Faith is a Verb
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For August 7, 2022:
Faith is a Verb
Katy Stenta
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Luke 12:32-40, Psalm 33:12-22
Faith is a verb. Perhaps not in proper English, but when you look at how one enacts faith, it becomes clear that faith should always be a verb, and one that is done in community.
In the News
Creeds have been coming into debate in the greater church world. Which creeds are true? Do you have to believe all of them to be a Christian or a real adherent of your denomination? What is a creed? Twitter debates have abounded. Meanwhile, the question of what words of faith mean verses actions continue to haunt Christians as “thoughts and prayers” seem to be the go to in the time of tragedies — particularly in the wake of gun violence — instead of policies and action.
The Pope has apologized for the forced separation and acculturation of indigenous children to European and Catholic culture through schools. Are Pope Francis’s words enough? Does the fact that he made a long and painful trip to personally stand and make the apology make a difference? What are the next steps in truth and reconciliation for the Catholic Church in this long process of accountability?
When it comes to those impoverished in society, we know what to do and how to help. There are twelve real policies that can help poverty. And yet, we continue to not do it. As Stephen Colbert says: are we ready to stand up and do these things, or is it time to perhaps admit that we are not a Christian Nation?
In the Scriptures
What is faith?
In the Old Testament, the faith of the community is built up from Abraham on through the ancestors. Those who gather at the Temple are not necessitated to have the same tenants of faith, only to gather together and to listen to what it is God has to say now and to act. Exodus, Ezra and Nehemiah are full of a Hebrew people trying to find their way to God, not through ceremonies, but through faithful actions of caring for one another.
Similarly, the New Testament portrays faith almost always as a communal act. Very few times will you find an individual do acts of faith alone. When the friends lower the paralyzed man through the roof when Jesus is preaching in Luke 5:17-39, the friends’ act of faith not only forgives the man’s sins but ultimately heals him and restores him to society.
Slightly different is when the woman suffering from hemorrhages that cannot heal touches Jesus’s cloak in Mark 5:24-35. She acts alone, because she has no community of faith, so Jesus’s healing is not only bodily but also a restoration.
When Jesus recognizes the faith of one, it is often restorative or to witness to others. Tell others about what you have seen — faith is not meant to be a lonely act. It is meant be a community action.
In the Sermon
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 makes it very clear that God is not interested in ceremonies of faith. Words without action hold little value for God. Faith is meant to be a verb, an active way to live our lives. Faith should be a goal and impulse, a way of being, not a stratagem or a course to control others. The moment faith becomes a way of politics, it becomes Caesar’s, and no longer is the realm of God’s. Powerless are the armies, kings and warriors, admits Psalm 33; God is our true deliverer. Thus, it makes sense that faith in God lies in learning to do good — “seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan [and] pleading for the widow.” (v. 17)
How might considering faith as a verb change how we treat it. If we are not a community of faith — but are people who faith. If we are not a church, but are churching, how does that change our identity? Similarly, how does that change how we consider God in our lives? Does this not also make God more active. If God only responds to ceremonies and words, then God seems sleepy and like a technology that queues up when we push the right button. How much more dynamic is God if God is requiring us to be faithing in community with one another and God? How can faith become our way of being, together?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Blessed are the Alert
by Mary Austin
Luke 12:32-40
For those keeping score at home, this year is full of shocks.
There's nowhere to live in New York City. Senate Democrats McConnelled the Republicans, agreeing on a tax bill that Senate Republicans thought was dead. A football player accused of misconduct by two dozen women gets a paltry six month suspension, when a player who bet on games was suspended for a year. Mega star Jennifer Lopez got married in a recycled wedding dress.
Other hits to our reality are more serious — and more lasting.
The former President of the United States was involved in a threat to undermine the orderly transfer of power, and involved other government employees and far-right groups. The non-partisan Secret Service deleted text messages from the day of the insurrection and from the day before, which is illegal. The New York Post, in an editorial, says that Mr. Trump is “unworthy” to ever be President again. They note, “There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan. 6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring. What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed. And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence.”
We are living in a topsy-turvy world, where even basic things are upside down. In our state of constant upheaval, we are the perfect people to appreciate this parable of Jesus.
In the first century, anyone listening to Jesus would notice the strangeness of the homeowner waiting on the servants. This would be like J. Lo feeding the homeless on her honeymoon, or President Biden wandering out of the White House with a tray of snacks for the tourists outside.
Kenneth Bailey, in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, adds context to this parable. He posits that the homeowner is at a banquet in his own spacious home, celebrating in a different part of the house, and slips away to come to his private quarters. Bailey suggests that the homeowner would have feasted at the banquet, and wouldn’t be expecting to eat now. The servants know this, and so they don’t have food prepared. So, where does the food come from, Bailey asks? Drawing us deeper into the story, he believes that the homeowner brings the food to the servants on a tray. He has planned this all out.
Bailey adds, “The master's final action is the climax of the entire parable. The servants have been waiting loyally to serve him. But on arrival he immediately turns to his bedroom and picks up a rope or belt, and to their utter amazement ties up his festive wedding garment. What is this? Is he going to scrub the floor? For the master to belt his robe in preparation for some lowly task is unthinkable!”
In this parable, the waiting is rewarded with as strange a meal as these servants have ever eaten. One has to wonder if this would be enjoyable, or if they were nervous the whole time. Perhaps we will experience the realm of God that way, too. It may be so different from the world we’re used to that we find ourselves turned upside down.
The parable jumps from the homeowner to the idea of a thief coming in the night. So, who are we waiting for, really? A beloved homeowner, who takes care of us in unexpected ways? Or, a thief who is coming to take something from us? The coming of Jesus will no doubt include both, and we will find them equally disorienting.
The difference between this disruption and the upheavals of our world emerge in their purpose. Our disruptions come when people put money over people, and status over community. The daily upheavals of our current lives serve small purposes, and self-centered people.
But for Jesus, the purpose of the disruption is nothing less than the realm of God. If our imagination about God’s reign is too small, Jesus is here to shake us up.
“Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. Keep living. Live with purpose. Watch for surprises. “You must be ready,” he tells us, reminding us to watch for his presence every time we experience disturbance I our lives. May our eyes and ears and hearts be watchful. May we be ready to find Jesus is every place of chaos.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Luke 12:32-40
Expect the Unexpected
Long-time actress and comedienne Gracie Allen used to tell the story of how she once received a small, live alligator as a gag. Not knowing what to do with it, Gracie placed it in the bathtub and then left for an appointment. When she returned home, she found this note from her housekeeper: “Dear Miss Allen: Sorry, but I have quit. I don't work in houses where there is an alligator. I would have told you this when I took the job, but I never thought it would come up.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
God’s Patience
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, “Don't you worship God?”
The old traveler replied, “I worship fire only and reverence no other god.”
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out his his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, “I forced him out because he did not worship you.”
God answered, “I have put up with him for eighty years. Could you not endure him for one night?”
* * *
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
God’s Grace
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
* * *
Faith and Faithfulness
Fred Craddock, in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consecration. “To give one’s life for Christ sounds wonderful,” he said. “To pour one’s self out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. We think,” he said, “that giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table — 'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.'”
But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory, Craddock explained. What’s hard is living the Christian life little by little over the long haul.
* * *
Treasures Untold
Lucifer's Hammer is a science fiction post-apocalypse-survival novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1977 and nominated for a Hugo Award in 1978.
It tells the story of what happens to the human survivors when earth is struck by a comet causing mass destruction and the deaths of billions of people.
In one part of North America, people have come together in a fortress to assist each other in their efforts to survive and defend themselves from roving predatorial gangs. For fear of running short on resources, however, the small community makes a rule that only those may join the community who have something concrete to offer.
One day, an elderly man walks up to the gate where he is met by armed guards. He asks for admittance but they insist that he has to show that he has something, a skill, a knowledge, an ability, something that can aid the community.
He reaches into a briefcase that he is carrying and pulls out a book called, “How Things Work.” He explains that, eventually, the community will need the knowledge contained in that book if they don’t already.
The guards ask what is to keep them from shooting him and taking the book. He answers that he has over a hundred such books on all manner of subjects wrapped in plastic and buried in the area surrounding the compound and, if he is allowed to enter the community, he will disclose their locations from time to time.
“So,” says one of the guards, skeptically. “What you’re offering is a library.”
“That’s right,” says the old man.
He is immediately welcomed into the community.
* * *
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
The Price of Faithfulness
My brother, a very successful financial planner, belongs to one of the most exclusive and expensive country clubs in the city where we live and, from time to time, he entertains clients there. Often, when he needs someone to fill out a foursome on the golf course, he calls me and I am glad to join him as there’s no way I could ever afford to pay even the guest fees at that club.
A few years ago, I was playing with my brother and a couple of wealthy and successful young fellows who represented some corporate clients of his and after we were done with the round (or, as I like to say, after the round was done with us) we went to lunch at the clubhouse.
It was a pleasant enough time and when the meal was over everyone picked up their checks and tossed some cash on the table to tip the waitress. She was working very hard that day so I left a tip that was not excessive but admittedly generous.
As we were walking out, one of the guys we played golf with asked why I had tipped so generously and I said, simply, “Because I am a kind and generous man.” And I smiled at him.
He turned to his friend and, knowing full well that I could hear him, he said, “Idiot.”
The gospel calls us to a life of kindness and generosity but we live in a culture in a time when kindness and generosity are often considered idiocy and those who consider them so will not hesitate to tell you to your face.
* * *
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Faithfulness Has Many Faces
My wife and I have long loved the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the northern entrance to the park. We have vacationed there probably a score of times in the 50 years we’ve been married and we still love going back. Several years ago, a wildfire devastated the national park and much of the city of Gatlinburg a few weeks before we were scheduled to spend a long weekend there with another couple. The cabin we were planning to stay at was burned to the ground and we were about to cancel our vacation when it occurred to us that we might use our time of discontinuity as an opportunity to help support those who were affected by the fire.
We called and asked the rental agent to find us another cabin, which she was happy to do. We arrived in Gatlinburg about six weeks after the fire had been extinguished and were shocked by what we saw.
The fires had claimed at least 14 lives, and injured 134. It would eventually be determined to be one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
More than 10,000 acres (15 square miles) were burned inside the national park, and 6,000 acres in other parts of the area. At least 14,000 area residents and tourists were forced to evacuate. Over 2,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Work was frantically underway to rebuild and reclaim as much as could be recovered.
The scope of the recovery was breathtaking and we quickly realized that our limited skills would have been of little use in the massive effort. What we did have to contribute, however, was our tourist dollars. And spend them, we did. We ate out, bought souvenirs and gifts for friends, went to shows and, generally, did what tourists do. The people we met thanked us profusely for coming and patronizing their businesses in their time of need. They encouraged us to take pictures of everything, the destruction, the places that were spared, the recovery, and take them back to show to our friends. “Tell everyone you know,” they said, “that Gatlinburg is still Gatlinburg, a fun, wacky, tourist Mecca.
Hey, we helped in the best way we knew how. Faithfulness has many faces.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Being Prepared
For a storm to be defined as a blizzard it must have a combination of high winds, low visibility, and deep snow. So, it’s not very often that we experienced blizzards in the strict sense of the word, here in Ohio. In fact, I’ve lived her for over 70 years and can remember only one.
January 25, 1978, known as the Great Blizzard, the worst blizzard in the history of the state. It lasted from Wednesday to Friday. Power was out for nearly five days. Temperatures dropped to 20 degrees below zero. Snow drifts were over 10 feet high and abandoned cars made clearing snow from the roads problematic, if not impossible.
My wife and I were fortunate that we lived just down the street from a grocery store where the staff stayed on duty, kept the prices at the usual rates, and rationed some of the items that might have been horded. So, we survived. But we often wondered how we would have done so if it weren’t for the nearby grocery store and our gas stove.
Ever since then, we have had, in our garage, a plastic bin marked, “Blizzard Box.” It contains candles, matches, batteries, flashlights, and canned goods. We clean it out and replace outdated items about every 2 years. In our cars, we have similar bins that contain gloves/mittens, socks, candles and matches, flashlights and batteries, stocking caps and a blanket.
In the 40-plus years since the Great Blizzard, we have never needed to use any of those things, but we’re prepared for the next time.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
How to Prepare For…
I once read an article in a humor magazine about how to prepare for various disasters. Paraphrasing, it said:
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
Genesis 15:1-6
Looking at the Stars
Following the shocking, unexpected death of her father, Chloe Zelka started to mistrust life. What else could go wrong. Perhaps this is how Aram feels, out there alone in the desert, with God’s promises so uncertain.
Filled with grief and questions, Zelka says, “I sought some clarity by putting myself in constant proximity with people who are in free fall, and know it: I began working as a hospital chaplain, where I sat with people who were ill and dying. Each patient’s door I knocked on was its own world: a young mom who’d lost her infant son, speaking a sort of incantation of deep love for him; an elderly husband stroking his wife’s hair, simply present in her last moments; a middle-aged son, crying a string of sweet, never-before-felt “thank yous” to his mother’s body. Every day, I was witness to immense, earth-shattering grief, and to immense, earth-shaking wisdom. I still don’t have clear answers to my question. But I am living more honestly inside the paradox.”
Her solace came where Abram finds his — staring at the stars. She says, “A few weeks before my dad died, he gifted me a small planetarium as a Hanukah present.” His note reminded her that she loved the stars when she was little. She adds, “I’d forgotten about that planetarium he’d gotten me when I was little, how I’d roll off my bottom bunk onto the bedroom floor to switch it on and stare up at the solar system. On his birthday this year, four years after his passing, I fished it out of my closet, put it in the center of my bedroom, and switched it on late at night. I lay on my back and watched the black ceiling light up like the night sky. Fractures to our defenses aren’t always bad. That’s the way the planetarium works, at least. Holes for stars.”
There in the questions, in the grief, in the waiting, is the magnificence of God.
* * *
Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 12:32-40
Being Afraid
“Do not be afraid,” God tells Abram and Jesus tells us, in this week’s readings. Easy for them to say. In our lives, some people are so afraid — phobic — that they are paralyzed, worrying about spiders, or snakes, or something else that rules their lives. Psychologist Albert Bandura pioneered a process where people experience their fears in small doses, then slightly larger ones, and then conquer them.
It works like this, and we can all do it: “The process of guided mastery… helps people confront a major fear and dispel it one small, manageable step at a time. This discovery — that guided mastery can cure a lifelong phobia in a short time — was a big deal. But Bandura discovered something even more meaningful during his follow-up interviews with the former phobics. The interviews brought to light some surprising side effects. People mentioned other changes in their lives, changes seemingly unrelated to their phobias: they’d taken up horseback riding, they’d become fearless public speakers, they were exploring new possibilities in their jobs. The dramatic experience of overcoming a phobia that had plagued them for decades — a phobia they had expected to live with for the rest of their lives — had altered their belief system about their own ability to change. It had altered their belief in what they could accomplish. Ultimately, it transformed their lives.” (From Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley, David Kelley.)
Letting go of fear, as God and Jesus tell us, opens the door to so much more living.
* * *
Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 12:32-40
Fear Creates “Jobs”
“Do not be afraid,” God announces to Abram and Jesus reminds us, in the readings this week. Blair Glaser points out what happens when we become afraid. It’s hard to face fear, and so we devolve into certain roles. She says, “When people are under the gun, unless they are super clear on what their job is, they may unconsciously resort to four main default “jobs,” while what they are actually contracted to do takes a close, sometimes distant second.”
Some “jobs” for which anxiety writes the paycheck:
1) Competitor: Have you ever been shocked to see people go at each other in meetings when heated debates were the last thing there was really time for? Or been side-swiped by hostile questions in the middle of group sessions you think are going well?...When things are on the cusp of true change, or during phases of enormous organizational growth, it’s common for people to manage their unconscious anxiety by competing with the leader, or each other. Rather than getting down to work, they decide it’s time to get down on the battlefield.
2) Chief of Staff: This one is always fun: When a client, employee or team member decides that his or her real job is to tell you how to do your job…This is because they are avoiding their work by telling you how to do yours.
3) Helpless Babe: When you feel so swamped with putting out fires that you can’t get your work done, or when a client or teammate is asking you way more questions than they normally do — way more questions than you deem necessary — this is when an employee or client manages their anxiety by deciding that it’s your job to take care of them, or at least it’s their job to try to get you to.
Fear creates new roles — and none of them are our true selves.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by Katy Stenta
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 33:12-22)
One: God you look at the earth and observe its inhabitants
All: You have formed us, heart first, and then see how our actions grow from the heart into our thoughts and deeds and prayers
One: God, you promises it is not kind or warriors or armies or might that saves us
All: Truly, your eye is upon us, and our hope is in your steadfast love
One: Our soul waits for the Lord
All: Our soul awaits the Lord, for you are our hope, our help and our shield
One: You are at the heart of us, for thus you have created us to be, heart first
All: Come, let us hope, heart first, in the Lord, together today
Call to Worship
One: As sure as the stars shine in the heavens
All: God loves us
One: As many as there are stars
All: We can count as siblings on earth
One: Come let us bless the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, and all the Earthlings
All: Come let us Bless and Give God Praise!
Hymns and Songs
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
AAHH 453
AMECH 253, 254
CH 542
PH 303
UMH 479
ELH 209
As the Deer
CCB 83
CH 542
Renew 9
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
UMH 110
H82 687/688
PH 260
AAHH 124
NNBH 37
NCH 439/440
CH 65
LBW 228/229
ELW 503/504/505
W&P 588
AMEC 54
STLT 200
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
UMH 160/161
H82 556/557
PH 145/146
AAHH 537
NNBH 7
NCH 55/71
CH 15
LBW 553
ELW 873/874
W&P 113
AMEC 8
Music Resources Key
AAHH - African American Heritage Hymnal
UMH - United Methodist Hymnal
H82 - The Hymnal 1982
PH - Presbyterian Hymnal
NNBH - The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH - The New Century Hymnal
CH - Chalice Hymnal
LBW - Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW - 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 of the Day/Collect
Come let us approach God in the community of faith. Knowing that it is our combined witness, active and breathed together, that gives us a better and richer understanding of who God is, today and everyday. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Collect
God, give us the moments we need: to reflect on the faith of our ancestors, to look and wonder at the stars, to think of the power of love over political, monetary and military power—and after we do all of that, encourage us to ask all of the difficult questions, for maybe then we will remember that this how we practice our faith. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that we do not consider faith a verb. We like it safely in the noun category. Preferably practiced safely by an individual, clearly defined, with tenets and confessions and straightforward concepts that humans can wrap their brains around. But we also confess, that it takes little more than to look at the heavens, to see the wonders produced by Webb telescopes, to show how amazing, complicated and beautiful concepts like the universe, humanity and faith are. We confess, we might need to be a little more active about our faith. Help us to do this we pray, open our minds and hearts and spirits to see your kin(g)dom work around us. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers of the People
God we lift our hearts to you, for they are hearts you have created
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess that we feel too brokenhearted or just too broken to approach you. We confess that the world feels in a shambles from our abuse and climate change, that politics feel like a mess too big to fix and that our time feels not our own taken up by work and other obligations. We long for spaces of sanctuary and rest, and hunger for a place for our hearts to beat safely. Please remind us that you long to place us against your breast and comfort us as your troubled child until we are at peace again.
We give thanks for the good things in our lives, for food and the gifts of the earth and our relationships. We give thanks for the opportunity to gather here and be church, and to offer prayers of praise.
(Prayers of Praise)
We pray for those who we love who are hurting. We think of those who are hurt or ill or in places where they are not safe, and we pray for them.
(Prayers of Concern)
God, we lift all these prayers, the ones we have said out loud and the ones that are in our hearts, up to you, by saying the prayer your son Jesus Christ taught us together saying (Lord’s Prayer)
(Or if the Our Father 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
The Treasure of a Heart
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 12:32-40
Supplies: Paper or cardboard hearts and markers, pens, crayons
When the kids gather give each one a heart. Ask if they know what it is.
(It’s a heart.)
Ask what they know about hearts.
(They’re symbols of love. They are essential for us to live because they pump blood. There may be other responses—the two I mention are the ones you want to build on.)
Ask what the kids love.
(Families, video games, favorite food, pets, etc.)
Ask what the most valuable thing they have is.
(They may think of tangible objects, like their bicycles or computers. They may go with something intangible like their parents’ love, the safety of their homes — all answers are good. This is getting at the treasure part of the passage.)
Give the kids writing implements so they can write words, or draw pictures, of the things they identified as valuable.
Ask whether they love their hearts. Their own hearts.
(They’re putting on their thinking caps now.)
Point out that on one side of their heart is something they treasure. On the other side, is a blank heart shape, to remind them of their own heart, and the joy they have in loving other things. Their own heart/love is essential for living and life.
Conclude with a prayer like this:
God, thank you for loving us, and giving us hearts that we can use to love other people and other things. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 7, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
- Faith is a Verb by Katy Stenta.
- Second Thoughts: Blessed are the Alert by Mary Austin based on Luke 12:32-40.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer and Mary Austin.
- Worship resources by Katy Stenta.
- Children's sermon: The Treasure of a Heart by Tom Willadsen based on Luke 12:32-40.
Faith is a Verb
Katy Stenta
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Luke 12:32-40, Psalm 33:12-22
Faith is a verb. Perhaps not in proper English, but when you look at how one enacts faith, it becomes clear that faith should always be a verb, and one that is done in community.
In the News
Creeds have been coming into debate in the greater church world. Which creeds are true? Do you have to believe all of them to be a Christian or a real adherent of your denomination? What is a creed? Twitter debates have abounded. Meanwhile, the question of what words of faith mean verses actions continue to haunt Christians as “thoughts and prayers” seem to be the go to in the time of tragedies — particularly in the wake of gun violence — instead of policies and action.
The Pope has apologized for the forced separation and acculturation of indigenous children to European and Catholic culture through schools. Are Pope Francis’s words enough? Does the fact that he made a long and painful trip to personally stand and make the apology make a difference? What are the next steps in truth and reconciliation for the Catholic Church in this long process of accountability?
When it comes to those impoverished in society, we know what to do and how to help. There are twelve real policies that can help poverty. And yet, we continue to not do it. As Stephen Colbert says: are we ready to stand up and do these things, or is it time to perhaps admit that we are not a Christian Nation?
In the Scriptures
What is faith?
In the Old Testament, the faith of the community is built up from Abraham on through the ancestors. Those who gather at the Temple are not necessitated to have the same tenants of faith, only to gather together and to listen to what it is God has to say now and to act. Exodus, Ezra and Nehemiah are full of a Hebrew people trying to find their way to God, not through ceremonies, but through faithful actions of caring for one another.
Similarly, the New Testament portrays faith almost always as a communal act. Very few times will you find an individual do acts of faith alone. When the friends lower the paralyzed man through the roof when Jesus is preaching in Luke 5:17-39, the friends’ act of faith not only forgives the man’s sins but ultimately heals him and restores him to society.
Slightly different is when the woman suffering from hemorrhages that cannot heal touches Jesus’s cloak in Mark 5:24-35. She acts alone, because she has no community of faith, so Jesus’s healing is not only bodily but also a restoration.
When Jesus recognizes the faith of one, it is often restorative or to witness to others. Tell others about what you have seen — faith is not meant to be a lonely act. It is meant be a community action.
In the Sermon
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 makes it very clear that God is not interested in ceremonies of faith. Words without action hold little value for God. Faith is meant to be a verb, an active way to live our lives. Faith should be a goal and impulse, a way of being, not a stratagem or a course to control others. The moment faith becomes a way of politics, it becomes Caesar’s, and no longer is the realm of God’s. Powerless are the armies, kings and warriors, admits Psalm 33; God is our true deliverer. Thus, it makes sense that faith in God lies in learning to do good — “seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan [and] pleading for the widow.” (v. 17)
How might considering faith as a verb change how we treat it. If we are not a community of faith — but are people who faith. If we are not a church, but are churching, how does that change our identity? Similarly, how does that change how we consider God in our lives? Does this not also make God more active. If God only responds to ceremonies and words, then God seems sleepy and like a technology that queues up when we push the right button. How much more dynamic is God if God is requiring us to be faithing in community with one another and God? How can faith become our way of being, together?
SECOND THOUGHTSBlessed are the Alert
by Mary Austin
Luke 12:32-40
For those keeping score at home, this year is full of shocks.
There's nowhere to live in New York City. Senate Democrats McConnelled the Republicans, agreeing on a tax bill that Senate Republicans thought was dead. A football player accused of misconduct by two dozen women gets a paltry six month suspension, when a player who bet on games was suspended for a year. Mega star Jennifer Lopez got married in a recycled wedding dress.
Other hits to our reality are more serious — and more lasting.
The former President of the United States was involved in a threat to undermine the orderly transfer of power, and involved other government employees and far-right groups. The non-partisan Secret Service deleted text messages from the day of the insurrection and from the day before, which is illegal. The New York Post, in an editorial, says that Mr. Trump is “unworthy” to ever be President again. They note, “There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan. 6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring. What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed. And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence.”
We are living in a topsy-turvy world, where even basic things are upside down. In our state of constant upheaval, we are the perfect people to appreciate this parable of Jesus.
In the first century, anyone listening to Jesus would notice the strangeness of the homeowner waiting on the servants. This would be like J. Lo feeding the homeless on her honeymoon, or President Biden wandering out of the White House with a tray of snacks for the tourists outside.
Kenneth Bailey, in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, adds context to this parable. He posits that the homeowner is at a banquet in his own spacious home, celebrating in a different part of the house, and slips away to come to his private quarters. Bailey suggests that the homeowner would have feasted at the banquet, and wouldn’t be expecting to eat now. The servants know this, and so they don’t have food prepared. So, where does the food come from, Bailey asks? Drawing us deeper into the story, he believes that the homeowner brings the food to the servants on a tray. He has planned this all out.
Bailey adds, “The master's final action is the climax of the entire parable. The servants have been waiting loyally to serve him. But on arrival he immediately turns to his bedroom and picks up a rope or belt, and to their utter amazement ties up his festive wedding garment. What is this? Is he going to scrub the floor? For the master to belt his robe in preparation for some lowly task is unthinkable!”
In this parable, the waiting is rewarded with as strange a meal as these servants have ever eaten. One has to wonder if this would be enjoyable, or if they were nervous the whole time. Perhaps we will experience the realm of God that way, too. It may be so different from the world we’re used to that we find ourselves turned upside down.
The parable jumps from the homeowner to the idea of a thief coming in the night. So, who are we waiting for, really? A beloved homeowner, who takes care of us in unexpected ways? Or, a thief who is coming to take something from us? The coming of Jesus will no doubt include both, and we will find them equally disorienting.
The difference between this disruption and the upheavals of our world emerge in their purpose. Our disruptions come when people put money over people, and status over community. The daily upheavals of our current lives serve small purposes, and self-centered people.
But for Jesus, the purpose of the disruption is nothing less than the realm of God. If our imagination about God’s reign is too small, Jesus is here to shake us up.
“Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. Keep living. Live with purpose. Watch for surprises. “You must be ready,” he tells us, reminding us to watch for his presence every time we experience disturbance I our lives. May our eyes and ears and hearts be watchful. May we be ready to find Jesus is every place of chaos.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Luke 12:32-40
Expect the Unexpected
Long-time actress and comedienne Gracie Allen used to tell the story of how she once received a small, live alligator as a gag. Not knowing what to do with it, Gracie placed it in the bathtub and then left for an appointment. When she returned home, she found this note from her housekeeper: “Dear Miss Allen: Sorry, but I have quit. I don't work in houses where there is an alligator. I would have told you this when I took the job, but I never thought it would come up.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
God’s Patience
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, “Don't you worship God?”
The old traveler replied, “I worship fire only and reverence no other god.”
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out his his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, “I forced him out because he did not worship you.”
God answered, “I have put up with him for eighty years. Could you not endure him for one night?”
* * *
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
God’s Grace
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
* * *
Faith and Faithfulness
Fred Craddock, in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consecration. “To give one’s life for Christ sounds wonderful,” he said. “To pour one’s self out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. We think,” he said, “that giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table — 'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.'”
But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory, Craddock explained. What’s hard is living the Christian life little by little over the long haul.
* * *
Treasures Untold
Lucifer's Hammer is a science fiction post-apocalypse-survival novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1977 and nominated for a Hugo Award in 1978.
It tells the story of what happens to the human survivors when earth is struck by a comet causing mass destruction and the deaths of billions of people.
In one part of North America, people have come together in a fortress to assist each other in their efforts to survive and defend themselves from roving predatorial gangs. For fear of running short on resources, however, the small community makes a rule that only those may join the community who have something concrete to offer.
One day, an elderly man walks up to the gate where he is met by armed guards. He asks for admittance but they insist that he has to show that he has something, a skill, a knowledge, an ability, something that can aid the community.
He reaches into a briefcase that he is carrying and pulls out a book called, “How Things Work.” He explains that, eventually, the community will need the knowledge contained in that book if they don’t already.
The guards ask what is to keep them from shooting him and taking the book. He answers that he has over a hundred such books on all manner of subjects wrapped in plastic and buried in the area surrounding the compound and, if he is allowed to enter the community, he will disclose their locations from time to time.
“So,” says one of the guards, skeptically. “What you’re offering is a library.”
“That’s right,” says the old man.
He is immediately welcomed into the community.
* * *
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
The Price of Faithfulness
My brother, a very successful financial planner, belongs to one of the most exclusive and expensive country clubs in the city where we live and, from time to time, he entertains clients there. Often, when he needs someone to fill out a foursome on the golf course, he calls me and I am glad to join him as there’s no way I could ever afford to pay even the guest fees at that club.
A few years ago, I was playing with my brother and a couple of wealthy and successful young fellows who represented some corporate clients of his and after we were done with the round (or, as I like to say, after the round was done with us) we went to lunch at the clubhouse.
It was a pleasant enough time and when the meal was over everyone picked up their checks and tossed some cash on the table to tip the waitress. She was working very hard that day so I left a tip that was not excessive but admittedly generous.
As we were walking out, one of the guys we played golf with asked why I had tipped so generously and I said, simply, “Because I am a kind and generous man.” And I smiled at him.
He turned to his friend and, knowing full well that I could hear him, he said, “Idiot.”
The gospel calls us to a life of kindness and generosity but we live in a culture in a time when kindness and generosity are often considered idiocy and those who consider them so will not hesitate to tell you to your face.
* * *
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Faithfulness Has Many Faces
My wife and I have long loved the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the northern entrance to the park. We have vacationed there probably a score of times in the 50 years we’ve been married and we still love going back. Several years ago, a wildfire devastated the national park and much of the city of Gatlinburg a few weeks before we were scheduled to spend a long weekend there with another couple. The cabin we were planning to stay at was burned to the ground and we were about to cancel our vacation when it occurred to us that we might use our time of discontinuity as an opportunity to help support those who were affected by the fire.
We called and asked the rental agent to find us another cabin, which she was happy to do. We arrived in Gatlinburg about six weeks after the fire had been extinguished and were shocked by what we saw.
The fires had claimed at least 14 lives, and injured 134. It would eventually be determined to be one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
More than 10,000 acres (15 square miles) were burned inside the national park, and 6,000 acres in other parts of the area. At least 14,000 area residents and tourists were forced to evacuate. Over 2,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Work was frantically underway to rebuild and reclaim as much as could be recovered.
The scope of the recovery was breathtaking and we quickly realized that our limited skills would have been of little use in the massive effort. What we did have to contribute, however, was our tourist dollars. And spend them, we did. We ate out, bought souvenirs and gifts for friends, went to shows and, generally, did what tourists do. The people we met thanked us profusely for coming and patronizing their businesses in their time of need. They encouraged us to take pictures of everything, the destruction, the places that were spared, the recovery, and take them back to show to our friends. “Tell everyone you know,” they said, “that Gatlinburg is still Gatlinburg, a fun, wacky, tourist Mecca.
Hey, we helped in the best way we knew how. Faithfulness has many faces.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Being Prepared
For a storm to be defined as a blizzard it must have a combination of high winds, low visibility, and deep snow. So, it’s not very often that we experienced blizzards in the strict sense of the word, here in Ohio. In fact, I’ve lived her for over 70 years and can remember only one.
January 25, 1978, known as the Great Blizzard, the worst blizzard in the history of the state. It lasted from Wednesday to Friday. Power was out for nearly five days. Temperatures dropped to 20 degrees below zero. Snow drifts were over 10 feet high and abandoned cars made clearing snow from the roads problematic, if not impossible.
My wife and I were fortunate that we lived just down the street from a grocery store where the staff stayed on duty, kept the prices at the usual rates, and rationed some of the items that might have been horded. So, we survived. But we often wondered how we would have done so if it weren’t for the nearby grocery store and our gas stove.
Ever since then, we have had, in our garage, a plastic bin marked, “Blizzard Box.” It contains candles, matches, batteries, flashlights, and canned goods. We clean it out and replace outdated items about every 2 years. In our cars, we have similar bins that contain gloves/mittens, socks, candles and matches, flashlights and batteries, stocking caps and a blanket.
In the 40-plus years since the Great Blizzard, we have never needed to use any of those things, but we’re prepared for the next time.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
How to Prepare For…
I once read an article in a humor magazine about how to prepare for various disasters. Paraphrasing, it said:
- How to prepare for a hurricane: Don’t. Leave. Get out. Run away. You can’t prepare for a hurricane.
- How to prepare for a wild fire: They’re called wild for a reason! Run away at the first sign of smoke.
- How to prepare for a flood: Are you nuts? You can’t prepare for a flood. Get to high ground at the first drops of rain!
- How to prepare for a tornado: Move to the dessert. They hardly ever have tornados in Arizona.
- How to prepare for a blizzard: Move to Miami. Refer to number 1 above.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:Genesis 15:1-6
Looking at the Stars
Following the shocking, unexpected death of her father, Chloe Zelka started to mistrust life. What else could go wrong. Perhaps this is how Aram feels, out there alone in the desert, with God’s promises so uncertain.
Filled with grief and questions, Zelka says, “I sought some clarity by putting myself in constant proximity with people who are in free fall, and know it: I began working as a hospital chaplain, where I sat with people who were ill and dying. Each patient’s door I knocked on was its own world: a young mom who’d lost her infant son, speaking a sort of incantation of deep love for him; an elderly husband stroking his wife’s hair, simply present in her last moments; a middle-aged son, crying a string of sweet, never-before-felt “thank yous” to his mother’s body. Every day, I was witness to immense, earth-shattering grief, and to immense, earth-shaking wisdom. I still don’t have clear answers to my question. But I am living more honestly inside the paradox.”
Her solace came where Abram finds his — staring at the stars. She says, “A few weeks before my dad died, he gifted me a small planetarium as a Hanukah present.” His note reminded her that she loved the stars when she was little. She adds, “I’d forgotten about that planetarium he’d gotten me when I was little, how I’d roll off my bottom bunk onto the bedroom floor to switch it on and stare up at the solar system. On his birthday this year, four years after his passing, I fished it out of my closet, put it in the center of my bedroom, and switched it on late at night. I lay on my back and watched the black ceiling light up like the night sky. Fractures to our defenses aren’t always bad. That’s the way the planetarium works, at least. Holes for stars.”
There in the questions, in the grief, in the waiting, is the magnificence of God.
* * *
Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 12:32-40
Being Afraid
“Do not be afraid,” God tells Abram and Jesus tells us, in this week’s readings. Easy for them to say. In our lives, some people are so afraid — phobic — that they are paralyzed, worrying about spiders, or snakes, or something else that rules their lives. Psychologist Albert Bandura pioneered a process where people experience their fears in small doses, then slightly larger ones, and then conquer them.
It works like this, and we can all do it: “The process of guided mastery… helps people confront a major fear and dispel it one small, manageable step at a time. This discovery — that guided mastery can cure a lifelong phobia in a short time — was a big deal. But Bandura discovered something even more meaningful during his follow-up interviews with the former phobics. The interviews brought to light some surprising side effects. People mentioned other changes in their lives, changes seemingly unrelated to their phobias: they’d taken up horseback riding, they’d become fearless public speakers, they were exploring new possibilities in their jobs. The dramatic experience of overcoming a phobia that had plagued them for decades — a phobia they had expected to live with for the rest of their lives — had altered their belief system about their own ability to change. It had altered their belief in what they could accomplish. Ultimately, it transformed their lives.” (From Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley, David Kelley.)
Letting go of fear, as God and Jesus tell us, opens the door to so much more living.
* * *
Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 12:32-40
Fear Creates “Jobs”
“Do not be afraid,” God announces to Abram and Jesus reminds us, in the readings this week. Blair Glaser points out what happens when we become afraid. It’s hard to face fear, and so we devolve into certain roles. She says, “When people are under the gun, unless they are super clear on what their job is, they may unconsciously resort to four main default “jobs,” while what they are actually contracted to do takes a close, sometimes distant second.”
Some “jobs” for which anxiety writes the paycheck:
1) Competitor: Have you ever been shocked to see people go at each other in meetings when heated debates were the last thing there was really time for? Or been side-swiped by hostile questions in the middle of group sessions you think are going well?...When things are on the cusp of true change, or during phases of enormous organizational growth, it’s common for people to manage their unconscious anxiety by competing with the leader, or each other. Rather than getting down to work, they decide it’s time to get down on the battlefield.
2) Chief of Staff: This one is always fun: When a client, employee or team member decides that his or her real job is to tell you how to do your job…This is because they are avoiding their work by telling you how to do yours.
3) Helpless Babe: When you feel so swamped with putting out fires that you can’t get your work done, or when a client or teammate is asking you way more questions than they normally do — way more questions than you deem necessary — this is when an employee or client manages their anxiety by deciding that it’s your job to take care of them, or at least it’s their job to try to get you to.
Fear creates new roles — and none of them are our true selves.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby Katy Stenta
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 33:12-22)
One: God you look at the earth and observe its inhabitants
All: You have formed us, heart first, and then see how our actions grow from the heart into our thoughts and deeds and prayers
One: God, you promises it is not kind or warriors or armies or might that saves us
All: Truly, your eye is upon us, and our hope is in your steadfast love
One: Our soul waits for the Lord
All: Our soul awaits the Lord, for you are our hope, our help and our shield
One: You are at the heart of us, for thus you have created us to be, heart first
All: Come, let us hope, heart first, in the Lord, together today
Call to Worship
One: As sure as the stars shine in the heavens
All: God loves us
One: As many as there are stars
All: We can count as siblings on earth
One: Come let us bless the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, and all the Earthlings
All: Come let us Bless and Give God Praise!
Hymns and Songs
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
AAHH 453
AMECH 253, 254
CH 542
PH 303
UMH 479
ELH 209
As the Deer
CCB 83
CH 542
Renew 9
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
UMH 110
H82 687/688
PH 260
AAHH 124
NNBH 37
NCH 439/440
CH 65
LBW 228/229
ELW 503/504/505
W&P 588
AMEC 54
STLT 200
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
UMH 160/161
H82 556/557
PH 145/146
AAHH 537
NNBH 7
NCH 55/71
CH 15
LBW 553
ELW 873/874
W&P 113
AMEC 8
Music Resources Key
AAHH - African American Heritage Hymnal
UMH - United Methodist Hymnal
H82 - The Hymnal 1982
PH - Presbyterian Hymnal
NNBH - The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH - The New Century Hymnal
CH - Chalice Hymnal
LBW - Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW - 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 of the Day/Collect
Come let us approach God in the community of faith. Knowing that it is our combined witness, active and breathed together, that gives us a better and richer understanding of who God is, today and everyday. Amen.
Prayer of the Day/Collect
God, give us the moments we need: to reflect on the faith of our ancestors, to look and wonder at the stars, to think of the power of love over political, monetary and military power—and after we do all of that, encourage us to ask all of the difficult questions, for maybe then we will remember that this how we practice our faith. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that we do not consider faith a verb. We like it safely in the noun category. Preferably practiced safely by an individual, clearly defined, with tenets and confessions and straightforward concepts that humans can wrap their brains around. But we also confess, that it takes little more than to look at the heavens, to see the wonders produced by Webb telescopes, to show how amazing, complicated and beautiful concepts like the universe, humanity and faith are. We confess, we might need to be a little more active about our faith. Help us to do this we pray, open our minds and hearts and spirits to see your kin(g)dom work around us. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers of the People
God we lift our hearts to you, for they are hearts you have created
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess that we feel too brokenhearted or just too broken to approach you. We confess that the world feels in a shambles from our abuse and climate change, that politics feel like a mess too big to fix and that our time feels not our own taken up by work and other obligations. We long for spaces of sanctuary and rest, and hunger for a place for our hearts to beat safely. Please remind us that you long to place us against your breast and comfort us as your troubled child until we are at peace again.
We give thanks for the good things in our lives, for food and the gifts of the earth and our relationships. We give thanks for the opportunity to gather here and be church, and to offer prayers of praise.
(Prayers of Praise)
We pray for those who we love who are hurting. We think of those who are hurt or ill or in places where they are not safe, and we pray for them.
(Prayers of Concern)
God, we lift all these prayers, the ones we have said out loud and the ones that are in our hearts, up to you, by saying the prayer your son Jesus Christ taught us together saying (Lord’s Prayer)
(Or if the Our Father 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 SERMONThe Treasure of a Heart
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 12:32-40
Supplies: Paper or cardboard hearts and markers, pens, crayons
When the kids gather give each one a heart. Ask if they know what it is.
(It’s a heart.)
Ask what they know about hearts.
(They’re symbols of love. They are essential for us to live because they pump blood. There may be other responses—the two I mention are the ones you want to build on.)
Ask what the kids love.
(Families, video games, favorite food, pets, etc.)
Ask what the most valuable thing they have is.
(They may think of tangible objects, like their bicycles or computers. They may go with something intangible like their parents’ love, the safety of their homes — all answers are good. This is getting at the treasure part of the passage.)
Give the kids writing implements so they can write words, or draw pictures, of the things they identified as valuable.
Ask whether they love their hearts. Their own hearts.
(They’re putting on their thinking caps now.)
Point out that on one side of their heart is something they treasure. On the other side, is a blank heart shape, to remind them of their own heart, and the joy they have in loving other things. Their own heart/love is essential for living and life.
Conclude with a prayer like this:
God, thank you for loving us, and giving us hearts that we can use to love other people and other things. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 7, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
