Faithfulness And Righteousness On The Campaign Trail
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
It was rather startling to find discussions on theology in the headlines last week. Though it's gratifying for the mainstream media to acknowledge the existence and importance of theology, it's always a slippery slope when it becomes the subject of agenda-laden political discourse. Moreover, when first Rick Santorum and then Franklin Graham weighed in with their viewpoints on whether President Obama's theology was phony or genuine, and whether or not it was consistent with Christianity, it merely fed into the stereotype of Christians being more concerned about self-righteous judgmentalism (think comedian Dana Carvey's "church lady" character) than about faithfulness. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer points out that Paul cautions us against such an approach when he tells us that "the promise that [Abraham] would inherit the world did not come... through the law but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13). In other words, Dean notes, it's not necessarily about having the "right" beliefs -- rather, it's about having the courage to place our faith in God and to reflect that faith in our lives. Of course, it's not easy... and if there's any question about how difficult it can be, Jesus removes it with his words from the lectionary's gospel passage: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). Yet even that daunting challenge is good news, Dean reminds us, because we are ultimately judged not on the correctness of our theology but on our faithfulness -- sustained by God's grace.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts about the name changes of Abram and Sarai in this week's Genesis passage. People change their names for many reasons -- some of them seemingly silly (most notably NFL receiver Chad Johnson, who after several years as Chad "Ochocinco" is having second thoughts and returning to his original name). But other times -- as with Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah -- name changes can be reflective of deep inner meaning, as with Muslim converts who take on new names (i.e. Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali) or the actor/director Tyler Perry (who changed his first name from Emmitt Jr. in order to distance himself from the legacy of an abusive father). Mary suggests that the journey of Abraham and Sarah gives us an opportunity to consider the legacy of our ancestors in the faith, and also points out that since names can have power and meaning invested in them, we might even consider giving ourselves "Lent names" as part of our experience of the season.
Faithfulness and Righteousness on the Campaign Trail
by Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38
Last week Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum decided to make theological correctness a qualification for political office when he declared that President Obama's environmental policy was based on a "phony theology" -- the implication being that his own was based on a correct and authentic theology. The president's people rose to the bait and fired back in defense of Obama and, presumably, his own version of proper Christian theology.
One cannot help but wonder, amid all the fireworks, why theology is so important in a political campaign. When we examine this week's lectionary offerings from Romans and Mark, it appears that theology isn't all that important to Paul or Jesus. Paul reaches back to Genesis to remind us that Abraham's faithfulness, not his theology, was what appealed to God and God counted that faithfulness as righteousness. Jesus tells Peter that when it comes to being a Christian, what we do counts a whole lot more than what we think and believe.
THE WORLD
There was a lot of clarifying going on last week. Did you catch it?
First, Rick Santorum said he thought the president's environmental policy was based on "some phony theology" that wasn't "from the Bible". Then, the next day, he clarified: He didn't mean that the president wasn't a Christian, he explained, just that Mr. Obama's environmental policies don't jibe with Mr. Santorum's interpretation of scripture wherein we are allowed to do pretty much anything we want to the environment because, in Genesis, God gave it to us and told us to subdue it. Or something.
Then North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and the president of Samaritan's Purse, opined that he couldn't "say categorically that [the president is not Muslim] because Islam has gotten a free pass under Obama". (Apparently he isn't counting the thousands of Muslims who have been killed by American and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They didn't get a pass.)
On the other hand, said Graham, Mr. Santorum is definitely a Christian. No doubt about it. A couple of days later, he too was clarifying. What he was really talking about, Graham said, was abortion -- and Santorum's stand on abortion is more in keeping with his own, while the president's stand on abortion, well, isn't. Rev. Graham did not feel the need to clarify his remarks concerning Mitt Romney ("most Christians would not recognize Mormonism as part of the Christian faith") or Newt Gingrich ("Newt's been married several times... but he could make a good candidate. I think Newt's a Christian. At least he told me he is.").
President Obama has told the whole world that he is a Christian but that doesn't seem to cut any ice with Rev. Graham.
Meanwhile Mr. Obama has stayed out of this particular debate, letting others do most of the talking -- like Melissa Rogers, director for the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School, who finds it "deeply regrettable" when civic and religious leaders challenge an elected official's faith. Tom Currie, dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, offered his opinion that election year efforts to differentiate "real Christians from non-Christians" run counter to the church's real work. Brian McLaren, in his "Naked Theology" column on patheos.com, observes that this whole debate over environmentalism may be even more theological than Mr. Santorum thinks -- and in the search for phony theologies, the burden of proof falls upon those who eschew protecting our environment.
Whenever politicians decide to become theologians and make theological correctness a qualification for political office, both politics and theology suffer.
THE WORD
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 tells us of God announcing his covenant with Abram, and in Romans 4 we have Paul's commentary on this seminal event in Judaism and Christianity.
This covenant is possible, says Paul, not because Abraham was a good and righteous man but because he was a man of faith -- and God reckons faithfulness as righteousness. Abraham believed what God promised even though that promise defied rationality. It just wasn't reasonable to accept a promise that a childless man who was about 100 years old was going to be the ancestor of a multitude, but Abraham chose to believe anyway.
Abraham didn't just believe, for belief is merely intellectual assent. He held God's promise in faith -- that is, he lived as though the promise was true. The minutiae of theology don't come into play here. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin is not even up for consideration or debate. The various doctrines that have driven the church for centuries are not mentioned. What matters is Abraham's relationship with God and how it is acted out in his life. Did he trust and obey God's will as he understood it? That's the only question that interests Paul.
In Mark 8, Jesus addresses a similar issue. In the verses preceding this passage Jesus has asked the disciples what people are saying about him. Then Jesus asks them who they believe he is. Peter answers correctly: "You are the Messiah."
He's got it. His theology is perfect. His Christology is flawless. He would get an A+ in any seminary in the country.
However, when Jesus begins to unpack those four words -- "You are the Messiah" -- when he explains what that means for how his followers will need to live their lives, Peter rebukes him, accusing him of having a phony theology.
Jesus responds with a blistering retort, the severest of any he delivers in the gospel, and it isn't aimed at the scribes or the Pharisees but at his own inner circle and closest friend: "Get behind me, Satan!" Then he goes on to explain that being a follower (disciple) of Jesus has to do not with proper theology, which Peter seems to have figured out, but with how you live your life. It has nothing to do with picking up the subtle nuances of a theological formula but of picking up your cross and following him.
Jesus concludes by reminding them that the real theology is not a game of one-upsmanship but of living a life of openness and vulnerability, and that "those who want to save their [election] will lose it, and those who lose their [election] for my sake, and the sake of the gospel, will save it."
Or something like that.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The texts for this day ask us to weigh what we believe against what we do; how we think about God and Jesus against how we live our lives. We are reminded that belief is little more than intellectual assent. It requires nothing of us -- no action, no risk, no commitment.
This sermon might easily begin with a survey of beliefs. What do we believe as individuals? What do we believe as a people? What do we believe as Americans, as Christians? National Public Radio has spent several years collecting essays from Americans, famous and not so famous, on the topic "This I Believe." Many of them can be found on the NPR website and will offer grist for the sermon mill.
Or you might begin with this (extremely) edited version of Crash Davis's famous "I believe" speech from the movie Bull Durham: "Well, I believe in the soul... the small of a woman's back, the hanging curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated... I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing astro turf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot... opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days." Or not... depending on your church.
The point is that it doesn't much matter what we believe if our beliefs are not reflected in our behavior.
Faith, on the other hand, must be reflected in behavior.
I can believe that you can ride a bicycle across Niagara Falls on a tightrope with me on the handlebars... and to believe it requires nothing of me. Faith, however, requires that I get up on those handlebars.
God is not so interested in what we believe as in what we place our faith.
God asks us to place our faith in him.
And if we do, God counts that faith as righteousness.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Genesis 17:1-16
The website Legal Zoom offers intriguing insight about "the top ten reasons people change their names". Amusingly, reason number one is that they didn't like their name. Who knew?
The Genesis text this week continues the covenant theme, with God offering the foundational covenant with Abram (soon to be Abraham) and Sarai (soon to become Sarah). Abram and Sarai have followed God's leading out of their home in Haran to Canaan, relying on God's promise of protection, and then on to Egypt and through some dicey business with the king there. God seems to be slow to fulfill the promise of an heir, let alone descendants as numerous as the stars, and now God appears again to Abram. Abram has heard these promises from God twice before this, and you would think he might be impatient by now. Yet, he is again faithful to this mysterious and slow God.
This time when God offers a covenant with Abram and his descendants, God gives them new names. "No longer shall your name be Abram," God says, "but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations." His wife, too, receives a new name from God.
Immediately, the story begins to call them by their new names. For Abraham, the new name signifies a new status, a new level of connection with God. This covenant is life-changing in an even deeper way than before.
In our lives, people might take a new name when entering religious life. A confirmation name can be added as a middle name when a young person is confirmed in some religious traditions. Even secular transitions can come with name changes. Marriage can bring a new last name and so can divorce. People getting married can choose one name or the other, hyphenate their surnames, or select a whole new last name to use as a couple. People picking a new first name can choose anything not obscene or copyrighted.
Not all name changes are as simple as Abraham's. Former Cincinnati Bengals (now New England Patriots) football player Chad Johnson famously changed his name to Chad Ochocinco -- and now he is changing it back. Reporter Julia Greenberg writes that "the 34-year-old Patriots receiver initially announced he would like to be called 'Ochocinco' instead of 'Johnson' in October 2006 in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, when he was a player for the Cincinnati Bengals. The player's jersey number is 85 and he wanted to be referred to by his number rather than his name."
Adds Greenberg: "When Ochocinco glued a label reading 'Ocho Cinco' instead of 'C. Johnson' on the back of his jersey in 2006... Ochocinco was charged $5,000. The NFL has strict rules about what names are allowed to be posted on a player's jersey. In response, Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocino in August 2008, and has had 'Ochocinco' written on his back since 2009."
According to Legal Zoom, other reasons for name changes include: the desire for a less or more "ethnic" name. The site notes: "People with names that are identifiably 'ethnic' sometimes request name changes for various reasons, including ease of pronunciation and spelling; on the other hand, some individuals would like to reclaim their ethnic heritage by returning to a surname that may have been lost over the years or by the adoption of a new one." Same-gender partners also seek name changes to share a last name. Of course, some people seek new names to make a religious or political statement. Legal Zoom gives these examples: "Although some may consider it extreme to change your name to support a cause, name changes for political reasons are not unheard of. In the past 10 years, Christopher Garnett became KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, Brandi Valladolid became RinglingBeatsAnimals.com, and Marvin Richardson legally changed his full name to Pro-Life."
Many of us have names with meaning, whether it's a connection to a relative, or a meaning found in the original word. It's interesting to think about the meaning of our names, and how it has shaped our lives. In light of Abraham's story, we might think about our own ancestors in faith and how their journey has shaped ours. We might think about a private "Lent name" that signifies our intentions for this 40-day journey and beyond. For most of us, Lent won't require a name change -- but it does invite us to think about our covenant with God and with the people connected to us, whether we share a name or not.
ILLUSTRATIONS
It would appear that evangelical politicians and evangelical Christians are saying to President Obama "Get behind me, Satan!" as they dispute, question, and even denounce his Christian faith. Franklin Graham clearly implies that Obama is a Muslim. Rick Santorum denounces the president as having a "phony theology."
Taking issue with these criticisms and denunciations, the Washington Post printed the five most personal Christian religious statements the President has made at various public convocations.
Of all the personal testimonies offered, the most telling one came from the National Prayer Breakfast on February 6, 2009: "I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I've ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done. I didn't become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck -- no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God's spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose -- His purpose."
If we declare Jesus' words "Get behind me, Satan!" let us be sure we are speaking of Satan and not of our own parochialism.
* * *
Job description for Christians living under the law: "You have to be perfect -- not just better than your neighbor, not just living a pretty good life -- you have to be perfect as God is perfect. You have to do everything perfectly, and by the way, you must think perfectly as well, because God reads your mind. Not only do you have to do everything and think everything perfectly, you will also be judged by what you do not do that you should have done. If you fail at any of the above, you will be fired."
Job description for Christians living under grace: "Trust Jesus."
* * *
The word for righteousness in Hebrew is zadaka, which means literally "doing good to others." There is an old Hasidic story about a rabbi who was known for his humility and saintliness of soul. He was for this reason a popular speaker, and people would come from far away to hear him speak. One holy day a large crowd gathered in the house of prayer, waiting for the rabbi to lead them, but he did not come. Time passed and the crowd began to stir a bit, but still the rabbi did not appear. Then one of the women of the congregation, who had left her child alone in the house rather than rouse her from sleep, became worried and decided to return home to check on her. "After all," she thought to herself, "the rabbi may be later still, and I can be back in a few minutes." So she ran home and listened at the door. Hearing no sound, she softly turned the knob and peered around the door -- and there stood the rabbi, holding the child in his arms. He had heard the child crying as he passed on his way to the house of prayer and had played with it and sung to it until it fell asleep.
* * *
Aren't we all a little like Peter? Yes, Jesus, tell them the truth -- but be a little more subtle. Use some tact. Have some common sense. Do you want to scare them off? Do you want to get a bunch of weird people following you? Tell the truth, but be careful. That's how we like to tell the truth. Yes, we follow Jesus, but mum's the word. Don't let too many people hear you. Tell the truth, but keep it quiet. It might scare off some people or it might attract the wrong kind of followers. Jesus is risen! No, don't bother coming to church unless you've got nice clothes. Don't bother if you don't want to get up that early. You might come, but since we're not sure about you, we're not going to invite you in to any of our groups, and we may just ignore you afterward in the fellowship hall. We follow Jesus, but it's a select club. Get out.
* * *
One of the main agenda items debated at the recent meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was a name change for their denomination. Established in 1845 in defense of slavery, that stigma still exists with the Southern Baptists to this day. Even though they remain the largest Protestant denomination, declining baptisms and fewer missionary opportunities is a cause of great concern. It was thought by some that a name change would bring forth growth.
Northerners, wanting to disassociate themselves with the Southern Baptist heritage, adopted the name American Baptist in 1950. Almost a century earlier, blacks broke from the Southern Baptist Convention in 1895, calling themselves National Baptist.
At the convention it was debated if the Southern Baptists needed to rebrand their name to win new adherents. There were multiple suggestions: Association of Thriving Baptist Churches, Baptist Southern Convention, Global Association of Immersing Christians, League of Baptist Messengers, and Baptist Ultimate Bible Believing Alliance (BUBBA).
The convention finally endorsed that Southern Baptist congregations could call themselves "Great Commission Baptists."
Abram became Abraham, for he received on faith the new covenant with God. But it was not the name change that made Abraham stand before us as a man of faith and a religious leader; it was his obedience to the covenant. Our congregations do not need to change their names to be successful; they only need to change their focus and dedication to service.
* * *
As the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Michael King Sr. was very involved in the civil rights movement. Defiant and realizing that he was leading a social movement of change, King elected to change his name to reflect his cause of a new Christian order of equality.
So Michael Sr. took his teenage son, Michael Jr., to the courthouse, where they both legally changed their names to Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. -- in recognition that they were now leading a great Christian reform movement like their predecessor, Martin Luther of Germany, centuries earlier.
Abram and Sarai had a name change to demonstrate the new calling they received and accepted from God. It was the same demonstration that caused Michael to go to the court house with his son to demonstrate that things in Atlanta were going to change.
While you and I may not legally change our names, we must symbolically take on a new name that commands us to social action.
* * *
When we enter into an agreement, we usually put our signature on the "bottom line." A life insurance contract, an auto loan, a mortgage, and a will are all examples of legal, binding covenants we might enter. We usually try to make the best deal for ourselves by dickering, bargaining, or shopping before we sign.
Think of Abraham and Sarah, however. They were offered a binding covenant from the Lord, yet there was no way to shop around, no way to dicker, and no way to bargain for a few extras. Either receive it in faith or forget it. All or nothing.
God is so consistent. The new covenant is obviously from the God of Abraham. Jesus comes "while we were sinners." No way to bargain for a few changes -- it's either receive Christ with faith or forget it! Enter a new life in Christ or live the old one! But no negotiations, changes, or rewriting of the agreement already signed in the blood of the cross is possible. The new covenant is ready now and only awaits our commitment.
* * *
Jesus' words seem challenging, even confrontational: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34b). Many of us feel inclined to respond to those words just as Peter has responded to Jesus' prediction about the Son of Man's suffering and death: to "rebuke" Jesus for them. They seem so harsh.
Yet there are some in the human community -- even some in our congregations -- for whom they do not seem harsh at all. These are the people who know suffering. This message is especially for them.
We all wish life could be free of suffering -- but the truth is, it's a rare life indeed that knows nothing of heartache. "Human beings are born to trouble, just as the sparks fly upward," says Job 5:7.
What is there that human wisdom can offer as an explanation for suffering? That it builds character? Perhaps -- but then there are some who seem to be allotted far more "character-building" experiences than others. That suffering is God's judgment upon evildoers. Perhaps -- but then none of us have to look far to see that, as Jesus puts it in Matthew 5:45, God "sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous."
The response of Christianity to the problem of human suffering is that even pain can have a place in God's plan. Not every incident of human suffering is an example of cross-bearing, of course. Yet there is some suffering that can -- if it is embraced as an act of faith, and particularly if it witnesses to justice or serves neighbors -- actually be redemptive. The process of living through suffering, of taking up "the cross we have to bear" can, amazingly, lead to new life.
After all, we are the faith that boldly hangs the image of an instrument of capital punishment in our worship places and even around our necks -- proclaiming to the entire world that there is no experience in human life that God's love does not have the power to transform. Our spiritual tradition charts a course not around suffering, but through it.
* * *
Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day, and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find him and with him everything else thrown in.
-- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
* * *
Walk in faith and love. If the cross comes, accept it. If it does not come, do not search for it.
-- Martin Luther
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Let all who fear God sing praises!
People: We praise our God who does not hide from us.
Leader: Dominion belongs to our God.
People: God rules over all the nations.
Leader: Let us bow down before our God.
People: We worship and serve the God of our salvation.
OR
Leader: Come and worship God, the faithful one.
People: We sing praise to the God of faithfulness.
Leader: Come and learn of the steadfast love of God.
People: We praise the loving kindness of our God.
Leader: Let us become faithful like our God.
People: May God make us faithful disciples of Jesus.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
found in:
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
Renew: 249
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 600
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELW: 632
"A Charge to Keep I Have"
found in:
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467/468
NNBH: 436
"Take Up Thy Cross"
found in:
UMH: 415
H82: 675
PH: 393
LBW: 398
ELW: 667
"Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone"
found in:
UMH: 424
AAHH: 554
NNBH: 221
"O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
"Trust and Obey"
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
"The Old Rugged Cross"
found in:
UMH: 504
AAHH: 244
NNBH: 105
NCH: 195
CH: 548
"I Call You Faithful"
found in:
CCB: 70
"Sing unto the Lord a New Song"
found in:
CCB: 16
Renew: 99
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is ever faithful: Grant to us your children, made in your image, the courage to be faithful to you and to one another; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to praise your name, O God, and to extol you as the faithful one. You are constant in your grace and are always true to your nature. You are love, and your love never fails. Call us once again to be true to our nature as your image. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of faithfulness.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have not been faithful. Although we were created in your image, we have allowed ourselves to be shaped into other images. We have failed to reflect your love and grace to your world. We have not been faithful to you and we have not been faithful to each other. Forgive us and give us the grace and courage to amend our lives and live as Jesus' disciples. Amen.
Leader: God is faithful, loving, and gracious. God's forgiveness is offered freely and God always welcomes us back when we turn and return to our true home.
Prayer for Illumination
May the light of your Spirit, O God, shine upon us that we may understand your call on our lives as the gospel is read and proclaimed. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
Blessed and glorious are you, O God, who created us in your image and faithfully re-creates us when we go astray.
(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 not been faithful. Although we were created in your image, we have allowed ourselves to be shaped into other images. We have failed to reflect your love and grace to your world. We have not been faithful to you and we have not been faithful to each other. Forgive us and give us the grace and courage to amend our lives and live as Jesus' disciples.
We give you thanks for your faithfulness to us and to your creation through the ages. We thank you for those who have shown your faithfulness to us in their constant love and care.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who find it hard to trust because of the unfaithfulness of those around them. Many have been betrayed by family, lovers, and friends. Others have been betrayed by governments and institutions they trusted. Help us to show to the world your faithfulness.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Ask the children about transformers. Show them one and how it changes or ask them to show you how it works. Talk about how it is neat that the toy can change. But it isn't nice when friends change and don't treat us nicely. We want our friends to be faithful. God is faithful and God want us to be faithful too.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
"Faith" and "Grace"
Romans 4:13-25
In our scripture texts today we hear about two words that are popular in church. They are words we use all the time -- but we may not know the meaning of them. The two words I'm speaking of are "grace" and "faith." How many of you have heard those words in church before? (let the children answer) How many heard the word "grace" already this morning? (let them answer) How about the word "faith"? (let them answer)
To show you what they mean, I need a volunteer. Would someone be willing to be the person with faith? (have one of the children volunteer) What I want you to do is stand in front of me facing away from me. Now, I want you to have faith. I want you to fall straight backward. Don't try to catch yourself. Let yourself fall. Are you willing to do that? (let the child answer) Okay, let's do it. (have the child fall backward but catch him or her)
It took faith on your part to fall straight backward. You would have hurt yourself if I hadn't caught you. When you trust someone so much that you know they won't let you get hurt, that's called "faith," and you just showed us all what faith is.
Now your faith was in a person. Your faith was in me. I also had to do my part to keep you from getting hurt. I could have been really mean and let you fall and hurt yourself and then maybe even laugh at you. But I didn't do that. I showed that I was faith-worthy. I showed that I had grace. I caught you!
That second word, "grace," means to have a loving attitude toward another person. It means to love another unconditionally. In a sense, I showed grace this morning by lovingly catching you when you fell.
God is full of grace. God loves us all. God loves us no matter what! God is trustworthy -- faith-worthy. We know we can trust God; we can have faith in God because of God's grace.
When we use these words, faith and grace, perhaps you will know more about what they mean. Who knows the story about Abraham and Sarah? (let them answer) In the lesson we have today the apostle Paul tells about how Abraham and Sarah had faith in God's grace. Even though Abraham and Sarah were very old God had promised them a son, and God showed God's grace by giving them a son. They had faith in trusting God.
Prayer: Dearest God, give us more faith in your grace. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 4, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts about the name changes of Abram and Sarai in this week's Genesis passage. People change their names for many reasons -- some of them seemingly silly (most notably NFL receiver Chad Johnson, who after several years as Chad "Ochocinco" is having second thoughts and returning to his original name). But other times -- as with Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah -- name changes can be reflective of deep inner meaning, as with Muslim converts who take on new names (i.e. Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali) or the actor/director Tyler Perry (who changed his first name from Emmitt Jr. in order to distance himself from the legacy of an abusive father). Mary suggests that the journey of Abraham and Sarah gives us an opportunity to consider the legacy of our ancestors in the faith, and also points out that since names can have power and meaning invested in them, we might even consider giving ourselves "Lent names" as part of our experience of the season.
Faithfulness and Righteousness on the Campaign Trail
by Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38
Last week Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum decided to make theological correctness a qualification for political office when he declared that President Obama's environmental policy was based on a "phony theology" -- the implication being that his own was based on a correct and authentic theology. The president's people rose to the bait and fired back in defense of Obama and, presumably, his own version of proper Christian theology.
One cannot help but wonder, amid all the fireworks, why theology is so important in a political campaign. When we examine this week's lectionary offerings from Romans and Mark, it appears that theology isn't all that important to Paul or Jesus. Paul reaches back to Genesis to remind us that Abraham's faithfulness, not his theology, was what appealed to God and God counted that faithfulness as righteousness. Jesus tells Peter that when it comes to being a Christian, what we do counts a whole lot more than what we think and believe.
THE WORLD
There was a lot of clarifying going on last week. Did you catch it?
First, Rick Santorum said he thought the president's environmental policy was based on "some phony theology" that wasn't "from the Bible". Then, the next day, he clarified: He didn't mean that the president wasn't a Christian, he explained, just that Mr. Obama's environmental policies don't jibe with Mr. Santorum's interpretation of scripture wherein we are allowed to do pretty much anything we want to the environment because, in Genesis, God gave it to us and told us to subdue it. Or something.
Then North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and the president of Samaritan's Purse, opined that he couldn't "say categorically that [the president is not Muslim] because Islam has gotten a free pass under Obama". (Apparently he isn't counting the thousands of Muslims who have been killed by American and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They didn't get a pass.)
On the other hand, said Graham, Mr. Santorum is definitely a Christian. No doubt about it. A couple of days later, he too was clarifying. What he was really talking about, Graham said, was abortion -- and Santorum's stand on abortion is more in keeping with his own, while the president's stand on abortion, well, isn't. Rev. Graham did not feel the need to clarify his remarks concerning Mitt Romney ("most Christians would not recognize Mormonism as part of the Christian faith") or Newt Gingrich ("Newt's been married several times... but he could make a good candidate. I think Newt's a Christian. At least he told me he is.").
President Obama has told the whole world that he is a Christian but that doesn't seem to cut any ice with Rev. Graham.
Meanwhile Mr. Obama has stayed out of this particular debate, letting others do most of the talking -- like Melissa Rogers, director for the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School, who finds it "deeply regrettable" when civic and religious leaders challenge an elected official's faith. Tom Currie, dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, offered his opinion that election year efforts to differentiate "real Christians from non-Christians" run counter to the church's real work. Brian McLaren, in his "Naked Theology" column on patheos.com, observes that this whole debate over environmentalism may be even more theological than Mr. Santorum thinks -- and in the search for phony theologies, the burden of proof falls upon those who eschew protecting our environment.
Whenever politicians decide to become theologians and make theological correctness a qualification for political office, both politics and theology suffer.
THE WORD
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 tells us of God announcing his covenant with Abram, and in Romans 4 we have Paul's commentary on this seminal event in Judaism and Christianity.
This covenant is possible, says Paul, not because Abraham was a good and righteous man but because he was a man of faith -- and God reckons faithfulness as righteousness. Abraham believed what God promised even though that promise defied rationality. It just wasn't reasonable to accept a promise that a childless man who was about 100 years old was going to be the ancestor of a multitude, but Abraham chose to believe anyway.
Abraham didn't just believe, for belief is merely intellectual assent. He held God's promise in faith -- that is, he lived as though the promise was true. The minutiae of theology don't come into play here. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin is not even up for consideration or debate. The various doctrines that have driven the church for centuries are not mentioned. What matters is Abraham's relationship with God and how it is acted out in his life. Did he trust and obey God's will as he understood it? That's the only question that interests Paul.
In Mark 8, Jesus addresses a similar issue. In the verses preceding this passage Jesus has asked the disciples what people are saying about him. Then Jesus asks them who they believe he is. Peter answers correctly: "You are the Messiah."
He's got it. His theology is perfect. His Christology is flawless. He would get an A+ in any seminary in the country.
However, when Jesus begins to unpack those four words -- "You are the Messiah" -- when he explains what that means for how his followers will need to live their lives, Peter rebukes him, accusing him of having a phony theology.
Jesus responds with a blistering retort, the severest of any he delivers in the gospel, and it isn't aimed at the scribes or the Pharisees but at his own inner circle and closest friend: "Get behind me, Satan!" Then he goes on to explain that being a follower (disciple) of Jesus has to do not with proper theology, which Peter seems to have figured out, but with how you live your life. It has nothing to do with picking up the subtle nuances of a theological formula but of picking up your cross and following him.
Jesus concludes by reminding them that the real theology is not a game of one-upsmanship but of living a life of openness and vulnerability, and that "those who want to save their [election] will lose it, and those who lose their [election] for my sake, and the sake of the gospel, will save it."
Or something like that.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The texts for this day ask us to weigh what we believe against what we do; how we think about God and Jesus against how we live our lives. We are reminded that belief is little more than intellectual assent. It requires nothing of us -- no action, no risk, no commitment.
This sermon might easily begin with a survey of beliefs. What do we believe as individuals? What do we believe as a people? What do we believe as Americans, as Christians? National Public Radio has spent several years collecting essays from Americans, famous and not so famous, on the topic "This I Believe." Many of them can be found on the NPR website and will offer grist for the sermon mill.
Or you might begin with this (extremely) edited version of Crash Davis's famous "I believe" speech from the movie Bull Durham: "Well, I believe in the soul... the small of a woman's back, the hanging curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated... I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing astro turf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot... opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days." Or not... depending on your church.
The point is that it doesn't much matter what we believe if our beliefs are not reflected in our behavior.
Faith, on the other hand, must be reflected in behavior.
I can believe that you can ride a bicycle across Niagara Falls on a tightrope with me on the handlebars... and to believe it requires nothing of me. Faith, however, requires that I get up on those handlebars.
God is not so interested in what we believe as in what we place our faith.
God asks us to place our faith in him.
And if we do, God counts that faith as righteousness.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Genesis 17:1-16
The website Legal Zoom offers intriguing insight about "the top ten reasons people change their names". Amusingly, reason number one is that they didn't like their name. Who knew?
The Genesis text this week continues the covenant theme, with God offering the foundational covenant with Abram (soon to be Abraham) and Sarai (soon to become Sarah). Abram and Sarai have followed God's leading out of their home in Haran to Canaan, relying on God's promise of protection, and then on to Egypt and through some dicey business with the king there. God seems to be slow to fulfill the promise of an heir, let alone descendants as numerous as the stars, and now God appears again to Abram. Abram has heard these promises from God twice before this, and you would think he might be impatient by now. Yet, he is again faithful to this mysterious and slow God.
This time when God offers a covenant with Abram and his descendants, God gives them new names. "No longer shall your name be Abram," God says, "but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations." His wife, too, receives a new name from God.
Immediately, the story begins to call them by their new names. For Abraham, the new name signifies a new status, a new level of connection with God. This covenant is life-changing in an even deeper way than before.
In our lives, people might take a new name when entering religious life. A confirmation name can be added as a middle name when a young person is confirmed in some religious traditions. Even secular transitions can come with name changes. Marriage can bring a new last name and so can divorce. People getting married can choose one name or the other, hyphenate their surnames, or select a whole new last name to use as a couple. People picking a new first name can choose anything not obscene or copyrighted.
Not all name changes are as simple as Abraham's. Former Cincinnati Bengals (now New England Patriots) football player Chad Johnson famously changed his name to Chad Ochocinco -- and now he is changing it back. Reporter Julia Greenberg writes that "the 34-year-old Patriots receiver initially announced he would like to be called 'Ochocinco' instead of 'Johnson' in October 2006 in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, when he was a player for the Cincinnati Bengals. The player's jersey number is 85 and he wanted to be referred to by his number rather than his name."
Adds Greenberg: "When Ochocinco glued a label reading 'Ocho Cinco' instead of 'C. Johnson' on the back of his jersey in 2006... Ochocinco was charged $5,000. The NFL has strict rules about what names are allowed to be posted on a player's jersey. In response, Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocino in August 2008, and has had 'Ochocinco' written on his back since 2009."
According to Legal Zoom, other reasons for name changes include: the desire for a less or more "ethnic" name. The site notes: "People with names that are identifiably 'ethnic' sometimes request name changes for various reasons, including ease of pronunciation and spelling; on the other hand, some individuals would like to reclaim their ethnic heritage by returning to a surname that may have been lost over the years or by the adoption of a new one." Same-gender partners also seek name changes to share a last name. Of course, some people seek new names to make a religious or political statement. Legal Zoom gives these examples: "Although some may consider it extreme to change your name to support a cause, name changes for political reasons are not unheard of. In the past 10 years, Christopher Garnett became KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, Brandi Valladolid became RinglingBeatsAnimals.com, and Marvin Richardson legally changed his full name to Pro-Life."
Many of us have names with meaning, whether it's a connection to a relative, or a meaning found in the original word. It's interesting to think about the meaning of our names, and how it has shaped our lives. In light of Abraham's story, we might think about our own ancestors in faith and how their journey has shaped ours. We might think about a private "Lent name" that signifies our intentions for this 40-day journey and beyond. For most of us, Lent won't require a name change -- but it does invite us to think about our covenant with God and with the people connected to us, whether we share a name or not.
ILLUSTRATIONS
It would appear that evangelical politicians and evangelical Christians are saying to President Obama "Get behind me, Satan!" as they dispute, question, and even denounce his Christian faith. Franklin Graham clearly implies that Obama is a Muslim. Rick Santorum denounces the president as having a "phony theology."
Taking issue with these criticisms and denunciations, the Washington Post printed the five most personal Christian religious statements the President has made at various public convocations.
Of all the personal testimonies offered, the most telling one came from the National Prayer Breakfast on February 6, 2009: "I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I've ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done. I didn't become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck -- no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God's spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose -- His purpose."
If we declare Jesus' words "Get behind me, Satan!" let us be sure we are speaking of Satan and not of our own parochialism.
* * *
Job description for Christians living under the law: "You have to be perfect -- not just better than your neighbor, not just living a pretty good life -- you have to be perfect as God is perfect. You have to do everything perfectly, and by the way, you must think perfectly as well, because God reads your mind. Not only do you have to do everything and think everything perfectly, you will also be judged by what you do not do that you should have done. If you fail at any of the above, you will be fired."
Job description for Christians living under grace: "Trust Jesus."
* * *
The word for righteousness in Hebrew is zadaka, which means literally "doing good to others." There is an old Hasidic story about a rabbi who was known for his humility and saintliness of soul. He was for this reason a popular speaker, and people would come from far away to hear him speak. One holy day a large crowd gathered in the house of prayer, waiting for the rabbi to lead them, but he did not come. Time passed and the crowd began to stir a bit, but still the rabbi did not appear. Then one of the women of the congregation, who had left her child alone in the house rather than rouse her from sleep, became worried and decided to return home to check on her. "After all," she thought to herself, "the rabbi may be later still, and I can be back in a few minutes." So she ran home and listened at the door. Hearing no sound, she softly turned the knob and peered around the door -- and there stood the rabbi, holding the child in his arms. He had heard the child crying as he passed on his way to the house of prayer and had played with it and sung to it until it fell asleep.
* * *
Aren't we all a little like Peter? Yes, Jesus, tell them the truth -- but be a little more subtle. Use some tact. Have some common sense. Do you want to scare them off? Do you want to get a bunch of weird people following you? Tell the truth, but be careful. That's how we like to tell the truth. Yes, we follow Jesus, but mum's the word. Don't let too many people hear you. Tell the truth, but keep it quiet. It might scare off some people or it might attract the wrong kind of followers. Jesus is risen! No, don't bother coming to church unless you've got nice clothes. Don't bother if you don't want to get up that early. You might come, but since we're not sure about you, we're not going to invite you in to any of our groups, and we may just ignore you afterward in the fellowship hall. We follow Jesus, but it's a select club. Get out.
* * *
One of the main agenda items debated at the recent meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was a name change for their denomination. Established in 1845 in defense of slavery, that stigma still exists with the Southern Baptists to this day. Even though they remain the largest Protestant denomination, declining baptisms and fewer missionary opportunities is a cause of great concern. It was thought by some that a name change would bring forth growth.
Northerners, wanting to disassociate themselves with the Southern Baptist heritage, adopted the name American Baptist in 1950. Almost a century earlier, blacks broke from the Southern Baptist Convention in 1895, calling themselves National Baptist.
At the convention it was debated if the Southern Baptists needed to rebrand their name to win new adherents. There were multiple suggestions: Association of Thriving Baptist Churches, Baptist Southern Convention, Global Association of Immersing Christians, League of Baptist Messengers, and Baptist Ultimate Bible Believing Alliance (BUBBA).
The convention finally endorsed that Southern Baptist congregations could call themselves "Great Commission Baptists."
Abram became Abraham, for he received on faith the new covenant with God. But it was not the name change that made Abraham stand before us as a man of faith and a religious leader; it was his obedience to the covenant. Our congregations do not need to change their names to be successful; they only need to change their focus and dedication to service.
* * *
As the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Michael King Sr. was very involved in the civil rights movement. Defiant and realizing that he was leading a social movement of change, King elected to change his name to reflect his cause of a new Christian order of equality.
So Michael Sr. took his teenage son, Michael Jr., to the courthouse, where they both legally changed their names to Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. -- in recognition that they were now leading a great Christian reform movement like their predecessor, Martin Luther of Germany, centuries earlier.
Abram and Sarai had a name change to demonstrate the new calling they received and accepted from God. It was the same demonstration that caused Michael to go to the court house with his son to demonstrate that things in Atlanta were going to change.
While you and I may not legally change our names, we must symbolically take on a new name that commands us to social action.
* * *
When we enter into an agreement, we usually put our signature on the "bottom line." A life insurance contract, an auto loan, a mortgage, and a will are all examples of legal, binding covenants we might enter. We usually try to make the best deal for ourselves by dickering, bargaining, or shopping before we sign.
Think of Abraham and Sarah, however. They were offered a binding covenant from the Lord, yet there was no way to shop around, no way to dicker, and no way to bargain for a few extras. Either receive it in faith or forget it. All or nothing.
God is so consistent. The new covenant is obviously from the God of Abraham. Jesus comes "while we were sinners." No way to bargain for a few changes -- it's either receive Christ with faith or forget it! Enter a new life in Christ or live the old one! But no negotiations, changes, or rewriting of the agreement already signed in the blood of the cross is possible. The new covenant is ready now and only awaits our commitment.
* * *
Jesus' words seem challenging, even confrontational: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34b). Many of us feel inclined to respond to those words just as Peter has responded to Jesus' prediction about the Son of Man's suffering and death: to "rebuke" Jesus for them. They seem so harsh.
Yet there are some in the human community -- even some in our congregations -- for whom they do not seem harsh at all. These are the people who know suffering. This message is especially for them.
We all wish life could be free of suffering -- but the truth is, it's a rare life indeed that knows nothing of heartache. "Human beings are born to trouble, just as the sparks fly upward," says Job 5:7.
What is there that human wisdom can offer as an explanation for suffering? That it builds character? Perhaps -- but then there are some who seem to be allotted far more "character-building" experiences than others. That suffering is God's judgment upon evildoers. Perhaps -- but then none of us have to look far to see that, as Jesus puts it in Matthew 5:45, God "sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous."
The response of Christianity to the problem of human suffering is that even pain can have a place in God's plan. Not every incident of human suffering is an example of cross-bearing, of course. Yet there is some suffering that can -- if it is embraced as an act of faith, and particularly if it witnesses to justice or serves neighbors -- actually be redemptive. The process of living through suffering, of taking up "the cross we have to bear" can, amazingly, lead to new life.
After all, we are the faith that boldly hangs the image of an instrument of capital punishment in our worship places and even around our necks -- proclaiming to the entire world that there is no experience in human life that God's love does not have the power to transform. Our spiritual tradition charts a course not around suffering, but through it.
* * *
Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day, and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find him and with him everything else thrown in.
-- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
* * *
Walk in faith and love. If the cross comes, accept it. If it does not come, do not search for it.
-- Martin Luther
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Let all who fear God sing praises!
People: We praise our God who does not hide from us.
Leader: Dominion belongs to our God.
People: God rules over all the nations.
Leader: Let us bow down before our God.
People: We worship and serve the God of our salvation.
OR
Leader: Come and worship God, the faithful one.
People: We sing praise to the God of faithfulness.
Leader: Come and learn of the steadfast love of God.
People: We praise the loving kindness of our God.
Leader: Let us become faithful like our God.
People: May God make us faithful disciples of Jesus.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
found in:
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
Renew: 249
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 600
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELW: 632
"A Charge to Keep I Have"
found in:
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467/468
NNBH: 436
"Take Up Thy Cross"
found in:
UMH: 415
H82: 675
PH: 393
LBW: 398
ELW: 667
"Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone"
found in:
UMH: 424
AAHH: 554
NNBH: 221
"O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
"Trust and Obey"
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
"The Old Rugged Cross"
found in:
UMH: 504
AAHH: 244
NNBH: 105
NCH: 195
CH: 548
"I Call You Faithful"
found in:
CCB: 70
"Sing unto the Lord a New Song"
found in:
CCB: 16
Renew: 99
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is ever faithful: Grant to us your children, made in your image, the courage to be faithful to you and to one another; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to praise your name, O God, and to extol you as the faithful one. You are constant in your grace and are always true to your nature. You are love, and your love never fails. Call us once again to be true to our nature as your image. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our lack of faithfulness.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have not been faithful. Although we were created in your image, we have allowed ourselves to be shaped into other images. We have failed to reflect your love and grace to your world. We have not been faithful to you and we have not been faithful to each other. Forgive us and give us the grace and courage to amend our lives and live as Jesus' disciples. Amen.
Leader: God is faithful, loving, and gracious. God's forgiveness is offered freely and God always welcomes us back when we turn and return to our true home.
Prayer for Illumination
May the light of your Spirit, O God, shine upon us that we may understand your call on our lives as the gospel is read and proclaimed. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
Blessed and glorious are you, O God, who created us in your image and faithfully re-creates us when we go astray.
(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 not been faithful. Although we were created in your image, we have allowed ourselves to be shaped into other images. We have failed to reflect your love and grace to your world. We have not been faithful to you and we have not been faithful to each other. Forgive us and give us the grace and courage to amend our lives and live as Jesus' disciples.
We give you thanks for your faithfulness to us and to your creation through the ages. We thank you for those who have shown your faithfulness to us in their constant love and care.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who find it hard to trust because of the unfaithfulness of those around them. Many have been betrayed by family, lovers, and friends. Others have been betrayed by governments and institutions they trusted. Help us to show to the world your faithfulness.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Ask the children about transformers. Show them one and how it changes or ask them to show you how it works. Talk about how it is neat that the toy can change. But it isn't nice when friends change and don't treat us nicely. We want our friends to be faithful. God is faithful and God want us to be faithful too.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
"Faith" and "Grace"
Romans 4:13-25
In our scripture texts today we hear about two words that are popular in church. They are words we use all the time -- but we may not know the meaning of them. The two words I'm speaking of are "grace" and "faith." How many of you have heard those words in church before? (let the children answer) How many heard the word "grace" already this morning? (let them answer) How about the word "faith"? (let them answer)
To show you what they mean, I need a volunteer. Would someone be willing to be the person with faith? (have one of the children volunteer) What I want you to do is stand in front of me facing away from me. Now, I want you to have faith. I want you to fall straight backward. Don't try to catch yourself. Let yourself fall. Are you willing to do that? (let the child answer) Okay, let's do it. (have the child fall backward but catch him or her)
It took faith on your part to fall straight backward. You would have hurt yourself if I hadn't caught you. When you trust someone so much that you know they won't let you get hurt, that's called "faith," and you just showed us all what faith is.
Now your faith was in a person. Your faith was in me. I also had to do my part to keep you from getting hurt. I could have been really mean and let you fall and hurt yourself and then maybe even laugh at you. But I didn't do that. I showed that I was faith-worthy. I showed that I had grace. I caught you!
That second word, "grace," means to have a loving attitude toward another person. It means to love another unconditionally. In a sense, I showed grace this morning by lovingly catching you when you fell.
God is full of grace. God loves us all. God loves us no matter what! God is trustworthy -- faith-worthy. We know we can trust God; we can have faith in God because of God's grace.
When we use these words, faith and grace, perhaps you will know more about what they mean. Who knows the story about Abraham and Sarah? (let them answer) In the lesson we have today the apostle Paul tells about how Abraham and Sarah had faith in God's grace. Even though Abraham and Sarah were very old God had promised them a son, and God showed God's grace by giving them a son. They had faith in trusting God.
Prayer: Dearest God, give us more faith in your grace. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 4, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 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.
