The Nurse Who Wouldn't Give Up
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
The grisly video images of dead children being removed from the rubble in Cana are only the latest reminder of the terrible human cost of war. From mounting casualties (often of innocent civilians) -- not only in the Middle East but also in any number of other conflicts around the world -- to the suffering wrought by plagues like AIDS or by natural disasters, the news seems to be nothing more than a grim horror show that makes us wonder if we can really make a difference in the face of such overwhelming misery. Yet as Christians, we are called to acts of mercy that lead to peace -- both on a global level and on a more personal scale. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Barbara Jurgensen discusses how we can live out that call by exemplifying the Christian virtues identified in Ephesians 4:1-3. Team member Carlos Wilton offers additional thoughts, noting that however unworthy we may think we are, we all have something valuable to offer. This week's material also includes many illustrations and worship aids plus a children's sermon.
The Nurse Who Wouldn't Give Up
by Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
As Israel and Lebanon lob yet more missiles across their border, and the fighting rages on in Iraq, our Lord calls us, his faithful people, to join him in five tasks:
* To live humbly;
* To live gently;
* To live patiently;
* To bear with one another with love; and
* To make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a peaceful way.
He calls us to do this not just in warring parts of the globe, but in even more difficult places: in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, and most especially in our congregations.
As a young boy with AIDS urged us at a recent international conference on the disease, we need to do all that we can, with what we have, right where we are, right now.
When Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans, Nurse Ruby Jones did just that -- risking her own life to remain by the bedside of her eight hospice patients.
THE WORD
Written while Paul was a prisoner, the book of Ephesians is regarded by many as the most sublime of all of his writings. It focuses on God's eternal purpose in establishing the church of Jesus Christ, whose members have been called by God the Father, redeemed by his Son, and drawn into a community that is directed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Though gathered from many different situations and nations, the followers of Christ are called to be one in him, living as his body in the world, carrying out his work with him in whatever setting they find themselves.
In this week's text Paul calls us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Each of us has been give grace sufficient for the day and the work, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all come to:
* the unity of the faith,
* the knowledge of the Son of God, and
* maturity, to the full stature of Christ.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
It was a Sunday last August at the Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina was roaring straight toward the city and all patients were being evacuated -- except for eight frail and dying patients in the hospice unit who were too sick to be moved in such a hurried way.
Nurse Ruby Jones made a decision: she would stay there with them.
Her kids urged her to evacuate while she could. "Mom," they begged her, "don't try to be a Superwoman. It's not necessary. No one expects it of you." But Ruby Jones stayed on.
On Monday, as raging winds shattered the hospital's windows, she told her patients, "Don't worry; I'm staying here with you. I won't leave you."
By Tuesday, the situation was even worse; the power went out, the water supply cut off, and the hospital was flooding. Still, nurse Jones continued to care for her people -- bathing them, feeding them, caring for their needs as best she could.
By the time help finally arrived on Wednesday, three of her patients had died. She helped evacuate the others.
She finally left the hospital on Thursday, hungry and thirsty, but having kept her promise to her patients to stay with them through it all.
According to an article in a recent issue of Newsweek, during those difficult days some health-care workers abandoned their posts, others cracked under the strain, but Jones worked on with calm purposefulness. Asked about it afterward, she said that she had only done her job, the same job she's been doing for 45 years.
Jones traces her devotion to nursing back to her upbringing in rural Louisiana, where she was often sick as a child and had to spend much time in the hospital. Because of the good care she received there, because she found it a comforting place, she wanted to pass that comforting care on to others.
She says that through all the storms life has brought her, she has been nourished by her faith. During the worst parts of Hurricane Katrina, when the whole hospital seemed to be flying apart, she recited scripture verses to herself for guidance and strength.
Among the people she has most admired and been inspired by is Mother Teresa, whose care for the poor in their last days has taught the world how to care.
Now, though the Lindy Boggs Medical Center has not been able to reopen since Hurricane Katrina, Ruby Jones still works in hospice care, giving comfort, with her Lord, day by day.
We can't all go to war-torn parts of the world to help -- or even to the sites of hurricanes and other disasters in our own country. But we can help in even more difficult places -- we can help in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, in our congregations and communities. We can, in the words of a young boy with AIDS who spoke recently at an international AIDS conference:
Do all that we can,
with what we have,
right where we are,
right now.
Our Lord calls us, his faithful people, in the words of this week's Ephesians text, to join him in doing what he's already doing:
* Living humbly;
* Living gently;
* Living patiently;
* Bearing with one another in love; and
* Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a peaceful way.
Our Lord calls us to join with him in doing what the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Movement calls the Works of Mercy. These are:
* Feeding the hungry;
* Clothing the naked;
* Giving drink to the thirsty;
* Visiting the imprisoned;
* Caring for the sick; and
* Burying the dead.
The Works of Mercy, according to the movement, are the total opposite of the Works of War. Those works are:
* Destroying crops and land;
* Seizing food supplies;
* Destroying homes;
* Scattering families;
* Contaminating water;
* Imprisoning dissenters;
* Inflicting wounds and burns; and
* Killing the living.
The life of Toyohiko Kagawa can inspire us. Kagawa had never been physically strong. Growing up in the midst of a Japanese family with many difficulties about one hundred years ago, he contracted tuberculosis and struggled to live as normal a life as he could.
Then he heard about Jesus and decided he wanted to follow him.
When Kagawa finished seminary, he had the opportunity to serve a well-to-do church in one of the larger Japanese cities, but he chose to go down to the abysmal slums of Kobe, one of the most wretched areas of the world, to live in a tiny one-room hut and work among the poorest of the poor.
Having given himself and all his possessions totally to God, this frail man worked amid the filth and the stench, the disease and the misery, to bring hope and new life to people living in some of the worst conditions imaginable, helping those caught in the injustices and tragedies of the industrial system.
Toyohiko Kagawa knew that his Lord was there, in that place, with him, helping him do the works of mercy. Kagawa wrote: "Do you hear God's pain-pitched cry as He suffers because of the world's sore distress? Yes, I hear it! I hear it! I feel within me the beating pulse of the universe. I hear the deep sighings of God."
As the years went by, Kagawa was able to help the people of his slum form a cooperative for buying and selling goods, to get health care, to gain an education. Many came to know Jesus through the caring of this one man.
Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon continue to fire missiles back and forth. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan grinds on. More hurricanes will undoubtedly devastate our coastal and inland areas. Wars and storms of other kinds will most certainly attack the places where we live.
We sometimes wonder what we can do besides pray. Pray we must, but our Lord calls us to do more. He calls us to do whatever he sets before us -- to do it with him. He calls us to do the works of mercy -- to do all that we can, with what we have, right where we are, right now. We need to do this in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, and especially in our congregations, where things can sometimes be the most difficult.
Our Lord calls us to do this work with him. He promises to be with us, and to give us the strength we need to do all that he calls us to do. We must no longer be children, but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way in our Lord.
Ruby Jones stayed at her post, drawing the strength she needed from her Lord. He will strengthen you and me to do the same.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Carlos Wilton
"We are not worthy!" cry Wayne and Garth -- the twentysomething wannabe rockers played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in the Wayne's World movies. As they intone these words, they prostrate themselves at the feet of the rock musicians they idolize, pressing their foreheads to the ground as though they were in the presence of divinity.
What makes a person worthy, in this day and age? Fame? Fortune? Talent?
In the world of the letter to the Ephesians, it's none of these things. What makes a Christian disciple "worthy of the calling" are certain virtues: humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. By cultivating such virtues, they foster unity and peace in the Christian community -- a big concern of the apostle, who wrote this letter to a church fractured by conflict.
I like your example, Barbara. The nurse, Ruby Jones, risked her own life to get her hospice patients through a hurricane. Since these patients were going to die soon anyway, others in the same situation might have simply made their apologies and headed for higher ground. But not Ruby. She was humble enough not to value her own life higher than others -- even those dying patients whose chronological life was rapidly running out, hurricane or no hurricane. Ruby was gentle -- a wonderful New Testament word (sometimes translated "meekness") that evokes quiet strength. She was patient -- waiting out the storm in darkness. She bore with the others who had been placed in her charge: she was tolerant of their needs. She is an example to us all.
Why use an example like this in a sermon? Isn't Ruby's experience far removed from the day-to-day life of our people? Isn't she some sort of super-Christian -- a saint?
No, she isn't (at least, she's no more a saint than any of us). And that's the power of this sort of example. Ruby Jones is an ordinary woman. Mother Teresa once said something like this: "God isn't looking for extraordinary people. God's looking for ordinary people who do ordinary things extraordinarily well." Feeding, changing dressings, administering medication, offering words of comfort -- such is the daily fare of a nurse's life. Ordinary things -- done, in this case, extraordinarily well.
We live in a world of pain and heartache. All around us are hurting people, crying out for a kind word, a loving gesture. Many of us spend our time wondering whether we are worthy, whether we have anything to offer. In fact, most of us have far more to offer than we realize.
Sadhu Sundar Singh, the Christian spiritual writer from India, once told a little parable about this kind of service to others:
Once when traveling in Tibet, I was crossing a high mountain pass with my Tibetan guide. The weather had suddenly turned bitterly cold, and my companion and I feared that we might not make it to the next village -- still several miles away -- before succumbing to the frost.
Suddenly, we stumbled upon a man who had slipped from the path and was lying in the snow. Looking more closely, I discovered that the man was still alive, though barely. "Come," I said to my companion, "help me try to bring this unfortunate man to safety." But my companion was upset and frightened for his life. He answered: "If we try to carry that man, none of us will ever reach the village. We will all freeze. Our only hope is to go on as quickly as possible, and that is what I intend to do. You will come with me if you value your life." Without another word and without looking back, he set off down the path.
I could not bring myself to abandon the helpless traveler while life remained in him, so I lifted him on my back and threw my blanket around us both as best I could. Slowly and painstakingly, I picked my way along the steep, slippery path with my heavy load. Soon it began to snow, and I could make out the way forward only with great difficulty.
How we made it, I do not know. But just as daylight was beginning to fade, the snow cleared and I could see houses a few hundred yards ahead. Near me, on the ground, I saw the frozen body of my guide. Nearly within shouting distance of the village, he had succumbed to the cold and died, while the unfortunate traveler and I made it to safety. The exertion of carrying him and the contact of our bodies had created enough heat to save us both. This is the way of service. No one can live without the help of others, and in helping others, we receive help ourselves.
-- excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Things That Make for Peace
A Presbyterian church in a small Wisconsin town hosted the funeral of a Jew because there was no synagogue in the area. The church agreed to drape a cloth over the cross in the sanctuary so as not to offend the Jewish mourners. Although this was a controversial decision within the congregation, Thomas E. Reynolds argues that it demonstrated genuine Christian hospitality.
-- The Christian Century (July 25, 2006), p. 6
***
In The Sun Stood Still (Atheneum, 1967), his firsthand account of the Arab-Israeli conflict, commentator Rod Macleish said: "In the abstract, war retains the objectives of politics -- security, acquisition, deterrence, and the imposition of the national will. Specifically, it raises the problem of murder to a level of such magnitude that murder ceases to be a problem and becomes an achievement."
-- quoted in The Christian Century (July 25, 2006), p. 7
***
Deuteronomy 16 begins with a grand declaration: You shall appoint judges and officials for your tribes... and let them govern the people with justice. Do not judge unfairly: show no partiality; take no bribes, for bribes blind the eye of the discerning and subvert the cause of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that it may go well with you (vv. 18-20). This may well be the sine qua non for a society that is civilized, where people can live with a sense of security, knowing they will be treated fairly and honestly.
-- Rabbi Chaim Stern, Day by Day: Reflections on the Themes of the Torah from Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Thought (Beacon Press, 1998), p. 317
***
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.
-- Psalm 15 (NRSV)
***
Come to think of it, attacking worldwide poverty could be our best defense policy. It certainly would marginalize extremists and slow down the recruitment of new terrorists.
-- William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Westminster John Knox, 2004), p. 92
***
Jesus was more, not less, than a prophet; more, not less, political than others. Only his were the politics of eternity. And the politics of eternity insist not only on nonviolence -- an affront to almost every revolutionary; they insist on "one world" -- an affront to every nationalist. We shall begin to understand the politics of eternity when we recognize that territorial discrimination is as evil as racial discrimination.
-- William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Westminster John Knox, 2004), p. 104
***
Cesar Lopez is a Colombian musician and composer who has seen his country wracked by more than 40 years of civil war. In 2003, as part of the Rapid Response Artists Battalion (a group of musicians who decided to bring music to the tragedies of Colombia's conflict), he stood outside a Bogota social club that had just been bombed. As he stood outside, he found himself holding a guitar next to a soldier holding his weapon. Looking at the soldier, he realized their stances, and the way they held their "instruments" in their hands, were nearly identical.
Out of this realization, Lopez has created the escopetarra -- an electric guitar created from decommissioned weapons turned in by former right-wing paramilitary groups who have agreed to abide by the Justice and Peace bill passed in 2005. The term "escopetarra" combines the Spanish words for shotgun (escopeta) and guitar (guitarra). Shotguns, AK-47 assault rifles, and other weapons are being converted for a peaceful purpose.
Originally designed to be used to protest all violence, the Colombian government has recently chosen them to be symbols against one of the country's rising scourges: land mines. Last year, 1,077 Colombians were killed or maimed by land mines, more than any other country. The director of Colombia's anti-land-mine campaign points out that the escopetarra "fights the language of war with the language of creativity."
Lopez donates the newly created guitars-from-weapons to other rock and pop stars so they can be used to spread a message of non-violence and campaign against land mines. "There is a commitment that comes with owning one," says Lopez. "This is not just an exercise in design." He hopes to give escopetarras to people like Shakira, Paul McCartney, Carlos Santana, and even the Dalai Lama.
-- USA Today, April 20, 2006
***
The 174 Trust is located in the rundown buildings of a former Presbyterian Church in one of the most disadvantaged areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It sits in the middle of "Murder Mile," where 20% of all murders committed during the Troubles took place.
In the midst of a Catholic community, the 174 Trust simply tries to offer a neutral, safe place that caters to all sorts of groups from both sides of the Peace Wall. Everybody is welcome: kids in after school clubs, those with disabilities, a support group for parents of autistic children.
No one is seen, or labeled, as Catholic or Protestant. They are simply neighbors of 174 Trust (174 is the house number of the building) -- a neighbor to be served.
-- from the Life and Work magazine of the Church of Scotland
***
In Serbia, like many countries, HIV/AIDS is on the rise. But in Serbia, unlike some countries, it is lawful for a person who is HIV-positive to be fired from their job, and for their children to be dismissed from school. So it is no surprise that many are reluctant to be tested. And for most, there is no support, no advice, no comfort.
Until the Red Line project began in 2004. Serbia's first HIV/AIDS telephone hotline, it experienced 3,800 contacts in its first six months of operation. Each call was handled by a trained volunteer who would show compassion, love, and concern to each and every caller.
Why did a group of local churches start this program? Why do people work as volunteers for Red Line? Maybe they took to heart Paul's injunction to bear "with one another in love, to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
-- from the Wider World magazine of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
***
On occasions like this it's customary to quote homilies -- phrases by great men and women, who we've all heard before... and tend not to hear. Let me mention one -- a phrase that was said here just a little less than 125 years ago by President Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." We tend not to hear "with malice toward none, with charity for all." That's what is expected of us -- not just because our ethics commend it or our religious teachings preach it, but because it is necessary for human survival....
The real triumph for Gettysburg was not, I think, in 1863, or 50 years later when the remnants of the adversary forces, the Blue and the Grey, met in solemn memorial. It had been the war that had set brother against brother. And when the time came to remember, as you have heard, the survivors fell into each others arms. They couldn't help themselves. It is time now for us to emulate them... Israelis and Palestinians, whites and blacks, Americans and Iranians, the developed and the undeveloped worlds. The challenge is for us to do it -- not after the carnage and the mass murder, but to fetter the carnage and the mass murder. It is time to learn from those who fell here. It is time to act.
-- Carl Sagan, delivering the Dedication Address at the lighting of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1988
***
O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering -- our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this, and when they come to judgment let all the fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness.
-- prayer by an anonymous prisoner in Ravensbruck concentration camp, and left by the body of a dead child
***
In the Eucharist as we offer the bread
That bread is all the bewilderment, the anguish, the blood, the pain, the injustice,
The poverty, the hate, the anger, the fear, the death,
The war, the bombs --
And we offer it all together with
The perfect all self-sufficient sacrifice
Of the Lamb without blemish
For peace,
For transfiguration, for compassion,
For Bush, for Hussein, for soldiers,
For civilians, for peace, for Shalom,
For family, for togetherness --
Oh my God, our God, oh my Father
When will we ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
-- from a litany by Desmond Tutu, in An African Prayer Book
***
A young man and his partner decided to assist the poor and work to provide them with opportunities for a new life. So they purchased some property and provided low-rent housing to two single mothers with babies. They discussed with the mothers the love theory, suggesting that one mother could stay at home and care for the children during the day while going to school at night. The other mother was to find work and stay with the children in the evening. They agreed to this life experiment, and the two young mothers moved in with their babies. The partners assisted in finding a day job for one mother, and they assisted the other mother in registering for school.
Within a short time the partners noticed that neither parent was at home and the babies were left outside in a playpen. The one parent was not babysitting, and the other was not working. It was a major disappointment, and within a couple of months the life experiment failed.
Later the same partners heard about a young woman with two children who was rushed to the hospital after attempting to take her life. Life was too hard, everything was a dead end, and she was convinced that her death would be a blessing to her children. The partners listened to her story, and they were determined to be of help. Within a couple of days they had found a woman who lived upstairs, next door, who was very lonely and had lost her purpose to live. Within a couple of weeks the children were spending their days with the woman next door and the young mother was engaged in a job that she loved.
Everything does not work out according to our wishes, but we need to keep on trying to share God's love in creative ways and allow some of the most disappointed people to find their way in life.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Thom M. Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you are called:
People: We cannot do this alone,
we dare not try this alone,
so we gather as God's people.
Leader: Lead a life worthy of your calling,
a life filled with service and meekness.
People: We come to build up Christ's Body,
in humility and gentleness,
with patience and love.
Leader: Lead a life that reflects your calling,
that life of peace grounded in the Spirit.
People: We rejoice in our oneness in Christ;
we would share the grace offered to us.
Leader: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
People: We gather as God's family at the Table prepared for us,
waiting to be fed by the Bread of life.
Prayer Of The Day
Gentle God:
we have traveled through many waters to reach this place,
but share one baptism;
we arrive from different backgrounds and traditions,
yet share one faith;
we are, each of us, unique and precious to God,
and are members of one Body;
we have different dreams and doubts,
yet our hearts beat with one hope;
we are graced with different gifts,
so we may offer them in service to one Lord.
God in Community, Holy in One,
equip us for the work of ministry,
as we pray together with one voice,
as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .
Call To Reconciliation
When we try to sugarcoat what we have done, scripture stares us down,
reminding us of our faults.
When we seek to romanticize why we have failed to live as faithful people,
God refuses to go along, waiting for us to confess our sins.
Let us join together as God's children,
lifting our prayers to the One who is generous in love.
(Unison) Prayer Of Confession
Compassionate One:
like David, it is not easy for us to confront those deeds which do not please you.
We are so busy looking for the miracles we desire,
we cannot see the gift of your presence in others.
We are so intent on indulging our appetites and slaking our thirsts,
we cannot taste that Bread which gives life.
We spend so much of our lives bemoaning the acts of others,
we have no time to look in the mirror and see our secret faces.
Forgive us, Steadfast Love.
Grace us with your mercy, so we might be made whole.
Touch our inner being and heal us, so we might know joy and gladness.
Create new hearts within us, so they might beat as one with each other,
and with your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(silent prayers may be offered)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: Despite knowing our sin, God chooses to forgive us;
seeing our emptiness, God chooses to feed us;
holding our shattered hearts, God chooses to heal us.
This is the good news: God loves us.
People: God has graced us with mercy and created new life from our brokenness.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts, people of God.
People: We lift them to our Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to God who loves us.
People: It is right to give both thanks and praise to God.
Our greatest joy is to offer you our thanks and praise,
Creator, Grace-giver, Healer of our brokenness.
All that is beautiful was created for our eyes;
all that is wonderful was created for our awe;
all that is majestic was created for our praise;
all that is mystery was created for our silence.
But despite everything you have given us, we are not satisfied.
Believing life is about our appetites, we choose the moldy bread of the world;
knowing our only hope is from you, we continue to rebel;
called to live in unity with one another, we cling to all which divides us.
Yet you refuse to let go of us,
sending your only Son, Jesus, to call us to life in you.
We have fallen, and you lift us up;
we have forsaken you, and you redeem us;
we are broken, and you make us whole.
Therefore, we praise you,
joining our voices, here and now, with the faithful of every time and place,
singing to the glory of your name:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God of grace and tenderness,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Though we look for him for all the wrong reasons,
he holds out the bread of life to us;
though we offer the cross to him,
he graces us with life;
though we thirst for more and more,
he offers us the cup of salvation;
though we gossip and slander one another,
he speaks the truth in love to us;
though we would divide each other by class, race, or condition,
he calls us to oneness in you.
Recalling your steadfast love in Christ,
and knowing we cannot understand your grace
until that eternal day when we can know your heart,
we take this bread and this cup,
praising and blessing you for these gifts of hope and joy.
Great is the mystery of faith.
Memorial Acclamation
Holy God of Truth,
though we come to your Table as many,
may your Holy Spirit make us one body and one spirit.
As you feed us with the Bread of Life,
may we feed those who know true hunger;
as your justice illumines our hearts' darkness,
may we be a beacon to the oppressed and lost;
as you speak to us the truth in love,
may we be a voice for the powerless and forgotten;
as you restore us to wholeness,
may we bind up our shattered world.
Through Christ who saved us,
all glory and honor are yours,
God, who created us in your own image,
through the Holy Spirit, in our midst making us your people,
now and forever. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
A healthy church
Object: a box of Wheaties, a bottle of vitamins, and a bottle of Gatorade
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (vv. 11-12)
Good morning, boys and girls. Today, we are going to talk about things that are important to our bodies. How many of you like cereal for breakfast? (let them answer) Does anyone here eat Wheaties? (let them answer) When I was growing up, this is what they called the breakfast of champions and a champion was pictured on every box.
How many of you take vitamins? (let them answer) Good, vitamins also help make you strong. Vitamins build strong bones and good blood. How many of you run a lot? (let them answer) When you do this, it makes you use up parts of your body that you need to replace. Some people use a drink like Gatorade to help replace what was all used up.
This is how we take care of our bodies. Did you know that the church is the body of Christ? The church is the people who believe in Jesus. All over the world, men and women, boys and girls, believe that Jesus died for their sins and promised them life forever with God. How do we take care of Christ's body? We can't feed it Wheaties, vitamins, or Gatorade. How does the church grow and become strong all over the world? The Bible tells us how. The Bible talks about growing the church into a very healthy body of Jesus by asking many of the members to do special jobs. The Bible tells us that to get things started there needed to be apostles. Do you remember the name of an apostle? (let them answer) That's right, Peter, James, and John and several others. They had a big job of working with the Spirit and starting the church.
The church also needs prophets who listen to God and warn us of going in the wrong direction. There have been a lot of prophets. The Bible tells us about other leaders called evangelists that teach about Jesus Christ where they have never even given Jesus a thought. They speak to the unbaptized and unchurched and bring Jesus to their attention. Billy Graham is perhaps our best-known evangelist. The Bible also says we need pastors. Pastors are very important to the church. They baptize, confirm, marry, and bury people in their congregation. They lead worship, preach, visit the sick and shut-ins, and share the love of God with all of the members. We need some of the boys and girls here today to think about being pastors.
Finally, to have a very healthy church, the Spirit of God tells us that we need the best teachers. We need people to study their Bibles and share what they have learned with the members. Healthy bodies are happy bodies. Healthy churches with good leaders are great churches. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 6, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
The Nurse Who Wouldn't Give Up
by Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
As Israel and Lebanon lob yet more missiles across their border, and the fighting rages on in Iraq, our Lord calls us, his faithful people, to join him in five tasks:
* To live humbly;
* To live gently;
* To live patiently;
* To bear with one another with love; and
* To make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a peaceful way.
He calls us to do this not just in warring parts of the globe, but in even more difficult places: in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, and most especially in our congregations.
As a young boy with AIDS urged us at a recent international conference on the disease, we need to do all that we can, with what we have, right where we are, right now.
When Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans, Nurse Ruby Jones did just that -- risking her own life to remain by the bedside of her eight hospice patients.
THE WORD
Written while Paul was a prisoner, the book of Ephesians is regarded by many as the most sublime of all of his writings. It focuses on God's eternal purpose in establishing the church of Jesus Christ, whose members have been called by God the Father, redeemed by his Son, and drawn into a community that is directed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Though gathered from many different situations and nations, the followers of Christ are called to be one in him, living as his body in the world, carrying out his work with him in whatever setting they find themselves.
In this week's text Paul calls us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Each of us has been give grace sufficient for the day and the work, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all come to:
* the unity of the faith,
* the knowledge of the Son of God, and
* maturity, to the full stature of Christ.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
It was a Sunday last August at the Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina was roaring straight toward the city and all patients were being evacuated -- except for eight frail and dying patients in the hospice unit who were too sick to be moved in such a hurried way.
Nurse Ruby Jones made a decision: she would stay there with them.
Her kids urged her to evacuate while she could. "Mom," they begged her, "don't try to be a Superwoman. It's not necessary. No one expects it of you." But Ruby Jones stayed on.
On Monday, as raging winds shattered the hospital's windows, she told her patients, "Don't worry; I'm staying here with you. I won't leave you."
By Tuesday, the situation was even worse; the power went out, the water supply cut off, and the hospital was flooding. Still, nurse Jones continued to care for her people -- bathing them, feeding them, caring for their needs as best she could.
By the time help finally arrived on Wednesday, three of her patients had died. She helped evacuate the others.
She finally left the hospital on Thursday, hungry and thirsty, but having kept her promise to her patients to stay with them through it all.
According to an article in a recent issue of Newsweek, during those difficult days some health-care workers abandoned their posts, others cracked under the strain, but Jones worked on with calm purposefulness. Asked about it afterward, she said that she had only done her job, the same job she's been doing for 45 years.
Jones traces her devotion to nursing back to her upbringing in rural Louisiana, where she was often sick as a child and had to spend much time in the hospital. Because of the good care she received there, because she found it a comforting place, she wanted to pass that comforting care on to others.
She says that through all the storms life has brought her, she has been nourished by her faith. During the worst parts of Hurricane Katrina, when the whole hospital seemed to be flying apart, she recited scripture verses to herself for guidance and strength.
Among the people she has most admired and been inspired by is Mother Teresa, whose care for the poor in their last days has taught the world how to care.
Now, though the Lindy Boggs Medical Center has not been able to reopen since Hurricane Katrina, Ruby Jones still works in hospice care, giving comfort, with her Lord, day by day.
We can't all go to war-torn parts of the world to help -- or even to the sites of hurricanes and other disasters in our own country. But we can help in even more difficult places -- we can help in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, in our congregations and communities. We can, in the words of a young boy with AIDS who spoke recently at an international AIDS conference:
Do all that we can,
with what we have,
right where we are,
right now.
Our Lord calls us, his faithful people, in the words of this week's Ephesians text, to join him in doing what he's already doing:
* Living humbly;
* Living gently;
* Living patiently;
* Bearing with one another in love; and
* Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a peaceful way.
Our Lord calls us to join with him in doing what the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Movement calls the Works of Mercy. These are:
* Feeding the hungry;
* Clothing the naked;
* Giving drink to the thirsty;
* Visiting the imprisoned;
* Caring for the sick; and
* Burying the dead.
The Works of Mercy, according to the movement, are the total opposite of the Works of War. Those works are:
* Destroying crops and land;
* Seizing food supplies;
* Destroying homes;
* Scattering families;
* Contaminating water;
* Imprisoning dissenters;
* Inflicting wounds and burns; and
* Killing the living.
The life of Toyohiko Kagawa can inspire us. Kagawa had never been physically strong. Growing up in the midst of a Japanese family with many difficulties about one hundred years ago, he contracted tuberculosis and struggled to live as normal a life as he could.
Then he heard about Jesus and decided he wanted to follow him.
When Kagawa finished seminary, he had the opportunity to serve a well-to-do church in one of the larger Japanese cities, but he chose to go down to the abysmal slums of Kobe, one of the most wretched areas of the world, to live in a tiny one-room hut and work among the poorest of the poor.
Having given himself and all his possessions totally to God, this frail man worked amid the filth and the stench, the disease and the misery, to bring hope and new life to people living in some of the worst conditions imaginable, helping those caught in the injustices and tragedies of the industrial system.
Toyohiko Kagawa knew that his Lord was there, in that place, with him, helping him do the works of mercy. Kagawa wrote: "Do you hear God's pain-pitched cry as He suffers because of the world's sore distress? Yes, I hear it! I hear it! I feel within me the beating pulse of the universe. I hear the deep sighings of God."
As the years went by, Kagawa was able to help the people of his slum form a cooperative for buying and selling goods, to get health care, to gain an education. Many came to know Jesus through the caring of this one man.
Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon continue to fire missiles back and forth. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan grinds on. More hurricanes will undoubtedly devastate our coastal and inland areas. Wars and storms of other kinds will most certainly attack the places where we live.
We sometimes wonder what we can do besides pray. Pray we must, but our Lord calls us to do more. He calls us to do whatever he sets before us -- to do it with him. He calls us to do the works of mercy -- to do all that we can, with what we have, right where we are, right now. We need to do this in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and workplaces, and especially in our congregations, where things can sometimes be the most difficult.
Our Lord calls us to do this work with him. He promises to be with us, and to give us the strength we need to do all that he calls us to do. We must no longer be children, but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way in our Lord.
Ruby Jones stayed at her post, drawing the strength she needed from her Lord. He will strengthen you and me to do the same.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Carlos Wilton
"We are not worthy!" cry Wayne and Garth -- the twentysomething wannabe rockers played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in the Wayne's World movies. As they intone these words, they prostrate themselves at the feet of the rock musicians they idolize, pressing their foreheads to the ground as though they were in the presence of divinity.
What makes a person worthy, in this day and age? Fame? Fortune? Talent?
In the world of the letter to the Ephesians, it's none of these things. What makes a Christian disciple "worthy of the calling" are certain virtues: humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. By cultivating such virtues, they foster unity and peace in the Christian community -- a big concern of the apostle, who wrote this letter to a church fractured by conflict.
I like your example, Barbara. The nurse, Ruby Jones, risked her own life to get her hospice patients through a hurricane. Since these patients were going to die soon anyway, others in the same situation might have simply made their apologies and headed for higher ground. But not Ruby. She was humble enough not to value her own life higher than others -- even those dying patients whose chronological life was rapidly running out, hurricane or no hurricane. Ruby was gentle -- a wonderful New Testament word (sometimes translated "meekness") that evokes quiet strength. She was patient -- waiting out the storm in darkness. She bore with the others who had been placed in her charge: she was tolerant of their needs. She is an example to us all.
Why use an example like this in a sermon? Isn't Ruby's experience far removed from the day-to-day life of our people? Isn't she some sort of super-Christian -- a saint?
No, she isn't (at least, she's no more a saint than any of us). And that's the power of this sort of example. Ruby Jones is an ordinary woman. Mother Teresa once said something like this: "God isn't looking for extraordinary people. God's looking for ordinary people who do ordinary things extraordinarily well." Feeding, changing dressings, administering medication, offering words of comfort -- such is the daily fare of a nurse's life. Ordinary things -- done, in this case, extraordinarily well.
We live in a world of pain and heartache. All around us are hurting people, crying out for a kind word, a loving gesture. Many of us spend our time wondering whether we are worthy, whether we have anything to offer. In fact, most of us have far more to offer than we realize.
Sadhu Sundar Singh, the Christian spiritual writer from India, once told a little parable about this kind of service to others:
Once when traveling in Tibet, I was crossing a high mountain pass with my Tibetan guide. The weather had suddenly turned bitterly cold, and my companion and I feared that we might not make it to the next village -- still several miles away -- before succumbing to the frost.
Suddenly, we stumbled upon a man who had slipped from the path and was lying in the snow. Looking more closely, I discovered that the man was still alive, though barely. "Come," I said to my companion, "help me try to bring this unfortunate man to safety." But my companion was upset and frightened for his life. He answered: "If we try to carry that man, none of us will ever reach the village. We will all freeze. Our only hope is to go on as quickly as possible, and that is what I intend to do. You will come with me if you value your life." Without another word and without looking back, he set off down the path.
I could not bring myself to abandon the helpless traveler while life remained in him, so I lifted him on my back and threw my blanket around us both as best I could. Slowly and painstakingly, I picked my way along the steep, slippery path with my heavy load. Soon it began to snow, and I could make out the way forward only with great difficulty.
How we made it, I do not know. But just as daylight was beginning to fade, the snow cleared and I could see houses a few hundred yards ahead. Near me, on the ground, I saw the frozen body of my guide. Nearly within shouting distance of the village, he had succumbed to the cold and died, while the unfortunate traveler and I made it to safety. The exertion of carrying him and the contact of our bodies had created enough heat to save us both. This is the way of service. No one can live without the help of others, and in helping others, we receive help ourselves.
-- excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Things That Make for Peace
A Presbyterian church in a small Wisconsin town hosted the funeral of a Jew because there was no synagogue in the area. The church agreed to drape a cloth over the cross in the sanctuary so as not to offend the Jewish mourners. Although this was a controversial decision within the congregation, Thomas E. Reynolds argues that it demonstrated genuine Christian hospitality.
-- The Christian Century (July 25, 2006), p. 6
***
In The Sun Stood Still (Atheneum, 1967), his firsthand account of the Arab-Israeli conflict, commentator Rod Macleish said: "In the abstract, war retains the objectives of politics -- security, acquisition, deterrence, and the imposition of the national will. Specifically, it raises the problem of murder to a level of such magnitude that murder ceases to be a problem and becomes an achievement."
-- quoted in The Christian Century (July 25, 2006), p. 7
***
Deuteronomy 16 begins with a grand declaration: You shall appoint judges and officials for your tribes... and let them govern the people with justice. Do not judge unfairly: show no partiality; take no bribes, for bribes blind the eye of the discerning and subvert the cause of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that it may go well with you (vv. 18-20). This may well be the sine qua non for a society that is civilized, where people can live with a sense of security, knowing they will be treated fairly and honestly.
-- Rabbi Chaim Stern, Day by Day: Reflections on the Themes of the Torah from Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Thought (Beacon Press, 1998), p. 317
***
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.
-- Psalm 15 (NRSV)
***
Come to think of it, attacking worldwide poverty could be our best defense policy. It certainly would marginalize extremists and slow down the recruitment of new terrorists.
-- William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Westminster John Knox, 2004), p. 92
***
Jesus was more, not less, than a prophet; more, not less, political than others. Only his were the politics of eternity. And the politics of eternity insist not only on nonviolence -- an affront to almost every revolutionary; they insist on "one world" -- an affront to every nationalist. We shall begin to understand the politics of eternity when we recognize that territorial discrimination is as evil as racial discrimination.
-- William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Westminster John Knox, 2004), p. 104
***
Cesar Lopez is a Colombian musician and composer who has seen his country wracked by more than 40 years of civil war. In 2003, as part of the Rapid Response Artists Battalion (a group of musicians who decided to bring music to the tragedies of Colombia's conflict), he stood outside a Bogota social club that had just been bombed. As he stood outside, he found himself holding a guitar next to a soldier holding his weapon. Looking at the soldier, he realized their stances, and the way they held their "instruments" in their hands, were nearly identical.
Out of this realization, Lopez has created the escopetarra -- an electric guitar created from decommissioned weapons turned in by former right-wing paramilitary groups who have agreed to abide by the Justice and Peace bill passed in 2005. The term "escopetarra" combines the Spanish words for shotgun (escopeta) and guitar (guitarra). Shotguns, AK-47 assault rifles, and other weapons are being converted for a peaceful purpose.
Originally designed to be used to protest all violence, the Colombian government has recently chosen them to be symbols against one of the country's rising scourges: land mines. Last year, 1,077 Colombians were killed or maimed by land mines, more than any other country. The director of Colombia's anti-land-mine campaign points out that the escopetarra "fights the language of war with the language of creativity."
Lopez donates the newly created guitars-from-weapons to other rock and pop stars so they can be used to spread a message of non-violence and campaign against land mines. "There is a commitment that comes with owning one," says Lopez. "This is not just an exercise in design." He hopes to give escopetarras to people like Shakira, Paul McCartney, Carlos Santana, and even the Dalai Lama.
-- USA Today, April 20, 2006
***
The 174 Trust is located in the rundown buildings of a former Presbyterian Church in one of the most disadvantaged areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It sits in the middle of "Murder Mile," where 20% of all murders committed during the Troubles took place.
In the midst of a Catholic community, the 174 Trust simply tries to offer a neutral, safe place that caters to all sorts of groups from both sides of the Peace Wall. Everybody is welcome: kids in after school clubs, those with disabilities, a support group for parents of autistic children.
No one is seen, or labeled, as Catholic or Protestant. They are simply neighbors of 174 Trust (174 is the house number of the building) -- a neighbor to be served.
-- from the Life and Work magazine of the Church of Scotland
***
In Serbia, like many countries, HIV/AIDS is on the rise. But in Serbia, unlike some countries, it is lawful for a person who is HIV-positive to be fired from their job, and for their children to be dismissed from school. So it is no surprise that many are reluctant to be tested. And for most, there is no support, no advice, no comfort.
Until the Red Line project began in 2004. Serbia's first HIV/AIDS telephone hotline, it experienced 3,800 contacts in its first six months of operation. Each call was handled by a trained volunteer who would show compassion, love, and concern to each and every caller.
Why did a group of local churches start this program? Why do people work as volunteers for Red Line? Maybe they took to heart Paul's injunction to bear "with one another in love, to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
-- from the Wider World magazine of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
***
On occasions like this it's customary to quote homilies -- phrases by great men and women, who we've all heard before... and tend not to hear. Let me mention one -- a phrase that was said here just a little less than 125 years ago by President Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." We tend not to hear "with malice toward none, with charity for all." That's what is expected of us -- not just because our ethics commend it or our religious teachings preach it, but because it is necessary for human survival....
The real triumph for Gettysburg was not, I think, in 1863, or 50 years later when the remnants of the adversary forces, the Blue and the Grey, met in solemn memorial. It had been the war that had set brother against brother. And when the time came to remember, as you have heard, the survivors fell into each others arms. They couldn't help themselves. It is time now for us to emulate them... Israelis and Palestinians, whites and blacks, Americans and Iranians, the developed and the undeveloped worlds. The challenge is for us to do it -- not after the carnage and the mass murder, but to fetter the carnage and the mass murder. It is time to learn from those who fell here. It is time to act.
-- Carl Sagan, delivering the Dedication Address at the lighting of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1988
***
O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering -- our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this, and when they come to judgment let all the fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness.
-- prayer by an anonymous prisoner in Ravensbruck concentration camp, and left by the body of a dead child
***
In the Eucharist as we offer the bread
That bread is all the bewilderment, the anguish, the blood, the pain, the injustice,
The poverty, the hate, the anger, the fear, the death,
The war, the bombs --
And we offer it all together with
The perfect all self-sufficient sacrifice
Of the Lamb without blemish
For peace,
For transfiguration, for compassion,
For Bush, for Hussein, for soldiers,
For civilians, for peace, for Shalom,
For family, for togetherness --
Oh my God, our God, oh my Father
When will we ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
-- from a litany by Desmond Tutu, in An African Prayer Book
***
A young man and his partner decided to assist the poor and work to provide them with opportunities for a new life. So they purchased some property and provided low-rent housing to two single mothers with babies. They discussed with the mothers the love theory, suggesting that one mother could stay at home and care for the children during the day while going to school at night. The other mother was to find work and stay with the children in the evening. They agreed to this life experiment, and the two young mothers moved in with their babies. The partners assisted in finding a day job for one mother, and they assisted the other mother in registering for school.
Within a short time the partners noticed that neither parent was at home and the babies were left outside in a playpen. The one parent was not babysitting, and the other was not working. It was a major disappointment, and within a couple of months the life experiment failed.
Later the same partners heard about a young woman with two children who was rushed to the hospital after attempting to take her life. Life was too hard, everything was a dead end, and she was convinced that her death would be a blessing to her children. The partners listened to her story, and they were determined to be of help. Within a couple of days they had found a woman who lived upstairs, next door, who was very lonely and had lost her purpose to live. Within a couple of weeks the children were spending their days with the woman next door and the young mother was engaged in a job that she loved.
Everything does not work out according to our wishes, but we need to keep on trying to share God's love in creative ways and allow some of the most disappointed people to find their way in life.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Thom M. Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you are called:
People: We cannot do this alone,
we dare not try this alone,
so we gather as God's people.
Leader: Lead a life worthy of your calling,
a life filled with service and meekness.
People: We come to build up Christ's Body,
in humility and gentleness,
with patience and love.
Leader: Lead a life that reflects your calling,
that life of peace grounded in the Spirit.
People: We rejoice in our oneness in Christ;
we would share the grace offered to us.
Leader: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
People: We gather as God's family at the Table prepared for us,
waiting to be fed by the Bread of life.
Prayer Of The Day
Gentle God:
we have traveled through many waters to reach this place,
but share one baptism;
we arrive from different backgrounds and traditions,
yet share one faith;
we are, each of us, unique and precious to God,
and are members of one Body;
we have different dreams and doubts,
yet our hearts beat with one hope;
we are graced with different gifts,
so we may offer them in service to one Lord.
God in Community, Holy in One,
equip us for the work of ministry,
as we pray together with one voice,
as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .
Call To Reconciliation
When we try to sugarcoat what we have done, scripture stares us down,
reminding us of our faults.
When we seek to romanticize why we have failed to live as faithful people,
God refuses to go along, waiting for us to confess our sins.
Let us join together as God's children,
lifting our prayers to the One who is generous in love.
(Unison) Prayer Of Confession
Compassionate One:
like David, it is not easy for us to confront those deeds which do not please you.
We are so busy looking for the miracles we desire,
we cannot see the gift of your presence in others.
We are so intent on indulging our appetites and slaking our thirsts,
we cannot taste that Bread which gives life.
We spend so much of our lives bemoaning the acts of others,
we have no time to look in the mirror and see our secret faces.
Forgive us, Steadfast Love.
Grace us with your mercy, so we might be made whole.
Touch our inner being and heal us, so we might know joy and gladness.
Create new hearts within us, so they might beat as one with each other,
and with your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(silent prayers may be offered)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: Despite knowing our sin, God chooses to forgive us;
seeing our emptiness, God chooses to feed us;
holding our shattered hearts, God chooses to heal us.
This is the good news: God loves us.
People: God has graced us with mercy and created new life from our brokenness.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts, people of God.
People: We lift them to our Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to God who loves us.
People: It is right to give both thanks and praise to God.
Our greatest joy is to offer you our thanks and praise,
Creator, Grace-giver, Healer of our brokenness.
All that is beautiful was created for our eyes;
all that is wonderful was created for our awe;
all that is majestic was created for our praise;
all that is mystery was created for our silence.
But despite everything you have given us, we are not satisfied.
Believing life is about our appetites, we choose the moldy bread of the world;
knowing our only hope is from you, we continue to rebel;
called to live in unity with one another, we cling to all which divides us.
Yet you refuse to let go of us,
sending your only Son, Jesus, to call us to life in you.
We have fallen, and you lift us up;
we have forsaken you, and you redeem us;
we are broken, and you make us whole.
Therefore, we praise you,
joining our voices, here and now, with the faithful of every time and place,
singing to the glory of your name:
Sanctus
Holy are you, God of grace and tenderness,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Though we look for him for all the wrong reasons,
he holds out the bread of life to us;
though we offer the cross to him,
he graces us with life;
though we thirst for more and more,
he offers us the cup of salvation;
though we gossip and slander one another,
he speaks the truth in love to us;
though we would divide each other by class, race, or condition,
he calls us to oneness in you.
Recalling your steadfast love in Christ,
and knowing we cannot understand your grace
until that eternal day when we can know your heart,
we take this bread and this cup,
praising and blessing you for these gifts of hope and joy.
Great is the mystery of faith.
Memorial Acclamation
Holy God of Truth,
though we come to your Table as many,
may your Holy Spirit make us one body and one spirit.
As you feed us with the Bread of Life,
may we feed those who know true hunger;
as your justice illumines our hearts' darkness,
may we be a beacon to the oppressed and lost;
as you speak to us the truth in love,
may we be a voice for the powerless and forgotten;
as you restore us to wholeness,
may we bind up our shattered world.
Through Christ who saved us,
all glory and honor are yours,
God, who created us in your own image,
through the Holy Spirit, in our midst making us your people,
now and forever. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
A healthy church
Object: a box of Wheaties, a bottle of vitamins, and a bottle of Gatorade
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (vv. 11-12)
Good morning, boys and girls. Today, we are going to talk about things that are important to our bodies. How many of you like cereal for breakfast? (let them answer) Does anyone here eat Wheaties? (let them answer) When I was growing up, this is what they called the breakfast of champions and a champion was pictured on every box.
How many of you take vitamins? (let them answer) Good, vitamins also help make you strong. Vitamins build strong bones and good blood. How many of you run a lot? (let them answer) When you do this, it makes you use up parts of your body that you need to replace. Some people use a drink like Gatorade to help replace what was all used up.
This is how we take care of our bodies. Did you know that the church is the body of Christ? The church is the people who believe in Jesus. All over the world, men and women, boys and girls, believe that Jesus died for their sins and promised them life forever with God. How do we take care of Christ's body? We can't feed it Wheaties, vitamins, or Gatorade. How does the church grow and become strong all over the world? The Bible tells us how. The Bible talks about growing the church into a very healthy body of Jesus by asking many of the members to do special jobs. The Bible tells us that to get things started there needed to be apostles. Do you remember the name of an apostle? (let them answer) That's right, Peter, James, and John and several others. They had a big job of working with the Spirit and starting the church.
The church also needs prophets who listen to God and warn us of going in the wrong direction. There have been a lot of prophets. The Bible tells us about other leaders called evangelists that teach about Jesus Christ where they have never even given Jesus a thought. They speak to the unbaptized and unchurched and bring Jesus to their attention. Billy Graham is perhaps our best-known evangelist. The Bible also says we need pastors. Pastors are very important to the church. They baptize, confirm, marry, and bury people in their congregation. They lead worship, preach, visit the sick and shut-ins, and share the love of God with all of the members. We need some of the boys and girls here today to think about being pastors.
Finally, to have a very healthy church, the Spirit of God tells us that we need the best teachers. We need people to study their Bibles and share what they have learned with the members. Healthy bodies are happy bodies. Healthy churches with good leaders are great churches. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 6, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
