Immediate Word

The lectionary texts for the First Sunday in Lent are all about temptation... and the connection between giving in to temptation and sin. From the Genesis passage’s recounting of the serpent’s temptation of Adam and Eve, to the Psalmist’s reminder that God forgives our sinful imperfections, to Romans’ discussion of how Jesus’ redemptive obedience on the cross cancels Adam’s sinful disobedience, and finally to Matthew’s account of the devil’s encounters with Jesus in the wilderness -- each of this week’s readings show how we’re surrounded by temptation... and the wages of sin that result because we humans are such easy marks.

In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer examines that dynamic in one area where we Americans are particularly vulnerable -- indulging in our addiction to convenient and tasty but low-nutrition junk food. Of course, this has had deleterious effects on our health as a society -- as indicated by exploding rates of obesity and diabetes. (Though there was a hint of very good news in last week’s announcement of a sharp drop in the rate of toddler obesity.) But do we really want to eat healthy? While we routinely tell those who conduct surveys that this is our goal... our spending habits belie our words -- we just don’t end up buying healthier fast food options. Instead, we continue spending on what corporate research indicates we really desire. And the market is so massive that no one seems particularly shocked at news that Taco Bell -- long a favorite haunt of late-night denizens -- will be joining the fast food breakfast wars next month. But as Dean reminds us, Jesus pointedly tells us that we cannot live by bread (or buns or tortillas) alone -- only God’s word can sustain us against the siren songs of temptation that we must confront every day.

Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on another aspect of the temptation theme -- the temptation to constantly see ourselves as victims. We see this all around us -- even in the emerging crisis in the Ukraine, where both those supporting and those resisting the Russian incursion into the Crimea see themselves as victims of larger forces, and acting to protect themselves and their interests. Mary also suggests that this is a pernicious temptation amongst some Christians, who view any threatening development to their vision of how things should be as an attack on “religious freedom.” Yet that’s totally at odds with how Jesus resists his temptations -- Mary notes that Jesus never casts himself as a victim. Even when he tries to avoid “drinking the cup” in the Garden of Gethsemane, he willingly submits (and later reminds Pilate that the only power he has is power that Jesus has willingly ceded). Mary wonders if by casting ourselves as victims, focusing on what we don’t have or are unable to do, we lose our capacity to instead see ourselves as we really are... as children of God.

 

Tacos and Temptations
by Dean Feldmeyer
Genesis 2:15-27; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

This Sunday, the first in Lent, the issue before us is “temptation.”

We have no trouble following the thread through the three readings and the psalm. Temptation is, it would seem, everywhere. And nowhere is that fact more evident than in the fast food and junk food industries.

In the News
Obesity and being overweight have reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

According to the American Heart Association’s 2013 health update, 33% of boys and 30% of girls age 5-12 are overweight or obese. Among Americans age 20 and older, 154.7 million are overweight or obese -- 34% of all adult males and 36% of all adult females. If the trend continues, by 2030 health problems attributable to overweight/obesity will account for 18% of all health care expenditures in the United States.

None of that is surprising when we consider the American lifestyle and eating habits. Fast, cheap, easy food is how we live.

Every day, a quarter of all Americans eat at least one meal at a fast-food restaurant. We spend a total of about $100 billion on fast food every year. French fries are the most widely consumed form of vegetable in the U.S. And studies show that most American children can identify a McDonald’s sign before they can speak.

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King account for more than 49,000 restaurants in the U.S. Of the 24% of Americans who eat fast food every day, 18 billion eat at McDonald’s -- that’s one out of every six Americans.

Fast food breakfast is a $40 billion-a-year industry -- and last week Taco Bell announced their intention to enter that market with their own breakfast offerings, which will include breakfast burritos and a “waffle taco”: a folded waffle filled with eggs, cheese, and sausage, served with a side order of syrup.

And while all of that may seem shocking, it’s not the worst. Most of the calories in the average American diet do not come from fast food meals. Want to guess where they come from?

That’s right: soda.

Soft drinks account for the largest source of sugar and calories in the American diet, about 7% of the average person’s total daily caloric intake.

All of this is why First Lady Michelle Obama announced last week new rules requiring schools to remove ads touting fast food, sugar-laced soda, and other non-nutritious foods from school grounds. These regulations will apply to sports scoreboards as well as in-school bulletin and news boards, cups, menus, and posters. They come on heels of new USDA regulations that require healthier foods in school lunch lines -- and soft-drink companies, which account for 90% of such ads, are already preparing to start pushing their diet sodas and water products in lieu of their regular sugary beverages.

Mrs. Obama made the announcement as part of the fourth anniversary celebration of her “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity, which seems to be working. A report last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that obesity among children 2-5 years old is down 43% in the past 10 years.

And that is all well and good... but at some point we can’t rely on our government to protect us from our own bad eating habits. At some point we have to make decisions to eat healthier.

The fast food industry has answered criticism by showing the calorie counts of their food right there on the menu and including healthy foods among their selections. (The Egg McMuffin, after all, is less than 300 calories and contains all of the basic food groups when you add a small orange juice to go with it, all for under $5.) But it isn’t keeping people from getting fat. It doesn’t do any good to put salads on the menu, they argue, if the customers still demand burgers and fries.

And to at least some extent, they are right. We have to take responsibility for our own waistlines. We have to come to terms with and learn to defeat temptation.

In the Scriptures
Our readings for this Sunday open in the Garden of Eden with the archetypal temptation story of Eve and the serpent.

God has given Adam and Eve a beautiful garden which meets all their needs, each other, and an intimate relationship with their creator. Theirs is an existence filled with innocence and devoid of responsibility. What more could they possibly want?

Well, as it turns out, what they want is the thing they don’t have: responsibility. They want the knowledge of good and evil so that they can decide for themselves how to live their lives. But that responsibility and the freedom accompanying it come at a price. Adam and Eve are no longer allowed to live in a fantasy world. Their eyes are opened, and they see the world as it really is and themselves as they really are. Separation and estrangement -- from each other, from God, from their children, from the creation itself -- is the price of freedom.

Evicted from the playful, irresponsible innocence of Eden, we spend the rest of human history trying to bridge the estrangements which freedom demands. Until...

Paul, in that halting, stumbling, circular way that is so Pauline, explains how God tried to bridge the gap between God and God’s people with the Law -- but people perverted the Law, and it became not a bridge but a stumbling block. Instead of receiving it as a gift of grace, people tried to use it as leverage by which they could control God and extort forgiveness for their sins.

When the Law didn’t work, God gave God’s Son -- Jesus -- as the ultimate bridge that overcomes separation and estrangement. By his death and resurrection our sins and failures are undone, forgiven, and blotted out.

In the Gospel lesson, Matthew shows Jesus in the wilderness, himself faced with temptation, and allows us to see how Jesus overcame it not through is obedience to the Law but via his relationship with and reliance upon God, especially as God comes to us in scripture.

In the Pulpit
In Stephen Schwartz’s brilliant stage musical Children of Eden, the entire first act is the story of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden. In it we see Eve grow from an innocent child to a young woman who is seduced not so much by the serpent but by her own desire to do and be more than the innocent child she has been for her entire life in the garden. In the song “The Spark of Creation,” she sings of this burning desire inside her that is present before she ever meets the serpent, who will not so much present the temptation as encourage her to give in to it.

The spark of creation is flickering within me;
The spark of creation is blazing in my blood;
A bit of the fire that lit up the stars
And breathed life into the mud, the first inspiration;
The spark of creation.

I see a mountain and I want to climb it;
I see a river and I want to leave shore;
Where there was nothing let there be something, something made by me.
There’s things waiting for me to invent them;
There’s worlds waiting for me to explore;
I am an echo of the eternal cry of
Let there be!

The spark of creation is burning bright within me;
The spark of creation won’t let me rest at all
Until I discover or build or uncover
A thing that I can call my celebration
Of the spark of creation.

Eventually, as we know, she gives in to the temptation. Her desire to create her own life wins out, even though she knows not what that life will be. Not knowing what will happen next has seductive charm for human beings. She sips from the apple cup, and when she offers it to Adam he knowingly accepts it and the consequences -- whatever they will be.

Now, cast out into “The Wilderness,” she and Adam have to make a life for themselves, and they do. But the curse of Eden is that life comes with cost. With love comes the pain of loss. With achievement comes the pain of failure. With the thrill of victory comes also the -- okay, say it -- the agony of defeat.

But as Paul and Matthew make clear to us, the separation and estrangement that are written into the Eden story are just the beginning of human history. The Christian story reaches its climax with victory in the form of grace and reconciliation, and nowhere is that grace and reconciliation more evident than on the cross of Calvary and in the empty tomb.

Through Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God, to each other, and to God’s creation. We need no longer face life -- and all of the temptations with which life assails us -- alone.

We are all, once again, Children of Eden -- and are from time to time allowed to return, if even momentarily, to that garden of perfect love and peace which is the intimate presence of God.

 

ANOTHER VIEW
by Mary Austin
Matthew 4:1-11

The other day, when the temperature outside was 8 degrees, I ran into my church’s letter carrier. “How are you?” I asked, sure she would have a lament about the weather, or perhaps about walking the streets of Detroit each day. 

“I’m great,” she told me. Noting my look of surprise, she added, “I choose to have a great day every day. If the Lord wakes me up, I can do the rest.” 

Her refusal to complain, even doing a job that many people would find difficult, struck me. Lately it seems that everyone else feels like a victim of some kind.

Michael Dunn -- recently convicted of attempted murder for shooting at three teenagers and killing a fourth one -- said in a phone call that he was a victim too. The shooting began with a dispute about loud music, and ended with the death of an unarmed teenager. About the shooting and resulting events, Dunn said, “I’m the [expletive deleted] victim here. I was the one who was victimized.” George Zimmerman, acquitted of shooting Trayvon Martin in a similar case, also contends that he was a victim. “I certainly was a victim when I was having my head bashed into the concrete and my nose broken and beaten,” Zimmerman told CNN’s Chris Cuomo in a recent interview.

Conservative Christians have also cast themselves as victims in the debate about same-sex marriage. Rachel Held Evans took up this idea on her blog, saying that “we evangelical Christians have become known as a group of people who cry ‘persecution!’ upon being wished ‘Happy Holidays’ by a store clerk. We have become known as a group of people who sees themselves perpetually under attack, perpetually victimized, and perpetually entitled, a group who, ironically, often responds to these imagined disadvantages by advancing legislation that restricts the civil liberties of other people.”   

Evans observes that Christians enjoy significant freedom and privilege in America, and adds, “living in a pluralistic society that also grants freedom and civil rights protection to those with whom one disagrees is not the same as religious persecution. And crying persecution every time one doesn’t get one’s way is an insult to the very real religious persecution happening in the world today. It’s no way to be a good citizen and certainly no way to advance the gospel in the world.”

Events are still unfolding in the Ukraine, as Russian troops arrive in Crimea while protests from the majority Russian population there grow. With the ouster of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych (who fled the country and may now be in Russia) and an apparent Russian takeover in Crimea, both sides have cast themselves as victims of outside forces: “Russia has sought to portray the uprising against Yanukovych as a coup led by Western-backed extremists and thugs. Kiev’s new leaders rolled the dice on the West, seeking closer integration with Europe.”

David Remnick -- a former Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post with a deep knowledge of Russia and the former Soviet Union -- writes in the New Yorker that the rights and hopes of the people of the Ukraine may be the real casualties: “Putin’s reaction exceeded our worst expectations. These next days and weeks in Ukraine are bound to be frightening, and worse. There is not only the threat of widening Russian military force. The new Ukrainian leadership is worse than weak. It is unstable. It faces the burden of legitimacy. Yanukovych was spectacularly corrupt, and he opened fire on his own people. He was also elected to his office and brought low by an uprising, not the ballot; he made that point... in a press conference in Rostov on Don, in Russia, saying that he had never really been deposed. Ukraine has already experienced revolutionary disappointment. The Orange Revolution, in 2004, failed to establish stable democratic institutions and economic justice. This is one reason that Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister, newly released from prison, is not likely the future of Ukraine. How can Ukraine possibly move quickly to national elections, as it must to resolve the issue of legitimacy, while another country has troops on its territory?”

If you can’t figure out who the real sufferers are, you can try a handy list supplied by the Spectator of ten phrases to bluff your way through the crisis. Try phrases like “It all comes down to the energy markets,” “Putin is in danger of overplaying his hand,” or “What we are seeing here is the return of geography.” See the whole list here.

With victims all around, the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert points us in the opposite direction. 

Hungry, tired, and alone after forty days in the desert, Jesus faces the temptations of warm, delicious bread, and, once lunch is over, power and glory. Knowing the depths of God’s mercy better than anyone else ever has, he could have found plenty of excuses to give in and have a snack, or to test the limits of God’s forgiving grace. Surely God would understand, after all that he had been through. 

But Jesus never casts himself as a victim of anything.   

The tempter comes and questions Jesus’ identity, provocatively poking at Jesus’ understanding of his relationship with God. “If you are the Son of God,” he says, suggesting that it may not be all that true. The temptations of being a victim are the temptations of identity. If we’re not special enough to be exceptional, maybe we’re special enough to be victims. The journey of Jesus is the opposite one -- he moves always toward connection. He spends his life in community with us, and with those who are true victims, beset by illness and isolation. His work is to restore them to ordinariness, healed and part of the community again. 

Judith Jones writes for WorkingPreacher.org that “by defining ‘Son of God’ not by privilege or power but by obedience to God, Jesus has already begun his journey to the cross. Though the devil has left, the temptations are not over.”

Temptations remain for us too. 

Are we going to find our identity in the things that we are not? Do we label ourselves as people deprived of privilege, status, or recognition by society? Or do we call ourselves what we are, beloved children of the living God? 

Jesus is so rooted in God that he never needs to call himself a victim, even in a life marked by persecution, hunger, loneliness, and religious outrage at his actions. He knows that his deepest identity comes from his place as God’s beloved. As Lent begins, may it be that we can follow his example in this (and all things) and know who we truly are. 

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Leah Lonsbury:

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11
Have you decided to give something up for Lent? What is the “why” behind your decision? Each time you go without, do you think of Jesus’ sacrifice of love? Does choosing different, better alternatives remind you of the abundant life God gives so freely? Does avoiding temptation make you more Jesus-like?

Maybe you gave up soda for Lent. There are any number of reasons to do that -- the cancer-causing effects of aspartame on our bodies, the amount of sugar in non-diet soft drinks and its link to weight gain and diabetes, and the irreversible damage soda can do to our teeth just barely scratch the surface. Avoiding this carbonated temptation takes care of a lot of problems, and not just our need for a spiritual discipline for Lent. But what if we considered what may be the best reason yet to go without popping a top?

In this video, we hear about the effects of soda on the lives of communities of color -- those who are, according to Maz Ali of Upworthy, “being controlled, like a country under military occupation, by companies like Coca-Cola that grow rich selling poor health[.]”

The young man in the video talks about brown and black bodies being the casualties of the soda wars. There’s a reason, he says, that the powers of the fizzy empire call communities of color their “target audience.”

*****

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11
This article by Nir Eyal on the neuroscience behind temptation proposes that we are tempted not just because of the pleasures we imagine giving into our impulses and urges will bring, but also because of the exaggerated fears we experience and the need we feel to alleviate our pain. How might this proposal fit in with the stories we have before us from Genesis and Matthew’s gospel for this week? How does it prove to be true of the temptations in our own lives?

*****

Psalm 32
The Experience Project hosts an online confessional that has categories for whatever you may need to get off your chest. You can choose from “Family Confessions,” “Work Confessions,” “Love Confessions,” Sex Confessions,” “Revenge Confessions,” and even “Off Topic Confessions” if you can’t manage to collect your repentant thoughts enough to fit into one of their other more neatly defined categories. Or if you’d rather go by feeling, see their “Funny Confessions,” “Inspirational Confessions,” “Sympathetic Confessions,” “Sad Confessions,” and “Angry Confessions” sections.

However you choose to categorize your confession, the wider public is given the chance to respond in a “comments” section. It’s not exactly the same experience as the one confessor/one priest/one booth divided by a curtain formula, to be sure. And it also may not have the result Psalm 32 describes -- happiness, deliverance, freedom, guidance, and understanding for the one who comes clean and is forgiven. It may not make the heart “upright” no matter how many posts one offers, because what the Psalmist is describing is a reformation of the heart and the person who carries it. That may be possible online, but it’s far more likely in “the steadfast love [that] surrounds those who trust in the Lord” (v. 10).

***************

From team member Ron Love:

Romans 5:12-19
Catherine Russell has been appointed as the ambassador-at-large for the State Department -- and her role is to oversee that U.S. policy ensures the rights of women globally. It is also a part of her portfolio to work with other nations in assuring that the rights of women are protected. Russell refers to herself as an “eternal optimist,” for she believes that nations are slowly beginning to improve the role and status of women. Regarding her assignment, she commented: “It’s a challenging job to change the culture of any huge institution. But I think it’s being done very effectively.”

Application: Paul wrote that with the coming of Jesus we have a new Adam that will redeem the world. We know this day that the redemption of the world is still very imperfect, but we can see progress.

*****

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
James Tague -- a key witness to the assassination of John F. Kennedy -- recently passed away. On November 22, 1963, traffic came to a standstill on the downtown Dallas street on which Tague was driving. Curious as to what the cause was, he got out of his automobile and walked over to the curb. It was from this vantage point that he was able to see Kennedy’s presidential motorcade approaching. It was also from this spot that fragments of a bullet struck him as it shattered from hitting the curb on which he stood. Tague’s testimony contributed to the controversial “magic bullet theory” -- the theory that while three bullets were fired at the motorcade, only two connected with their targets, with one round traveling through both Kennedy and Texas governor John Connally.

Application: The many facts surrounding the assassination of Kennedy will always remain a mystery to us; but the results of that day will never be. The same is true for the fall of man. We may never fully understand how sin entered the world; but we fully understand the results of that event.

*****

Matthew 4:1-11
Bill Gothard was recently suspended from his position as president and board member of the Institute in Basic Life Principles. His seminars teach how Biblical principles can create harmonious relationships in all aspects of life. The program, popular among conservative Christians, has had an attendance of 2.5 million over the decades. But it appears that Gothard’s understanding of a harmonious relation has taken on a new definition, as 35 women have brought charges against him for sexual abuse and in one case it was a minor. His basic procedure was to develop an emotional relationship with a woman during counseling sessions, and then exploit that into a sexual encounter.

Application: Temptation never escapes any of us. Submitting to temptation is something we all are susceptible of doing.

*****

Matthew 4:1-11
David Yonggi Cho -- the founder of South Korea’s Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world’s largest megachurch -- has been convicted of embezzling $12 million. Yonggi Cho used church money to purchase stock sold by his son at more than three times the market price, then privatized the earnings.

Application: Temptation never escapes any of us. Submitting to temptation is something we all are susceptible of doing.

*****

Matthew 4:1-11
The Fifty Shades of Grey erotic series of books by E.L. James has now sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, according to its publisher. The only other series to sell that many copies have been Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, and Twilight. While Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has been on the New York Times best-seller list for 100 weeks, it’s interesting to note that other erotic books have not seen an increase in sales. Beyond reading Fifty Shades of Grey, readers have apparently returned to their regular reading habits.

Application: It should cause us to ponder how publicity and a title’s being a media sensation can cause individuals to be tempted enough to change their reading habits.

***************

From team member Chris Keating:

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
See the Trees and Not Just the Fruit
God places human beings in the garden, calling them to serve ('abad) the ground. Clearly, they’re called to be more than merely bystanders -- the intent is not simply to maintain the earth but to enter into the creative process of life. With that in mind, perhaps our Lenten practices should lead us back into the soil from where we came. It seems God intends for us to have a rich partnership with creation. This Lent, perhaps we might focus not only on the fruit of temptation, but also on the beauty of the trees in the garden.

Instead of only giving up sweets or indulgences, why not engage in ecological spiritual practices during Lent? On her blog, Yale Divinity School professor Maggi Dawn suggests 40 ways for keeping a joyful, thankful, and holy Lent -- including several eco-friendly practices which might help reconnect congregations with our calling to be tillers of the earth.

*****

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Peddlers of Temptation
The itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini didn’t have polka dots -- but it did have something else. An ad for Lorillard’s brand of electronic cigarettes was prominently displayed across a skimpy bikini bottom in last month’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the message is clear: “E-cigarettes are sexy and fun.” The temptation might be working -- use of the largely unregulated vapor devices by youth has more than doubled since 2011.

Even Frank Underwood from Netflix’ House of Cards series has turned to “vaping.” Caught puffing on an e-cig by his wife Claire, the ruthless congressman (and soon-to-become vice president) portrayed by Kevin Spacey tells her that he hasn’t given in to the temptation of smoking. “It’s vapor,” Frank rationalizes, “addiction without the consequences.”

*****

Psalm 32
Surprising Grace
For Matthew Boger, forgiving his enemy meant becoming a friend to someone who had once strapped razor blades to his boots and kicked him in the head. Boger’s story is told the Oscar-nominated documentary Facing Fear.

In the 1980s, Boger was beaten by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads because of his sexual orientation. The film traces the resulting guilt and anger faced by one of the attackers and Boger. Surprisingly, Boger happened to meet on one of his attackers in the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance, of all places.

The opening for the 23-minute documentary includes this memorable line by former neo-Nazi skinhead Tim Zaal: “I don’t know if I could forgive someone the way he has been able to forgive me.”

*****

Matthew 4:1-11
No Need for a GPS: We Can Find It Ourselves!
Jesus’ wilderness trek brings to mind a popular, smile-inducing bumper sticker: “Lead me not into temptation -- I can find it myself!”

*****

Matthew 4:1-11
Keeping Track of Our Identity
Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness was a time of recalling his identity as God’s Son. “If you are the Son of God,” the tempter taunted him, “command these stones to become loaves of bread.” There is an important link between relinquishing (or denying) our God-given identity and overcoming such temptations. A friend of mine told me that each time his children would go on a date or would leave for college or start a new endeavor, he’d tell them: “Remember, you are a Smith.” He said it not to shame his children, but to remind them that they were cherished by their parents -- and by God. Remembering our baptismal identity is a clue to discovering the pathways through temptation.

 

WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed

Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
People: Happy are those to whom God imputes no iniquity.
Leader: Happy are those in whose spirit there is no deceit.
People: When we acknowledge our sin to God and we do not hide our iniquity,
Leader: Then God will forgive the guilt of our sin.
People: Be glad, rejoice, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

OR

Leader: Come and worship the God who created us.
People: We praise the One who made us and knows us completely.
Leader: The One who made us from dust knows our frame.
People: Our God has filled us with the Holy Spirit and knows our potential.
Leader: Rejoice in the God who walks by our side in all the trials of life.
People: We are filled with joy and awe at the love and grace of God.

Hymns and Sacred Songs
“How Like a Gentle Spirit”
found in:
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69

“Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” /
“Guide Me, O My Great Redeemer”
found in:
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138, 139, 140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18, 19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELA: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52, 53, 65

“It Is Well with My Soul”
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELA: 785
W&P: 428
AMEC: 448

“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”
found in:
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELA: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379

“O Come and Dwell in Me”
found in:
UMH: 388

“Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive”
found in:
UMH: 390
H82: 674
PH: 347
LBW: 307
ELA: 605
W&P: 382
Renew: 184

“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
found in:
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388, 389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELA: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280

“Close to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 407
AAHH: 552, 553
NNBH: 317
AMEC: 396

“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79

“Through It All”
found in:
CCB: 61

Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who with every temptation provides a means of escape: Grant us the courage to resist the impulses that lead to sin and to brokenness; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We have come to worship you, O God, because you care for your children and always provide a way for us to resist temptation. Receive our praises, and bless us with your Spirit that we may truly hear you speak this day. Give us guidance for our lives and the courage to follow it. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the easiness with which we yield to temptation.

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. There are so many things that draw us away from being faithful disciples of Jesus. The voices of those around us call us to follow after riches and fame. Our own desires prod us to follow other paths that do not lead to wholeness and holiness. You give us the means to resist and choose wisely, but we so often fail. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may resist temptation and follow our Savior in the path that leads to life. Amen.

Leader: God knows we are frail and prone to fall. God loves us and offers not only forgiveness but God’s own Spirit to strengthen and encourage us.

Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, for creating us in your image and filling us with your Spirit.

(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. There are so many things that draw us away from being faithful disciples of Jesus. The voices of those around us call us to follow after riches and fame. Our own desires prod us to follow other paths that do not lead to wholeness and holiness. You give us the means to resist and choose wisely, but we so often fail. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may resist temptation and follow our Savior in the path that leads to life.

We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life, and especially for the ways in which you guide us with your Spirit. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of life, your Spirit calls us to follow the path of wholeness and holiness which leads to life eternal.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for one another in our need, and for all who experience brokenness in their lives. We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, spirit, or relationships. We pray for those who are facing temptations that will lead them down destructive paths.

(Other intercessions may be offered.)

All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.

(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)

All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.

Children’s Sermon Starter
Do you ever want something you know you shouldn’t have -- like ice cream right before dinner? Or are you ever afraid you might get in trouble for doing something and you want to lie about it? We are all tempted to do things that are not right. Even Jesus was tempted to do wrong. But he didn’t listen. He chose to do what was right. Jesus will help us choose to do right as well.

 

CHILDREN’S SERMON
What a Temptation
Matthew 4:1-11

Objects: a candy bar and a piece of fruit

Does anyone know what a “temptation” is? (Let the children answer.) Here’s a temptation. Imagine that you’ve finished eating dinner, but that you haven’t had dessert. Your parents offer you some fruit for dessert -- but instead, you want a piece of candy. (Hold up the candy and the fruit.) You are tempted to have the candy, but you know that the fruit is better for you. The candy is a real temptation, isn’t it? Have any of you ever had that temptation? (Let them answer.)

This candy temptation reminds me of today’s Bible story about Jesus. Jesus went into the wilderness, where he faced many temptations. He was able to make the right decision each time he was tempted. He was tempted to turn away from God and worship Satan, but he did not do it. We all face temptations, just like Jesus. Some of them are very difficult temptations. Here are some temptations that each of you might face. Have you ever broken anything at home and you were tempted not to admit that you broke it? Have you ever wanted to interrupt someone from talking, even though you knew you should wait until the person finished? Have you ever been tempted not to share your toys with a friend? Have you ever been tempted to watch television longer than you said that you would? These are all things that we are tempted with. Temptations will always be with us. When you are tempted to do something that you don’t feel right about, think about Jesus. Think about doing what you think is the right thing. It may be difficult to do. It may be sharing a toy when you don’t want to. It may be telling the truth when it is difficult. It may be helping pick up your toys when you would rather play. Remember, Jesus was tempted by Satan to stop worshiping God. It was a difficult temptation. Our temptations are difficult too. This week, and during Lent, think about things that tempt you. Try to remember Jesus’ temptation. Try to make the correct decision.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


The Immediate Word, March 9, 2014, issue.

Copyright 2014 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.