Do We Really Want To Be Made Well?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In the alternate gospel text (John 5:1-9) for this Sunday, Jesus heals a man "who had been ill for 38 years." But first, Jesus pointedly asks him: "Do you want to be made well?" Our Revelation reading also offers us a healing vision -- specifically of the New Jerusalem, where "people will bring into it glory and honor," and "nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood." That's certainly a contrast from the secular temples of our culture devoted to high finance (Wall Street) and political intrigue (Washington). While they are distinguished by fine architecture filled with people we often refer to as "masters of the universe," in the New Jerusalem John notes that "I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty." In this installment of The Immediate Word, new team member Kate Murphy notes that we live in a world facing big challenges, from financial meltdown to ecological disaster to moral and ethical bankruptcy -- yet we are discovering to our chagrin that many of the institutions we trusted are unwilling or incapable of dealing with those challenges (even those that are "too big to fail" like the giant investment bank Goldman Sachs, whose executives were roasted in congressional hearings last week). But our Revelation text gives us a much more hopeful vision that we can long for. Yet Kate reminds us that, in the final analysis, the key question for us is the same one Jesus posed to the invalid. Are we ready to accept the healing that he offers us? Do we -- like the sick man who Jesus commands to "stand up, take your mat, and walk" -- really want to be made well?
This Sunday is also Mother's Day, and team member Ron Love offers some additional thoughts on the John 5:1-9 passage and on the roles parents play for their children, and the analogy that can be drawn for how the church functions for believers. Parents can do their best to point their children in the proper direction and to train them well, but in the end, they can only look on and hope that the lessons have been taught well and are heeded as their children make their way in the world. There is only so much a parent can do -- the ultimate responsibility lies with the child, who eventually must, as Jesus tells the man he heals, "stand up, take your mat, and walk" (John 5:8). Similarly, those of us who follow Christ have the responsibility to stand up, walk through the church doors, and set an example out in the world.
Do We Really Want to Be Made Well?
by Kate Murphy
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5; John 5:1-9
THE WORLD
For many of us, last week's Senate hearings were a cathartic piece of political theater. We can't reverse the financial meltdown, and it becomes increasingly clear that no one can be prosecuted for the incredibly complicated financial transactions that led to the near-collapse of the US economy and the financial ruin of so many people. But we can watch our elected officials scold the executives whose greed appears to have caused the crisis. And so senators raged indignantly, Goldman Sachs executives offered unconvincing apologies and excuses, and we watched. On his blog Planet Money, Jacob Goldstein highlighted this truly remarkable moment between Senator Carl Levin and Goldman Sachs executive VP David Viniar:
LEVIN: And when you heard that your employees, in these e-mails, when looking at these deals said... what a s*****y deal... what a piece of crap -- when you hear your own employees or read about those in the e-mails, do you feel anything?
VINIAR: I think that's very unfortunate to have on e-mail. [The gallery bursts out laughing.]
LEVIN: On an e-mail?
VINIAR: Please don't take that the wrong way. I think it's very unfortunate for anyone to have said that in any form.
LEVIN: How about to believe that and sell them?
VINIAR: I think that's unfortunate as well.
LEVIN: That's what you should have started with.
VINIAR: You're correct. It is.
As refreshing as it is to see someone rebuke one of these titans of industry, the enjoyment is fleeting -- because it is just a show, and everyone knows it. When Goldman Sachs created these toxic financial products and intentionally misrepresented them to sucker clients, all the while making secret financial transactions that would allow them to profit when their products failed -- as they intended them to -- that wasn't illegal.
Unethical? Yes.
Illegal? No.
Apparently, there is a big difference. The company explains that their clients were incredibly sophisticated and intelligent people. They should have known better than to trust their financial firm to work in their best interests. Caveat Emptor.
Goldman Sachs began executing a secret exit strategy back in December of 2006 to rid itself of risky mortgage-backed securities because it knew then the market would fail. However, turning a profit required making sure that no one else got out of the market, so the company continued to publicly claim that the housing market was sound, and it failed to report its exit strategy to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In other words, the company knew these holdings were essentially worthless, but hid that knowledge from the public and government regulatory agencies, because it wanted to unload them for the highest price.
Unethical? Yes.
Illegal? No.
Profitable? Absolutely.
Financial pundits can argue the legality and morality of the Goldman strategy all they want, but one thing is crystal clear -- it worked. The bank is now and always was profitable. Last Tuesday morning, as its executives were hauled in front of the Senate's Permanent Subcomittee on Investigations, Goldman released an earnings report that "blew past" Wall Street expectations. Goldman Sachs -- and their shareholders -- made money, lots of it.
It's beginning to seem as though that's all that matters. So Mr. Viniar's candid comments only reveal the truth -- Goldman Sachs executives don't regret their profitable strategies, they regret the bad PR. After all, bad PR is bad for the bottom line.
Where does that leave the rest of us? How can we live ethically in a world where powerful people make decisions that are clearly wrong, and yet, somehow, are completely legal? How can we teach our children to be honest and fair when our hyper-capitalist culture clearly teaches that morality is for suckers? Do we now live in a world where we have one set of ethical obligations for our personal lives and another standard entirely (or no standard at all!) in our professional lives? Where is the God of Justice in all of this mess? As Christians, where can we turn for truth?
THE WORD
The lectionary's suggested reading from Revelation comes like a breath of fresh air. Normally it is John's descriptions of the physical beauty of the New Jerusalem that captures our imagination. But note that the evangelist is equally hyperbolic about the quality of life within the city -- its people dwell together with exceptional integrity. He assures us that "nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abominations or falsehood.... Nothing accursed will be found there anymore," and all that is produced in the city will be "for the healing of the nations." In light of recent headlines, the contrast between the culture and community in God's city and in our own couldn't be higher.
The preacher might wish to spend some time encouraging the congregation to do more than enjoy the imagery. Like all good poetic literature, there is more than beauty here -- there is also truth. What is present in the New Jerusalem that is absent in our own cities? What does the spiritual geography of the place teach us about how we are to conduct our own lives?
As the reading begins, we find ourselves on a tour, as John describes the glories of the celestial city. Anticipation builds as we learn that the walls of the city are jasper resting upon foundations encrusted with jewels: sapphires, amethysts, emeralds. The 12 gates are made of 12 single pearls, and the streets are a gold so pure it is clear as glass. What does it suggest to us that mundane objects like gates, streets, and walls are built out of such priceless substances? If the infrastructure of the city -- the walls, gates, and roads -- are composed of such precious materials, how in the world will the temple be adorned?
Then we learn there is no temple -- there is no temple in the kingdom of God, because there is no place set apart for God. Every place is sacred, every place is holy. Now we begin to see the sacred truth proclaimed by the architecture. When God makes all things new, there will no longer be any distinction between sacred and secular. The best and the finest things, which we used to set apart for the temple, we now dedicate to the streets -- because in the New Jerusalem, all places are sacred to God. All ground is holy.
If everywhere we go is holy ground, then it follows that everything we do will be sacred. Now we understand John's emphasis on the exquisite beauty of the "ordinary" places and the absolute integrity of life within the city. Every place, every object, is adorned as sacred -- and every action is reverent. All life is worship. Now that creation is redeemed, all is glory.
How we long for that day.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
But do we? As angered as we are to see the blatant ethical double standard on display in congressional hearings, as much as we believe that powerful people have a responsibility to do more than follow the letter of the law, as maddening as it is to hear financial executives proudly declare that their unethical work was profitable -- aren't there times when we too distinguish between our "Sunday" and "weekday" selves?
After using contemporary examples and John's vision to vividly contrast the way the world is with the way the world will be, the preacher might wish to pull in the alternate gospel reading to help folks dig a little deeper. After all, as enjoyable as it is to pronounce judgment upon the immorality of powerful rich people, like the political theater of the congressional hearings it won't change any lives. We need to encourage our parishioners to ask "Where am I in the story?"
In John 5:1-9, a paralyzed man lies on his mat near the Bethzatha pool. Jesus approaches the man and asks him an offensively simple question: "Do you want to be healed?"
Interestingly, the man doesn't say yes. This man, who by his own count has been suffering for 38 years, doesn't scream out in gratitude to God. He doesn't even graciously accept Jesus' offer. Instead he gives Jesus his excuses: "The water is only stirred up occasionally, I don't have anyone to put me in the water then, and whenever I try to go myself, people cut in front of me." Note that he doesn't say "the healing waters didn't work for me," because he's never been in them.
Maybe this isn't the straightforward healing story it appears to be on first read. John takes the time to point out how long the man has been ill and to detail his complaints, which suggests that, in this story anyway, he wants us to pay as much attention to the one healed as much as to the healer. Maybe there was something perceptive in Jesus' original question. Maybe, deep down, the man didn't completely want to be healed. Certainly the fact that in 38 years the man had never found a way to get himself down into the water gives us license to ponder the question.
Is our own desire for healing, whether it be in our personal lives or for the healing and redemption of creation, sometimes similarly complicated? Maybe the story bears witness to the uncomfortable truth that we humans sometimes cling to the life we know even when we realize that it is less than God wants for us. As unpleasant as it was to be paralyzed, once he was healed the man would have to embark on a whole new life. He would have to figure out how to provide for himself. Healing was a blessing -- but a terrifying one. It would change everything.
Perhaps the man's ambivalence about healing is similar to our own attitudes toward John's Revelation. It is true that we long for the day when other people will behave ethically in all areas of their lives. But are we ready to hold ourselves to that standard? Do we not, at times, take ethical short-cuts and rationalize our choices? After all, we live in a fallen world -- and everyone else is doing it. If everyone else were playing by the rules, we would too -- but until they do...
We long for John's vision to become reality. We sincerely look forward to the day when sin will no longer have power in our world. But at the same time, much like the paralyzed man, we've grown used to thinking of ourselves as sinners. The preacher might wish to point out that when Christ comes again to usher in the kingdom of God everything will be made new, including us. We also will be healed. So Jesus' question to the paralyzed man also applies to us. "Do you want to be made well?"
ANOTHER VIEW
Mature Wisdom
by Ronald H. Love
John 5:1-9
Mother's Day is always a special day of celebration in the church. It is the recognition of the unqualified love that has been bestowed upon us by the ones who are dearest in our hearts. It is a love that expects nothing in return. It is a love that, no matter how wayward we have become or how unresponsive we are, nevertheless remains steadfast. There is, in some way, an indefinable bonding to the one who has physically given birth to us.
It would do us well to expand the horizons of our Mother's Day celebration. It seems that Father's Day often goes unnoticed in worship, and at best gets a peripheral mention. Mothers get flowers while entering the sanctuary, but fathers never receive the proverbial necktie that is traditionally associated with the occasion of their special day.
As we move into the twenty-first century, our concept of Mother's Day should really be expanded to recognize it as Family Day. This, of course, would include the forgotten fathers of June. It would also incorporate single parents of both genders. And, regardless of your personal theological and moral position, homosexual parents are endeared by their children, and these parents need to be commended for their selfless devotion.
A casual reading of the daily newspaper and weekly magazines will familiarize you with many of today's parenting issues. These same publications will also provide many heartwarming and inspirational stories on parenting. A review of current television programs and movies will demonstrate the changing fabric of parenting, moving beyond the stereotypical 1950s concept. Many of these evolutions will remain permanent on our landscape, so they should be not addressed in judgment that produces guilt and fosters alienation, but in a supportive and constructive manner. We are now in a generation of single parents, working couples, stay-at-home dads, and homosexual families. Always remember when addressing these groups that you are speaking of a child's beloved parent.
THE WORD
This week's lesson from John 5:1-9 deals with Jesus' command over the forces of nature, as the incarnate one who possesses the power to heal and as the new interpreter of Jewish law. With that being established, there are a number of lessons on parenting that can also be drawn from the text. The roles in the story could easily be recast so that Jesus is a parent approaching the invalid, who represents the uncertainties of youth. The dynamic nature of the scriptures, containing such multifaceted lessons, make them forever intriguing to read, meditate upon, and learn from. For the setting of Family Day, we would do well to look upon Jesus as the parent speaking to a child who seeks the healing that comes from mature wisdom.
In reviewing this lesson in the context of a parent-child relationship, the following points ought to be considered:
* Jesus asked the child "Do you want to be healed?" Is the child willing to be "healed" by listening to one who is older, whose wisdom (that is, his understanding of life) has matured over the years?
* Jesus, reflecting the love of a parent, did not wait for the child to come to him. Instead, Jesus went to the pool.
* Jesus asked if he could help, but he did not force himself upon the child.
* Jesus, in the wisdom of his years, understood the problem the child was experiencing.
* Jesus realized the solution to the problem, and if invited, would readily share it.
* Jesus had no intention of leaving the child in his current condition, unless the child refused the invitation to be healed.
* In asking the question "Do you want to be healed?" Jesus realized that healing has to be a cooperative venture. Dialogue, not pontificating, will heal.
* The invalid (the child) had to want to participate. Did his self-image receive a perverted sense of self-satisfaction while whining beside the pool, or did he truly seek someone who could liberate his body, mind, and spirit?
* Was the child willing to listen to the command of Jesus, or did he just dismiss it as another parental interference into his life?
* Was the child, on the advice of the parent, willing to accept personal responsibility and get up and walk on his own?
CRAFTING THE SERMON
In writing your sermon you may want to expand upon these points and offer your own insights. It would also be beneficial to review the stories of parents as recorded in the scriptures. A creative and entertaining approach could be to offer what you think might have been the parent's thoughts and feelings at the time. A short sampling could include:
* How did Adam and Eve reconcile the different personalities between their two children? Did they question their parenting skills? Did they have latent guilt for their own personal transgression in the garden as the cause of Cain's misbehavior?
* When Jesus was born, Mary pondered all things in her heart. When she held her deceased son in her arms at the foot of the cross, her grief-stricken mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts. On these two occasions, what would Mary have been thinking and feeling?
* Did Elizabeth hold any grudges that her son John would always live in the shadow of his cousin Jesus?
* Peter's mother had been the host to many of her son's friends -- the most noteworthy was a man from Nazareth. As the friends of her son fellowshiped in her home, how did she view their conversations? What did she think of their plans? How involved did she feel she should become? How willing was she to surrender her son to the absurd mission outlined by Jesus?
ILLUSTRATIONS
The hearings in Congress with the Goldman Sachs brass show us what happens when we are not willing "to be healed." The members of Congress are blaming the executives of the financial institutions, without taking any responsibility themselves for not having safeguards and effective monitoring in place. The financial executives are placing the responsibility on those who bought items the seller was betting would go bust. No one seems to want to admit they are lame and need to be fixed.
* * *
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of what happens when our "need" for so much energy and the products made from petroleum leads us to disregard the potential consequences.
* * *
In the church we often hear people talking about how terrible it is that the government or the schools or whoever are not teaching our children to pray. Isn't that the church's job?
* * *
When we read John's description of the New Jerusalem with its gates open wide, I am reminded of the famous Washington hostess Perle Mesta. It was said that when she threw a party she always greeted her guests with the same welcome: "At last you're here!"
She never had any trouble filling every seat at her table.
* * *
"The people will bring into it glory and honor... but nothing unclean will enter it." Ten things which a Christian never regrets:
1. Trying to be like Jesus.
2. Listening before judging.
3. Pausing to think before speaking.
4. Being kind and generous to someone who is down on their luck.
5. Forgiving someone who has hurt you.
6. Refusing to listen to gossip.
7. Standing by your principles.
8. Asking forgiveness when you are wrong.
9. Being honest in business.
10. Treating every child as your own.
* * *
Tony Campolo tells the story of a young woman named Nancy who gratefully responded to God's movement of grace. Although Nancy has a handicapping condition and is confined to a wheelchair, she has an extraordinary ministry. Every week in the personals section of her local newspaper, she runs an ad that reads: "If you are lonely or have a problem, call me. I am in a wheelchair and I seldom get out. We can share our problems with each other. I'd love to talk." She spends much of her day on the telephone talking with the more than 30 lonely and discouraged people who call each week. When Campolo asked how she came to be confined to a wheelchair, Nancy revealed that she had tried to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony of her apartment. Instead of dying, however, she ended up in a hospital room paralyzed from the waist down. One night in the hospital, she said, Jesus came to her and very clearly said, "You have had a healthy body and a crippled soul. From this day on you will have a crippled body, but you will have a healthy soul." She said, "I gave my life to Jesus that night in that hospital room, and I knew that if I kept a healthy soul, it would mean that I would have to help other people. And so I do."
* * *
To be healthy is literally to be whole... Our sense of wholeness is not just the completeness in ourselves but also is the sense of belonging to others and to our place... I believe that the community -- in the fullest sense: a place and all its creatures -- is the smallest unit of health and that to speak of the health of an isolated individual is a contradiction in terms.
-- Wendell Berry, in an essay, "Health is Membership," delivered as a speech at the "Spirituality and Healing" conference, Louisville, Kentucky, October 17, 1994
* * *
It is interesting that the texts for Mother's Day include the story of Lydia. She was, you will recall, a wealthy, successful businesswoman, a Macedonian pagan who had become interested in religion and was active around the edges of the local Jewish group who met for prayers down by the river.
She is enraptured by Paul's account of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and she invites Paul and his company to stay at her house while in Philippi. Before anything much can happen, however, Paul and company are arrested, beaten, and jailed for causing a disturbance.
When they are finally released from jail they make their way back to Lydia's house to help her start a church -- only to discover that she has already taken the task into her own hands. The church is already going and meeting in her home.
Later, Paul will write his letter to the Philippians to this church, praising them for the wonders they have worked, thanks to Lydia -- the mother of the Philippian church.
* * *
Ben Feldmeyer is a professor of sociology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, but he was raised in Ohio where his father is a pastor.
Unaccustomed as he was to "southern hospitality," he was somewhat surprised when three members of the faculty invited him to their churches the first week he was there. When he reported this to his wife at the end of the week, she replied: "That's nothing. I got that many invitations from members of my Pilates class on the first day after the leader told everyone I was new."
The gates of the church are, indeed, open wide in Knoxville. Lydia would have fit right in.
* * *
For "Festival of the Christian Home" (Mother's Day):
Homes are the nation's chief teachers of religion. To be sure, the church schools aid the homes significantly, but in the last analysis, the day-by-day living of parents with their children can scarcely be overestimated in its teaching influence.... In a real sense, therefore, the nation's homes are schools of religion and the nation's parents are teachers for or against religious living."
-- Nathaniel F. Forsyth, early leader of the church school movement
* * *
I have been struck by the practice of radical hospitality here at Kafakumba. It was obvious from the first day that John and Kendra Enright live out a unique hospitality that seems to include just about everybody. Meal time is a good example. The day we arrived there were two gentlemen here from an African church; we all sat down to a wonderful meal at the Enrights' table. Around that table have been a simple stream of people over the last few days: Jay, the young Indian man who seems to be almost part of the family; the Enrights' two grown sons, Brian and Nathan, who obviously love their mom's cooking and the conversation; Anjulie, the lovely young Indian-Portuguese-Malay-German girl who is engaged to Nathan; Fred, the importer from South Africa up on business, whose faith and gentle spirit play themselves out on the piano and in conversation; two wandering souls from Indiana who have come to learn. These meals have been a really special time as conversation seems to range across the most amazing topics -- literally from birds and bees, to how emeralds form, to dance, to theology, to raising fish, to American policy, to living out one's faith. If you know the Enrights, you know that we have participated in lively conversations! It feels good to take the time to talk.
Hospitality here is based on a generosity of spirit that extends to more than food. The front porch is open to anyone, and many, many meetings take place there. When we arrived John greeted us with a smile and these words: "Welcome to the circus. You've been warned, but you have no idea." We don't. What we have observed is a rather amazing gathering of all sorts of people. One never knows who will be on the front porch. Leaders, workers, friends, beggars, kings -- I wouldn't be surprised at this point who might show up there. The large front porch is central to life here and is a combination conference room, living room, and veranda. A lot of serious discussion seems to take place there. It is true -- the Enrights just attract a lot of people.
John and Kendra are building a home here. I am fascinated by how the design of the house is driven by their commitment to hospitality. They have planned for only a small space to be theirs; a bedroom, bath, and study. The rest of the house -- large living-dining room combination, kitchen, and two guest rooms are planned for common space with the people who will come. Another large porch is already evident.
-- from the blog Joyful Journeys by Gina Riendeau
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: May God be gracious to us and bless us.
People: Let the peoples praise you, O God;
Leader: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
People: For God judges the peoples with equity.
Leader: May God continue to bless us;
People: Let all the ends of the earth revere God.
OR
Leader: God comes among us in glory.
People: God's glory fills the earth.
Leader: God comes among us with holiness.
People: God calls us to holiness as well.
Leader: We worship the God who comes among us.
People: We join in the holy life of our God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"All Glory, Laud, and Honor"
found in:
UMH: 280
H82: 154, 155
PH: 88
AAHH: 226
NNBH: 102
NCH: 216, 217
CH: 192
LBW: 108
"Crown Him with Many Crowns"
found in:
UMH: 327
H82: 494
PH: 151
AAHH: 288
NNBH: 125
NCH: 301
CH: 234
LBW: 170
"Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken"
found in:
UMH: 731
H82: 522, 523
PH: 446
NNBH: 426
NCH: 307
CH: 709
LBW: 358
"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"
found in:
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
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
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is the Holy One: Grant us the grace to live in holiness as you come among us in this world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, the Holy One, and to welcome you into our presence. You come among us and there is no need for a temple. You are the true presence of holiness. Help us to worship you and join you in truth. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our inclination to worship things instead of you.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have erected temples and we have worshiped at false altars. We have raised up wealth, fame, and greed as things to be adored. We have placed things above you and above one another. We have sacrificed each other and our own souls to gain possessions. Forgive us, and call us back to worship you, the Holy One who knows no falsehood. By the power of your Spirit let us live in truth and holiness with you. Amen.
Leader: God knows how easily we are pulled away. God knows what we are made of. God loves us and invites us back home.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, for all the glory and holiness that is yours. You are the one whose actions and intentions are one.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have erected temples and we have worshiped at false altars. We have raised up wealth, fame, and greed as things to be adored. We have placed things above you and above one another. We have sacrificed each other and our own souls to gain possessions. Forgive us, and call us back to worship you, the Holy One who knows no falsehood. By the power of your Spirit let us live in truth and holiness with you.
We thank you for all the ways in which your steadfast love is shown to us. We thank you for being with us in good times and bad. We thank you for the times when we are aware of your presence and for the times when you are with us and we are oblivious.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need to center our lives in you, so that in whatever life brings us we will find wholeness and blessing. We pray that as we open ourselves to you, we will be able to open ourselves more fully to one another.
(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.
Visuals
pictures of temples, churches, and all types of places of worship, including banks, country clubs, and so on
Children's Sermon Starter
Show the children a candy bar or some other goodie. Ask them if they would enjoy eating it. Then ask them if they would enjoy it if you offered it to them but they didn't take it. The candy bar is the same; your offer is the same. What is different is their participation, of course. God's love is wonderful. God loves us and is gracious. If we want to enjoy God's love and know God better, we have to take God's offer of love.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
All the Nations
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5
Object: flags of many nations or a picture of them
Good morning, boys and girls! Have you ever been out of our city or town? (let them answer) Where did you go? (let them answer) Were the people about the same as they are around here? (let them answer) Have you ever heard someone speak another language like Chinese, German, Spanish, or Russian? (let them answer) Do you know how many countries there are in the world? (let them answer) The answer is 195 countries. All 195 countries have people living in them. All 195 countries have a flag. The country with the most people is China. It has 1,324,655,000. The country with the smallest number of people is Vatican City, and the number is 920.
The book of Revelation says that when God begins his new world, a lot of things will happen. One of the interesting parts of the new world will be the nations coming to Christ and bringing the honor and glory of the nation. I don't know if they will be carrying flags or just reporting to Jesus on the love they have for God. I hope and pray that our nation will bring honor and glory to God.
I brought along some of the flags of the nations. (show them the flags) Each nation believes it has good people. Some nations are much better for their people than other nations. The test of our honor and glory will be when we stand before Jesus and share with him the goals of our country. Do we want to tell Jesus that we are the richest, one of the biggest nations, with more people from different parts of the world than any other country? Do we want to tell God that we have the most powerful weapons, that we grow more food, that we have more fresh water and bigger forests? Do we want to share with Jesus that we have the most cars, use the most energy, or that we have more millionaires than anyone else in the world? Do we want to share how good our roads are and how many people own their own homes? There is a lot to tell Jesus about our country.
I think Jesus probably knows a lot about our country. What Jesus wants to know is how much have we shared with the poorest people in the world. Jesus wants to know how many people we have taught to grow corn or to make clean water. He wants to know how many we helped cure diseases, and taught how to read and write. When we wave our flag are we proud of our faith in God and our love of Jesus? God will watch all of the nations pass by, all 195 of them, and he will review our honor and glory. Every one of us will be there to share with Jesus our love for God and for all of the people of God. It will be a very interesting time.
The next time you see flags, I want you to think about standing before God in the new world and sharing the most important things we have given all of the people in the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 9, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
This Sunday is also Mother's Day, and team member Ron Love offers some additional thoughts on the John 5:1-9 passage and on the roles parents play for their children, and the analogy that can be drawn for how the church functions for believers. Parents can do their best to point their children in the proper direction and to train them well, but in the end, they can only look on and hope that the lessons have been taught well and are heeded as their children make their way in the world. There is only so much a parent can do -- the ultimate responsibility lies with the child, who eventually must, as Jesus tells the man he heals, "stand up, take your mat, and walk" (John 5:8). Similarly, those of us who follow Christ have the responsibility to stand up, walk through the church doors, and set an example out in the world.
Do We Really Want to Be Made Well?
by Kate Murphy
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5; John 5:1-9
THE WORLD
For many of us, last week's Senate hearings were a cathartic piece of political theater. We can't reverse the financial meltdown, and it becomes increasingly clear that no one can be prosecuted for the incredibly complicated financial transactions that led to the near-collapse of the US economy and the financial ruin of so many people. But we can watch our elected officials scold the executives whose greed appears to have caused the crisis. And so senators raged indignantly, Goldman Sachs executives offered unconvincing apologies and excuses, and we watched. On his blog Planet Money, Jacob Goldstein highlighted this truly remarkable moment between Senator Carl Levin and Goldman Sachs executive VP David Viniar:
LEVIN: And when you heard that your employees, in these e-mails, when looking at these deals said... what a s*****y deal... what a piece of crap -- when you hear your own employees or read about those in the e-mails, do you feel anything?
VINIAR: I think that's very unfortunate to have on e-mail. [The gallery bursts out laughing.]
LEVIN: On an e-mail?
VINIAR: Please don't take that the wrong way. I think it's very unfortunate for anyone to have said that in any form.
LEVIN: How about to believe that and sell them?
VINIAR: I think that's unfortunate as well.
LEVIN: That's what you should have started with.
VINIAR: You're correct. It is.
As refreshing as it is to see someone rebuke one of these titans of industry, the enjoyment is fleeting -- because it is just a show, and everyone knows it. When Goldman Sachs created these toxic financial products and intentionally misrepresented them to sucker clients, all the while making secret financial transactions that would allow them to profit when their products failed -- as they intended them to -- that wasn't illegal.
Unethical? Yes.
Illegal? No.
Apparently, there is a big difference. The company explains that their clients were incredibly sophisticated and intelligent people. They should have known better than to trust their financial firm to work in their best interests. Caveat Emptor.
Goldman Sachs began executing a secret exit strategy back in December of 2006 to rid itself of risky mortgage-backed securities because it knew then the market would fail. However, turning a profit required making sure that no one else got out of the market, so the company continued to publicly claim that the housing market was sound, and it failed to report its exit strategy to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In other words, the company knew these holdings were essentially worthless, but hid that knowledge from the public and government regulatory agencies, because it wanted to unload them for the highest price.
Unethical? Yes.
Illegal? No.
Profitable? Absolutely.
Financial pundits can argue the legality and morality of the Goldman strategy all they want, but one thing is crystal clear -- it worked. The bank is now and always was profitable. Last Tuesday morning, as its executives were hauled in front of the Senate's Permanent Subcomittee on Investigations, Goldman released an earnings report that "blew past" Wall Street expectations. Goldman Sachs -- and their shareholders -- made money, lots of it.
It's beginning to seem as though that's all that matters. So Mr. Viniar's candid comments only reveal the truth -- Goldman Sachs executives don't regret their profitable strategies, they regret the bad PR. After all, bad PR is bad for the bottom line.
Where does that leave the rest of us? How can we live ethically in a world where powerful people make decisions that are clearly wrong, and yet, somehow, are completely legal? How can we teach our children to be honest and fair when our hyper-capitalist culture clearly teaches that morality is for suckers? Do we now live in a world where we have one set of ethical obligations for our personal lives and another standard entirely (or no standard at all!) in our professional lives? Where is the God of Justice in all of this mess? As Christians, where can we turn for truth?
THE WORD
The lectionary's suggested reading from Revelation comes like a breath of fresh air. Normally it is John's descriptions of the physical beauty of the New Jerusalem that captures our imagination. But note that the evangelist is equally hyperbolic about the quality of life within the city -- its people dwell together with exceptional integrity. He assures us that "nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abominations or falsehood.... Nothing accursed will be found there anymore," and all that is produced in the city will be "for the healing of the nations." In light of recent headlines, the contrast between the culture and community in God's city and in our own couldn't be higher.
The preacher might wish to spend some time encouraging the congregation to do more than enjoy the imagery. Like all good poetic literature, there is more than beauty here -- there is also truth. What is present in the New Jerusalem that is absent in our own cities? What does the spiritual geography of the place teach us about how we are to conduct our own lives?
As the reading begins, we find ourselves on a tour, as John describes the glories of the celestial city. Anticipation builds as we learn that the walls of the city are jasper resting upon foundations encrusted with jewels: sapphires, amethysts, emeralds. The 12 gates are made of 12 single pearls, and the streets are a gold so pure it is clear as glass. What does it suggest to us that mundane objects like gates, streets, and walls are built out of such priceless substances? If the infrastructure of the city -- the walls, gates, and roads -- are composed of such precious materials, how in the world will the temple be adorned?
Then we learn there is no temple -- there is no temple in the kingdom of God, because there is no place set apart for God. Every place is sacred, every place is holy. Now we begin to see the sacred truth proclaimed by the architecture. When God makes all things new, there will no longer be any distinction between sacred and secular. The best and the finest things, which we used to set apart for the temple, we now dedicate to the streets -- because in the New Jerusalem, all places are sacred to God. All ground is holy.
If everywhere we go is holy ground, then it follows that everything we do will be sacred. Now we understand John's emphasis on the exquisite beauty of the "ordinary" places and the absolute integrity of life within the city. Every place, every object, is adorned as sacred -- and every action is reverent. All life is worship. Now that creation is redeemed, all is glory.
How we long for that day.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
But do we? As angered as we are to see the blatant ethical double standard on display in congressional hearings, as much as we believe that powerful people have a responsibility to do more than follow the letter of the law, as maddening as it is to hear financial executives proudly declare that their unethical work was profitable -- aren't there times when we too distinguish between our "Sunday" and "weekday" selves?
After using contemporary examples and John's vision to vividly contrast the way the world is with the way the world will be, the preacher might wish to pull in the alternate gospel reading to help folks dig a little deeper. After all, as enjoyable as it is to pronounce judgment upon the immorality of powerful rich people, like the political theater of the congressional hearings it won't change any lives. We need to encourage our parishioners to ask "Where am I in the story?"
In John 5:1-9, a paralyzed man lies on his mat near the Bethzatha pool. Jesus approaches the man and asks him an offensively simple question: "Do you want to be healed?"
Interestingly, the man doesn't say yes. This man, who by his own count has been suffering for 38 years, doesn't scream out in gratitude to God. He doesn't even graciously accept Jesus' offer. Instead he gives Jesus his excuses: "The water is only stirred up occasionally, I don't have anyone to put me in the water then, and whenever I try to go myself, people cut in front of me." Note that he doesn't say "the healing waters didn't work for me," because he's never been in them.
Maybe this isn't the straightforward healing story it appears to be on first read. John takes the time to point out how long the man has been ill and to detail his complaints, which suggests that, in this story anyway, he wants us to pay as much attention to the one healed as much as to the healer. Maybe there was something perceptive in Jesus' original question. Maybe, deep down, the man didn't completely want to be healed. Certainly the fact that in 38 years the man had never found a way to get himself down into the water gives us license to ponder the question.
Is our own desire for healing, whether it be in our personal lives or for the healing and redemption of creation, sometimes similarly complicated? Maybe the story bears witness to the uncomfortable truth that we humans sometimes cling to the life we know even when we realize that it is less than God wants for us. As unpleasant as it was to be paralyzed, once he was healed the man would have to embark on a whole new life. He would have to figure out how to provide for himself. Healing was a blessing -- but a terrifying one. It would change everything.
Perhaps the man's ambivalence about healing is similar to our own attitudes toward John's Revelation. It is true that we long for the day when other people will behave ethically in all areas of their lives. But are we ready to hold ourselves to that standard? Do we not, at times, take ethical short-cuts and rationalize our choices? After all, we live in a fallen world -- and everyone else is doing it. If everyone else were playing by the rules, we would too -- but until they do...
We long for John's vision to become reality. We sincerely look forward to the day when sin will no longer have power in our world. But at the same time, much like the paralyzed man, we've grown used to thinking of ourselves as sinners. The preacher might wish to point out that when Christ comes again to usher in the kingdom of God everything will be made new, including us. We also will be healed. So Jesus' question to the paralyzed man also applies to us. "Do you want to be made well?"
ANOTHER VIEW
Mature Wisdom
by Ronald H. Love
John 5:1-9
Mother's Day is always a special day of celebration in the church. It is the recognition of the unqualified love that has been bestowed upon us by the ones who are dearest in our hearts. It is a love that expects nothing in return. It is a love that, no matter how wayward we have become or how unresponsive we are, nevertheless remains steadfast. There is, in some way, an indefinable bonding to the one who has physically given birth to us.
It would do us well to expand the horizons of our Mother's Day celebration. It seems that Father's Day often goes unnoticed in worship, and at best gets a peripheral mention. Mothers get flowers while entering the sanctuary, but fathers never receive the proverbial necktie that is traditionally associated with the occasion of their special day.
As we move into the twenty-first century, our concept of Mother's Day should really be expanded to recognize it as Family Day. This, of course, would include the forgotten fathers of June. It would also incorporate single parents of both genders. And, regardless of your personal theological and moral position, homosexual parents are endeared by their children, and these parents need to be commended for their selfless devotion.
A casual reading of the daily newspaper and weekly magazines will familiarize you with many of today's parenting issues. These same publications will also provide many heartwarming and inspirational stories on parenting. A review of current television programs and movies will demonstrate the changing fabric of parenting, moving beyond the stereotypical 1950s concept. Many of these evolutions will remain permanent on our landscape, so they should be not addressed in judgment that produces guilt and fosters alienation, but in a supportive and constructive manner. We are now in a generation of single parents, working couples, stay-at-home dads, and homosexual families. Always remember when addressing these groups that you are speaking of a child's beloved parent.
THE WORD
This week's lesson from John 5:1-9 deals with Jesus' command over the forces of nature, as the incarnate one who possesses the power to heal and as the new interpreter of Jewish law. With that being established, there are a number of lessons on parenting that can also be drawn from the text. The roles in the story could easily be recast so that Jesus is a parent approaching the invalid, who represents the uncertainties of youth. The dynamic nature of the scriptures, containing such multifaceted lessons, make them forever intriguing to read, meditate upon, and learn from. For the setting of Family Day, we would do well to look upon Jesus as the parent speaking to a child who seeks the healing that comes from mature wisdom.
In reviewing this lesson in the context of a parent-child relationship, the following points ought to be considered:
* Jesus asked the child "Do you want to be healed?" Is the child willing to be "healed" by listening to one who is older, whose wisdom (that is, his understanding of life) has matured over the years?
* Jesus, reflecting the love of a parent, did not wait for the child to come to him. Instead, Jesus went to the pool.
* Jesus asked if he could help, but he did not force himself upon the child.
* Jesus, in the wisdom of his years, understood the problem the child was experiencing.
* Jesus realized the solution to the problem, and if invited, would readily share it.
* Jesus had no intention of leaving the child in his current condition, unless the child refused the invitation to be healed.
* In asking the question "Do you want to be healed?" Jesus realized that healing has to be a cooperative venture. Dialogue, not pontificating, will heal.
* The invalid (the child) had to want to participate. Did his self-image receive a perverted sense of self-satisfaction while whining beside the pool, or did he truly seek someone who could liberate his body, mind, and spirit?
* Was the child willing to listen to the command of Jesus, or did he just dismiss it as another parental interference into his life?
* Was the child, on the advice of the parent, willing to accept personal responsibility and get up and walk on his own?
CRAFTING THE SERMON
In writing your sermon you may want to expand upon these points and offer your own insights. It would also be beneficial to review the stories of parents as recorded in the scriptures. A creative and entertaining approach could be to offer what you think might have been the parent's thoughts and feelings at the time. A short sampling could include:
* How did Adam and Eve reconcile the different personalities between their two children? Did they question their parenting skills? Did they have latent guilt for their own personal transgression in the garden as the cause of Cain's misbehavior?
* When Jesus was born, Mary pondered all things in her heart. When she held her deceased son in her arms at the foot of the cross, her grief-stricken mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts. On these two occasions, what would Mary have been thinking and feeling?
* Did Elizabeth hold any grudges that her son John would always live in the shadow of his cousin Jesus?
* Peter's mother had been the host to many of her son's friends -- the most noteworthy was a man from Nazareth. As the friends of her son fellowshiped in her home, how did she view their conversations? What did she think of their plans? How involved did she feel she should become? How willing was she to surrender her son to the absurd mission outlined by Jesus?
ILLUSTRATIONS
The hearings in Congress with the Goldman Sachs brass show us what happens when we are not willing "to be healed." The members of Congress are blaming the executives of the financial institutions, without taking any responsibility themselves for not having safeguards and effective monitoring in place. The financial executives are placing the responsibility on those who bought items the seller was betting would go bust. No one seems to want to admit they are lame and need to be fixed.
* * *
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of what happens when our "need" for so much energy and the products made from petroleum leads us to disregard the potential consequences.
* * *
In the church we often hear people talking about how terrible it is that the government or the schools or whoever are not teaching our children to pray. Isn't that the church's job?
* * *
When we read John's description of the New Jerusalem with its gates open wide, I am reminded of the famous Washington hostess Perle Mesta. It was said that when she threw a party she always greeted her guests with the same welcome: "At last you're here!"
She never had any trouble filling every seat at her table.
* * *
"The people will bring into it glory and honor... but nothing unclean will enter it." Ten things which a Christian never regrets:
1. Trying to be like Jesus.
2. Listening before judging.
3. Pausing to think before speaking.
4. Being kind and generous to someone who is down on their luck.
5. Forgiving someone who has hurt you.
6. Refusing to listen to gossip.
7. Standing by your principles.
8. Asking forgiveness when you are wrong.
9. Being honest in business.
10. Treating every child as your own.
* * *
Tony Campolo tells the story of a young woman named Nancy who gratefully responded to God's movement of grace. Although Nancy has a handicapping condition and is confined to a wheelchair, she has an extraordinary ministry. Every week in the personals section of her local newspaper, she runs an ad that reads: "If you are lonely or have a problem, call me. I am in a wheelchair and I seldom get out. We can share our problems with each other. I'd love to talk." She spends much of her day on the telephone talking with the more than 30 lonely and discouraged people who call each week. When Campolo asked how she came to be confined to a wheelchair, Nancy revealed that she had tried to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony of her apartment. Instead of dying, however, she ended up in a hospital room paralyzed from the waist down. One night in the hospital, she said, Jesus came to her and very clearly said, "You have had a healthy body and a crippled soul. From this day on you will have a crippled body, but you will have a healthy soul." She said, "I gave my life to Jesus that night in that hospital room, and I knew that if I kept a healthy soul, it would mean that I would have to help other people. And so I do."
* * *
To be healthy is literally to be whole... Our sense of wholeness is not just the completeness in ourselves but also is the sense of belonging to others and to our place... I believe that the community -- in the fullest sense: a place and all its creatures -- is the smallest unit of health and that to speak of the health of an isolated individual is a contradiction in terms.
-- Wendell Berry, in an essay, "Health is Membership," delivered as a speech at the "Spirituality and Healing" conference, Louisville, Kentucky, October 17, 1994
* * *
It is interesting that the texts for Mother's Day include the story of Lydia. She was, you will recall, a wealthy, successful businesswoman, a Macedonian pagan who had become interested in religion and was active around the edges of the local Jewish group who met for prayers down by the river.
She is enraptured by Paul's account of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and she invites Paul and his company to stay at her house while in Philippi. Before anything much can happen, however, Paul and company are arrested, beaten, and jailed for causing a disturbance.
When they are finally released from jail they make their way back to Lydia's house to help her start a church -- only to discover that she has already taken the task into her own hands. The church is already going and meeting in her home.
Later, Paul will write his letter to the Philippians to this church, praising them for the wonders they have worked, thanks to Lydia -- the mother of the Philippian church.
* * *
Ben Feldmeyer is a professor of sociology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, but he was raised in Ohio where his father is a pastor.
Unaccustomed as he was to "southern hospitality," he was somewhat surprised when three members of the faculty invited him to their churches the first week he was there. When he reported this to his wife at the end of the week, she replied: "That's nothing. I got that many invitations from members of my Pilates class on the first day after the leader told everyone I was new."
The gates of the church are, indeed, open wide in Knoxville. Lydia would have fit right in.
* * *
For "Festival of the Christian Home" (Mother's Day):
Homes are the nation's chief teachers of religion. To be sure, the church schools aid the homes significantly, but in the last analysis, the day-by-day living of parents with their children can scarcely be overestimated in its teaching influence.... In a real sense, therefore, the nation's homes are schools of religion and the nation's parents are teachers for or against religious living."
-- Nathaniel F. Forsyth, early leader of the church school movement
* * *
I have been struck by the practice of radical hospitality here at Kafakumba. It was obvious from the first day that John and Kendra Enright live out a unique hospitality that seems to include just about everybody. Meal time is a good example. The day we arrived there were two gentlemen here from an African church; we all sat down to a wonderful meal at the Enrights' table. Around that table have been a simple stream of people over the last few days: Jay, the young Indian man who seems to be almost part of the family; the Enrights' two grown sons, Brian and Nathan, who obviously love their mom's cooking and the conversation; Anjulie, the lovely young Indian-Portuguese-Malay-German girl who is engaged to Nathan; Fred, the importer from South Africa up on business, whose faith and gentle spirit play themselves out on the piano and in conversation; two wandering souls from Indiana who have come to learn. These meals have been a really special time as conversation seems to range across the most amazing topics -- literally from birds and bees, to how emeralds form, to dance, to theology, to raising fish, to American policy, to living out one's faith. If you know the Enrights, you know that we have participated in lively conversations! It feels good to take the time to talk.
Hospitality here is based on a generosity of spirit that extends to more than food. The front porch is open to anyone, and many, many meetings take place there. When we arrived John greeted us with a smile and these words: "Welcome to the circus. You've been warned, but you have no idea." We don't. What we have observed is a rather amazing gathering of all sorts of people. One never knows who will be on the front porch. Leaders, workers, friends, beggars, kings -- I wouldn't be surprised at this point who might show up there. The large front porch is central to life here and is a combination conference room, living room, and veranda. A lot of serious discussion seems to take place there. It is true -- the Enrights just attract a lot of people.
John and Kendra are building a home here. I am fascinated by how the design of the house is driven by their commitment to hospitality. They have planned for only a small space to be theirs; a bedroom, bath, and study. The rest of the house -- large living-dining room combination, kitchen, and two guest rooms are planned for common space with the people who will come. Another large porch is already evident.
-- from the blog Joyful Journeys by Gina Riendeau
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: May God be gracious to us and bless us.
People: Let the peoples praise you, O God;
Leader: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
People: For God judges the peoples with equity.
Leader: May God continue to bless us;
People: Let all the ends of the earth revere God.
OR
Leader: God comes among us in glory.
People: God's glory fills the earth.
Leader: God comes among us with holiness.
People: God calls us to holiness as well.
Leader: We worship the God who comes among us.
People: We join in the holy life of our God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"All Glory, Laud, and Honor"
found in:
UMH: 280
H82: 154, 155
PH: 88
AAHH: 226
NNBH: 102
NCH: 216, 217
CH: 192
LBW: 108
"Crown Him with Many Crowns"
found in:
UMH: 327
H82: 494
PH: 151
AAHH: 288
NNBH: 125
NCH: 301
CH: 234
LBW: 170
"Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken"
found in:
UMH: 731
H82: 522, 523
PH: 446
NNBH: 426
NCH: 307
CH: 709
LBW: 358
"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"
found in:
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
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
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is the Holy One: Grant us the grace to live in holiness as you come among us in this world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, the Holy One, and to welcome you into our presence. You come among us and there is no need for a temple. You are the true presence of holiness. Help us to worship you and join you in truth. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our inclination to worship things instead of you.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have erected temples and we have worshiped at false altars. We have raised up wealth, fame, and greed as things to be adored. We have placed things above you and above one another. We have sacrificed each other and our own souls to gain possessions. Forgive us, and call us back to worship you, the Holy One who knows no falsehood. By the power of your Spirit let us live in truth and holiness with you. Amen.
Leader: God knows how easily we are pulled away. God knows what we are made of. God loves us and invites us back home.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, for all the glory and holiness that is yours. You are the one whose actions and intentions are one.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have erected temples and we have worshiped at false altars. We have raised up wealth, fame, and greed as things to be adored. We have placed things above you and above one another. We have sacrificed each other and our own souls to gain possessions. Forgive us, and call us back to worship you, the Holy One who knows no falsehood. By the power of your Spirit let us live in truth and holiness with you.
We thank you for all the ways in which your steadfast love is shown to us. We thank you for being with us in good times and bad. We thank you for the times when we are aware of your presence and for the times when you are with us and we are oblivious.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need to center our lives in you, so that in whatever life brings us we will find wholeness and blessing. We pray that as we open ourselves to you, we will be able to open ourselves more fully to one another.
(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.
Visuals
pictures of temples, churches, and all types of places of worship, including banks, country clubs, and so on
Children's Sermon Starter
Show the children a candy bar or some other goodie. Ask them if they would enjoy eating it. Then ask them if they would enjoy it if you offered it to them but they didn't take it. The candy bar is the same; your offer is the same. What is different is their participation, of course. God's love is wonderful. God loves us and is gracious. If we want to enjoy God's love and know God better, we have to take God's offer of love.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
All the Nations
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5
Object: flags of many nations or a picture of them
Good morning, boys and girls! Have you ever been out of our city or town? (let them answer) Where did you go? (let them answer) Were the people about the same as they are around here? (let them answer) Have you ever heard someone speak another language like Chinese, German, Spanish, or Russian? (let them answer) Do you know how many countries there are in the world? (let them answer) The answer is 195 countries. All 195 countries have people living in them. All 195 countries have a flag. The country with the most people is China. It has 1,324,655,000. The country with the smallest number of people is Vatican City, and the number is 920.
The book of Revelation says that when God begins his new world, a lot of things will happen. One of the interesting parts of the new world will be the nations coming to Christ and bringing the honor and glory of the nation. I don't know if they will be carrying flags or just reporting to Jesus on the love they have for God. I hope and pray that our nation will bring honor and glory to God.
I brought along some of the flags of the nations. (show them the flags) Each nation believes it has good people. Some nations are much better for their people than other nations. The test of our honor and glory will be when we stand before Jesus and share with him the goals of our country. Do we want to tell Jesus that we are the richest, one of the biggest nations, with more people from different parts of the world than any other country? Do we want to tell God that we have the most powerful weapons, that we grow more food, that we have more fresh water and bigger forests? Do we want to share with Jesus that we have the most cars, use the most energy, or that we have more millionaires than anyone else in the world? Do we want to share how good our roads are and how many people own their own homes? There is a lot to tell Jesus about our country.
I think Jesus probably knows a lot about our country. What Jesus wants to know is how much have we shared with the poorest people in the world. Jesus wants to know how many people we have taught to grow corn or to make clean water. He wants to know how many we helped cure diseases, and taught how to read and write. When we wave our flag are we proud of our faith in God and our love of Jesus? God will watch all of the nations pass by, all 195 of them, and he will review our honor and glory. Every one of us will be there to share with Jesus our love for God and for all of the people of God. It will be a very interesting time.
The next time you see flags, I want you to think about standing before God in the new world and sharing the most important things we have given all of the people in the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 9, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
