The Lady Ain't A Kook: Prophetic Challenges and Political Crusades
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For August 11, 2019:
The Lady Ain't A Kook: Prophetic Challenges and Political Crusades
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Last week’s Democratic presidential debates were a parade of policies, politics and personalities. Front runners like Vice President Joe Biden, or senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders shined, while several hopefuls dropped back. But as candidates traded exchanges marinated in the thick brine of progressive Democratic policies, it was the longshot candidate some call a New Age kook who captured the most applause.
It could be called the triumph of spiritualism over wonkiness.
Longshot presidential candidate and New Age author Marianne Williamson claimed the honor of receiving the most applause during the debate and was also the most-searched candidate online. If that seems astounding, recall that just four years ago The New York Times called Donald Trump’s entry into the 2016 Presidential race an “improbable quest.”
Williamson’s candidacy has been dismissed by some who say she’s better suited to become “Secretary of Crystals.” On Tuesday, her candidacy rose above Internet memes. She called for reparation payments to African Americans, and accused Trump of emboldening a “dark psychic force” of “collectivized hatred.” She may not garner the most votes, but she certainly captured the audience’s attention.
To paraphrase Rodgers and Hart, that’s why the lady ain’t a kook.
She looked straight into the camera and addressed Trump directly, telling him that she would beat him in an election not because of her policy proposals, but rather by “harnessing love for political purposes.”
While she’s hardly a biblical prophet, her words function like Isaiah’s. In this week’s lectionary text, the prophet decries the dark forces that have overcome Israel. The prophet’s words are clear. God is tired of worship which does not produce a life worthy of God’s commandments. Sacrifices offered by those persisting in sin have no value. God has tired of thoughts and prayers and looks instead for acts of goodness and justice. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes,” God warns.
The prophet’s words rattled Israel. He wasn’t conventional — but he was hardly a kook, either. That’s why we ought to be paying attention.
In the News
Williamson’s unconventional candidacy may not land her in the White House, but her words may spark a renewed engagement with cultural issues beyond the spheres of political policies. She’s a political novice, albeit a novice who has written seven New York Times bestsellers. Nor is she particularly appealing to the political mainstream. Famed Democratic strategist Bob Shrum has said her base is filled with “woo-woo talk.” It’s possible that Williamson, who is famous for being one of Oprah Winfrey’s spiritual advisors, is filled with all sorts of woo-woo talk.
By her own admission, she is not “a plan person.” Some of her statements about vaccinations, science and mental health have been correctly criticized. Her appearances on the debate stage have sent the Internet into a meme-generated frenzy. Her New Age beliefs have caused some to lampoon her candidacy. Her proposal to create a “department of peace” may raise more than a few eyebrows.
But following a weekend of back to back mass shootings it is hard to ignore her vision. Her claims of the ravaging forces of dark spiritual forces at work within the country are hard to ignore, and her pledge to lead with love rings sincere. With most candidates focused on finding secular solutions to problems of racism, healthcare, and poverty, Williamson seems to be shifting the conversation toward matters of the nation’s soul. It’s that message of kindness, love and decency which seem to be at the core of Williamson’s campaign.
Is this a bad thing?
Columnist David Brooks contrasted Williamson’s focus with his claims that President Trump’s fear mongering has degraded America’s soul. Brooks believes Trump is more of a cultural revolutionary whose strategy cannot be thwarted by wonky policy geeks. Trump’s contribution has been his ability to shift American values by creating a system of dominance and submission. Brooks suggested that Williamson’s strength is the contrast she provides to Trump’s focus on fear:
He (Trump) operates and is subtly changing America at a much deeper level. He’s operating at the level of dominance and submission, at the level of the person where fear stalks and contempt emerges.
He’s redefining what you can say and how a leader can act. He’s reasserting an old version of what sort of masculinity deserves to be followed and obeyed. In Freudian terms, he’s operating on the level of the id. In Thomistic terms, he is instigating a degradation of America’s soul.
In contrast to heady approaches to cultural change, Williamson’s spiritually oriented approach may resonate with voters. She speaks a truth many are longing to hear. Brooks suggested that the “largeness of this moment” calls for a candidate who can rebuild the country’s moral infrastructure.
The problem is that prophets rarely win elections. Moreover, many mainstream people of faith find themselves at odds with her unconventional religious beliefs. She’s the essence of the “spiritual but not religious” demographic missing from most of our sanctuaries. Though she bristles at being named a new age “guru,” Williamson is very much the image of a self-help motivational coach. Raised in a conservative Jewish faith, she drew inspiration for her work from the book A Course in Miracles, which was written in 1976 by psychologist Helen Schucman, who claimed that Jesus had dictated the book to her.
It’s not a text found in most church libraries, nor does it affirm central Christian beliefs. It’s been called everything from psychobabble to the “New Age Bible.” The book’s teaching figures prominently in Williamson’s theological identity, and guides her belief that love can triumph over hatred.
She’s somewhat of a hybrid between Judaic theology, New Age spiritualism, and the American self-help movement. She’s lectured at Harvard Divinity School and appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s “SoulSunday” series. Her most famous quote (“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”) is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela. None of this seems the sort of proving ground preparations normally attributed to those seeking the presidency.
“God is love,” Williamson says when asked to distill A Course in Miracles. “We are children of God. Love is both our identity and our purpose. When we remember that, life works. When we forget that, chaos ensues.”
That sort of woo-woo talk will cause some to pass on her candidacy. But note what religion writer Jonathan Merritt said last week. Merritt worked with Williamson and is convinced her message makes sense. Merritt, who was raised Southern Baptist and attended Liberty University, is no longer a conservative. He says he remains a “proud Protestant” who affirms the creeds “without crossing my fingers.” In helping Williamson in the writing of her last book, Merritt was surprised by his growing appreciation of her gifts for leadership.
“I feel more affinity with a peace-loving Williamson right now than I do with some of my Christian brothers and sisters who seem happy to tolerate a resurgence of sexism, white supremacy and homophobia in our country so long as the stock market is soaring,” he wrote.
Merritt’s observations are worth considering. In the end, he acknowledges that she may not win the presidency, but neither is she a kook.
In the Scripture
Isaiah’s words may have rattled the status quo the way Williamson’s decrying of Trump’s collectivizing hatred sent viewers to google her campaign. Like Williamson, the prophet knows a bit about dark forces of wickedness at work in creation. It’s time for a bit of truth telling, and Isaiah understands that God’s patience with Israel is wearing thin.
There is strong consensus among scholars that chapter one of Isaiah emerged from a complex composition and redaction of texts. There are key themes closely associated with eighth century prophets, but also ideas generally associated with later prophets. J. Clinton McCann of WorkingPreacher.org observes that among these themes is the emphasis on justice and righteousness. With Israel’s kings entrusted with the enforcement of these primary virtues the prophets served as something akin to the monarch’s accountability partner.
Yet empires rarely fulfill God’s expectations. When the kings failed, Israel’s prophets assumed the roles of truth tellers and custodians of accountability. In decrying the evil which has befallen Judah, Isaiah describes the rulers of the world as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah. His words are searing reminders of Yahweh’s sovereignty. Isaiah’s imagery pricks the ears of the people. Isaiah certainly understands how to get people’s attention. There is perhaps no better way of describing powers of “psychic darkness” than calling someone a ruler of Sodom.
The complaint is succinct: the cult of the state has failed to uphold Yahweh’s righteousness. The religious leaders have failed to cultivate faithful worship. Instead, they have promulgated a liturgy of empty rituals divorced from a faithful service. (See Anna Case-Winters, “Theological Perspectives,” Feasting on the Word, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Year C, Proper 14 (Sunday Between August 7 and August 13 Inclusive.)
Rooted in forms of oppression and economic extortion of the poor, the practices are inherently unjust. The results are a trampling of the temple, and offerings which are futile. As McCann observes, Yahweh is wearied by this worship that has become nothing more than a futile “cover up” of injustice. Such worship is inherently repugnant to God.
Isaiah’s vision is a word of truth spoken to practitioners of injustice. No longer will God tolerate such evil. The good of the land can one day be given to the people — if they choose to repent. The prophet calls out those whose vision shifted, whose priorities are no longer righteousness and justice. This is a hard, disruptive word. Those who speak it may find themselves dismissed.
The expected sacrifices will no longer be tolerated. Standing on the stage of Israel’s life, Isaiah provides a compelling call to a life of faith grounded in worship that is based on the deeper sacrifices of ceasing to do evil, learning to do good, seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed and advocating for the marginalized.
That may run contrary to the empire, but it certainly grabs the crowd’s attention.
In the Sermon
Isaiah pulls no punches. Israel’s worship has become corrupted by greed and oppression, its rituals devolved into toxic expressions of insincerity and selfishness. The truth stings and is easily avoided. Yet, as Marianne Williamson might suggest, it is only by telling the truth that healing can occur. Isaiah stands center stage and speaks Yahweh’s words of disruptive change.
The text invites a critique of a worship that has become stale, dull, and lacking the sort of spiritual nerve required for faithfully witnessing to God’s justice and righteousness. Williamson’s critique of her own party’s approach to the election mirrors this sort of insider’s review. “We have got to get deeper than just these superficial fixes,” she said at last’s week debate. Isaiah would agree. Enough with ‘thoughts and prayers,’ and no more of offerings that do not bring transformation. On this summer Sunday, the sermon could begin naming the ways our worship has dulled its edges and blunted its corners. Explore the ways each of us have become complicit in turning worship into a spectacle of comforting, ego-boasting adulation of privilege.
What would it be like to imagine God saying to us, “I despise your pompous prayers and self-aggrandizing sharing of ‘joys and concerns.’” Or, “I am insulted by the forced friendliness of your passing of the peace that bypasses visitors or ignores the homeless person in the back pew.” If we’re truly bold, we may confess that our hastily prepared sermons lack substance, and have become crimson-tinged by our lack of repentance.
Too often worship planning becomes fixated on candles and acolytes, bulletin covers and chancel flowers. We think a praise band and some up beat songs will reverse decades of insipid worship. But the real answers lie beyond these quick fixes; where do we dare to help the congregation go deeper in understanding of what it means to worship?
There’s truth to be told, and Isaiah can help us discover the words. The prophet calls us to acts of deep listening, and then compels us to ask, “Are we willing and obedient to discover the good of the land?”
SECOND THOUGHTS
Be Prepared… to Laugh
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 12:32-40; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
It is a little surprising that vv. 22-31 are not part of the lectionary. Instead we jump from the Parable of the Rich Fool (last week’s gospel lesson) to Jesus’ thoughts on possession and readiness. The memorable imagery of considering the lilies of the field, and being reminded that birds do not worry or plant crops — yet the Lord cares for them — is a message that can always be preached, which the lectionary skips over. While I confess that I cannot read Jesus’ admonition not to worry without Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” coursing through my mind, his words return the reader to a healthy perspective. God cares for wildflowers and birds how much more precious are you to the Creator than they are! This week we get reminders that earthly possessions are fleeting, but being generous with one’s possessions brings eternal reward, and one must always be ready.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Note that one’s heart follows one’s treasure. The act of giving precedes the faith it expresses. Years ago a close friend was a finalist in a weekly football pool. His picks for the week tied him with another bettor. The winner of the whole pot would be determined by the result of the Monday night game. This was the last time my friend gambled. He simply found it to be too much pressure. His heart had followed a road that had a fifty-fifty chance of a big pay out. He couldn’t not care about the game’s outcome. He didn’t need the money, but its allure had changed him in a way he didn’t think was healthy.
I suppose one could make the same point about investing in a specific stock, or even fretting about the solvency of one’s bank or the security of one’s mattress. Wherever we put what is precious to us, our hearts will find the way there.
Time itself can also be considered a treasure. We talked about time as something we spend. We hear every day, “Time is money.” There’s no time like the present, but there’s no present like the time.
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Today’s passage includes the Bible’s most memorable definition of faith, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NRSV) Note that the first phrase is future oriented while the second anchors the faithful in the present. To really live one’s faith one must keep one’s perspective, but also live in the present. This kind of faith, “the assurance of things hoped for” harvests the promise of what is to come, thus helping those struggling in the present to have more strength to endure.
Having said all that, it’s interesting that the writer of Hebrews draws on the past, the most distant past in biblical terms, characters from stories in Genesis. Abel, Enoch and Noah all trusted the Lord conspicuously. Their faith led them to tangible acts expressing their faith. Their faith was more than assent to a creed — it was lived out where everyone could see — and smell. (I’m not sure whether Enoch’s walking with God involved the sense of smell; certainly Abel’s sacrifice raised a smell pleasing to the Lord. One can only imagine the smell aboard Noah’s ark!)
Abram/Abraham, however, is the strongest exemplar of faith as Hebrews describes it. He obeyed and trusted the Lord. He moved away from the area his ancestors had resided for generations. When it appeared that the Lord’s promise that a great nation would proceed from Abraham, when he was very old and Sarah who was barren and for whom “it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” (Genesis 18:11, NRSV) was impossible, “by faith,” Sarah conceived!
By faith! The Lord had promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, language that is echoed in Hebrews. This promise, which the Lord made to Abraham under the dome of the sky, is the reason that blue is a color of blessing at some Jewish weddings. The sky is a reminder of at all times of God’s blessing. May the newlyweds be as blessed as Abraham and Sarah under the dome of the sky, the arena of God’s interaction with humanity.
Let’s not forget the tangible substance of the Lord’s promise of offspring to Sarah and Abraham. Sarah named the child יִצְחָק, Yitzah in Hebrew, Isaac in English, “laughter,” because, as Sarah exulted, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6) The “reward” one could contend for Abraham and Sarah’s faith was the gift of laughter. Often in scripture laughter is an expression that one is not threatened by the troubles of the day, as in Proverbs 31:25:
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
That verse is part of a lengthy ode to “the capable wife.” To be able to laugh is a sign of security, and is often a sign of faith.
Back to Luke
After Jesus urges his listeners to not put their faith in material, earthly things, he gives two short images urging them to be ready. Slaves are to be ready for their master’s return — especially for an unexpected, early return. If the homeowner had known when the thief in the night was coming, he would have been ready. What can these metaphors say to us today? What must we be ready for?
In the News
The stock market has fallen this week as the president is doubling down in the trade war with China. A score of Democratic candidates for the presidency appeared in two debates last week. No front-runner has emerged and news coverage is more about how the candidates presented themselves than the policies they advocate. July was the warmest July in recorded history, which followed June’s designation as the warmest month ever since recording began. Distrust in civic institutions, even the news media, is leading to high levels of fear and isolation. What can we do, as a nation, as the Church, to build bridges between competing and fearful groups rather than walls?
At Moving from Fear to Trust, an interfaith gathering sponsored by the Fox Valley Islamic Society (FVIS), August 4, two ways believers of all kinds can express their faith were in evidence — eating together and laughing together.
For nearly two decades FVIS has hosted an interfaith gathering each summer under enormous tents on the grounds of their mosque. People come from more than 50 miles to build relationships and testify that xenophilia is a more faithful response — for people of all faiths — than xenophobia.
As this year’s gathering one of the speakers pointed out that the word “companion,” is a good place for people to start when getting acquainted. A companion is literally someone with whom one has eaten. “Com” is from Latin with and “panis” bread. We usually think of companions as people we journey with, and that sense still applies, but just eating together can build or be the start of building relationships based on trust. FVIS puts on a feast of primarily Middle Eastern food, but since their membership is composed of people from more than 30 countries, delicacies from other parts of the world are also served.
What does it mean when people laugh together? Here it is essential to be clear that laughter has the power to humiliate and debase its target. But when people laugh together at things that are truly funny, when our own weakness and confusion is the cause of our laughter, strong connections can be built.
Laughter’s health benefits have been well established by research. Laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormone levels, improves cardiac health and releases endorphins, among other things.
Laughter is also a profoundly social phenomenon. People are much more likely to laugh in groups than they are alone. For marginalized groups, laughing together can build group identity and cohesion. Rebecca Krefting has researched what she calls “charged humor” which self-locates from the position of marginalization. Seeing the world through the lens of charged humor gives people of all social statuses ways to recognize social inequality and to begin to redress it.
When we laugh at something often it is to express that one is not threatened by something. Just as the capable woman can laugh at the problems that come her way, people who can laugh at difficulties or struggles are expressing that they have a perspective that sees a bigger picture than what meets the eye.
Just as faith as defined by Hebrews is grounded in the present, but looks ahead with confidence to the future. People who laugh, especially those who laugh together, create a connection that says, “We’re all in this together.”
Think about the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham, a man who fathered a child at a very old age, with Sarah who was at an impossibly old age to have a child. Abe’s line continued, for Jews and Christians, through Isaac, laughter. Our faith began with a divine joke, and everyone who hears about Isaac’s birth should laugh along with Sarah, because nothing is impossible for God!
The people gathered under the tents in Neenah on that hot August afternoon were investing their time, and themselves in building bridges of understanding. If we imagine their time as a precious asset, they are putting their treasured time in being together with people who are different from them, eating food — becoming companions — with people who are different from them. Their laughter is an expression of faith; faith in the confidence that all of God’s people have been made in God’s image. We all come from a common ancestor, we all enjoy tasty food and our faith in the Living God is a reflection of the faith we put in our neighbors.
Perhaps a piece of baklava should be the symbol of a nation whose citizens are divided by fear and needing, desperately, to laugh together....more illustrations, worship resources and children's sermon to come later today
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Two Bits of Kindness
Volunteers and workers at the Asheville Humane Society said that it was a moment that every shelter employee dreams about.
Last week, a woman named Leslie walked through their front doors and said, "Which two dogs have been here the longest, with the most special needs? I'm here to take them both home with me."
Those two unwanted dogs were Sam, who had extensive medical issues and had been at the shelter for six months, and Brutus, who has severe separation anxiety and had been there for five months.
"I'm glad to give them a home for the last couple years of their life," said an emotional Leslie. "And they give so much love back."
The Humane Society posted a heartwarming video of Sam and Brutus getting ready to head home with their new mom, saying there wasn't a dry eye in sight! Leslie assured the pair that they now had a family to love them for the rest of their days, and would never be alone again.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Winners By a Hair
When 11-year-old Kylie Zima’s dad was a teenager he contracted cancer and all his hair fell out when he underwent chemotherapy. Of course, he was laughed at and made fun of at school. Kylie thought that was awful and she thought it shouldn’t happen to other kids. She talked to her mom, an oncology nurse, about what she could do to help other kids who are going through what her dad went through.
The next day, she talked to her three best friends and they agreed to grow their hair out and then get it cut off so it could be used by the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to help create wigs for kids who have lost their hair for medical reasons.
The above link provides a 1:20 minute video suitable for showing in church.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Busy As a (Harvest) Bee
Larry Yockey is a 64-year-old fourth-generation farmer, working the same land in Ritzville, Washington, as his father and grandfather did before him. He said his wheat crop accounts for nearly 100% of his income, and harvesting is usually a job that he does by himself.
But, in February, doctors diagnosed Yockey with melanoma, which has spread to his bones. That contributed to a broken hip and broken ribs, reducing how much he can lift and the amount of time he can spend working in his fields.
Sidelined at harvest time, he didn’t know how he would get the work done. But last weekend, dozens of vehicles pulled up to his farm, along with farmers ready to run the machines and work the fields.
Working together, they completed three weeks' worth of harvesting in about eight hours.
Miles Pfaff, one of the farmers who pitched in, said that "harvest bees" like this are rare and that it is not the sort of help a farmer would ask for or hope to need. He also pointed out that the help came from others besides farmers. The local fire department and mechanics volunteered their time, while folks who weren't working the fields brought food and drinks.
The scale of the operation reminded Yockey of the way he sees other communities come together after natural disasters. The people who helped with his harvest say they do not want to be thanked, but "'thank you' really doesn't even do justice here," he said.
This link provides photos of the “harvest bee.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Not Glass Slippers But They’ll Do
A 9-year-old girl who asked if she could buy a pair of shoes for a classmate who couldn’t afford his own inspired her mom to take advantage of Payless’ going-out-of-business sales and buy out all 1,500 shoes in the store and donate them for those in need.
Carrie Jernigan, from Alma, Arkansas, now has a basement filled with boxes and boxes of shoes. The shoes are now accompanied by backpacks, socks, books and various back-to-school products donated by others who heard of her generosity and wanted to make donations.
Jernigan, who is also the president of the local school board, said she had no idea her small good deed would become a huge community effort to support each other.
“I was just looking for a place to set up on one of our roads to hand out boxes of shoes to people — it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Jernigan explained. “People kept trying to donate more money, and now it’s turning into a huge back-to-school bash” complete with a bouncy house, face painting, refreshments and, yes, back-to-school give aways to anyone who needs the help.
Here are photos of Carrie Jernigan with shoes.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Pay or Go Hungry?
Last week, a Pennsylvania school district took the old cliché about bullies stealing lunch money and amped it up. If parents don't settle their unpaid lunch debts, the district said, it might take away their kids.
Wyoming Valley West School District sent letters to parents with at least $10 in unpaid lunch costs threatening to place their children in foster care if the bills weren't paid. The district tried to justify the threats by pointing out that it was trying to collect more than $22,000 in unpaid lunch costs — a fraction of its $80 million annual budget — and that some families owed as much as $450.
Sending children to school without lunch or money to buy lunch, the letter informed parents, counted as "a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition."
"You can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food," the letter read. "If you are taken to Dependency Court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care."
The letter sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in local and eventually national media — as well as condemnations from Luzerne County officials who pointed out, correctly, that the foster care system should not be used "as a punitive agency or weaponized to terrorize children and families."
And, at the risk of stating the obvious, no parent should be threatened with the prospect of losing their children to the state over a $10 debt.
The Wyoming Valley incident, however, is just one example of a new trend in school districts around the country that have turned to “shaming” children and parents who fall behind in their school lunch payments. Actions include stamping the hands of kids who can’t afford the school lunch, creating public lists of names of families who are behind in their lunch payments, and special inexpensive lunches and special places in the school cafeteria for kids to sit who can’t afford the regular lunch.
The Wyoming valley district's stance only got more absurd when it initially rejected a Philadelphia businessman's offer to settle the full $22,000 debt on behalf of Wyoming Valley West parents. Todd Carmichael, the CEO of La Colombe Coffee, published an op-ed in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice on Tuesday detailing his attempts to settle the debts.
"As a child, I received free meals at school when my mother struggled to make ends meet. I know what it means to be hungry. I know what it means to feel shame for not being able to afford food," Carmichael wrote. After reaching out to Joseph Mazur, president of the Wyoming Valley West school board, Carmichael wrote that he was shocked by the response.
"Mr. Mazur turned us down," Carmichael wrote. "I can't explain or justify his actions. Let me be clear: we offered over $22,000 with no strings attached. And he said 'No.'"
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
A Litle Child Shall Lead Them
Meanwhile —
In Davidson County, North Carolina, some school children have come up with a kinder, gentler solution to the problem of unpaid lunch debts in their school district: a very lucrative lemonade stand.
Hailey and Hannah Hager have used their lemonade stand, which they call Hailey and Hannah’s Helping Hands, to raise money before. The girls helped raise money for the hospice that helped their grandfather, their mother, Erin Hager, said, and raised $100 to buy items to make care packages for people experiencing homelessness last year. When the girls learned that some students owe lunch debt at their schools, they decided to pitch in to help them pay it off using their lemonade stand.
“Nobody likes to see other people struggle with anything,” Hannah Hager, 11, told Inside Edition, adding that she has a friend who sometimes doesn’t have enough to eat at her elementary school.
The school district is holding about $41,000 in unpaid lunch debt, according to new local news reports, But the Hagers are help making a dent in it. The girls have raised about $4,500 so far through their lemonade stand, Facebook page and the help of local churches.
Local businesses, charities, non-profit groups, service organizations, and at least one motorcycle club have also contributed. Total collected so far: $45,000.
Entire story at InsideEdition.com.
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From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 1:15
“When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers”
Helen Schucman wrote the book titled A Course in Miracles, that was published in 1976. The book discusses spiritual transformation and maintains that the greatest “miracle” of all is the act of simply gaining a full “awareness of love’s presence” in one’s own life. Absent of any source of verification, Schucman declared that the book had been dictated to her, word by word, by the “inner dictation” from Jesus. When Schucman appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the book, it received national attention. Following the broadcast over two million copies were sold. One of the readers was Marianne Williamson, who is running as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential election. Williamson considers A Course in Miracles the book that led her out “of the path to hell” as she navigated a life of unhappy love affairs, alcoholism, drug abuse and a nervous breakdown. She acknowledges that the book A Course in Miracles did come directly, verbatim, with each word placed on the page coming straight from Jesus. Williamson firmly believes that the book “contains no holes.” It has been noted that in the last presidential debate, held on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan, that for many the unknown candidate Williamson emerged as the shining star. It was reported that she received the most applause of any of the other nine candidates on stage. Following the debate, she also became an internet sensation. Her policies may be populist. Her words may be potent. Her intensity may be admired. Many may consider her words to be prophetic, but are they? Certainly, there is a great misconception if people think that her pronouncements from the debate podium are as valid as the fraudulent words she believes were dictated by Jesus in A Course in Miracles, a book Williamson considers as authentic and as sacred as the Gospels. Those who cheered Williamson as the new spiritualist candidate ought to first do their homework, and then decide if they want a religious charlatan to be the President of the United States.
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Hosea 1:16-17
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
On Sunday morning, at 1a.m., in the 400 block of East 5th Street, in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio, Connor Betts, 24, wearing body armor, and using a .223-caliber rifle with additional high-capacity magazines, indiscriminately opened fire on partiers in a section of the city known for its restaurants and bars. The Oregon District is considered a very safe section of the city. Nine people were killed and 27 wounded, some critically. Of those killed was the shooter’s 22-year-old sister, Megan. In less than a minute police officers were able to kill Betts, but not before he brought hell into the lives of so many. The shooting comes just 14 hours after a gunman killed 22 people and injured over two dozen more at a Walmart 1,600 miles away in El Paso, Texas. It came a week after a gunman killed three people and injured more than a half dozen others at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in northern California. During his Sunday mass, Pope Francis referenced the three shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton, asking worshipers “to join my prayer for the people who lost their lives, the injured and their family members. I am spiritually close to the victims of the episodes of violence that have bloodied Texas, California, Ohio in the United States, striking defenseless people.”
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Genesis 15:1
“I am your shield”
Nathalie Birli, 27, a triathlon athlete, and a new young mother to a 14-week-old son, was riding her bike near her home in Kumberg in southern Austria, when on July 23, 2019, a man rammed her bike with his car, got out, wrenched her from her bike, beat her severely, pulled her into his vehicle, and bound and blindfolded her. He drove her to his home, dragged her up some stairs and locked her in a closet, where she blacked out. When she came to, her left arm ached and her head throbbed as the attacker had fractured both her skull and her lower arm. Yet somehow, improbably, Birli kept her wits about her, realizing that if she were going to survive to see her baby, she needed to find a way to connect with the man who seemed intent on killing her.
She said, “I thought, I have to convince him that he can get out of this unscathed, because otherwise he wouldn’t have released me. I had to find a way to convince him to trust me.” By the time she had regained consciousness, it was dark outside. There were no visible lights of any neighbor to be seen. Over the course of six to seven hours, the man tried to force her into a cold bath, holding her head under water once, twice, and a third time, when she refused to get into the tub. As she gasped for breath, he warned her that the abuse was just a taste of what would happen if she did not do what he wanted. Then he pressed towels over her face, apparently trying to suffocate her.
She had studied sports and nutrition as a university student, and her courses included psychology. “The importance of TLC,” read a comment that she posted on social media in 2017, along with an explanation of the value of sharing small kindnesses — a smile, a nod of approval, an acknowledgment. In a moment of quiet, “when he was not beating or threatening me,” she looked around, noticed the orchids and without thinking, commented on them. “I just threw it out there, that his orchids were so beautiful.” She added that she had orchids as well, and knew how much care went into keeping the delicate blooms alive and thriving. Birli said, “Suddenly, he started talking about how he cared for them, using water from his aquarium. Suddenly, he was a completely different person.” As she listened, he kept talking. He told her about the many cats he had also cared for but were taken away from him; about his grandparents, whom he never really got to know, but who had left him the house in their will; and about the girlfriends who had betrayed him. He also talked about his mother, who he said had a drinking problem. Birli used that moment to tell him that she had a little baby at home who needed his mother. Birli said, “I asked him to please not kill me, because the little guy needs me. I asked him how that would have been for him to grow up without a mother.” The kidnapper then changed his attitude, and asked how he could help her. She said they could pretend a deer jumped in front of the bike, and he came and rescued her. They continued to work on the details of the fabricated story. Then the 33-year-old abductor took Birli home with her broken bike.
Using data from her cycle computer, which had recorded her movements, Austria’s Cobra special forces tracked down the suspect and arrested him. A week later Birli was released from the hospital and is enjoying the small kindnesses of everyday life at home with her son. Birli said, “It’s so good to see the little guy smile. Or just talk to the neighbor. Everything is good, I am just so grateful.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
In March 2019, one person, Paige Thompson, 33, was able to hack into the computer of Capital One and steal the data of over 100 million Capital One users. This information included social security numbers and bank account numbers. Paige, whose online persona is “erratic,” which describes her personality, was caught because of her online boasting of the crime, which was not discovered until July 17. She boasted, “I’ve basically strapped myself with a bomb vest.” Later she wrote on Twitter, “After this is over, I’m going to go check into the mental hospital for an indefinite amount of time. I have a whole list of things that will ensure my involuntary confinement from the world. The kind that they can’t ignore or brush off onto the crisis clinic. I’m never coming back.”
Her motives for the intrusion are yet to be determined, but often it’s being able to brag to peers or sell the information to outside bidders. Hacking is a problem for financial institutions. A single weak spot is all savvy hackers need. And they often find them. Already this year, there have been 3,494 successful cyberattacks against financial institutions. Hackers exploit simple mistakes in security systems, and simple mistakes are common in a software system that is so intricate and complex. Chris Vickery, a security researcher, said, “These things happen because of human nature. These systems are very complex and very granular. People make mistakes.” Sometimes the opening only takes a few hours to discover, other times it takes a few months. For example, Mastercard combats 460,000 intrusion attempts each day. JPMorgan Chase spends nearly $600 million a year on security, and Bank of America’s chief executive has said the bank’s security team has a “blank check” for its spending. But attackers keep slipping through. According to Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, wrote in an April letter to shareholders, cybersecurity “may very well be the biggest threat to the US financial system.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Macy’s had an innovative idea — they would make plates that measured the portions of food one took. The plates, which were called Portions, had three concentric circles. The center and smallest read “skinny jeans,” the next circle read “favorite jeans,” and the outer most circle read “mom jeans.” There were goblets to match with two concentric circles. The lower circle read “on the lips,” and the upper circle read “on the hips.” As one could imagine, the outrage that ensued was very vocal. Within four hours of displaying the plates, Macy’s withdrew them. Alice Ward, a science reporter, said in her report that she “just wanted to show the world how insidious beauty culture, and in this case one that shames women, can be. But I wanted Macy’s to know that what they carry and display matters, it can hurt people, and they’re accountable for it.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
The South Carolina Supreme Court, on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, following the lead of a number of other states, outlawed common-law marriage. A common-law marriage occurs when a couple begins living together, hold themselves as a married couple and behave as a married couple would, but do not formally go through the process of obtaining a marriage license. The court ruled that the circumstances creating a need for the doctrine are not present in today's society. A woman without dependent children is no longer thought to pose a danger of burdening the state with her support and maintenance simply because she is single, and the right of a single parent to obtain child support is no longer dependent upon his or her marital status. Among the other considerations listed in the opinion are that courts can struggle to determine if or when parties involved express the intent to be married, which reduces the “solemn institution” of marriage into a guessing game, that living together while unmarried is exceedingly common and continues to increase, and that the right to marry is easily available to all who wish to do so. Further, the doctrine creates a situation in which a couple might attempt to claim marriage on their tax returns, as married couples receive double the tax credits, but not in other areas of life. The trend of abolishing the doctrine of common-law marriage began with the Council of Trent in 1563 when the council ruled that no marriage would be valid in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church unless it was solemnized by a priest. Then, in 1753, Great Britain passed an act that validated no marriage unless the marriage was performed under the Church of England. That law did not apply to the American colonies, thus, when the colonies broke away, the doctrine remained intact. South Carolina had now declared the doctrine of a “bright-line” rule requiring those who wish to be married in South Carolina to obtain a lawful license.
* * *
Luke 12:32
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Josephine married George Butler, a scholar and cleric, in 1852. Together they had four children. Their only daughter, Eva, died in 1863, following a fall from the staircase at their home. This led Josephine to seek solace by ministering to people with greater pain than her own. She began visiting England’s Liverpool’s Brownlow Hill workhouse, which led to her first involvement with prostitutes. She set up a House of Rest and an Industrial Home for them. Through her own pain Josephine could understand the pain of others and dedicated her life to alleviating it.
* * *
Isaiah 1:10
“listen to the teaching”
Arthur Shafman, who died in 2014, had no formal education or training; yet, he was known as an ambitious concert and theater producer. In addition to this he managed the careers of many actors and performers. Absent of an education, Shafman was asked how he was able to accomplish this. Shafman replied, “Everything I learned I learned on my own. I asked all the questions. I listened to the answers. I used to go backstage, observing, hanging around. I learned.”
* * *
Luke 12:34
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Baptist pastor Russell Conwell died on December 6, 1925. He was the founder of Temple College which is now Temple University in Philadelphia. One of his main messages in life is that Christians should seize honest opportunities to earn wealth for good uses. He is best remembered for his sermon “Acres of Diamonds.” The last line of his sermon reads, “he who would be great anywhere must first be great in his own Philadelphia.” That is, you can obtain wealth for good causes wherever you may be.
* * *
Hosea 1:16-17
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
Dorothy Davis, a nurse, was appointed as a Nazarene missionary to Switzerland in 1939. Because she was so proficient in training the women of Switzerland to be nurses, she became known as “the Mother of Swiss Nurses.”
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin
Luke 12:32-40
Life’s Random Opportunities
Be prepared, Jesus says. Unexpected things happen, and God shows up in unexpected ways. In a similar way, philosopher Leonard Mlodinow believes that our lives are shaped by unexpected events. He tells a story about his father, who was a prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp as a young man. He stole a loaf of bread, and the baker wanted to know who the thief was. He lined up the people he suspected, and brought in men with guns. “And they said, who stole the bread? And my father didn’t say anything. And then they said, okay, we’re going to start at this end of the line, and we’re going to shoot everybody until either you’re all dead or the thief steps forward. So he puts the gun to the head of the first person. My father, at that point, steps forward and admitted that he stole the bread. And he told me that it wasn’t a heroic thing, that — he didn’t do it out of heroism. He did it — purely practical that these guys are all going to die, and I’m going to die, too, or I’ll just be the only one. So he stepped forward.”
But something unusual happened. “Instead of killing him, though, the baker acted like God and somewhat arbitrarily took him under his wing and gave him a job as his assistant in the bakery. So he had a much better job after that, based on that incident. And it just shows you that even in the midst of all this cruelty, there’s randomness or — I don’t know what — whim? I don’t know if the guy — I don’t know if he was being human and let some of his humanity peek out, or he wanted to play like God. I don’t really know what was the person’s motive, but that’s one of many things that happened to my father. If it had happened differently, I wouldn’t be here, and my kids wouldn’t be here. Everything would be different in that lineage.”
Like a thief in the night, the opportunity came to his father with a mixture of surprise and fear, and ended up re-shaping his life. Be dressed for action, Jesus says, and when we are, compelling things happen.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Finding Family
Jesus says, “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” There’s a sense of surprise in the story, and LaKisha David found the same kind of surprise when she looked for her ancestors. Her story began with a seemingly simple assignment. “LaKisha David’s sense of dread increased as her turn approached. The professor had asked the students to introduce themselves by telling the history of their names. ‘It was humiliating, because I couldn’t do it,’” David remembers.
It was the winter of 2013, and she was a master’s student in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She and her classmates were on their way to Ghana to research water and sanitation. “This is the way I’m being introduced to these people,” thought David, “as someone who doesn’t even know her history.” What David did know about her history, she didn’t say. She is the direct descendant of slaves. Here she was, on her way to Ghana, and for all she knew she could be of Ghanaian descent.”
Finding enslaved ancestors is complicated by incomplete records, the lack of last names, and careless spelling. “Before 1865, slaves were most often quantified — by dollar value or head count on a plantation — rather than named. Finding bills of sale for slaves in old Southern courthouses is possible, but difficult…David had tried to trace her ancestry before, and had not made any progress. The fact that she might never know her ancestors’ names and origins had weighed on her for nearly 30 years. It had become an increasing burden to her as she slogged through her studies.” Increasingly, she wanted to know who she was.
After many months of searching records and making phone calls, she tracked down the last copy of a book about a white family, which included six pages about her ancestors. “She learned that a woman named Milo, purchased in 1811, was her 3rd great-grandmother. Samuel Glass, who was white and whose legal wife, Mary LaCroix, was infertile, bought Milo to bear his children. Milo was renamed Tamar and gave birth to four children, all by her owner.”
DNA testing has also led her to the place of her ancestry, and the connection between enslaved people in America and their African family members has become her academic specialty, as she pursues a doctorate. David now has the treasure of knowing more about her ancestors, with discoveries full of surprises. “Though David has extensive research yet to do before she maps all of her roots, she plans to return to Africa one day. This time, she’ll be visiting family.” For her, it’s an unfailing treasure.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Treasure on Earth
Jesus tells us “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out.” He’s urging us to concentrate on the things that endure, a quest recently pursued by Norman Allen. When he started thinking about this, he recalls, “my partner and I shared a house that sprawled across 4,000 square feet in the suburbs of Washington, DC. It contained two living rooms, a pair of bedrooms with private baths, and a master suite that included a dressing area the size of a New York studio apartment. We made blank, contemporary spaces livable with oak trim, rich colors, and landscape paintings that evoked my Northern California roots. None of it muffled the echoes in the hallway…I’d already been mildly embarrassed by the size of my home, but I’d never felt guilty about it. Suddenly it had all the qualities of a suburban Versailles. Returning from my New York visit, I entered the house and stopped at its central crossroads, where a long hallway meets a two-story vestibule and blood-red staircase. Two thoughts hit me: 1) I am a very bad steward, and 2) this is not, in fact, home.”
Allen moved — in the time-honored tradition of restless souls — to a small cabin. He and a friend loaded everything he needed into a van, and unpacked it. He got a dog from the shelter. “My life was now bound by oaks and elms that were themselves home to deer and snakes and the occasional black bear. I experienced the slow evolution of a season — or of a day. The valley below and the mountains beyond rolled through wintry shades of gray and blue. The morning came when a songbird appeared, his yellow chest puffing with the exertion of the migration north. A few days later there were two of them. Then three. The vegetation made the same halting approach. The red bud came and went, the mountain laurel peaked and faded back to green. Every morning Rocket and I walked a two-mile loop of dirt road, wading through the washouts that followed heavy rains. We became accustomed to the black dog that attacked as we rounded the curve, and we waved to its mistress and her grandchild as they drove down the hill to meet the school bus.”
Out there, on the rural land and at the cabin, there’s a kind of peace that was never possible in the large suburban home, designed by a famous architect. Out there, with the songbirds and the trees, is the treasure he sought years ago.
* * *
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Listening
The psalmist and the prophet both call us into a deeper listening for God. It’s clear that listening is a skill, and it’s easy to go wrong and miss an important moment.
The story is told about two hunters who go out into the woods to hunt, and one of them suddenly falls over and lies on the ground. “He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head.”
The other hunter starts to panic, then whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He frantically blurts out to the operator, “My friend Bubba is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, trying to calm him down says, “Take it easy. I can help. Just listen to me and follow my instructions. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There’s a short pause, and then the operator hears a loud gunshot!
The hunter comes back on the line and says, “OK, now what?”
Sometimes, it’s easy to hear the words without listening to the real message.” [John C. Maxwell tells this story in his book, Leadership Gold]
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: The mighty one speaks and summons the earth.
People: God calls from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
People: Before God is a devouring fire and a mighty tempest.
Leader: Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor God.
People: Those who go the right way will see the salvation of God."
OR
Leader: As we gather today, God is in our midst.
People: We celebrate God’s presence in this holy place.
Leader: This is not the only place where God is present.
People: We know there are other holy places.
Leader: Every place where God is is holy and God is everywhere!
People: We rejoice in the love of our ever present God.
Hymns and Songs:
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
UMH: 136
NNBH: 237/241
CH: 78
LBW: 451
ELW: 778
W&P: 86
AMEC: 208
How Firm a Foundation
UMH: 529
H82: 636/637
PH: 361
AAHH: 146
NNBH: 48
NCH: 407
CH: 618
LBW: 507
ELW: 796
W&P: 411
AMEC: 433
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELW: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
Trust and Obey
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
UMH: 500
PH: 326
AAHH: 312
NCH: 290
CH: 265
LBW: 486
ELW: 800
W&P: 132
AMEC: 189
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
All I Need Is You
CCB: 100
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
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
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who makes yourself known in unexpected ways:
Grant us the wisdom to look for you at all times and in all places
so that we may not miss the glorious things you are doing;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you make yourself known to us in wondrous ways. We are often surprised by the ways in which you come among us. Give us faith to trust in your being with us and discernment to know when you are at work. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our blindness to all that you are doing in our midst.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are constantly among us working for the good of your creation and we so often unaware of your presence. Our minds as so filled with the little things of this life that we miss the world changing acts you are about right in front of us. We place our confidence in the passing world around us instead of putting our faith in you. Forgive us our foolish ways and call us back once more to the reality of the spiritual world. Fill us with your Spirit that we may work with you as you redeem your creation. Amen.
Leader: God is at work redeeming us and all creation. Receive God’s Spirit and know God is at work in and through you.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are yours, O God, because you are constant presence of love in your creation. You dwell among us so that we may know of your love and grace.
(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. You are constantly among us working for the good of your creation and we so often unaware of your presence. Our minds as so filled with the little things of this life that we miss the world changing acts you are about right in front of us. We place our confidence in the passing world around us instead of putting our faith in you. Forgive us our foolish ways and call us back once more to the reality of the spiritual world. Fill us with your Spirit that we may work with you as you redeem your creation.
We give you thanks for your constant love and grace that you bring to us. We thank you that you have never left us alone but have remained with us always.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray especially for those who feel they are alone in this life. As you make your presence known help us to make your loving presence felt through our caring and loving those around us.
(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 Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about how nice it is to have someone we can trust. Someone who we know will do what they say. The only problem is that everybody fails sometimes. Our parents may have promised to take us someplace special but maybe they get sick or the weather doesn’t cooperate. But we still know we can trust them. God is the one who we can always trust. God always keeps promises. God loves us and always will.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
by Bethany Peerbolte
To come...
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The Immediate Word, August 11, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 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.
- The Lady Ain't A Kook by Chris Keating — Prophetic challenges and political crusades — Isaiah is clear: God has had it with worship that is not offered by changed hearts and repentant believers.
- Second Thoughts: Be Prepared… to Laugh by Tom Willadsen — Perhaps a piece of baklava should be the symbol of a nation whose citizens are divided by fear and needing, desperately, to laugh together
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Ron Love and Mary Austin.
- Worship resources by George Reed focusing on faith as well as the fact that good news sometimes comes from unexpected sources.
- Children’s sermon by Bethany Peerbolte.
The Lady Ain't A Kook: Prophetic Challenges and Political Crusadesby Chris Keating
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Last week’s Democratic presidential debates were a parade of policies, politics and personalities. Front runners like Vice President Joe Biden, or senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders shined, while several hopefuls dropped back. But as candidates traded exchanges marinated in the thick brine of progressive Democratic policies, it was the longshot candidate some call a New Age kook who captured the most applause.
It could be called the triumph of spiritualism over wonkiness.
Longshot presidential candidate and New Age author Marianne Williamson claimed the honor of receiving the most applause during the debate and was also the most-searched candidate online. If that seems astounding, recall that just four years ago The New York Times called Donald Trump’s entry into the 2016 Presidential race an “improbable quest.”
Williamson’s candidacy has been dismissed by some who say she’s better suited to become “Secretary of Crystals.” On Tuesday, her candidacy rose above Internet memes. She called for reparation payments to African Americans, and accused Trump of emboldening a “dark psychic force” of “collectivized hatred.” She may not garner the most votes, but she certainly captured the audience’s attention.
To paraphrase Rodgers and Hart, that’s why the lady ain’t a kook.
She looked straight into the camera and addressed Trump directly, telling him that she would beat him in an election not because of her policy proposals, but rather by “harnessing love for political purposes.”
While she’s hardly a biblical prophet, her words function like Isaiah’s. In this week’s lectionary text, the prophet decries the dark forces that have overcome Israel. The prophet’s words are clear. God is tired of worship which does not produce a life worthy of God’s commandments. Sacrifices offered by those persisting in sin have no value. God has tired of thoughts and prayers and looks instead for acts of goodness and justice. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes,” God warns.
The prophet’s words rattled Israel. He wasn’t conventional — but he was hardly a kook, either. That’s why we ought to be paying attention.
In the News
Williamson’s unconventional candidacy may not land her in the White House, but her words may spark a renewed engagement with cultural issues beyond the spheres of political policies. She’s a political novice, albeit a novice who has written seven New York Times bestsellers. Nor is she particularly appealing to the political mainstream. Famed Democratic strategist Bob Shrum has said her base is filled with “woo-woo talk.” It’s possible that Williamson, who is famous for being one of Oprah Winfrey’s spiritual advisors, is filled with all sorts of woo-woo talk.
By her own admission, she is not “a plan person.” Some of her statements about vaccinations, science and mental health have been correctly criticized. Her appearances on the debate stage have sent the Internet into a meme-generated frenzy. Her New Age beliefs have caused some to lampoon her candidacy. Her proposal to create a “department of peace” may raise more than a few eyebrows.
But following a weekend of back to back mass shootings it is hard to ignore her vision. Her claims of the ravaging forces of dark spiritual forces at work within the country are hard to ignore, and her pledge to lead with love rings sincere. With most candidates focused on finding secular solutions to problems of racism, healthcare, and poverty, Williamson seems to be shifting the conversation toward matters of the nation’s soul. It’s that message of kindness, love and decency which seem to be at the core of Williamson’s campaign.
Is this a bad thing?
Columnist David Brooks contrasted Williamson’s focus with his claims that President Trump’s fear mongering has degraded America’s soul. Brooks believes Trump is more of a cultural revolutionary whose strategy cannot be thwarted by wonky policy geeks. Trump’s contribution has been his ability to shift American values by creating a system of dominance and submission. Brooks suggested that Williamson’s strength is the contrast she provides to Trump’s focus on fear:
He (Trump) operates and is subtly changing America at a much deeper level. He’s operating at the level of dominance and submission, at the level of the person where fear stalks and contempt emerges.
He’s redefining what you can say and how a leader can act. He’s reasserting an old version of what sort of masculinity deserves to be followed and obeyed. In Freudian terms, he’s operating on the level of the id. In Thomistic terms, he is instigating a degradation of America’s soul.
In contrast to heady approaches to cultural change, Williamson’s spiritually oriented approach may resonate with voters. She speaks a truth many are longing to hear. Brooks suggested that the “largeness of this moment” calls for a candidate who can rebuild the country’s moral infrastructure.
The problem is that prophets rarely win elections. Moreover, many mainstream people of faith find themselves at odds with her unconventional religious beliefs. She’s the essence of the “spiritual but not religious” demographic missing from most of our sanctuaries. Though she bristles at being named a new age “guru,” Williamson is very much the image of a self-help motivational coach. Raised in a conservative Jewish faith, she drew inspiration for her work from the book A Course in Miracles, which was written in 1976 by psychologist Helen Schucman, who claimed that Jesus had dictated the book to her.
It’s not a text found in most church libraries, nor does it affirm central Christian beliefs. It’s been called everything from psychobabble to the “New Age Bible.” The book’s teaching figures prominently in Williamson’s theological identity, and guides her belief that love can triumph over hatred.
She’s somewhat of a hybrid between Judaic theology, New Age spiritualism, and the American self-help movement. She’s lectured at Harvard Divinity School and appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s “SoulSunday” series. Her most famous quote (“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”) is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela. None of this seems the sort of proving ground preparations normally attributed to those seeking the presidency.
“God is love,” Williamson says when asked to distill A Course in Miracles. “We are children of God. Love is both our identity and our purpose. When we remember that, life works. When we forget that, chaos ensues.”
That sort of woo-woo talk will cause some to pass on her candidacy. But note what religion writer Jonathan Merritt said last week. Merritt worked with Williamson and is convinced her message makes sense. Merritt, who was raised Southern Baptist and attended Liberty University, is no longer a conservative. He says he remains a “proud Protestant” who affirms the creeds “without crossing my fingers.” In helping Williamson in the writing of her last book, Merritt was surprised by his growing appreciation of her gifts for leadership.
“I feel more affinity with a peace-loving Williamson right now than I do with some of my Christian brothers and sisters who seem happy to tolerate a resurgence of sexism, white supremacy and homophobia in our country so long as the stock market is soaring,” he wrote.
Merritt’s observations are worth considering. In the end, he acknowledges that she may not win the presidency, but neither is she a kook.
In the Scripture
Isaiah’s words may have rattled the status quo the way Williamson’s decrying of Trump’s collectivizing hatred sent viewers to google her campaign. Like Williamson, the prophet knows a bit about dark forces of wickedness at work in creation. It’s time for a bit of truth telling, and Isaiah understands that God’s patience with Israel is wearing thin.
There is strong consensus among scholars that chapter one of Isaiah emerged from a complex composition and redaction of texts. There are key themes closely associated with eighth century prophets, but also ideas generally associated with later prophets. J. Clinton McCann of WorkingPreacher.org observes that among these themes is the emphasis on justice and righteousness. With Israel’s kings entrusted with the enforcement of these primary virtues the prophets served as something akin to the monarch’s accountability partner.
Yet empires rarely fulfill God’s expectations. When the kings failed, Israel’s prophets assumed the roles of truth tellers and custodians of accountability. In decrying the evil which has befallen Judah, Isaiah describes the rulers of the world as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah. His words are searing reminders of Yahweh’s sovereignty. Isaiah’s imagery pricks the ears of the people. Isaiah certainly understands how to get people’s attention. There is perhaps no better way of describing powers of “psychic darkness” than calling someone a ruler of Sodom.
The complaint is succinct: the cult of the state has failed to uphold Yahweh’s righteousness. The religious leaders have failed to cultivate faithful worship. Instead, they have promulgated a liturgy of empty rituals divorced from a faithful service. (See Anna Case-Winters, “Theological Perspectives,” Feasting on the Word, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Year C, Proper 14 (Sunday Between August 7 and August 13 Inclusive.)
Rooted in forms of oppression and economic extortion of the poor, the practices are inherently unjust. The results are a trampling of the temple, and offerings which are futile. As McCann observes, Yahweh is wearied by this worship that has become nothing more than a futile “cover up” of injustice. Such worship is inherently repugnant to God.
Isaiah’s vision is a word of truth spoken to practitioners of injustice. No longer will God tolerate such evil. The good of the land can one day be given to the people — if they choose to repent. The prophet calls out those whose vision shifted, whose priorities are no longer righteousness and justice. This is a hard, disruptive word. Those who speak it may find themselves dismissed.
The expected sacrifices will no longer be tolerated. Standing on the stage of Israel’s life, Isaiah provides a compelling call to a life of faith grounded in worship that is based on the deeper sacrifices of ceasing to do evil, learning to do good, seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed and advocating for the marginalized.
That may run contrary to the empire, but it certainly grabs the crowd’s attention.
In the Sermon
Isaiah pulls no punches. Israel’s worship has become corrupted by greed and oppression, its rituals devolved into toxic expressions of insincerity and selfishness. The truth stings and is easily avoided. Yet, as Marianne Williamson might suggest, it is only by telling the truth that healing can occur. Isaiah stands center stage and speaks Yahweh’s words of disruptive change.
The text invites a critique of a worship that has become stale, dull, and lacking the sort of spiritual nerve required for faithfully witnessing to God’s justice and righteousness. Williamson’s critique of her own party’s approach to the election mirrors this sort of insider’s review. “We have got to get deeper than just these superficial fixes,” she said at last’s week debate. Isaiah would agree. Enough with ‘thoughts and prayers,’ and no more of offerings that do not bring transformation. On this summer Sunday, the sermon could begin naming the ways our worship has dulled its edges and blunted its corners. Explore the ways each of us have become complicit in turning worship into a spectacle of comforting, ego-boasting adulation of privilege.
What would it be like to imagine God saying to us, “I despise your pompous prayers and self-aggrandizing sharing of ‘joys and concerns.’” Or, “I am insulted by the forced friendliness of your passing of the peace that bypasses visitors or ignores the homeless person in the back pew.” If we’re truly bold, we may confess that our hastily prepared sermons lack substance, and have become crimson-tinged by our lack of repentance.
Too often worship planning becomes fixated on candles and acolytes, bulletin covers and chancel flowers. We think a praise band and some up beat songs will reverse decades of insipid worship. But the real answers lie beyond these quick fixes; where do we dare to help the congregation go deeper in understanding of what it means to worship?
There’s truth to be told, and Isaiah can help us discover the words. The prophet calls us to acts of deep listening, and then compels us to ask, “Are we willing and obedient to discover the good of the land?”
SECOND THOUGHTSBe Prepared… to Laugh
by Tom Willadsen
Luke 12:32-40; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
It is a little surprising that vv. 22-31 are not part of the lectionary. Instead we jump from the Parable of the Rich Fool (last week’s gospel lesson) to Jesus’ thoughts on possession and readiness. The memorable imagery of considering the lilies of the field, and being reminded that birds do not worry or plant crops — yet the Lord cares for them — is a message that can always be preached, which the lectionary skips over. While I confess that I cannot read Jesus’ admonition not to worry without Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” coursing through my mind, his words return the reader to a healthy perspective. God cares for wildflowers and birds how much more precious are you to the Creator than they are! This week we get reminders that earthly possessions are fleeting, but being generous with one’s possessions brings eternal reward, and one must always be ready.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Note that one’s heart follows one’s treasure. The act of giving precedes the faith it expresses. Years ago a close friend was a finalist in a weekly football pool. His picks for the week tied him with another bettor. The winner of the whole pot would be determined by the result of the Monday night game. This was the last time my friend gambled. He simply found it to be too much pressure. His heart had followed a road that had a fifty-fifty chance of a big pay out. He couldn’t not care about the game’s outcome. He didn’t need the money, but its allure had changed him in a way he didn’t think was healthy.
I suppose one could make the same point about investing in a specific stock, or even fretting about the solvency of one’s bank or the security of one’s mattress. Wherever we put what is precious to us, our hearts will find the way there.
Time itself can also be considered a treasure. We talked about time as something we spend. We hear every day, “Time is money.” There’s no time like the present, but there’s no present like the time.
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Today’s passage includes the Bible’s most memorable definition of faith, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NRSV) Note that the first phrase is future oriented while the second anchors the faithful in the present. To really live one’s faith one must keep one’s perspective, but also live in the present. This kind of faith, “the assurance of things hoped for” harvests the promise of what is to come, thus helping those struggling in the present to have more strength to endure.
Having said all that, it’s interesting that the writer of Hebrews draws on the past, the most distant past in biblical terms, characters from stories in Genesis. Abel, Enoch and Noah all trusted the Lord conspicuously. Their faith led them to tangible acts expressing their faith. Their faith was more than assent to a creed — it was lived out where everyone could see — and smell. (I’m not sure whether Enoch’s walking with God involved the sense of smell; certainly Abel’s sacrifice raised a smell pleasing to the Lord. One can only imagine the smell aboard Noah’s ark!)
Abram/Abraham, however, is the strongest exemplar of faith as Hebrews describes it. He obeyed and trusted the Lord. He moved away from the area his ancestors had resided for generations. When it appeared that the Lord’s promise that a great nation would proceed from Abraham, when he was very old and Sarah who was barren and for whom “it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” (Genesis 18:11, NRSV) was impossible, “by faith,” Sarah conceived!
By faith! The Lord had promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, language that is echoed in Hebrews. This promise, which the Lord made to Abraham under the dome of the sky, is the reason that blue is a color of blessing at some Jewish weddings. The sky is a reminder of at all times of God’s blessing. May the newlyweds be as blessed as Abraham and Sarah under the dome of the sky, the arena of God’s interaction with humanity.
Let’s not forget the tangible substance of the Lord’s promise of offspring to Sarah and Abraham. Sarah named the child יִצְחָק, Yitzah in Hebrew, Isaac in English, “laughter,” because, as Sarah exulted, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6) The “reward” one could contend for Abraham and Sarah’s faith was the gift of laughter. Often in scripture laughter is an expression that one is not threatened by the troubles of the day, as in Proverbs 31:25:
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
That verse is part of a lengthy ode to “the capable wife.” To be able to laugh is a sign of security, and is often a sign of faith.
Back to Luke
After Jesus urges his listeners to not put their faith in material, earthly things, he gives two short images urging them to be ready. Slaves are to be ready for their master’s return — especially for an unexpected, early return. If the homeowner had known when the thief in the night was coming, he would have been ready. What can these metaphors say to us today? What must we be ready for?
In the News
The stock market has fallen this week as the president is doubling down in the trade war with China. A score of Democratic candidates for the presidency appeared in two debates last week. No front-runner has emerged and news coverage is more about how the candidates presented themselves than the policies they advocate. July was the warmest July in recorded history, which followed June’s designation as the warmest month ever since recording began. Distrust in civic institutions, even the news media, is leading to high levels of fear and isolation. What can we do, as a nation, as the Church, to build bridges between competing and fearful groups rather than walls?
At Moving from Fear to Trust, an interfaith gathering sponsored by the Fox Valley Islamic Society (FVIS), August 4, two ways believers of all kinds can express their faith were in evidence — eating together and laughing together.
For nearly two decades FVIS has hosted an interfaith gathering each summer under enormous tents on the grounds of their mosque. People come from more than 50 miles to build relationships and testify that xenophilia is a more faithful response — for people of all faiths — than xenophobia.
As this year’s gathering one of the speakers pointed out that the word “companion,” is a good place for people to start when getting acquainted. A companion is literally someone with whom one has eaten. “Com” is from Latin with and “panis” bread. We usually think of companions as people we journey with, and that sense still applies, but just eating together can build or be the start of building relationships based on trust. FVIS puts on a feast of primarily Middle Eastern food, but since their membership is composed of people from more than 30 countries, delicacies from other parts of the world are also served.
What does it mean when people laugh together? Here it is essential to be clear that laughter has the power to humiliate and debase its target. But when people laugh together at things that are truly funny, when our own weakness and confusion is the cause of our laughter, strong connections can be built.
Laughter’s health benefits have been well established by research. Laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormone levels, improves cardiac health and releases endorphins, among other things.
Laughter is also a profoundly social phenomenon. People are much more likely to laugh in groups than they are alone. For marginalized groups, laughing together can build group identity and cohesion. Rebecca Krefting has researched what she calls “charged humor” which self-locates from the position of marginalization. Seeing the world through the lens of charged humor gives people of all social statuses ways to recognize social inequality and to begin to redress it.
When we laugh at something often it is to express that one is not threatened by something. Just as the capable woman can laugh at the problems that come her way, people who can laugh at difficulties or struggles are expressing that they have a perspective that sees a bigger picture than what meets the eye.
Just as faith as defined by Hebrews is grounded in the present, but looks ahead with confidence to the future. People who laugh, especially those who laugh together, create a connection that says, “We’re all in this together.”
Think about the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham, a man who fathered a child at a very old age, with Sarah who was at an impossibly old age to have a child. Abe’s line continued, for Jews and Christians, through Isaac, laughter. Our faith began with a divine joke, and everyone who hears about Isaac’s birth should laugh along with Sarah, because nothing is impossible for God!
The people gathered under the tents in Neenah on that hot August afternoon were investing their time, and themselves in building bridges of understanding. If we imagine their time as a precious asset, they are putting their treasured time in being together with people who are different from them, eating food — becoming companions — with people who are different from them. Their laughter is an expression of faith; faith in the confidence that all of God’s people have been made in God’s image. We all come from a common ancestor, we all enjoy tasty food and our faith in the Living God is a reflection of the faith we put in our neighbors.
Perhaps a piece of baklava should be the symbol of a nation whose citizens are divided by fear and needing, desperately, to laugh together....more illustrations, worship resources and children's sermon to come later today
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Two Bits of Kindness
Volunteers and workers at the Asheville Humane Society said that it was a moment that every shelter employee dreams about.
Last week, a woman named Leslie walked through their front doors and said, "Which two dogs have been here the longest, with the most special needs? I'm here to take them both home with me."
Those two unwanted dogs were Sam, who had extensive medical issues and had been at the shelter for six months, and Brutus, who has severe separation anxiety and had been there for five months.
"I'm glad to give them a home for the last couple years of their life," said an emotional Leslie. "And they give so much love back."
The Humane Society posted a heartwarming video of Sam and Brutus getting ready to head home with their new mom, saying there wasn't a dry eye in sight! Leslie assured the pair that they now had a family to love them for the rest of their days, and would never be alone again.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Winners By a Hair
When 11-year-old Kylie Zima’s dad was a teenager he contracted cancer and all his hair fell out when he underwent chemotherapy. Of course, he was laughed at and made fun of at school. Kylie thought that was awful and she thought it shouldn’t happen to other kids. She talked to her mom, an oncology nurse, about what she could do to help other kids who are going through what her dad went through.
The next day, she talked to her three best friends and they agreed to grow their hair out and then get it cut off so it could be used by the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to help create wigs for kids who have lost their hair for medical reasons.
The above link provides a 1:20 minute video suitable for showing in church.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Busy As a (Harvest) Bee
Larry Yockey is a 64-year-old fourth-generation farmer, working the same land in Ritzville, Washington, as his father and grandfather did before him. He said his wheat crop accounts for nearly 100% of his income, and harvesting is usually a job that he does by himself.
But, in February, doctors diagnosed Yockey with melanoma, which has spread to his bones. That contributed to a broken hip and broken ribs, reducing how much he can lift and the amount of time he can spend working in his fields.
Sidelined at harvest time, he didn’t know how he would get the work done. But last weekend, dozens of vehicles pulled up to his farm, along with farmers ready to run the machines and work the fields.
Working together, they completed three weeks' worth of harvesting in about eight hours.
Miles Pfaff, one of the farmers who pitched in, said that "harvest bees" like this are rare and that it is not the sort of help a farmer would ask for or hope to need. He also pointed out that the help came from others besides farmers. The local fire department and mechanics volunteered their time, while folks who weren't working the fields brought food and drinks.
The scale of the operation reminded Yockey of the way he sees other communities come together after natural disasters. The people who helped with his harvest say they do not want to be thanked, but "'thank you' really doesn't even do justice here," he said.
This link provides photos of the “harvest bee.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Not Glass Slippers But They’ll Do
A 9-year-old girl who asked if she could buy a pair of shoes for a classmate who couldn’t afford his own inspired her mom to take advantage of Payless’ going-out-of-business sales and buy out all 1,500 shoes in the store and donate them for those in need.
Carrie Jernigan, from Alma, Arkansas, now has a basement filled with boxes and boxes of shoes. The shoes are now accompanied by backpacks, socks, books and various back-to-school products donated by others who heard of her generosity and wanted to make donations.
Jernigan, who is also the president of the local school board, said she had no idea her small good deed would become a huge community effort to support each other.
“I was just looking for a place to set up on one of our roads to hand out boxes of shoes to people — it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Jernigan explained. “People kept trying to donate more money, and now it’s turning into a huge back-to-school bash” complete with a bouncy house, face painting, refreshments and, yes, back-to-school give aways to anyone who needs the help.
Here are photos of Carrie Jernigan with shoes.
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
Pay or Go Hungry?
Last week, a Pennsylvania school district took the old cliché about bullies stealing lunch money and amped it up. If parents don't settle their unpaid lunch debts, the district said, it might take away their kids.
Wyoming Valley West School District sent letters to parents with at least $10 in unpaid lunch costs threatening to place their children in foster care if the bills weren't paid. The district tried to justify the threats by pointing out that it was trying to collect more than $22,000 in unpaid lunch costs — a fraction of its $80 million annual budget — and that some families owed as much as $450.
Sending children to school without lunch or money to buy lunch, the letter informed parents, counted as "a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition."
"You can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food," the letter read. "If you are taken to Dependency Court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care."
The letter sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in local and eventually national media — as well as condemnations from Luzerne County officials who pointed out, correctly, that the foster care system should not be used "as a punitive agency or weaponized to terrorize children and families."
And, at the risk of stating the obvious, no parent should be threatened with the prospect of losing their children to the state over a $10 debt.
The Wyoming Valley incident, however, is just one example of a new trend in school districts around the country that have turned to “shaming” children and parents who fall behind in their school lunch payments. Actions include stamping the hands of kids who can’t afford the school lunch, creating public lists of names of families who are behind in their lunch payments, and special inexpensive lunches and special places in the school cafeteria for kids to sit who can’t afford the regular lunch.
The Wyoming valley district's stance only got more absurd when it initially rejected a Philadelphia businessman's offer to settle the full $22,000 debt on behalf of Wyoming Valley West parents. Todd Carmichael, the CEO of La Colombe Coffee, published an op-ed in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice on Tuesday detailing his attempts to settle the debts.
"As a child, I received free meals at school when my mother struggled to make ends meet. I know what it means to be hungry. I know what it means to feel shame for not being able to afford food," Carmichael wrote. After reaching out to Joseph Mazur, president of the Wyoming Valley West school board, Carmichael wrote that he was shocked by the response.
"Mr. Mazur turned us down," Carmichael wrote. "I can't explain or justify his actions. Let me be clear: we offered over $22,000 with no strings attached. And he said 'No.'"
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Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Luke 12:32-40
A Litle Child Shall Lead Them
Meanwhile —
In Davidson County, North Carolina, some school children have come up with a kinder, gentler solution to the problem of unpaid lunch debts in their school district: a very lucrative lemonade stand.
Hailey and Hannah Hager have used their lemonade stand, which they call Hailey and Hannah’s Helping Hands, to raise money before. The girls helped raise money for the hospice that helped their grandfather, their mother, Erin Hager, said, and raised $100 to buy items to make care packages for people experiencing homelessness last year. When the girls learned that some students owe lunch debt at their schools, they decided to pitch in to help them pay it off using their lemonade stand.
“Nobody likes to see other people struggle with anything,” Hannah Hager, 11, told Inside Edition, adding that she has a friend who sometimes doesn’t have enough to eat at her elementary school.
The school district is holding about $41,000 in unpaid lunch debt, according to new local news reports, But the Hagers are help making a dent in it. The girls have raised about $4,500 so far through their lemonade stand, Facebook page and the help of local churches.
Local businesses, charities, non-profit groups, service organizations, and at least one motorcycle club have also contributed. Total collected so far: $45,000.
Entire story at InsideEdition.com.
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From team member Ron Love:Isaiah 1:15
“When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers”
Helen Schucman wrote the book titled A Course in Miracles, that was published in 1976. The book discusses spiritual transformation and maintains that the greatest “miracle” of all is the act of simply gaining a full “awareness of love’s presence” in one’s own life. Absent of any source of verification, Schucman declared that the book had been dictated to her, word by word, by the “inner dictation” from Jesus. When Schucman appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the book, it received national attention. Following the broadcast over two million copies were sold. One of the readers was Marianne Williamson, who is running as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential election. Williamson considers A Course in Miracles the book that led her out “of the path to hell” as she navigated a life of unhappy love affairs, alcoholism, drug abuse and a nervous breakdown. She acknowledges that the book A Course in Miracles did come directly, verbatim, with each word placed on the page coming straight from Jesus. Williamson firmly believes that the book “contains no holes.” It has been noted that in the last presidential debate, held on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan, that for many the unknown candidate Williamson emerged as the shining star. It was reported that she received the most applause of any of the other nine candidates on stage. Following the debate, she also became an internet sensation. Her policies may be populist. Her words may be potent. Her intensity may be admired. Many may consider her words to be prophetic, but are they? Certainly, there is a great misconception if people think that her pronouncements from the debate podium are as valid as the fraudulent words she believes were dictated by Jesus in A Course in Miracles, a book Williamson considers as authentic and as sacred as the Gospels. Those who cheered Williamson as the new spiritualist candidate ought to first do their homework, and then decide if they want a religious charlatan to be the President of the United States.
* * *
Hosea 1:16-17
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
On Sunday morning, at 1a.m., in the 400 block of East 5th Street, in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio, Connor Betts, 24, wearing body armor, and using a .223-caliber rifle with additional high-capacity magazines, indiscriminately opened fire on partiers in a section of the city known for its restaurants and bars. The Oregon District is considered a very safe section of the city. Nine people were killed and 27 wounded, some critically. Of those killed was the shooter’s 22-year-old sister, Megan. In less than a minute police officers were able to kill Betts, but not before he brought hell into the lives of so many. The shooting comes just 14 hours after a gunman killed 22 people and injured over two dozen more at a Walmart 1,600 miles away in El Paso, Texas. It came a week after a gunman killed three people and injured more than a half dozen others at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in northern California. During his Sunday mass, Pope Francis referenced the three shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton, asking worshipers “to join my prayer for the people who lost their lives, the injured and their family members. I am spiritually close to the victims of the episodes of violence that have bloodied Texas, California, Ohio in the United States, striking defenseless people.”
* * *
Genesis 15:1
“I am your shield”
Nathalie Birli, 27, a triathlon athlete, and a new young mother to a 14-week-old son, was riding her bike near her home in Kumberg in southern Austria, when on July 23, 2019, a man rammed her bike with his car, got out, wrenched her from her bike, beat her severely, pulled her into his vehicle, and bound and blindfolded her. He drove her to his home, dragged her up some stairs and locked her in a closet, where she blacked out. When she came to, her left arm ached and her head throbbed as the attacker had fractured both her skull and her lower arm. Yet somehow, improbably, Birli kept her wits about her, realizing that if she were going to survive to see her baby, she needed to find a way to connect with the man who seemed intent on killing her.
She said, “I thought, I have to convince him that he can get out of this unscathed, because otherwise he wouldn’t have released me. I had to find a way to convince him to trust me.” By the time she had regained consciousness, it was dark outside. There were no visible lights of any neighbor to be seen. Over the course of six to seven hours, the man tried to force her into a cold bath, holding her head under water once, twice, and a third time, when she refused to get into the tub. As she gasped for breath, he warned her that the abuse was just a taste of what would happen if she did not do what he wanted. Then he pressed towels over her face, apparently trying to suffocate her.
She had studied sports and nutrition as a university student, and her courses included psychology. “The importance of TLC,” read a comment that she posted on social media in 2017, along with an explanation of the value of sharing small kindnesses — a smile, a nod of approval, an acknowledgment. In a moment of quiet, “when he was not beating or threatening me,” she looked around, noticed the orchids and without thinking, commented on them. “I just threw it out there, that his orchids were so beautiful.” She added that she had orchids as well, and knew how much care went into keeping the delicate blooms alive and thriving. Birli said, “Suddenly, he started talking about how he cared for them, using water from his aquarium. Suddenly, he was a completely different person.” As she listened, he kept talking. He told her about the many cats he had also cared for but were taken away from him; about his grandparents, whom he never really got to know, but who had left him the house in their will; and about the girlfriends who had betrayed him. He also talked about his mother, who he said had a drinking problem. Birli used that moment to tell him that she had a little baby at home who needed his mother. Birli said, “I asked him to please not kill me, because the little guy needs me. I asked him how that would have been for him to grow up without a mother.” The kidnapper then changed his attitude, and asked how he could help her. She said they could pretend a deer jumped in front of the bike, and he came and rescued her. They continued to work on the details of the fabricated story. Then the 33-year-old abductor took Birli home with her broken bike.
Using data from her cycle computer, which had recorded her movements, Austria’s Cobra special forces tracked down the suspect and arrested him. A week later Birli was released from the hospital and is enjoying the small kindnesses of everyday life at home with her son. Birli said, “It’s so good to see the little guy smile. Or just talk to the neighbor. Everything is good, I am just so grateful.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
In March 2019, one person, Paige Thompson, 33, was able to hack into the computer of Capital One and steal the data of over 100 million Capital One users. This information included social security numbers and bank account numbers. Paige, whose online persona is “erratic,” which describes her personality, was caught because of her online boasting of the crime, which was not discovered until July 17. She boasted, “I’ve basically strapped myself with a bomb vest.” Later she wrote on Twitter, “After this is over, I’m going to go check into the mental hospital for an indefinite amount of time. I have a whole list of things that will ensure my involuntary confinement from the world. The kind that they can’t ignore or brush off onto the crisis clinic. I’m never coming back.”
Her motives for the intrusion are yet to be determined, but often it’s being able to brag to peers or sell the information to outside bidders. Hacking is a problem for financial institutions. A single weak spot is all savvy hackers need. And they often find them. Already this year, there have been 3,494 successful cyberattacks against financial institutions. Hackers exploit simple mistakes in security systems, and simple mistakes are common in a software system that is so intricate and complex. Chris Vickery, a security researcher, said, “These things happen because of human nature. These systems are very complex and very granular. People make mistakes.” Sometimes the opening only takes a few hours to discover, other times it takes a few months. For example, Mastercard combats 460,000 intrusion attempts each day. JPMorgan Chase spends nearly $600 million a year on security, and Bank of America’s chief executive has said the bank’s security team has a “blank check” for its spending. But attackers keep slipping through. According to Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, wrote in an April letter to shareholders, cybersecurity “may very well be the biggest threat to the US financial system.”
* * *
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Macy’s had an innovative idea — they would make plates that measured the portions of food one took. The plates, which were called Portions, had three concentric circles. The center and smallest read “skinny jeans,” the next circle read “favorite jeans,” and the outer most circle read “mom jeans.” There were goblets to match with two concentric circles. The lower circle read “on the lips,” and the upper circle read “on the hips.” As one could imagine, the outrage that ensued was very vocal. Within four hours of displaying the plates, Macy’s withdrew them. Alice Ward, a science reporter, said in her report that she “just wanted to show the world how insidious beauty culture, and in this case one that shames women, can be. But I wanted Macy’s to know that what they carry and display matters, it can hurt people, and they’re accountable for it.”
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Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
The South Carolina Supreme Court, on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, following the lead of a number of other states, outlawed common-law marriage. A common-law marriage occurs when a couple begins living together, hold themselves as a married couple and behave as a married couple would, but do not formally go through the process of obtaining a marriage license. The court ruled that the circumstances creating a need for the doctrine are not present in today's society. A woman without dependent children is no longer thought to pose a danger of burdening the state with her support and maintenance simply because she is single, and the right of a single parent to obtain child support is no longer dependent upon his or her marital status. Among the other considerations listed in the opinion are that courts can struggle to determine if or when parties involved express the intent to be married, which reduces the “solemn institution” of marriage into a guessing game, that living together while unmarried is exceedingly common and continues to increase, and that the right to marry is easily available to all who wish to do so. Further, the doctrine creates a situation in which a couple might attempt to claim marriage on their tax returns, as married couples receive double the tax credits, but not in other areas of life. The trend of abolishing the doctrine of common-law marriage began with the Council of Trent in 1563 when the council ruled that no marriage would be valid in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church unless it was solemnized by a priest. Then, in 1753, Great Britain passed an act that validated no marriage unless the marriage was performed under the Church of England. That law did not apply to the American colonies, thus, when the colonies broke away, the doctrine remained intact. South Carolina had now declared the doctrine of a “bright-line” rule requiring those who wish to be married in South Carolina to obtain a lawful license.
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Luke 12:32
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Josephine married George Butler, a scholar and cleric, in 1852. Together they had four children. Their only daughter, Eva, died in 1863, following a fall from the staircase at their home. This led Josephine to seek solace by ministering to people with greater pain than her own. She began visiting England’s Liverpool’s Brownlow Hill workhouse, which led to her first involvement with prostitutes. She set up a House of Rest and an Industrial Home for them. Through her own pain Josephine could understand the pain of others and dedicated her life to alleviating it.
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Isaiah 1:10
“listen to the teaching”
Arthur Shafman, who died in 2014, had no formal education or training; yet, he was known as an ambitious concert and theater producer. In addition to this he managed the careers of many actors and performers. Absent of an education, Shafman was asked how he was able to accomplish this. Shafman replied, “Everything I learned I learned on my own. I asked all the questions. I listened to the answers. I used to go backstage, observing, hanging around. I learned.”
* * *
Luke 12:34
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Baptist pastor Russell Conwell died on December 6, 1925. He was the founder of Temple College which is now Temple University in Philadelphia. One of his main messages in life is that Christians should seize honest opportunities to earn wealth for good uses. He is best remembered for his sermon “Acres of Diamonds.” The last line of his sermon reads, “he who would be great anywhere must first be great in his own Philadelphia.” That is, you can obtain wealth for good causes wherever you may be.
* * *
Hosea 1:16-17
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
Dorothy Davis, a nurse, was appointed as a Nazarene missionary to Switzerland in 1939. Because she was so proficient in training the women of Switzerland to be nurses, she became known as “the Mother of Swiss Nurses.”
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From team member Mary AustinLuke 12:32-40
Life’s Random Opportunities
Be prepared, Jesus says. Unexpected things happen, and God shows up in unexpected ways. In a similar way, philosopher Leonard Mlodinow believes that our lives are shaped by unexpected events. He tells a story about his father, who was a prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp as a young man. He stole a loaf of bread, and the baker wanted to know who the thief was. He lined up the people he suspected, and brought in men with guns. “And they said, who stole the bread? And my father didn’t say anything. And then they said, okay, we’re going to start at this end of the line, and we’re going to shoot everybody until either you’re all dead or the thief steps forward. So he puts the gun to the head of the first person. My father, at that point, steps forward and admitted that he stole the bread. And he told me that it wasn’t a heroic thing, that — he didn’t do it out of heroism. He did it — purely practical that these guys are all going to die, and I’m going to die, too, or I’ll just be the only one. So he stepped forward.”
But something unusual happened. “Instead of killing him, though, the baker acted like God and somewhat arbitrarily took him under his wing and gave him a job as his assistant in the bakery. So he had a much better job after that, based on that incident. And it just shows you that even in the midst of all this cruelty, there’s randomness or — I don’t know what — whim? I don’t know if the guy — I don’t know if he was being human and let some of his humanity peek out, or he wanted to play like God. I don’t really know what was the person’s motive, but that’s one of many things that happened to my father. If it had happened differently, I wouldn’t be here, and my kids wouldn’t be here. Everything would be different in that lineage.”
Like a thief in the night, the opportunity came to his father with a mixture of surprise and fear, and ended up re-shaping his life. Be dressed for action, Jesus says, and when we are, compelling things happen.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Finding Family
Jesus says, “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” There’s a sense of surprise in the story, and LaKisha David found the same kind of surprise when she looked for her ancestors. Her story began with a seemingly simple assignment. “LaKisha David’s sense of dread increased as her turn approached. The professor had asked the students to introduce themselves by telling the history of their names. ‘It was humiliating, because I couldn’t do it,’” David remembers.
It was the winter of 2013, and she was a master’s student in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She and her classmates were on their way to Ghana to research water and sanitation. “This is the way I’m being introduced to these people,” thought David, “as someone who doesn’t even know her history.” What David did know about her history, she didn’t say. She is the direct descendant of slaves. Here she was, on her way to Ghana, and for all she knew she could be of Ghanaian descent.”
Finding enslaved ancestors is complicated by incomplete records, the lack of last names, and careless spelling. “Before 1865, slaves were most often quantified — by dollar value or head count on a plantation — rather than named. Finding bills of sale for slaves in old Southern courthouses is possible, but difficult…David had tried to trace her ancestry before, and had not made any progress. The fact that she might never know her ancestors’ names and origins had weighed on her for nearly 30 years. It had become an increasing burden to her as she slogged through her studies.” Increasingly, she wanted to know who she was.
After many months of searching records and making phone calls, she tracked down the last copy of a book about a white family, which included six pages about her ancestors. “She learned that a woman named Milo, purchased in 1811, was her 3rd great-grandmother. Samuel Glass, who was white and whose legal wife, Mary LaCroix, was infertile, bought Milo to bear his children. Milo was renamed Tamar and gave birth to four children, all by her owner.”
DNA testing has also led her to the place of her ancestry, and the connection between enslaved people in America and their African family members has become her academic specialty, as she pursues a doctorate. David now has the treasure of knowing more about her ancestors, with discoveries full of surprises. “Though David has extensive research yet to do before she maps all of her roots, she plans to return to Africa one day. This time, she’ll be visiting family.” For her, it’s an unfailing treasure.
* * *
Luke 12:32-40
Treasure on Earth
Jesus tells us “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out.” He’s urging us to concentrate on the things that endure, a quest recently pursued by Norman Allen. When he started thinking about this, he recalls, “my partner and I shared a house that sprawled across 4,000 square feet in the suburbs of Washington, DC. It contained two living rooms, a pair of bedrooms with private baths, and a master suite that included a dressing area the size of a New York studio apartment. We made blank, contemporary spaces livable with oak trim, rich colors, and landscape paintings that evoked my Northern California roots. None of it muffled the echoes in the hallway…I’d already been mildly embarrassed by the size of my home, but I’d never felt guilty about it. Suddenly it had all the qualities of a suburban Versailles. Returning from my New York visit, I entered the house and stopped at its central crossroads, where a long hallway meets a two-story vestibule and blood-red staircase. Two thoughts hit me: 1) I am a very bad steward, and 2) this is not, in fact, home.”
Allen moved — in the time-honored tradition of restless souls — to a small cabin. He and a friend loaded everything he needed into a van, and unpacked it. He got a dog from the shelter. “My life was now bound by oaks and elms that were themselves home to deer and snakes and the occasional black bear. I experienced the slow evolution of a season — or of a day. The valley below and the mountains beyond rolled through wintry shades of gray and blue. The morning came when a songbird appeared, his yellow chest puffing with the exertion of the migration north. A few days later there were two of them. Then three. The vegetation made the same halting approach. The red bud came and went, the mountain laurel peaked and faded back to green. Every morning Rocket and I walked a two-mile loop of dirt road, wading through the washouts that followed heavy rains. We became accustomed to the black dog that attacked as we rounded the curve, and we waved to its mistress and her grandchild as they drove down the hill to meet the school bus.”
Out there, on the rural land and at the cabin, there’s a kind of peace that was never possible in the large suburban home, designed by a famous architect. Out there, with the songbirds and the trees, is the treasure he sought years ago.
* * *
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Listening
The psalmist and the prophet both call us into a deeper listening for God. It’s clear that listening is a skill, and it’s easy to go wrong and miss an important moment.
The story is told about two hunters who go out into the woods to hunt, and one of them suddenly falls over and lies on the ground. “He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head.”
The other hunter starts to panic, then whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He frantically blurts out to the operator, “My friend Bubba is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, trying to calm him down says, “Take it easy. I can help. Just listen to me and follow my instructions. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There’s a short pause, and then the operator hears a loud gunshot!
The hunter comes back on the line and says, “OK, now what?”
Sometimes, it’s easy to hear the words without listening to the real message.” [John C. Maxwell tells this story in his book, Leadership Gold]
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WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: The mighty one speaks and summons the earth.
People: God calls from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
People: Before God is a devouring fire and a mighty tempest.
Leader: Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor God.
People: Those who go the right way will see the salvation of God."
OR
Leader: As we gather today, God is in our midst.
People: We celebrate God’s presence in this holy place.
Leader: This is not the only place where God is present.
People: We know there are other holy places.
Leader: Every place where God is is holy and God is everywhere!
People: We rejoice in the love of our ever present God.
Hymns and Songs:
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
UMH: 136
NNBH: 237/241
CH: 78
LBW: 451
ELW: 778
W&P: 86
AMEC: 208
How Firm a Foundation
UMH: 529
H82: 636/637
PH: 361
AAHH: 146
NNBH: 48
NCH: 407
CH: 618
LBW: 507
ELW: 796
W&P: 411
AMEC: 433
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELW: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
Trust and Obey
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
UMH: 500
PH: 326
AAHH: 312
NCH: 290
CH: 265
LBW: 486
ELW: 800
W&P: 132
AMEC: 189
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
All I Need Is You
CCB: 100
I Call You Faithful
CCB: 70
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
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
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who makes yourself known in unexpected ways:
Grant us the wisdom to look for you at all times and in all places
so that we may not miss the glorious things you are doing;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you make yourself known to us in wondrous ways. We are often surprised by the ways in which you come among us. Give us faith to trust in your being with us and discernment to know when you are at work. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our blindness to all that you are doing in our midst.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are constantly among us working for the good of your creation and we so often unaware of your presence. Our minds as so filled with the little things of this life that we miss the world changing acts you are about right in front of us. We place our confidence in the passing world around us instead of putting our faith in you. Forgive us our foolish ways and call us back once more to the reality of the spiritual world. Fill us with your Spirit that we may work with you as you redeem your creation. Amen.
Leader: God is at work redeeming us and all creation. Receive God’s Spirit and know God is at work in and through you.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are yours, O God, because you are constant presence of love in your creation. You dwell among us so that we may know of your love and grace.
(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. You are constantly among us working for the good of your creation and we so often unaware of your presence. Our minds as so filled with the little things of this life that we miss the world changing acts you are about right in front of us. We place our confidence in the passing world around us instead of putting our faith in you. Forgive us our foolish ways and call us back once more to the reality of the spiritual world. Fill us with your Spirit that we may work with you as you redeem your creation.
We give you thanks for your constant love and grace that you bring to us. We thank you that you have never left us alone but have remained with us always.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray especially for those who feel they are alone in this life. As you make your presence known help us to make your loving presence felt through our caring and loving those around us.
(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 Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about how nice it is to have someone we can trust. Someone who we know will do what they say. The only problem is that everybody fails sometimes. Our parents may have promised to take us someplace special but maybe they get sick or the weather doesn’t cooperate. But we still know we can trust them. God is the one who we can always trust. God always keeps promises. God loves us and always will.
CHILDREN'S SERMONby Bethany Peerbolte
To come...
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The Immediate Word, August 11, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 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.
