for our community. We are about the renewal of the Jewish community."
How long does it take an individual to lose his or her faith? A generation? A decade? College years? Overnight? It would seem, from the concern of Paul, soon after the Christian community is established. It would seem, from the Mount Sinai story, only forty days and nights.
The Exodus lesson begins, "When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make gods for us' " (32:1). The tradition of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac was forgotten by them. The covenant of being the chosen people became meaningless. The deliverance from Pharaoh was an unrepeatable miracle. The tenth plague and the parting of the Red Sea no longer affirmed the ever-present nature of God. All it took was a delay and it was time enough for a new god and a new community. No one suggested -- not even Aaron -- that this was an occasion for fasting and prayer; instead, it was time for a golden calf and individualism, for a clear leader was absent.
How quickly do we fall into to this mindset of forgetting? How little of an incident does it take for us to turn our heads away from God? What petty church argument will detain us from worship forever? What major calamity will infuse within us such anger that God will never be forgiven? We may not like to admit it, but how quickly are we willing to make a golden calf, a god, in our own image -- a god you or I can control?
When Julian Bond, the former Georgia lawmaker and civil rights activist, turned to teaching two decades ago, he was concerned about talking down to students regarding the civil rights movement. He did not want to underestimate their grasp of the topic -- but as it turned out, Bond concluded that his fears were misplaced. The students knew nothing. In fact, one student believed that Gov. George Wallace was a CBS newsman. Bond realized that Dr. Martin Luther King's life had become a fable -- he marched, he was killed, everything was all right after that -- and for many it was a life absent of struggle. As a result, few grasped the continuing struggle for equality. One generation, maybe two, and the civil rights heritage was lost. A delayed trip down the mountain and the heritage of the Exodus was lost.
There will be times we find ourselves standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up, wondering when Moses will return with a message of inspiration. This is the juncture where our faith is tested. We can continue to look for the smoke of the bush that burns but is not consumed by fire, or we can melt our gold rings and trinkets into a god we can hold and massage. It takes faith to know that though delayed, God is not absent.
Remembering the Exodus story, we should always be looking to the mountaintop for guidance with these words implanted in our souls: "Let us not forget!"
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I. Discuss what it means to be a society that makes moral decisions based not on the truths of the scriptures, but on individual precepts.
II. Discuss what it means to be a society that has lost its religious heritage and lives by an individualistic religion governed by self-interest.
III. Discuss what it means to be in the position where we must wait on God.
IV. Dialogue on what will be our response. Will we learn and live by the heritage of the faith community or will our standard be one of individual self-reliance?
V. Conclude by discussing "Let us not forget!"
ILLUSTRATIONS
Two truths about the Exodus passage demand our attention. We marvel that Israel's patience grew so short the people couldn't wait forty days before they gave up on God and asked for a visible sign of some other deity like the golden calf. How long are you willing to wait on God when he puts your plans on hold or interrupts your schedule? Do you get restless and doubt when he makes you bide your time?
Even more critical is the idea that we must have a leader to follow -- someone to guide us in the right path. Many Americans think they have to have an inspiring president to lead the country. Christians should know better. Our leader is Jesus; we need no other. Too often leaders become corrupted by their power or lose their way because of pride. Jesus should be the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).
* * *
Every pastor knows there is a radical difference between the seminary classroom and life in the congregational trenches. Seminary professors, and only to a slightly lesser degree denominational officials, can conduct their ministries in almost pristine laboratory conditions. From their ivory towers they write books and issue directives on how the local church pastor needs to think theologically, act prophetically, and preach biblically. Most pastors will respond, "You should try your high-sounding ideas here in my church. You will find it is not as simple as you claim to be faithful." The pastor finds it convenient at times to shortcut the ideal just to get a parishioner off his/her back or to get the job done.
This passage demonstrates that practical difference at its worst. While Moses is having a mountaintop experience talking with God, Aaron is left in the valley to deal with the complaining multitudes. The people are not so certain they see the evidence of God's presence in their midst. They want something a bit more tangible than a few rules Moses claims God gave him.
Aaron solves the problem in a rather practical, albeit disastrous, way. "If they want a graven image," he reasons, "let them have one. Maybe then they will quit complaining."
* * *
When the time comes for Moses to ascend the mountain to commune with God, he puts his brother Aaron in charge -- and that's when the trouble starts.
People begin coming up to Aaron, offering generous compliments: "Oh Aaron, you look so good standing there with your staff!"
"You definitely have it, my man -- that air of authority!"
"If you ask me, you're doing a better job than that brother of yours. Your speeches are certainly more interesting. He's so grim and gloomy all the time, withdrawing into his tent to pray. You really know how to get out there with the people, "kissing babies and pressing the flesh."
It isn't long before the compliments to Aaron mutate into requests for favors. Then it happens -- the simple request that amounts to the biggest favor of them all: "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us..."
Aaron calls over one of his top aides. "How are we doing in the polls this week?"
"Not so good, boss. The honeymoon's over; you've slipped a few percentage points. You gotta do something to get that razzle-dazzle back."
"Well," says Aaron to himself, "what's the harm in it? It's only a statue... a little morale-booster. If it makes them happy, why not?"
So Aaron calls for the golden earrings. He establishes the "Friends of Israel Leadership Roundtable," complete with "Golden Patrons," "Benefactors," "Sustaining Members," "Members," and "Friends" (with special discounts for students and senior citizens). The gold comes rolling in so fast you'd hardly know this is a bunch of former slaves.
Aaron personally melts the jewelry down, calls for the goldsmiths, and before you can say "spin doctor" there it is -- the finest golden calf you ever did see.
Yes, this is idolatry in action... but Aaron is not calling the people to worship some god other than Yahweh -- not directly, anyway. He's just accommodating to the culture, trying to make the faith a little more intelligible. We contemporary Christians might want to look in the mirror and see if we are guilty of the same impulses as Aaron....
* * *
Remember the old TV game show Let's Make a Deal? Monty Hall, the host, would pick a contestant out of the studio audience -- usually the one wearing the most bizarre costume -- and would offer the person something for nothing. Then the fun began. Monty would offer the contestant a "deal" -- a trade for something the player couldn't see. There was always an element of risk to it: "Would you like to keep the bedroom set, Mrs. Jones, or would you prefer to trade it for whatever is behind the curtain?" The audience would wait with breathless anticipation. Would Mrs. Jones stand fast with the prize she'd already won or would she risk it all, hoping to bag the "big deal"?
It's almost as if Monty Hall had walked into the Sinai Desert and stuck a microphone in the faces of the wandering Israelites: "Okay, Israelites, have I got a deal for you! I'm going to give you the statue of a calf, exquisitely crafted in 24-karat gold by the house of Aaron. Just look at these fine lines that intelligent face -- a beautiful and functional item perfect for your home -- and we'll throw in a year's supply of metal polish!
"Now... let's make a deal! Do you want to keep the golden calf, or would you prefer to trade it for whatever Moses has behind the curtain of cloud on the mountaintop? You have to decide, Israel. What'll it be: the calf or the cloud?"
It's no contest. Israel (as we all know) chooses the calf. Who wants to risk it all for whatever that crazy fanatic Moses is cooking up on the mountaintop, when down here we've got the most beautiful piece of devotional sculpture -- in solid gold, no less? Besides, you know what they say... a golden calf in the hand is worth two in the bush!
* * *
Without effective leadership, the people inevitably turn to idolatry.
Everyone knows the story of the famous luxury liner RMS Titanic. The builders insisted that she was the perfect, unsinkable ship -- and everyone believed them or wanted to.
When on her maiden voyage it was pointed out that no one had brought binoculars for the ship's bridge, none were ordered. Why should they be? The ship was unsinkable.
When it was discovered that the number of lifeboats was insufficient to hold the crew, much less the passengers, no one worried. Why should they? The ship was unsinkable.
When the engineers suggested that the bilge pumps were too small and would not be sufficient should the ship spring a serious leak, no one worried. How could such a perfect ship possibly spring a leak?
When the captain was told to increase his speed, even in an area known for the presence of icebergs, he did so. Why not? Icebergs would pose no threat to an unsinkable ship.
Of course, we all know what happened to the Titanic.
Contrary to popular belief, however, it was not an iceberg that sunk her. It was human avarice and idolatry and a lack of effective leadership.
* * *
In her book Bad Leadership, author Barbara Kellerman encourages the reader to remember that leadership is not, in and of itself, a good thing. History is full of examples of bad leaders, those who were either ineffective or unethical or both.
The ineffective might include Neville Chamberlain (the British prime minister who negotiated with Hitler) and George Donner (of the "Donner Party" fame). Unethical leaders would include Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, and Pol Pot.
Kellerman offers seven kinds of bad leaders we should avoid:
1. Incompetent -- those who lack the will or skill to sustain effective action.
2. Rigid -- those unwilling or unable to adapt to new or changing information, ideas, or times.
3. Intemperate -- those who lack self-control.
4. Callous -- those who are uncaring or unkind.
5. Corrupt -- those who lie, cheat, or steal, or who put self-interest ahead of the public interest.
6. Insular -- those who ignore or minimize the well-being of those outside the immediate group.
7. Evil -- those who cause significant physical and/or psychological harm to other human beings.
* * *
There is so much frustration in the world because we have relied on gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived. We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy.... These transitory gods are not able to save or bring happiness to the human heart. Only God is able. It is faith in him that we must rediscover.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
* * *
In the classic film Twelve Angry Men, the characters are known simply by their numbers. The movie opens with the twelve men receiving the judge's instructions in a capital murder case and then being sequestered in a hot, stuffy jury room to come up with a verdict.
On the first ballot, the vote is eleven to one for conviction. Juror Number 8 is the only holdout, and he refuses to change his vote until they have at least talked their way through the evidence.
As the discussion evolves the audience discovers that few of the jurors have even considered the actual evidence. Their opinions are based on personal prejudices, apathy, racism, ageism, errors of fact, and stubbornness.
Eventually, Juror Number 8 is able to convince each of the other jurors that there is a reasonable doubt and that they were about to convict an innocent man.
* * *
American preacher and seminary professor Fred Craddock tells of his experience as a child playing hide-and-seek. With a little effort, he managed to squeeze himself into the space under the porch of his parents' home where he could see his sisters searching for him, but they couldn't see him.
Craddock says that he remembered thinking, "They'll never find me HERE. They'll never find me HERE." What delight he found in having discovering such a perfect hiding place.
Then all of a sudden it occurred to him that, "They'll never FIND me here!"
So the next time his sisters passed by, he giggled just loud enough for them to hear him. And, of course, they found him.
* * *
When I was about seven years old, my family spent a weekend camping at Brown County State Park in Indiana. One evening I was playing with some other kids in the crowded family campground and wandered away from my family's campsite.
Before I knew it the sun had begun to go down and I had become lost among all the campsites, unable to find my way back to my family. Convinced that I would never be found and would perish there in the dark, I panicked and began to cry and call out for my mother. Within just a few moments I heard her call out to me. I had not taken the wrong path after all; I just hadn't gone far enough on the path I had taken.
The next day, when my mother noticed that I was clinging closer to the campsite than usual, she asked me if I was afraid that I might get lost again. When I said that I was, she assured me that she and my father would never have left without me.
Then she added this bit of advice: "If you ever again feel like you're lost, don't wander around looking for me. Just stop and sit down and wait patiently. And I'll find you."
-- Dean Feldmeyer
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! O give thanks to God, for God is good;
People: for God's steadfast love endures forever.
Leader: Who can utter the mighty doings of God or declare all God's praise?
People: Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
Leader: Remember me, O God, when you show favor to your people;
People: help me when you deliver us.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God of truth!
People: We come to know what is real.
Leader: God will show us reality, even about ourselves!
People: We come to know ourselves, warts and all.
Leader: God shows us our faults and strengths so that we may became more like Jesus.
People: We are Jesus' disciples. We want to be like him!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
found in:
UMH: 64
H82: 362
PH: 138
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELW: 413
CCB: 64
Renew: 204
"We Believe in One True God"
found in:
UMH: 85
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Take My Life, and Let It Be"
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
Renew: 150
"Lord, I Want to Be a Christian"
found in:
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
Renew: 145
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
"I Want a Principle Within"
found in:
UMH: 410
"Let There Be Light"
found in:
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
"I Love You, Lord"
found in:
CCB: 14
Renew: 36
"Awesome God"
found in:
CCB: 17
Renew: 245
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is truth: Grant us the courage to follow the truth that is eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come into your presence, O God, to be filled with your truth and to be made bold to live into that truth. Focus our hearts on your Son, our truth, that we may be faithful to you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways we follow what is popular instead of what is true.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow the truth, as we have allowed ourselves to be led astray by the chants of the masses. We have allowed ourselves to be swept along with the mob. It has often been an orderly mob, well educated and polite, but it is still a mob that moves from emotion and not from revealed truth. Forgive us and grant us the courage to once again take our place with Jesus and your truth. Amen.
Leader: God is always true and faithful. God desires nothing more than our living in the eternal truth of the divine way. Receive the forgiveness of our God and the blessing of God's Spirit, who leads us into all truth.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your truth upon us, O God, that we may see clearly the path to eternal life. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and praise your Name, O God, because you are truth. In you there is no falseness and no shadow, but only the light that reveals the true nature.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow the truth, as we have allowed ourselves to be led astray by the chants of the masses. We have allowed ourselves to be swept along with the mob. It has often been an orderly mob, well educated and polite, but it is still a mob that moves from emotion and not from revealed truth. Forgive us and grant us the courage to once again take our place with Jesus and your truth.
We thank you for the ways in which you have come to us so that we can see the truth. We thank you for showing us the truth about ourselves, even when that truth is hard to receive.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for ourselves and our world in all the ways that falseness blinds us to your truth. We pray for those who struggle to believe that they are part of your good creation and think they are worthless. We pray for those who think that there is no one who cares for them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Play a game of "True or False" with the children. Make a statement and then ask them if it is true or false. (Make the statements obviously true or false.) Then let them take turns making a statement, and let the rest of the children guess whether it is true or false. Toss in a few of your own that may seem false/true but are not. Talk about how it is fun to play games like this, but there are times when it is important to know the truth. When we get dressed in the morning it is important to know whether it is cold or hot, sunny or rainy. Most importantly, we need to know the truth about how to live as God's children. We can always turn to Jesus, who tells us the truth about God and being one of God's children.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Keep Struggling to Win
Philippians 4:1-9
Object: something that represents struggling, like learning to read; for example, a book with many difficult words
Good morning, boys and girls! I am so glad you are here today because I have really been struggling with a problem and it has me befuddled. Do you ever struggle? (let the children answer) What kind of struggling do you do? (let them answer) I struggle with lots of things. I struggle with my diet. I want to lose weight but it is hard because I keep eating things I shouldn't eat. I want to lose weight, but I like ice cream, donuts, apple pie, and mashed potatoes with butter and gravy. It is a struggle.
There are other ways to struggle too. How many of you like to read? (let them answer) Good. I brought along a book that I have wanted to read, but I am struggling with some of the words. Is there anyone here who would like to help me read my book? (choose a bright child and let him or her struggle for a few sentences with your book) Well, that is pretty good. I heard that [child's name] is a very good reader and she did pretty well. It is a struggle to read a book when we are not familiar with the words, isn't it, [child's name]? (let him or her answer)
Struggling isn't all bad. It is a challenge. Someday [child's name] will read every one of those words and know what every one of them means. It will take a lot of work and study and sometimes he/she will get discouraged and want to quit learning, but he/she will always come back and struggle to make it.
Paul and his friends in Philippi struggled teaching the Good News about Jesus. Not everyone wanted to listen. Sometimes they made it hard for Paul and his friends to teach because they made noise or complained to the police about them. His friends, Euodia and Syntche and Clement, struggled with difficult times, but they never gave up. They got discouraged teaching others about the love of Jesus because some people made fun of them and other people were so mean to them. But Euodia, Syntche, Clement, and some other friends, along with Paul, kept on teaching and living the Christian life.
I know Christians today who are struggling with being Christians. It isn't easy when friends you know don't go to church or read their Bibles and they want you to stay home on Sunday and not go to church. But remember, being a Christian isn't always easy. Sometimes we struggle just like we struggle with big words or our diet, but we are determined to learn or lose weight. We will struggle, but we will win.
Prayer: Help us to be good Christians, dear Jesus, even when we have to struggle to do so. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 9, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Ron Love shares some additional thoughts on the parallels between the Israelites and modern folk, and he points out that the Israelites' impatience was symptomatic of a much more fundamental problem -- forgetting what God had done for them, and thereby diverting the anchoring focus of their lives from God to themselves. As Ron discusses, the same loss of memory is endemic to a contemporary civilization that is rooted in individualism, self-interest, and self-reliance. As Ron notes, it is precisely when we forget what place God should play in our lives that we begin to look inward for leadership rather than following the true leadership that the Lord offers to us.
Gods of Gold
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 32:1-14; Philippians 4:1-9
"[A]s for this MosesÖ we do not know what has become of him" (Exodus 32:1).
Sure that they had been abandoned by Moses, alone and afraid, the children of Israel turned to Aaron. But Aaron was a weak leader, a "windcock politician" who turned in the direction of the prevailing wind. The people wanted him to make a God that they could see -- and rather than upset the people, he did as they asked. He made a calf of gold, a throwback to their days in Egypt, empty and useless. But it made the people happy, if only for a few days, and it made him popular.
Not much has changed.
THE WORLD
There seems to be a distinct lack of real leadership in our government. Our elected officials are more interested in making people momentarily happy than dealing with real, long-term problems. They grandstand and posture over esoteric political philosophy while real problems go unsolved and in some cases even grow worse. They refuse to compromise if it will cost them even a single vote.
We look back at the founders of our country and the sacrifices they were prepared to make and we say: As for this Adams, this Washington, this Madison, this Jefferson... we do not know what has become of them.
Nicholas Kulish, writing in the September 28 edition of the New York Times, declares that today's young people have lost their faith in democracy. The headline? As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around the World.
In the opening paragraphs, Kulish notes that young people in such diverse locations as Spain, India, England, Israel, and the United States are marching, demonstrating, and shouting their disgust with democracy -- a political system that has, they say, failed to deliver on its promises. But delve a little further into the article, to where the young demonstrators are allowed to speak for themselves, and we discover that it isn't democracy that they are disgusted with... it is politicians.
Frustrated by collapsing economies, endless wars, and ineffective, constantly bickering politicians operating in a system that seems to be compromised, corrupted, and rendered useless by small, special interests, they are ready to throw everyone out and start afresh with new people -- and, if necessary, a whole new system.
As for the promises that were made, the hope that was kindled when we went to the voting booth... we do not know what has become of them.
The frustration with our lack of political leadership has even made its way into the corner offices of corporate America. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is leading a charge to voluntarily stop contributing to the election campaigns of all politicians until they show that they are able to put their differences aside and actually solve the nation's problems.
"The fundamental problem is that the lens through which Congress approaches issues is reelection. The lifeblood of their reelection campaigns is political contributions," Schultz said in an email to other business leaders. Whether big donors or small ones, he says, Americans should stop giving and see if it galvanizes Washington to act.
"The debt crisis," he said," is really the symbol of a larger problem, which is that our leaders are not leading,"
As for politicians who actually lead... we do not know what has become of them.
Our political parties, in their effort to answer the cries of the people, respond like Aaron, bending to the prevailing winds and creating gods of their own making.
In their book That Used to Be Us, Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum suggest that two of the golden gods that are being lifted up before us are Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt -- not the real men themselves, but the iconic versions that their respective political parties have created for popular consumption. The Democrats have lionized FDR and the Republicans have mythologized Reagan to the point that their reputations do not even begin to resemble the real men who were willing to forge coalitions and create compromises for the good of the country.
As for the real FDR and the real Ronald Reagan... we do not know what has become of them.
THE WORD
Two polar opposites.
On the one end is Aaron, whose goal is to keep the people pacified and reasonably happy. He will give them whatever they ask for in order to achieve that goal. He is what Edmund Burke called a "windcock politician," turning in the direction of the prevailing wind. He is not interested so much in what is good or right or true, but in what is popular.
On the other end is YHWH, who is ready to destroy the whole bunch for their apostasy. Step aside, he tells Moses in verse 10. I'm going to destroy them all and start over with you and your children.
It is Moses who occupies the middle ground.
First he convinces YHWH not to destroy his people by reminding him of the promises he made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob/Israel. And hearing again his own promises, God "changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people" (v. 14).
(God changed his mind? Wow! There's a whole other sermon, right there!)
After convincing God not to destroy the people, Moses goes down the mountain and straightens out Aaron and the people with some penalties that seem pretty harsh -- until we remember the one God had in mind for them.
The answer to the problems the people face is, ironically, not to be found in either extreme but in the center where Moses resides.
It is in the center where we find those leaders -- political leaders, yes, but others too, leaders of business and education and the church as well -- who lead not according to their emotions or the prevailing winds of popularity but by the strength of their character.
Here, at the center, is where we find those who have heard and taken seriously Paul's admonition in Philippians 4:8 to consider what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and worthy of praise.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Indicative
A key touchstone in this text is that feeling of being lost and/or abandoned that was experienced by the children of Israel. You can almost hear them saying: "Moses has been gone for more than a month, and for all we know, he's dead. If we stay here, eventually our water and food will run out. We have to move, but we need someone to lead us. When Moses was with us, his God led us. But Moses is gone. Aaron, make us a God that can lead us."
We cannot talk about getting out of the desert unless we have led our congregation into that desert first. We have all been lost. We have all known that desperation wherein we would have followed anyone who promised to lead us out of our desert of fear, pain, grief, doubt, debt, or despair.
Now come the messiahs who promise to lead us out of the desert. All but one are hucksters and con men selling snake oil and golden idols. Useless, nay, dangerous!
But one among them speaks the truth. He says, "Arise, take up your bed, and walk." He says, "Neither do I condemn you." He says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Imperative
Now we decide who we will follow and who we will emulate. Will we turn with Aaron in the direction of the popular, prevailing wind? Or will we seek that which is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and worthy of praise?
The text leaves us not with an answer but a challenge.
ANOTHER VIEW
Let Us Not Forget!
by Ron Love
Exodus 32:1-14; Philippians 4:1-9
David Brooks recently wrote a column for the New York Times on the loss of morality among young adults. In his piece Brooks reviewed a book titled Lost in Transition written by Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith. Smith concluded that young people today have not "given much or any thought to morality." They could agree that extreme behavior was wrong, such as rape and murder; but for many, cheating in school, cheating on a partner, and drunken driving were not moral considerations. Moral choices for this age group always returned to the same standard -- "a matter of individual choice." Morality became an issue of individualism, relativism, and nonjudgmentalism. After discussing Smith's findings, Brooks ended his column (titled "If It Feels Right...") with these words: "In most times and places, the group was seen to be the essential moral unit. A shared religion defined rules and practices. Cultures structured people's imaginations and imposed moral disciplines. But now more people are led to assume that the free-floating individual is the essential moral unit. Morality was once revealed, inherited, and shared, but now it's thought of as something that emerges in the privacy of your own heart."
What is so disturbing about the research revealed in this article is that it underlines how individualism has replaced the community and the authority of church doctrine. Where we were once guided by the Torah and the Beatitudes, moral decisions are now based on individual perception. The individual has taken precedence over the community. Self-interest trumps society. "What works for me" has replaced "What's good for all." In discussing morality, Paul writes: "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me" (Philippians 4:9). But the learning for this generation no longer looks to Paul and the authors of the scriptures, but only to a self-written ethical standard.
This loss of learning has compelled the Jewish community in Pittsburgh to embark upon an intensive educational program for its young people. When Rosh Hashanah began this past week on September 28, the Jewish community entered into year 5772. There are 42,000 Jews in greater Pittsburgh, but 75% of the young people are not involved in any Jewish activities. A fund of $17 million has now been established by the Pittsburgh Jewish community to send Jewish children and young adults to camp and to make a pilgrimage to Israel in order to learn about and become excited about their faith. Cindy Shapira, who chairs the fund, said, "We are launching the community phase of the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future around the celebration of the Jewish New Year, because it's not just about celebrating our past but moving forward and looking at the vision for our community. We are about the renewal of the Jewish community."
How long does it take an individual to lose his or her faith? A generation? A decade? College years? Overnight? It would seem, from the concern of Paul, soon after the Christian community is established. It would seem, from the Mount Sinai story, only forty days and nights.
The Exodus lesson begins, "When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make gods for us' " (32:1). The tradition of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac was forgotten by them. The covenant of being the chosen people became meaningless. The deliverance from Pharaoh was an unrepeatable miracle. The tenth plague and the parting of the Red Sea no longer affirmed the ever-present nature of God. All it took was a delay and it was time enough for a new god and a new community. No one suggested -- not even Aaron -- that this was an occasion for fasting and prayer; instead, it was time for a golden calf and individualism, for a clear leader was absent.
How quickly do we fall into to this mindset of forgetting? How little of an incident does it take for us to turn our heads away from God? What petty church argument will detain us from worship forever? What major calamity will infuse within us such anger that God will never be forgiven? We may not like to admit it, but how quickly are we willing to make a golden calf, a god, in our own image -- a god you or I can control?
When Julian Bond, the former Georgia lawmaker and civil rights activist, turned to teaching two decades ago, he was concerned about talking down to students regarding the civil rights movement. He did not want to underestimate their grasp of the topic -- but as it turned out, Bond concluded that his fears were misplaced. The students knew nothing. In fact, one student believed that Gov. George Wallace was a CBS newsman. Bond realized that Dr. Martin Luther King's life had become a fable -- he marched, he was killed, everything was all right after that -- and for many it was a life absent of struggle. As a result, few grasped the continuing struggle for equality. One generation, maybe two, and the civil rights heritage was lost. A delayed trip down the mountain and the heritage of the Exodus was lost.
There will be times we find ourselves standing at the foot of the mountain, looking up, wondering when Moses will return with a message of inspiration. This is the juncture where our faith is tested. We can continue to look for the smoke of the bush that burns but is not consumed by fire, or we can melt our gold rings and trinkets into a god we can hold and massage. It takes faith to know that though delayed, God is not absent.
Remembering the Exodus story, we should always be looking to the mountaintop for guidance with these words implanted in our souls: "Let us not forget!"
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I. Discuss what it means to be a society that makes moral decisions based not on the truths of the scriptures, but on individual precepts.
II. Discuss what it means to be a society that has lost its religious heritage and lives by an individualistic religion governed by self-interest.
III. Discuss what it means to be in the position where we must wait on God.
IV. Dialogue on what will be our response. Will we learn and live by the heritage of the faith community or will our standard be one of individual self-reliance?
V. Conclude by discussing "Let us not forget!"
ILLUSTRATIONS
Two truths about the Exodus passage demand our attention. We marvel that Israel's patience grew so short the people couldn't wait forty days before they gave up on God and asked for a visible sign of some other deity like the golden calf. How long are you willing to wait on God when he puts your plans on hold or interrupts your schedule? Do you get restless and doubt when he makes you bide your time?
Even more critical is the idea that we must have a leader to follow -- someone to guide us in the right path. Many Americans think they have to have an inspiring president to lead the country. Christians should know better. Our leader is Jesus; we need no other. Too often leaders become corrupted by their power or lose their way because of pride. Jesus should be the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).
* * *
Every pastor knows there is a radical difference between the seminary classroom and life in the congregational trenches. Seminary professors, and only to a slightly lesser degree denominational officials, can conduct their ministries in almost pristine laboratory conditions. From their ivory towers they write books and issue directives on how the local church pastor needs to think theologically, act prophetically, and preach biblically. Most pastors will respond, "You should try your high-sounding ideas here in my church. You will find it is not as simple as you claim to be faithful." The pastor finds it convenient at times to shortcut the ideal just to get a parishioner off his/her back or to get the job done.
This passage demonstrates that practical difference at its worst. While Moses is having a mountaintop experience talking with God, Aaron is left in the valley to deal with the complaining multitudes. The people are not so certain they see the evidence of God's presence in their midst. They want something a bit more tangible than a few rules Moses claims God gave him.
Aaron solves the problem in a rather practical, albeit disastrous, way. "If they want a graven image," he reasons, "let them have one. Maybe then they will quit complaining."
* * *
When the time comes for Moses to ascend the mountain to commune with God, he puts his brother Aaron in charge -- and that's when the trouble starts.
People begin coming up to Aaron, offering generous compliments: "Oh Aaron, you look so good standing there with your staff!"
"You definitely have it, my man -- that air of authority!"
"If you ask me, you're doing a better job than that brother of yours. Your speeches are certainly more interesting. He's so grim and gloomy all the time, withdrawing into his tent to pray. You really know how to get out there with the people, "kissing babies and pressing the flesh."
It isn't long before the compliments to Aaron mutate into requests for favors. Then it happens -- the simple request that amounts to the biggest favor of them all: "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us..."
Aaron calls over one of his top aides. "How are we doing in the polls this week?"
"Not so good, boss. The honeymoon's over; you've slipped a few percentage points. You gotta do something to get that razzle-dazzle back."
"Well," says Aaron to himself, "what's the harm in it? It's only a statue... a little morale-booster. If it makes them happy, why not?"
So Aaron calls for the golden earrings. He establishes the "Friends of Israel Leadership Roundtable," complete with "Golden Patrons," "Benefactors," "Sustaining Members," "Members," and "Friends" (with special discounts for students and senior citizens). The gold comes rolling in so fast you'd hardly know this is a bunch of former slaves.
Aaron personally melts the jewelry down, calls for the goldsmiths, and before you can say "spin doctor" there it is -- the finest golden calf you ever did see.
Yes, this is idolatry in action... but Aaron is not calling the people to worship some god other than Yahweh -- not directly, anyway. He's just accommodating to the culture, trying to make the faith a little more intelligible. We contemporary Christians might want to look in the mirror and see if we are guilty of the same impulses as Aaron....
* * *
Remember the old TV game show Let's Make a Deal? Monty Hall, the host, would pick a contestant out of the studio audience -- usually the one wearing the most bizarre costume -- and would offer the person something for nothing. Then the fun began. Monty would offer the contestant a "deal" -- a trade for something the player couldn't see. There was always an element of risk to it: "Would you like to keep the bedroom set, Mrs. Jones, or would you prefer to trade it for whatever is behind the curtain?" The audience would wait with breathless anticipation. Would Mrs. Jones stand fast with the prize she'd already won or would she risk it all, hoping to bag the "big deal"?
It's almost as if Monty Hall had walked into the Sinai Desert and stuck a microphone in the faces of the wandering Israelites: "Okay, Israelites, have I got a deal for you! I'm going to give you the statue of a calf, exquisitely crafted in 24-karat gold by the house of Aaron. Just look at these fine lines that intelligent face -- a beautiful and functional item perfect for your home -- and we'll throw in a year's supply of metal polish!
"Now... let's make a deal! Do you want to keep the golden calf, or would you prefer to trade it for whatever Moses has behind the curtain of cloud on the mountaintop? You have to decide, Israel. What'll it be: the calf or the cloud?"
It's no contest. Israel (as we all know) chooses the calf. Who wants to risk it all for whatever that crazy fanatic Moses is cooking up on the mountaintop, when down here we've got the most beautiful piece of devotional sculpture -- in solid gold, no less? Besides, you know what they say... a golden calf in the hand is worth two in the bush!
* * *
Without effective leadership, the people inevitably turn to idolatry.
Everyone knows the story of the famous luxury liner RMS Titanic. The builders insisted that she was the perfect, unsinkable ship -- and everyone believed them or wanted to.
When on her maiden voyage it was pointed out that no one had brought binoculars for the ship's bridge, none were ordered. Why should they be? The ship was unsinkable.
When it was discovered that the number of lifeboats was insufficient to hold the crew, much less the passengers, no one worried. Why should they? The ship was unsinkable.
When the engineers suggested that the bilge pumps were too small and would not be sufficient should the ship spring a serious leak, no one worried. How could such a perfect ship possibly spring a leak?
When the captain was told to increase his speed, even in an area known for the presence of icebergs, he did so. Why not? Icebergs would pose no threat to an unsinkable ship.
Of course, we all know what happened to the Titanic.
Contrary to popular belief, however, it was not an iceberg that sunk her. It was human avarice and idolatry and a lack of effective leadership.
* * *
In her book Bad Leadership, author Barbara Kellerman encourages the reader to remember that leadership is not, in and of itself, a good thing. History is full of examples of bad leaders, those who were either ineffective or unethical or both.
The ineffective might include Neville Chamberlain (the British prime minister who negotiated with Hitler) and George Donner (of the "Donner Party" fame). Unethical leaders would include Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, and Pol Pot.
Kellerman offers seven kinds of bad leaders we should avoid:
1. Incompetent -- those who lack the will or skill to sustain effective action.
2. Rigid -- those unwilling or unable to adapt to new or changing information, ideas, or times.
3. Intemperate -- those who lack self-control.
4. Callous -- those who are uncaring or unkind.
5. Corrupt -- those who lie, cheat, or steal, or who put self-interest ahead of the public interest.
6. Insular -- those who ignore or minimize the well-being of those outside the immediate group.
7. Evil -- those who cause significant physical and/or psychological harm to other human beings.
* * *
There is so much frustration in the world because we have relied on gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived. We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy.... These transitory gods are not able to save or bring happiness to the human heart. Only God is able. It is faith in him that we must rediscover.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
* * *
In the classic film Twelve Angry Men, the characters are known simply by their numbers. The movie opens with the twelve men receiving the judge's instructions in a capital murder case and then being sequestered in a hot, stuffy jury room to come up with a verdict.
On the first ballot, the vote is eleven to one for conviction. Juror Number 8 is the only holdout, and he refuses to change his vote until they have at least talked their way through the evidence.
As the discussion evolves the audience discovers that few of the jurors have even considered the actual evidence. Their opinions are based on personal prejudices, apathy, racism, ageism, errors of fact, and stubbornness.
Eventually, Juror Number 8 is able to convince each of the other jurors that there is a reasonable doubt and that they were about to convict an innocent man.
* * *
American preacher and seminary professor Fred Craddock tells of his experience as a child playing hide-and-seek. With a little effort, he managed to squeeze himself into the space under the porch of his parents' home where he could see his sisters searching for him, but they couldn't see him.
Craddock says that he remembered thinking, "They'll never find me HERE. They'll never find me HERE." What delight he found in having discovering such a perfect hiding place.
Then all of a sudden it occurred to him that, "They'll never FIND me here!"
So the next time his sisters passed by, he giggled just loud enough for them to hear him. And, of course, they found him.
* * *
When I was about seven years old, my family spent a weekend camping at Brown County State Park in Indiana. One evening I was playing with some other kids in the crowded family campground and wandered away from my family's campsite.
Before I knew it the sun had begun to go down and I had become lost among all the campsites, unable to find my way back to my family. Convinced that I would never be found and would perish there in the dark, I panicked and began to cry and call out for my mother. Within just a few moments I heard her call out to me. I had not taken the wrong path after all; I just hadn't gone far enough on the path I had taken.
The next day, when my mother noticed that I was clinging closer to the campsite than usual, she asked me if I was afraid that I might get lost again. When I said that I was, she assured me that she and my father would never have left without me.
Then she added this bit of advice: "If you ever again feel like you're lost, don't wander around looking for me. Just stop and sit down and wait patiently. And I'll find you."
-- Dean Feldmeyer
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! O give thanks to God, for God is good;
People: for God's steadfast love endures forever.
Leader: Who can utter the mighty doings of God or declare all God's praise?
People: Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
Leader: Remember me, O God, when you show favor to your people;
People: help me when you deliver us.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God of truth!
People: We come to know what is real.
Leader: God will show us reality, even about ourselves!
People: We come to know ourselves, warts and all.
Leader: God shows us our faults and strengths so that we may became more like Jesus.
People: We are Jesus' disciples. We want to be like him!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
found in:
UMH: 64
H82: 362
PH: 138
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELW: 413
CCB: 64
Renew: 204
"We Believe in One True God"
found in:
UMH: 85
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Take My Life, and Let It Be"
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
Renew: 150
"Lord, I Want to Be a Christian"
found in:
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
Renew: 145
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
"I Want a Principle Within"
found in:
UMH: 410
"Let There Be Light"
found in:
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
"I Love You, Lord"
found in:
CCB: 14
Renew: 36
"Awesome God"
found in:
CCB: 17
Renew: 245
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is truth: Grant us the courage to follow the truth that is eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come into your presence, O God, to be filled with your truth and to be made bold to live into that truth. Focus our hearts on your Son, our truth, that we may be faithful to you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways we follow what is popular instead of what is true.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow the truth, as we have allowed ourselves to be led astray by the chants of the masses. We have allowed ourselves to be swept along with the mob. It has often been an orderly mob, well educated and polite, but it is still a mob that moves from emotion and not from revealed truth. Forgive us and grant us the courage to once again take our place with Jesus and your truth. Amen.
Leader: God is always true and faithful. God desires nothing more than our living in the eternal truth of the divine way. Receive the forgiveness of our God and the blessing of God's Spirit, who leads us into all truth.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your truth upon us, O God, that we may see clearly the path to eternal life. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and praise your Name, O God, because you are truth. In you there is no falseness and no shadow, but only the light that reveals the true nature.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow the truth, as we have allowed ourselves to be led astray by the chants of the masses. We have allowed ourselves to be swept along with the mob. It has often been an orderly mob, well educated and polite, but it is still a mob that moves from emotion and not from revealed truth. Forgive us and grant us the courage to once again take our place with Jesus and your truth.
We thank you for the ways in which you have come to us so that we can see the truth. We thank you for showing us the truth about ourselves, even when that truth is hard to receive.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for ourselves and our world in all the ways that falseness blinds us to your truth. We pray for those who struggle to believe that they are part of your good creation and think they are worthless. We pray for those who think that there is no one who cares for them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Play a game of "True or False" with the children. Make a statement and then ask them if it is true or false. (Make the statements obviously true or false.) Then let them take turns making a statement, and let the rest of the children guess whether it is true or false. Toss in a few of your own that may seem false/true but are not. Talk about how it is fun to play games like this, but there are times when it is important to know the truth. When we get dressed in the morning it is important to know whether it is cold or hot, sunny or rainy. Most importantly, we need to know the truth about how to live as God's children. We can always turn to Jesus, who tells us the truth about God and being one of God's children.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Keep Struggling to Win
Philippians 4:1-9
Object: something that represents struggling, like learning to read; for example, a book with many difficult words
Good morning, boys and girls! I am so glad you are here today because I have really been struggling with a problem and it has me befuddled. Do you ever struggle? (let the children answer) What kind of struggling do you do? (let them answer) I struggle with lots of things. I struggle with my diet. I want to lose weight but it is hard because I keep eating things I shouldn't eat. I want to lose weight, but I like ice cream, donuts, apple pie, and mashed potatoes with butter and gravy. It is a struggle.
There are other ways to struggle too. How many of you like to read? (let them answer) Good. I brought along a book that I have wanted to read, but I am struggling with some of the words. Is there anyone here who would like to help me read my book? (choose a bright child and let him or her struggle for a few sentences with your book) Well, that is pretty good. I heard that [child's name] is a very good reader and she did pretty well. It is a struggle to read a book when we are not familiar with the words, isn't it, [child's name]? (let him or her answer)
Struggling isn't all bad. It is a challenge. Someday [child's name] will read every one of those words and know what every one of them means. It will take a lot of work and study and sometimes he/she will get discouraged and want to quit learning, but he/she will always come back and struggle to make it.
Paul and his friends in Philippi struggled teaching the Good News about Jesus. Not everyone wanted to listen. Sometimes they made it hard for Paul and his friends to teach because they made noise or complained to the police about them. His friends, Euodia and Syntche and Clement, struggled with difficult times, but they never gave up. They got discouraged teaching others about the love of Jesus because some people made fun of them and other people were so mean to them. But Euodia, Syntche, Clement, and some other friends, along with Paul, kept on teaching and living the Christian life.
I know Christians today who are struggling with being Christians. It isn't easy when friends you know don't go to church or read their Bibles and they want you to stay home on Sunday and not go to church. But remember, being a Christian isn't always easy. Sometimes we struggle just like we struggle with big words or our diet, but we are determined to learn or lose weight. We will struggle, but we will win.
Prayer: Help us to be good Christians, dear Jesus, even when we have to struggle to do so. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, October 9, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
