Immediate Word

In this week’s lectionary gospel text, Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray -- and, he suggests elliptically, if we are persistent in our praying we will eventually be rewarded and the door to the kingdom will be opened. He concludes by saying that “the heavenly Father [will] give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” -- but as part of his illustration he notes that we are evil, and that along with the good gifts we give to our children we are prone to give destructive ones: a snake instead of a fish, or a scorpion in place of an egg. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin notes that there are many ways we are leaving scorpions for each other and for future generations -- a polluted planet, a violent society riven by economic and political division and dysfunction, and a morally and spiritually bankrupt culture that views ethical behavior as either naïve or something subject to negotiation are but a few examples. As a result, many of us have become disaffected and feel alienated from one another and from the social fabric -- with disastrous results, as we have seen in recent days. Mary explores how young people (particularly in western Europe) who feel disconnected from society provide fertile recruiting ground for the extremists behind the recent spate of terror attacks, and how some loners have taken perceived grievances as a pretext for violence against police. Mary suggests that perhaps the long-term solution is to rediscover our sense of connection with one another, something that is at the heart of Jesus’ prayer -- and the story he tells to illustrate how God is even more attentive to us than we are to our neighbors.

Team member Robin Lostetter shares some additional thoughts on the prayer Jesus models, and what we typically expect from prayer. While Jesus includes specific elements relating to everyday life -- bread (i.e., the basic necessities), forgiveness, protection from the “time of trial” -- they are couched in generalities. Yet all too many well-meaning Christians still conceive of prayer as a transactional proposition -- asking God to respond with a particular action (deliverance from a health crisis, good fortune in some endeavor, or punishment for some perceived evil). Unfortunately, this misunderstands the essential nature of prayer, for God is not the tooth fairy who magically leaves what we ask for under our pillows. Robin suggests that other prayers can be based on moments of excitement or, particularly in light of recent events, lament. The bottom line, Robin points out, is that our actions have separated us from God -- and the prayer Jesus offers is about seeking forgiveness from God and the restoration of a right relationship with him. And, he tells us, if we are diligent in reaching out God will respond to that request.

 

Snakes and Scorpions
by Mary Austin
Luke 11:1-13

Even a shameless friend will eventually get up and do what’s needed, Jesus says, and God is even more compassionate. Even a bumbling parent will try to do the right thing by a child, and God is even more attentive. “Is there anyone among you,” Jesus asks, “who if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?” He makes it sound like an impossibility. No one would do that, he suggests. We may be doing fine meeting the needs of our own children and the children near us, but on a communal level we do seem to be handing out snakes and scorpions to the next generation.

Race relations are at a low point, and our children go to increasingly segregated schools. The promise of safe places in the world is slipping away, even for the fortunate people who once had the privilege of feeling safe in public. The possibility of a full-time job and the hope of having a home of one’s own both feel far out of reach for younger people with years’ worth of student loan debt.

As Jesus talks about prayer, and the certainty that our prayers fall into the ears of an attentive God, he uses the example of the safety net we create for each other. God is still doing God’s part to listen attentively, but Jesus’ examples force us to wonder if we are failing each other. 

In the Scriptures
This week’s lectionary gospel text gives us Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, and then a lesson about the process of praying. Jesus tells his listeners that their prayers are important. Because of the relationship we have with God, our prayers are heard and valued. The example he gives is of two neighbors who are connected in a network of required hospitality. The person who stands at his neighbor’s door, pounding in the middle of the night, is required to give a welcome to the visitor who has come to his own house. To do that, he has to demand the same kind of hospitality from another neighbor. The first man is required to feed the person who has come to stay with him, and his neighbor is obligated to answer the door. The sleepy neighbor at first refuses to fulfill his obligations, dishonoring the web of connection with his neighbor. Finally he gets up and gives in so that he doesn’t look bad in front of the rest of the neighborhood. Where friendship won’t get him out of bed, his reputation finally does. Jesus promises us that if even a lazy neighbor will eventually do what’s right, God will be even more attentive to what we need. 

Then Jesus adds a second example, turning the mirror on his listeners. Even faulty human parents, he says, can do better than to give poison to children who are asking for sustenance. If we can manage to do that, how much greater is God’s love for God’s children? 

The examples seem random for a conversation about prayer, until we see that the theme of connection ties them together. The neighbor and the parent help the petitioners because of the relationship they have. Our relationship with God is even more tender, and so we can count on God to be even more generous. Even in our limited ways we care for one another, and in doing so see the depth of God’s abundant care. 

In the News
Relationships also make a difference for disaffected young Muslims who are tempted by the seeming glamour of joining the Islamic State cause. Using social media to great effect, the Islamic State army has recruited and trained child soldiers, using them in the same ways they use adult soldiers. 

CNN reports that “ISIS does not use those under 18 because they provide specific technical advantage in combat or because they are short of fighters. Child soldiers are seemingly treated no differently than adult soldiers, according to a new study published in the CTC Sentinel.” The children fight alongside adults, and of 89 children killed recently “nearly 20% of the children killed were inghimasis, or ‘marauders’ who carried out so-called ‘plunging attacks.’ That’s a military operation in which a group of fighters attack an enemy position before blowing themselves up. Last month, five adult ISIS fighters flanked by three children infiltrated the Tariq base in Iraq. ISIS boasted that the group attacked from within for three hours, killing people before detonating their suicide belts.” These children are often fighting among the Islamic State forces with parental consent. The author of the report says, “It’s interesting the degree to which the parents are giving the organization access to their children.... It’s not a coercive endeavor like what we saw in Africa. The kids are not being kidnapped. The kids are not being coerced. For the most part, what we’re seeing is kids posing with a big smile and at least in one case saying goodbye to the parents.” The Islamic State has an eye on the future, and actively recruits the young people whom they believe will be the next generation of the caliphate... or at least the ones who survive that long. 

The promise of connection and a meaningful cause fuels their success in recruiting teenagers, both girls and boys. A State Department spokesperson said the Islamic State sends thousands of tweets per day, and uses videos with Hollywood-quality production to show the action and excitement of life on the side of the Islamic State. “A short mash-up clip in September played like a trailer for an action movie, with slow-motion explosions and flames engulfing American troops.... ISIS and other extremist groups use platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp to reach their target audience in a language it understands.” The Islamic State offers the promise of excitement, but even more than that, it offers meaning and the chance to be part of something big and new. MarketWatch reports that Islamic State recruiting is most fruitful, as a percentage of Muslim young people, in Finland, Belgium, Ireland, and Sweden. Charting the percentage of Muslim young people who leave the country to join ISIS, they found that greater percentages of young people are drawn in from those countries than from countries with much higher numbers of Muslims. 

Economic conditions are not the driving force -- the study’s authors suggest that the primary motivations are ideology and the difficulty of fitting into a homogeneous country. Recruits come from places where it’s hard to find a cultural home, where they feel they won’t find a place to fit in. They feel that they have been given the spiritual and cultural equivalent of scorpions and snakes in the places they live, and they leave home to travel to ISIS in search of more. 

Faced with those same pressures, in Denmark police have taken an unusual -- and successful -- approach to teenagers who want to join the Islamic State: “The rest of Europe came down hard on citizens who had traveled to Syria. France shut down mosques it suspected of harboring radicals. The [United Kingdom] declared citizens who had gone to help ISIS enemies of the state. Several countries threatened to take away their passports -- a move formerly reserved for convicted traitors. But the Danish police officers took a different approach: They made it clear to citizens of Denmark who had traveled to Syria that they were welcome to come home, and that when they did, they would receive help with going back to school, finding an apartment, meeting with a psychiatrist or a mentor, or whatever they needed to fully integrate back into society.” The program is called the Aarhaus Model, named after the town where it started. Critics call it the “hug a terrorist” plan. Usually officials use punishment and threats to keep young people from joining terrorist groups, but this model uses the opposite strategies: keeping young people connected to the community, providing a mentor, and weaving hurt and lonely young people back in with people who care about them.  

In Brussels, a boxing gym that has lost five fighters to the Islamic State is working to hold onto the other young men who train there. And a modern art museum in the same Muslim neighborhood is working hard to make connections with young people. The museum is reminding their young neighbors that art is about identity and connection, and making sure they know they’re welcome at the museum. 

After the terror attack in Nice, France -- not to mention the ambushes of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, we see again the devastation caused by violent loners. The Nice attacker was quickly claimed by the Islamic State, although officials have found no evidence connecting them. He has been characterized as an abusive petty criminal who was able to cause great devastation. The Louisiana attacker “identified himself as a member of the online community of so-called targeted individuals, people who believe they are being harassed with mind-control weapons and by armies of stalkers. And in one YouTube video, he discusses the killings of African-American men at the hands of police officers, including the death of Mr. Sterling, and advocates a bloody response instead of the protests that followed the deaths.” 

In the Sermon
Most of the young people we know won’t run off to join foreign wars, but we have our own versions of giving them snakes and scorpions instead of fish and bread. The sermon might look at the places where we are failing to honor our obligations to the next generation -- the environment, our roads and bridges in need of repair, schools that fail to offer an adequate education, and food insecurity, just to name a few. Jesus suggests that no one would hand over such dangerous things to a child in need, but as a society we seem to be doing just that. The sermon might look at our shared obligations to the next generation, especially in light of the promises we make when we baptize the children in our faith communities. 

Or the sermon might look at the longing for a meaningful life, such as that experienced by teenagers planning to leave home for Islamic State. The teenagers we know also want to know where they belong -- where they fit and who finds them important. To whom are they obligated, like the neighbors in the story Jesus tells? To whom are they connected? When we solve their problems for them and excuse them from helping others are we stealing something valuable from them, even though we think we’re making their lives easier? Have we cut them off from important connections by labeling everything “community service” and counting the hours they do it? Would they be better off just reaching out to help people, because that’s what we are meant to do for one another? How do we help the young people we know find places of connection? How do we help them know their own importance in the great connected web of people helping others? 

Or the sermon might look at the bonds of hospitality that connect us to our own neighbors. Are the bonds we have strong enough that someone might call us in the middle of the night, looking for help? Do we have people we can call anytime if we need help? Jesus lifts up these connections as a pathway toward understanding our connection with God. Do we find the presence of God in our relationships with our own neighbors? Prayer is important, as Jesus reminds us. And once we pray, are we also doing all that we can for the people who knock on our door? 

Or the sermon might look at the connection between prayer and service. Jesus is talking about prayer -- but curiously, his examples are about doing something for someone else, whether neighbor or child. We pray because we are connected to God, and that bond draws us into a web of shared needs. Our relationship with God assures us that God hears our prayers, but that same relationship also draws us toward other people and the needs they have. Once we know that God hears our prayers, we also know that we may be the answer to someone else’s prayers. In that web of relationships, outward and upward, we find a place of meaning, and can offer it to others.    

 

SECOND THOUGHTS
Help, Thanks, Wow... and Lament
by Robin Lostetter
Luke 11:1-13

In 2012, Anne Lamott’s book Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayerswas published. I was particularly pleased at the time that she went beyond our prayers of petition and thanksgiving, adding “Wow!” for that moment when all you can do is gasp that tiny word in response to some unexpected beauty in nature, or the sight of a newborn creature. 

But now, in the wake of six very publicized tragedies in rapid succession -- the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, the killing of five police officers in Dallas and now three more in Baton Rouge, and the massacres in Orlando and in Nice (and that doesn’t count all the less publicized ones in between) -- there is a prayer that cannot be given an English word. It may be described as lament, but the sound is a guttural moan that emanates from the depth of our souls.

It is a wound so deep that it would be even too shallow for most of us to invoke the spiritually vacuous prayer “Thank God it wasn’t me,” or the even less theologically sound “There but for the grace of God go I.” It may actually have hit close enough to home to allow us a glimpse of the horror that citizens of war-torn countries endure daily. Perhaps as we process these incidents, our intercessory prayers for the world will become more sincerely felt.

This deep soul-wrenching confusion and anguish may also relieve us from our petty prayers -- what some have become fond of referring to as “first-world problems” -- prayers over parking places, winning games, and the like. In When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough, author Lillian Daniel observes: “Sometimes we pray to God with so much specificity, it sounds like we are lecturing a sloppy subordinate at work about when and where to show up for the key event.” 

First Jesus answers the disciples’ request and gives them a pattern for prayer, one that avoids those awkward specifics but deals with very human basics -- praise God, welcome God’s kingdom, ask for daily sustenance, seek forgiveness in the same way you offer it, and then petition not to be judged. After this, he tells us that with persistence we will find what we seek, that God gives only good gifts. 

So we learn from this that the horror around us isn’t from God; it is from human choices -- choices based on hatred, choices made because we choose to take over God’s role as judge, choices made from fear. So praying for God to change it -- in essence, to change God’s mind -- is futile, since it isn’t God whose mind needs to be changed but our own. Our prayer, the one where our seeking will be successful, is more properly one for reconciliation with God, for forgiveness for our participation in the social structures that have contributed to the racial tension and anger against law enforcement officers. Prayers for the awareness of God’s presence among us, for God’s work in changing hearts and minds -- these are prayers that may be more likely to open doors.

Perhaps the true paradigm undergirding prayer is found in our appointed psalm, Psalm 85: You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation (vv. 2-7).

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Chris Keating:

Hosea 1:2-10
Anger, Culture, and a God of Hope
Welcome to the summer of our discontent -- any of the headlines of recent weeks resonate well with the anger, lament, and faithful disappointment expressed by Hosea. The prophet -- called by God to pursue an unfaithful spouse -- declares the anger of God toward Israel’s feckless character. In many ways, this summer of bombings, blasts, shootings, and attacks has stoked flames of indignation.

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Jeffrey Fleishman notes that “Our superheroes have forsaken us and our fictions pale against our headlines. Social media taunts have poisoned our political discourse and disfigured our reality. We have become an angry, fractious lot, a Game of Thrones for a digitized and unsettled century.”

Fleishman argues that a narrative of disillusionment and fear is threaded through current pop and artistic culture. It’s not dissimilar to Hosea’s anger over the faithfulness of his time. The prophet named God’s anger through the naming of his children and the unfaithful actions of his wife. Similarly, Fleishman says that the current zeitgeist of anger is expressed in art.

Citing examples not only from film, hip-hop music, and television but also from “self-produced” media such as YouTube, Facebook, and SnapChat, Fleishman says that “the canon of art is to make sense of seminal times, to pull insight from extremity and find universal meaning in uproar -- that’s what powered much of pop culture through turbulent times like the Vietnam War or the Great Depression. But our anger today in the arts is aimed at narrower audiences and amplified through social media and appears more pulse-pounding and instantaneous than in past decades.”

In the end, Hosea proclaims a hope born from God’s steadfast love. One wonders what symbols and metaphors our contemporary culture might employ in order to declare a similar hope.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
Our Better Selves
In spite of Gomer’s repeated acts of adultery, Hosea somehow found the love and temerity to rise to his better self (which, truth be told, is not exactly an attribute possessed by many male figures in the Old Testament). His attempt to live in love and grace in the face of rejection and struggle is somewhat like the expressions of grief and calls for justice offered by several speakers at last week’s memorial service for Dallas police officers who were shot in the sniper attack.

Michael Lindenberger of the Dallas Morning News noted that “every single speaker on that stage hit notes of grace and wisdom.” Here are a few notable quotes:

* Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings: “Though we did nothing wrong, there is a reason this happened here, in this place and at this time.... This is our chance to lead, to build a new model for a city, our country.”

* Former president George W. Bush, credited by many with the best line of the day: “But none of us were prepared, or could be prepared, for an ambush by hatred and malice. The shock of this evil still has not faded. At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates too quickly into dehumanization. Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.”

* Perhaps most similar to Hosea’s prophetic ministry was the speech by Dallas police chief David Brown. Lindenberger described Brown’s brief remarks as a love letter to his fallen officers and their families. He reminded the audience that as an African-American, he had much in common with both the officers and the protestors. Then, quoting singer Stevie Wonder, Brown concluded, “Until the rainbow burns the stars out of the sky, I’ll be loving you.”

*****      

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)
Hitting the Reset Button
The epistle lesson admonishes believers to “continue to live your lives in [Christ], rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” Organizers of an evangelical gathering in Washington, D.C. brought those verses to life last weekend by encouraging Christians to confront racism and political polarization. The thousands gathered at the Washington Monument were asked to “reset” their lives and nation by calling for God to “break racism.”

Organizers of the “Together” event, which featured musicians, rap artists, and evangelists, were aiming at a theologically conservative audience who are also yearning for messages of racial reconciliation. They would likely resonate with Paul’s reminder that those partaking in the new life in Christ have been “raised with [Christ] through faith in the power of God,” and that “God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses.” The message of reconciliation would also likely appeal to younger millennials, many of whom see acceptance of diversity as essential.

*****      

Luke 11:1-13
Don’t Bring Us to Times of Trial
Just weeks before he was killed in the line of duty, Baton Rouge police officer Montrell Jackson used his Facebook page to express his experience as an African-American police officer. His comments display a hauntingly prescient awareness of the struggles experienced by both the black community and law enforcement, and illustrate Jesus’ prayer that God would save us from times of trial.

Reflecting on the deaths of Alton Sterling (of Baton Rouge) and Philando Castile (of Minnesota), Jackson wrote: “I’ve experienced so much in my short life, and the past three days have tested me to the core. I swear to God I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me. In uniform I get nasty hateful looks, and out of uniform some consider me a threat. Please don’t let hate infect your heart. This city MUST and WILL get better. I’m working in these streets, so any protesters, officers, friends, family, or whoever, if you see me and need a hug or want to say a prayer I got you.”

***************

From team member Ron Love:

Hosea 1:2-10
Pokemon Go, the latest video game phenomenon, has outsold all other games, with its numbers reaching into the millions. The game is played on your cellphone, and uses GPS to determine your location and place monsters in your path in the real-life setting where you are walking. The object of the game is to obliterate these monsters and gain money to move onto the next level. All of this, of course, is pretend and fantasy ? which people are approaching with such zeal as to make it reality.

Application: Hosea elected to spend his time on chasing real monsters, real evil.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
Pokemon Go sounds like a lot of fun. But before you can play you have to agree to a 30-page privacy policy that would take days to read through (which, of course, no one bothers to read). But they should, since almost all of the users’ data is surrendered.

Application: We can be sure that the leaders whom Hosea confronted never read the 30-page policy statement.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
Black Lives Matter has been constantly in the news. It should be clear that the organization is just as concerned as about blacks being killed as they are about white police officers. For that organization, every life does matter. It should also be noted that it does not have any central bureaucracy, but is community-based. As one of the group’s original founders, Patrisse Cullors, said, “We don’t get people onto the streets; they get themselves onto the streets.”

Application: Hosea wanted to get the people onto the streets to initiate reform.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
The new president of the Philippines has declared that any citizen is free to kill a drug distributor without fear of prosecution. In fact, Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to offer the assassins his personal legal protection. There is chaos in the land as vigilante groups roam the cities and countrysides. Absent of any judicial process, thousands have been tortured and killed. Questions have been raised over how many of these victims were actually involved in drugs or just the target of someone’s vindictiveness.

Application: Chaos ruled the land to which Hosea was trying to restore order.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
There is big -- and sad -- news from South Carolina. Perry Noble started a small Bible study in his Anderson apartment 16 years ago. Eight people originally attended. But over the course of those 16 years Noble’s NewSpring Church grew to become the largest and wealthiest church in the state, with 17 campuses, 22 pastors, an average weekly attendance of 30,000, and an annual budget of $64 million. But 30,000 was not sufficient, as Perry was consumed with having 100,000 members. Perry was always challenged by theologians for his unorthodox messages that bordered on vulgarity, and the Southern Baptist Convention threated to terminate their relationship with the NewSpring Church for a lack of transparency and unorthodox music. But Perry remained revered and ruled his dynasty as any king would -- that is, until alcoholism and unfit behavior caused his dismissal. Perry attributed his downfall to his obsession to reach 100,000 members, but staff members attribute it to his being unbearable to work for.

Application: Did not Hosea caution against the limits of power and ego?

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
Many of us have been following the case of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. The circumstances under which he murdered his wife were the subject of a lengthy trial. He claimed that he shot her through a bathroom door, unseen, afraid that because of his immobility he would be unable to defend himself from what he thought was an intruder. He was eventually found guilty. The sentencing judge said of Pistorius, “He’s a fallen hero who lost his career and is ruined financially. The worst is that having taken the life of a fellow human being in the manner that he did, he cannot be at peace.”

Application: One wonders if anyone who Hosea spoke to could ever be at peace.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
In his book Angels: God’s Secret Agents, Billy Graham affirms the existence of these servants of the Lord. Graham confirms in his book “that God has countless angels at his command.  Furthermore, God has commissioned these angels to aid his children in their struggles against Satan. I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide aid on our behalf.” 

Application: Hosea realized that when we confront the evils of society, when we are overcome by the trials and tribulation in life and are unnerved by despair and weakened by a sense of hopelessness, it is comforting to know that God’s angels will empower us and prayer will sustain us.

*****      

Hosea 1:2-10
At the age of nine, Leonard Staisey had a brain tumor that caused him to become blind; his blindness, however, did not hinder him from having a long and distinguished career in law and politics. Staisey served in the ’60s and ’70s as a Duquesne city councilman, a Pennsylvania state senator, and an Alleghany County commissioner. He also served as a common pleas court judge. When he was 69, Staisey described his accomplishments with these words: “I have never been able to walk away from a challenge. I say to myself: ‘Why not?’ I’m one of the ‘why not’ people.” 

Application: Hosea was a “why not” person. If you truly place your faith in God and summon the power of the Holy Spirit, if you pledge your allegiance to the angels of heaven and trust in the guidance of our Lord, then any of life’s obstacles can be surmounted. Faith in God is the only requirement for being a “why not” person.

*****      

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)
It has recently been revealed that Muhammad Ali never legally changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Though he used the name Ali on his driver’s license, tax returns, and social security card, he was still officially named Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. He considered himself to be Muhammad Ali, but legally he was not -- he was always Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

Application: Paul tells us that we must be truly changed from within, not just an outside façade.

*****      

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)
FBI Director James Comey has said that he believes viral videos and body cameras are retarding law enforcement, suggesting that because officers are aware that every action they take will be recorded they are refraining from engaging in any confrontational situation that might be viewed wrongly. This means that many very violent criminals are neither being confronted nor arrested. Comey also confirmed that he understands the officers’ hesitation. Police work requires quick decisions, often violent decisions, and a camera may not properly record and present the event. Very few officers act inappropriately, but now all are afraid of being misunderstood.

Application: Though video cameras can have their place, they may be destroying the inner self of reason.

 

WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed

Call to Worship
Leader: God, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
People: You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin.
Leader: Restore us again, O God of our salvation.
People: Put away your indignation toward us.
Leader: Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet.
People: Righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

OR

Leader: The God who loves us calls us to come and be blessed.
People: We come, seeking God’s presence and blessing.
Leader: God desires to draw all people together in love.
People: We open our hearts and lives to God and God’s children.
Leader: It is through us that God reaches out to bless others.
People: With gratitude for all God has done to bless us, we will be a blessing to others.

Hymns and Sacred Songs
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
found in:
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELA: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 250
STLT: 203
Renew: 47

“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELA: 757

“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404

“The Gift of Love”
found in:
UMH: 408
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155

“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561

“O God of Every Nation”
found in:
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELA: 713
W&P: 626

“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 593

“God of Grace and God of Glory”
found in:
UMH: 577
H82: 594, 595
PH: 420
NCH: 436
CH: 464
LBW: 415
ELA: 705
W&P: 569
AMEC: 62
STLT: 115
Renew: 301

“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85

“People Need the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 52

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
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who desires only good for all of your children: Grant us the faith to trust in your good intentions and the courage to assist you in carrying them out; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We worship you, O God, for you are the one who seeks our good. You desire to give good things to all your children. Help us to trust in your goodness. Give us the courage to reach out to others as we act out your intentions to give blessing to all. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our lack of trust in God’s goodness and our failure to act as God’s blessing towards others.

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are aware of all the harm around us, and sometimes we begin to doubt your care and love for us. In our fear, our faith falters. Even when we remember that you love us and seek to bring us good, we forget that we are your people who have been called to do your work. We expect you to bring blessing without any effort on our part. In our self-centeredness, we are so driven to acquire things that we forgot what future generations will pay because of them. Call us once more to be your people. By the power of your Spirit make us truly be the Body of Christ, that we might share your love with all. Amen.

Leader: God seeks our good and the good of all. Receive God’s love and forgiveness, and seek to share with others the blessings you have received.

Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We offer to you, O God, our worship and our praise, for you have created us out of love. You seek our welfare and to bless us.

(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 are aware of all the harm around us, and sometimes we begin to doubt your care and love for us. In our fear, our faith falters. Even when we remember that you love us and seek to bring us good, we forget that we are your people who have been called to do your work. We expect you to bring blessing without any effort on our part. In our self-centeredness, we are so driven to acquire things that we forgot what future generations will pay because of them. Call us once more to be your people. By the power of your Spirit make us truly be the Body of Christ, that we might share your love with all.

We give you thanks for all the blessings we have received. We thank you for the love which sustains this creation. We rejoice in those who have been aware of your love and shared that love and blessing with others.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for all who are in need. We pray especially for those who suffer because we have failed to act in loving, caring ways. 

(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
Talk to the children about good gifts. Ask them what have been some of their favorite gifts they have received. Do they have favorite gifts that they have given? Sometimes gifts are based on special needs. When someone is very thirsty, what would a good gift be? What would be a bad gift then? When someone is hungry, what would a good gift be? What would be a bad gift then? (For thirsty, a good gift could be cold water and a bad gift might be potato chips.) Under other circumstances they could be reversed. God wants to give us good things. And God wants us to help others receive good things. 

 

CHILDREN’S SERMON
Old, with a Beard
by Dean Feldmeyer
Luke 11:1-13

You will need: several pictures of old men with long white beards -- the funnier or sillier the better (you can find several examples here), and one picture of the iconic Santa Claus image created by Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola advertisements (you can find several examples here). Print them -- or if your group tends to be small, you can just save them on your phone or tablet.

(Hold the pictures on your lap, face down.) We all know that we can’t see God, right? But I just can’t help myself. When I pray or when I think about God, I always have this picture in my mind of what God looks like. I can’t help it. I just do.

Well, this made me wonder if you have a picture of God in your mind -- and if you wouldn’t mind sharing with us this morning, what your picture of God looks like. Can you do that?

(Listen to their responses. If someone says “old” and/or mentions “a long white beard,” great. If not, you can say that these descriptors are sometimes how you think of God. Hold up one of the pictures of old men with beards, the sillier the better.)

So, you think God looks like this? No? How about this? (Hold up another picture of a bearded man.) No?

Well, when we ask people what they think God would look like and what they think God does, they almost always say that the picture of God in their mind is of an old man with a long white beard who is nice, and who does nice things for us if we are nice.

(Show the picture of Santa Claus.) Kinda like this! Do you think God looks like this? No, of course not. That’s Santa Claus. But you know, there are lots of people who think God looks and acts like Santa Claus. Just like they ask Santa for things they want and he usually brings them if they’ve been good, they think that that is what God is for. You just ask God for the things you want and God gives them to you... if you’ve been good.

But we know that God isn’t Santa, right? We know that sometimes God doesn’t give us what we want -- unless what we want is God’s love and forgiveness. If that’s what we want, then God always gives us that. 

All we want. All we need. All we ask for. Because God isn’t Santa Claus, right? That’s a good thing for us to remember.


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The Immediate Word, July 24, 2016, issue.

Copyright 2016 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.