That's My Boy!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
As we observe Jesus’ baptism this Sunday, the lectionary texts celebrate our being welcomed into and made permanent members of God’s family through our baptisms. And as team member Chris Keating notes in the next installment of The Immediate Word, that’s analogous to how adoption works in our society. Indeed, one might view our baptismal certificates as the equivalent of God’s adoption papers. But while the competing rights of adoptive and blood parents can sometimes be a very contentious matter, in God’s realm there is no rivalry -- we have been blessed with both our worldly parents and our loving, adoptive Father: in a sense, we have the best of both worlds. Furthermore, there’s no divide between cultures, classes, and ethnicities -- in the Kingdom we’re all children of God, loved equally no matter how different we may appear to be on the surface. At our core, no one is better than another... and thus as God’s children we’re all entitled to the inheritance. Chris points out that in our baptisms we hear those most welcome words that indicate we’ve become part of his family: “You’re one of us!”
Team member Robin Lostetter shares some additional thoughts on the Acts passage. On the surface it seems like a straightforward account of a pastoral trip to perform a laying on of hands -- but when we consider that this was a mission to Samaria, it takes on a whole different meaning. Robin explores the historical enmity between Jews and Samaritans, and compares it to the sectarian tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims -- which exploded this week with Saudi Arabia’s execution of a dissident Shiite cleric and the violent reaction of enraged Shiites in Iran. To have the faith and courage to try and bridge such a divide may seem foolish -- yet Peter and John apparently have no qualms about doing so. And as Robin notes, to live out our incarnational identity as Christians we are called to do likewise -- for the power of the Holy Spirit can conquer greater obstacles than we can imagine. In a time when many of us are more worried about protecting ourselves from those who are different than we are about reaching out to them, there may be no more powerful and timely message than reminding us of what it means to live out our baptism in the Spirit.
That’s My Boy!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
One day last November, a church custodian in New York City turned his head at the sound of what he thought was a baby crying. The sound of a child crying in the empty sanctuary surprised the custodian, but what he saw next shocked him. Looking up at the nativity scene he’d set up earlier that morning, he found a baby lying in a manger, swaddled in a blue blanket.
The cattle weren’t lowing, but the infant was stirring. Someone had left the newborn in the church’s nativity scene during the custodian’s lunch hour. A child had been born, a son left for them, his umbilical cord still attached. Like the crowds in Luke’s gospel, the church was stirred with questions. Many expressed interest in caring for the child, who was taken into custody by New York City’s child welfare agency. Officials thanked the church for their concern, and reminded them that the boy is but one child among thousands who are in custody.
Adoption stories are mixed with mystery and delight, terror and joy. The mother’s desperation in leaving her newborn in the church illustrates some of the stress placed on our nation’s foster and child adoption system. More than 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, and approximately 120,000 are adopted each year.
Each of those children has a story. In many ways, those stories reflect the beauty and grace of the story of our adoption by God as described in scripture. Indeed, for the families, children, and caseworkers involved in the child welfare system there are perhaps no more hopeful words than Isaiah’s declaration: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
At Jesus’ baptism, God declares: “That’s my boy!” It’s a declaration of adoption, and also a declaration of God’s deep love for all creation.
In the News
No one was more shocked by the arrival of a newborn lying in the manger than the parish’s young priest, Rev. Christopher Ryan Heanue. After spotting the child the church’s custodian rushed to find the priest, who had only been ordained for a mere five months. One can only imagine how the custodian broke the news to the priest. “You’re not going to believe this, but you’ve got a baby in your manger. For real.”
The baby became a source of joy for members of the church, some of whom expressed a desire to adopt the baby.
Father Heanue said he feels nothing but love for the mother, who will not face charges. Under New York’s safe haven law, parents are allowed to leave an infant in a safe place such as a hospital, police station, or church without facing charges of abandonment. “A church is a home for those in need,” the priest told the New York Times, “and she felt, in this stable -- a place where Jesus will find his home -- a home for her child.”
For Father Heanue and his congregation, the moment was an expression of God’s welcome and promise. For officials in the city’s vast foster care system, it became an opportunity to illustrate the needs of children in its care.
Using the social media hashtag #adoptionjoy, New York City child welfare officials drew attention to 3,000-plus children waiting permanent placement in the city. With more than 11,000 children in foster care, New York child welfare officials know that this is more than a Christmas story. “We want New Yorkers to be aware that we have children that are waiting for loving homes, and it’s really important that they have a permanent, loving home that will care for them, that will provide for them,” Children’s Services commissioner Gladys Carrión said.
According to the Dave Thomas Foundation, more children become available for adoption each year than will be adopted. The average age of a child waiting to be adopted is eight. Each year, about 29,000 children turn 18 and leave the foster system without being adopted.
And while the stories of glamorous adoptions by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, or Madonna attract headlines, there are countless other stories of children who yearn to hear “You’re one of us.”
Those were the words three Oregon children heard on Christmas morning of 2014. Sarah and Michael Perks gift-wrapped final adoption papers for their three foster children last year, and gave them the gifts to open first on Christmas. The couple received the papers from the court just two days before Christmas, and decided to surprise their entire family, which includes older children.
Call it the “perks” of being a family. How can Santa top that?
As their parents videotaped the emotional moment, Corbin (13), Kierra (8), and Damien (4) each opened the gift-wrapped boxes. As their older siblings watched, the children began to understand the gift’s meaning. Tears flowed as an older sibling called out “You’re one of us now.”
Those words remain elusive for some. Others are placed -- but are later returned to foster care when, for one reason or another, the adoption fails. The percentage of failed adoptions (known as either disrupted or dissolved adoptions) are small, yet each one is devastating.
Reasons for failed adoptions vary -- in some cases, the child is a victim of pre-adoptive sexual abuse, or the child has particularly difficult emotional and behavioral needs, or the parents had unrealistic expectations or inadequate preparation. A 2012 government study indicated that more research needs to be conducted in order to improve post-placement services for adopted children. Adoptive families, like all families, often feel overwhelmed and underprepared.
For many families, however, the journey of adoption is one that is framed as a spiritual trek, undergirded by assurances such as Isaiah’s prophetic promise of comfort: “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.”
It is such a promise that has characterized Sheboygan, Wisconsin residents Cori and Mark Salchert’s commitment to adoption. With eight biological children, the Salcherts were already a remarkable family. Cori, who is a registered nurse, had a special passion for assisting families of dying children. It was that experience that drew her to care for hospice babies -- infants with a life-threatening illness whose parents had severed parental ties.
The abbreviated lives of some of those infants are often lived in the corners of hospital nurseries. Many are rarely held. “There was no judgment on my part that the parents should just be able to deal with the circumstances,” Cori said. “But I thought, ‘Wow, I would really like to take those kiddos and care for them.’ ” Following an illness that left her without employment, Cori said she prayed that somehow God would bring good out of the difficult situation.
It seemed God had an idea.
Since 2012, the Salcherts have fostered or adopted three hospice infants. One died, while another overcame his ailments and was successfully adopted by another family. Their children lend their support, even when the circumstances are physically and emotionally difficult. The family most recently adopted a baby boy suffering from neurological impairments resulting from lack of oxygen. At first, baby Charlie’s complex web of tubes and breathing apparatus overwhelmed Cori.
“But God told me we’re going to kick this fear in the butt,” Cori said. “It’s OK to be afraid, but never let fear cripple your life.” The voice of the Lord is indeed powerful, thundering across the waters. Or even bassinets.
In the Scriptures
Baptism is the sign of entrance into the Christian life -- a reminder of our redemption and a sign of God’s love. Each of this week’s lectionary texts offers ample opportunity to reflect on the joy of our baptism and to celebrate God’s covenantal promises. It is a time of hearing God’s joyous acclamation of Jesus as the beloved: “That’s my boy!” The scriptures also recall our belonging to God -- celebrating our adoption, as it were. It is as if the triune God would say to us, “You’re part of us now.”
The voice that claims Jesus as God’s own in Luke finds a parallel in Isaiah’s hopeful remembrance of God’s promise of redemption. Those who fear being lost in the overwhelming flood or drowned by rushing river waters are assured of God’s nearness and redemption in Isaiah. It is a claim similar to the announcement by God that Jesus is the beloved.
For Isaiah, as in baptism, the promised action of God is one of redemption. God’s people are claimed as God’s own; they are cherished and beloved, even as they are tested. Isaiah’s sings of God’s redemption with exuberance. The prophet is confident of the work God has begun -- and emphatically assures God’s people that “You are mine.”
Luke’s telling of Jesus’ baptism differs from the other synoptic accounts in subtle but significant ways. Matthew includes the push-and-pull encounter between Jesus and John. John’s question of “Why do you come to me?” is met with Jesus’ reply “Let it be so now.” Meanwhile, Mark’s characteristically terse prose still manages to add a bit of drama and flair to the event by emphasizing the heavens tearing open as Jesus comes up from the Jordan.
Luke, by contrast, seems to make the baptism sound a bit ordinary. “It sounds,” Fred Craddock once said in a sermon, “like a line of people being baptized and there’s John at the edge of the water, saying, ‘Next,’ and it’s Jesus” (“And Jesus Also,” in The Collected Sermons of Fred B. Craddock [Westminster/John Knox Press, 2011], p. 148). The announcement of redemption comes as Jesus is praying, but also as he has shown his solidarity with the diverse crowds which Luke tells us have come to John for baptism. It is a telling description of what God is doing in claiming soldiers, the poor, the wealthy, and the religious as beloved children of God.
In the Sermon
Baptisms are special occasions for families and for the family of God. As water is poured into the font, we give thanks for the gift of salvation and see again the depth of God’s love that calls us to be children of God. In baptism, we are given an identity and are reminded that we are adopted by God. Such identity conveys the exuberant hope of Isaiah, and empowers disciples to live in the remembrance of that hope.
In many churches, declining numbers of children and new members often means declining opportunities for baptism. This Sunday, in particular, can be a time of recalling our baptism. Water should be everywhere! By attending to the Isaiah and Luke texts carefully, a sermon could describe what it means to be adopted by God.
For example, the sermon could reflect on how the waters of baptism spill out from the font and into our lives. “I have called you by name, and you are mine... Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston.” “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you... victims of flooding.” “Do not fear, for I am with you, residents of Paris and San Bernardino; refugees from Syria.” The words and structure of the sermon could evoke the hope that we too are God’s beloved.
Some adoptive families celebrate adoption-day anniversaries by telling their family’s story. At the beginning of the new year, a sermon on baptism could fulfill this function for a congregation by naming the ways or telling the stories of how it lived its baptismal identity in the previous year. How did we discover that God has been with us? Where did we know, in the words of Cori Salchert, that God would help us “kick this fear in the butt”? Or perhaps most poignantly, where have we been called to say to others, in the words of the Perks family, “You’re one of us”?
Not far from my church, hundreds of families have been displaced due to the Christmas floods. The waters, literally, have overwhelmed them. But over New Year’s weekend, a group of Christians from out of state showed up in one of the areas hit the worst. They knocked on doors of churches, asking “What can we do?” They shopped for supplies, and donated to relief offerings. Recalling their baptism, they said to the residents of those areas “Do not fear.”
They said, “You’re one of us.”
SECOND THOUGHTS
Brotherly Love
by Robin Lostetter
Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:21-22
So let’s imagine our Acts passage set in the 21st-century Middle East:
Now when Iran’s Shiite leaders heard that Saudi Arabia’s Sunnis had begun to accept their interpretation of Islam, they sent Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to them. The Sunnis and Shiites prayed together, and the Holy Spirit came upon them all, baptizing them in the Holy Spirit. Praise be to Allah.
As unlikely -- in fact, shocking -- as this may seem in the wake of the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, it may give us a better sense of what Peter and John faced when heading into Samaria to baptize new converts.
The enmity between Jews and Samaritans began in the 10th century BC, when the worship of the Baals and other false gods was accepted and blended with the worship of Yahweh during the corruption of the kings of Judah. (See, for instance, 1 Kings 16:32; 2 Kings 13:6, 13; 2 Kings 14:14.) In the gospel according to John, Jesus bridges this divide by not only talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, but talking theology with her (John 4:19-26)! The well-known phrase “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” countermands both the Jewish and Samaritan locales for worship: Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim.
Further understanding of this hostility between Jews and Samaritans can be found in the story of the “Good Samaritan,” where the kind actions of the hated Samaritan are posited in contrast to the callous apathy of the Jewish priest and Levite. This parable is often interpreted for modern ears by assigning contemporary racial identities to the parties. However, it would be more in keeping with the intrareligious differences to think of one as Sunni and the other as Shiite. With this deeper understanding of Acts 8:14-17, what do we make of our calling from this passage?
The Muslim community and various governments have dealt with the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr through political and military action, and prophetic vengeance. As followers of the Prince of Peace, and in the shadow of Christmas where we celebrate the Incarnation of our God, we Christians need to find a different way.
When Jesus “had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Luke 3:21-22). This is one of those thin places, a Celtic Christian term for “those rare locales where the distance between heaven and Earth collapses.” And in that collapse we find the confirmation of Christ’s incarnation.
Christianity is based on an incarnational theology, so we are charged to live incarnationally, or “in the flesh.” We cannot simply speak from ivory towers or prophesy from a news conference. Like John and Peter, we must seek the face of Christ in “the other,” despite our differences, and seek to be Christ to “the other.” We then become vessels of the Holy Spirit in a way, spreading the baptism or adoption of “the other” into God’s family.
This is the risk-taking life that Christians are charged with. It may mean something as simple as taking a bouquet of flowers, a local map, a warm jacket, or a (non-pork!) casserole to one’s new Syrian refugee neighbor. Or it might mean taking the dangerous step of offering face-to-face aid in Syria, independently like “Kas” Jameel or through joining an NGO (non-governmental organization) like [the now executed] Alan Henning, if that is what one truly feels called to.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them)...
Let us pray. And let us serve.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a saying that he often repeats and has come to be known for: “The arrow is pointing up.” With the Steelers qualifying last Sunday for a wild card slot in this season’s NFL playoffs, their arrow is certainly pointing up.
Application: The story of the baptism of Jesus and the resting of the Holy Spirit upon him means we can always look up to God for guidance and assurance. For believers, the arrow is always pointing up.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
No one anticipated that when Gutenberg invented movable type there would be a revolution of accompanying inventions. Because movable type made printed books affordable, there was an increase in literacy. With an increase in literacy there also came a market for spectacles. This led to improved lenses, and then to the invention of the telescope. What followed was proof that the earth orbits the sun.
Application: When Peter and John were sent to Samaria, few could anticipate the results of their work and the ripple effects it would have. This is equally true for us when we go forth.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
Leonard E. Read wrote a famous essay in 1958 titled “I, Pencil.” In the essay a pencil declares that “I am a mystery,” because “not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me.” Indeed, this seemingly simple object is very complex in development. The wood for the pencil is harvested by loggers and then sent to sawmills. The cut wood is then transported by trains and trucks. The graphite is mined and follows a similar journey. The rubber for the eraser comes from foreign lands. And the aluminum to hold it all together is the product of a smelting process. The mystery of the pencil comes from thousands of people in multiple locations, each unaware that their task will end up on your writing desk.
Application: When Peter and John were sent to Samaria, few could anticipate the results of their work. This is equally true for us when we go forth. We are just one of many, and we may never know our impact on the lives of others.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy is running and dancing with joy while a perplexed Charlie Brown looks on. Singing with glee, Lucy says: “It’s here! It’s here! This is my year!” Charlie quietly asks: “Where does that leave the rest of us?” Lucy retorts bombastically: “Nowhere! Stay out of my year.”
Application: If Peter and John did not invite the people of Samaria into their year, they would have been denied the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Let us be sure to invite everyone into our year.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
When I was in college and associated with Campus Crusade for Christ, I felt excluded because everyone was exhibiting their gift of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the most prominent gift in the group was the ability to speak in tongues. To me it all sounded like gibberish, but it was a gibberish that I did not have. It was only years later that I learned that to be blessed with the Holy Spirit does not mean having the ability to speak gibberish, but rather means having a sincere relationship with the Lord. (Note: You can personalize this story by introducing it with the words “a friend told me...” or “I read about...”)
Application: Peter and John laid hands on the believers of Samaria, and they were blessed with the Holy Spirit. There’s no qualifying statement defining what the gift looked like -- we are only told that it was present. Without qualification, quietly accept your blessing of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
The Associated Press named Clemson coach Dabo Swinney as this season’s college football coach of the year. Swinney’s team had an unbeaten regular season and the longest run in the polls as the top-ranked team in the country. In receiving the award, Swinney said: “Football is a great team sport, and any individual honor is a result of having a great group of players and staff.”
Application: Peter and John were only successful because they went together and worked together in harmony. Let us be sure that we work harmoniously with our fellow Christians.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
In receiving the Associated Press’s award as college football coach of the year, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said, “Good coaches are a dime a dozen. Guys that know football, dime a dozen. Good coaches that are about the right things -- good men, good husbands -- that’s a whole different deal.”
Application: Peter and John were only successful because they were good men. If we are to be successful in our Christian ministry, we need to be more than just knowledgeable of the scriptures -- we must also be truly good individuals.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
In a Frank & Ernest comic strip, the two motley characters are sitting on a park bench, with a city landscape visible behind them. An unshaven Frank, elbows resting on the back of the bench, looks over at Ernie and says, “The problem with New Year’s resolutions is we keep trying to resolve things we’ve never solved before.”
Application: The message of Isaiah for the people of Israel is that their problems have now been resolved. It can be the same for us if we believe in the message of Isaiah.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
In the recently released movie Concussion, Will Smith portrays Dr. Bennet Omalu, the doctor who discovered that football players were dying from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). In the movie there is a scene showing a conversation between Omalu and Pittsburgh coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht (played by Albert Brooks). Wecht tries to explain to Omalu that the NFL will not cooperate with him and will do everything to disprove his research. Wecht says, “You’re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week -- the same day the church used to own.”
Application: Isaiah never gave up belief that God would redeem his people and once again claim the sabbath as his own. We too can never surrender the sabbath, and must always fight to keep it holy.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
On January 1, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson made a proclamation that still lives with us this day. The Danbury Baptist Association was concerned that Baptists were going to be forced to belong to an established church. In reply to their concern, Jefferson wrote that there is “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Application: Isaiah knew that no government and no foreign power were going to be able to own and control God’s chosen people. We too must be sure that the church remains in the sacred realm of God.
***************
From team member Mary Austin:
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Water, Water -- But Not Everywhere
Jesus’ baptism reminds us again of the power of water to create and sustain life. Water shortages are becoming common, and Bill Moyers reports that California’s recent drought is part of a much bigger problem. As he says, “every state west of the Rockies has been facing a water shortage of one kind or another in recent years. California’s is a severe, but relatively short-term, drought. But the Colorado River basin -- which provides critical water supplies for seven states including California -- is the victim of a slower-burning catastrophe entering its 16th year. Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California all share water from the Colorado River, a hugely important water resource that sustains 40 million people in those states, supports 15 percent of the nation’s food supply, and fills two of largest water reserves in the country.” Rights to the river’s water were decided years ago, when there was more water. Agricultural use and weather conditions all impact the amount of water available, and “the drought is drawing out the best and worst in people. Some people are conscientiously conserving water in their homes in little ways -- by not washing their cars or by capturing shower water from inside for their gardens outside, for instance. The drought has also inspired innovation in water conservation for restaurants, pools and lawns. Meanwhile, others have been caught stealing water from their neighbors and drought-shaming campaigns have multiplied online.” In Jesus’ time and now, water is important.
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Access to Water
Around the world, 10% of people don’t have ready access to clean water and walk long distances to get water. Tyler Riewer traveled around to communities without water to hear people’s stories, and in Niger he found “that it’s practically the Sahara Desert. Truly. One hundred and fifteen degrees, sandy, dry, and brutal.... The only available water in a place like this lies in 100-year-old holes in the ground, and the women have no choice but to hoist it out by rope, one bucket at a time.... On one of our final days, I followed a 26-year-old woman named Fadoum through part of her morning, just to see and capture what it was like. She described it for me in advance: waking up before sunrise to collect water, cooking breakfast, going to collect more water, pounding grain for lunch and dinner, and then collecting water again. But witnessing it was another story. I got to see all of the no-big-deal things that she left out: bathing and dressing her daughters, feeding her goats, cleaning her home. It was amazing. And it was also painfully exhausting. After an hour, I asked when she got time to rest. Fadoum laughed. ‘There’s no time for rest!’ ‘What’s your favorite part of the day?’ I continued. Without missing a beat, she looked up at me and replied in total seriousness: ‘Anytime I’m not pulling water.’ ”
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Things You Can Do with Water
A baptism is always a joy, but there are other things you can do with water. A balloon filled with water won’t pop, even over a candle flame: “Fill a balloon with water. Light the candle. Slowly place it on the candle. Amazingly enough, it doesn’t pop! But leave it too long and it will.” This works because “water obviously absorbs heat well. The water inside the balloon absorbs the heat from the flame, cooling the rubber down and preventing it from breaking.”
Or there’s glow-in-the-dark water. This one starts with tonic water and a UV light: “Simply turn of the lights and shine the UV light onto the tonic water.” It works because “tonic water contains ‘phosphors,’ like in the dye from highlighter pens. Phosphors turn UV light into visible light, making your tonic water glow.” Water: not just for baptisms any more.
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Finding Your Vocation
With Jesus’ baptism he begins his public ministry, living into his vocation. Jim Hunter recently talked about the idea of servant leadership, modeled on Jesus’ life as the original servant leader. For those of us who hope to follow Jesus, Hunter offers insights on the process of bringing together leadership and servanthood -- not a natural combination. He says that “servant leaders are about the business of identifying and meeting people’s legitimate needs, seeking their greatest good so that they can grow. So the test of servant leadership is, do people leave you better than they found you? Do you leave things better than you found them? So am I going to grow as a result of being under your leadership?”
Hunter suggests Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, as one example -- in spite of his “Wild Turkey-drinking, chain-smoking, Harley Davidson-driving” persona. He says: “Herb built Southwest Airlines on servant leadership, and when he retired -- he’s still the honorary chair at Southwest -- a reporter asked him, he said, ‘Herb, which leaders at Southwest are most responsible for your phenomenal success?’... And classic Kelleher, [he] looked at the reporter -- you can see this on YouTube -- and said, ‘Well, that’s a pretty stupid question.’ And the reporter said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ And Kelleher said, ‘We’re all leaders at Southwest. We just have different responsibilities, that’s all. And the job market chooses to pay those responsibilities differently, that’s all.’ ” In our baptism, we all claim our different gifts, and use our own talents in service to God.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Ascribe to God glory and strength.
People: Worship God in holy splendor.
Leader: The voice of God is over the waters.
People: The voice of God is full of majesty.
Leader: May God give strength to the people!
People: May God bless the people with peace!
OR
Leader: Come to the waters and know God’s love.
People: We long to know that God loves us even as we are.
Leader: God does love us and cherishes us as children.
People: We want to live as God’s children in all that we do.
Leader: God’s love and God’s Spirit are poured out on us.
People: Thanks be to our loving, compassionate God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Spirit of the Living God”
found in:
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
STLT: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
“We Know That Christ Is Raised”
found in:
UMH: 610
H82: 296
PH: 495
CH: 376
LBW: 189
“Child of Blessing, Child of Promise”
found in:
UMH: 611
PH: 498
NCH: 325
W&P: 677
“This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now”
found in:
UMH: 608
LBW: 195
ELA: 448
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
found in:
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
ELA: 587, 588
W&P: 61
AMEC: 78
STLT: 213
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale”
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song”
found in:
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELA: 403
Renew: 280
“I Am Loved”
found in:
CCB: 80
“O How He Loves You and Me”
found in:
CCB: 38
Renew: 27
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
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who redeems us and brings us back into your family: Grant us the grace to live as your children and to invite others to experience the joy of kinship; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are the one who redeems us and calls us back into your family. Send your Spirit upon us once more, that we may hear you call us “the beloved” and then go and call others to this joy. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to sense your love for us and for others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us by name, but we have not been listening to your voice. We have had our attention turned from you by the many voices of the world. Instead of love, we have been focused on fear and hatred. Instead of compassion, we have feasted on revenge. Instead of believing we are your beloved, we have tried to earn our status in this world. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may participate in your family with joy as we call others to you. Amen.
Leader: God’s heart is open to all the children of the earth, young and old. God calls us by name because we are beloved. Receive God’s love, forgiveness, and Spirit, so that you may know the peace of the Christ.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
All praise and glory to you, O God, who calls us your beloved children. You are love, and you lavish that love on your creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us by name, but we have not been listening to your voice. We have had our attention turned from you by the many voices of the world. Instead of love, we have been focused on fear and hatred. Instead of compassion, we have feasted on revenge. Instead of believing we are your beloved, we have tried to earn our status in this world. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may participate in your family with joy as we call others to you.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for those who have showed love and compassion for us. We thank you for family and friends and for our place in the Church where your love is so evident. Most of all we thank you for giving us Jesus, who teaches us about your love and grace.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our needs, and especially for those who do not know of your love. We pray for those whose lives are so filled with hatred and cruelty that they cannot hear the loving tone of your voice. We pray for ourselves, that we might be able not only to hear your voice of love but that we also might echo that love toward others.
(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
“I love you.” “You are special.” Those are wonderful words to hear; they are wonderful words to say. All of us like to hear the kinds of words that tell us we are special and that we are loved. Jesus heard those words from God when he was baptized. God speaks those words to us at our baptism and throughout our lives. (You might want to make signs for the children to take home and put on a bulletin board or on the fridge: “I am loved by God. I am special.”)
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Water, Water Everywhere
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Items needed: a large, clear bowl of clean, warm (not hot) water, and a towel
(When the children have settled in, dip your hands in the water and then let the children do so as well.) Today we’re going to talk about water. Water plays an important role in the Bible -- there are lots of stories about water.
In the very beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, when God is creating the earth -- at first it is covered by water. Then God parts the water and makes dry land for animals and people to live on.
And there’s the story of Noah who built the _____ (ark) and saved his family and the animals from the flood of _____ (water).
In the story of Moses, when he was a baby his sister and mother save his life by putting him in a basket that is watertight and setting him to float on the Nile River -- which is made of _____ (water) -- so he can be found by Pharaoh’s daughter.
Later, when Moses leads the people of Israel out of Egypt, God parts the Red Sea so the people can escape from Pharaoh’s army. And, as we know, the Red Sea is made up of _____ (water).
Let’s see, what are some other examples of water in the Bible?
* Joshua leads the people into the Promised Land by crossing through the Jordan River.
*When the people of Israel are captured and taken to Babylon to live, they live “by the rivers of Babylon” -- which are the Tigres and the Euphrates Rivers.
* Jesus was baptized by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River.
* He walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee, where Peter and Andrew and James and John earned their living as fishermen.
* And after his resurrection, Jesus meets his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and eats lunch with them.
So water is pretty important in the biblical story, isn’t it? And it’s important to us too!
There are so many things we need water for. Can you help me think of some of them?
* We drink it.
* We make drinks out of it, like coffee and tea and lemonade and even soda.
* We wash in it.
* We water our plants with it so we have beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables.
Water is so important to us that without it we would die!
In fact, our body is made up of about 75% water. That’s three-fourths of our body weight. So if you weigh 100 pounds, 75 pounds of that is water. And the earth is about the same. Nearly three-quarters of the earth is covered with water.
Water is a very important and necessary gift which God has given to us, a sign of God’s love for us. It’s no wonder that when we want to celebrate God’s love for us we do that with water. And often the way we use the water is for baptism.
So the next time you see someone get baptized in our church, or the next time you have a drink of water, or the next time you take a bath or shower, or water your mom’s flowers, will you remember that water is a gift from God? And will you remember that it is a sign of God’s love for us?
You will? Me too.
Close with a prayer thanking God for water and for God’s love and grace, which we remember whenever we see or use water.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 10, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Robin Lostetter shares some additional thoughts on the Acts passage. On the surface it seems like a straightforward account of a pastoral trip to perform a laying on of hands -- but when we consider that this was a mission to Samaria, it takes on a whole different meaning. Robin explores the historical enmity between Jews and Samaritans, and compares it to the sectarian tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims -- which exploded this week with Saudi Arabia’s execution of a dissident Shiite cleric and the violent reaction of enraged Shiites in Iran. To have the faith and courage to try and bridge such a divide may seem foolish -- yet Peter and John apparently have no qualms about doing so. And as Robin notes, to live out our incarnational identity as Christians we are called to do likewise -- for the power of the Holy Spirit can conquer greater obstacles than we can imagine. In a time when many of us are more worried about protecting ourselves from those who are different than we are about reaching out to them, there may be no more powerful and timely message than reminding us of what it means to live out our baptism in the Spirit.
That’s My Boy!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
One day last November, a church custodian in New York City turned his head at the sound of what he thought was a baby crying. The sound of a child crying in the empty sanctuary surprised the custodian, but what he saw next shocked him. Looking up at the nativity scene he’d set up earlier that morning, he found a baby lying in a manger, swaddled in a blue blanket.
The cattle weren’t lowing, but the infant was stirring. Someone had left the newborn in the church’s nativity scene during the custodian’s lunch hour. A child had been born, a son left for them, his umbilical cord still attached. Like the crowds in Luke’s gospel, the church was stirred with questions. Many expressed interest in caring for the child, who was taken into custody by New York City’s child welfare agency. Officials thanked the church for their concern, and reminded them that the boy is but one child among thousands who are in custody.
Adoption stories are mixed with mystery and delight, terror and joy. The mother’s desperation in leaving her newborn in the church illustrates some of the stress placed on our nation’s foster and child adoption system. More than 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, and approximately 120,000 are adopted each year.
Each of those children has a story. In many ways, those stories reflect the beauty and grace of the story of our adoption by God as described in scripture. Indeed, for the families, children, and caseworkers involved in the child welfare system there are perhaps no more hopeful words than Isaiah’s declaration: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
At Jesus’ baptism, God declares: “That’s my boy!” It’s a declaration of adoption, and also a declaration of God’s deep love for all creation.
In the News
No one was more shocked by the arrival of a newborn lying in the manger than the parish’s young priest, Rev. Christopher Ryan Heanue. After spotting the child the church’s custodian rushed to find the priest, who had only been ordained for a mere five months. One can only imagine how the custodian broke the news to the priest. “You’re not going to believe this, but you’ve got a baby in your manger. For real.”
The baby became a source of joy for members of the church, some of whom expressed a desire to adopt the baby.
Father Heanue said he feels nothing but love for the mother, who will not face charges. Under New York’s safe haven law, parents are allowed to leave an infant in a safe place such as a hospital, police station, or church without facing charges of abandonment. “A church is a home for those in need,” the priest told the New York Times, “and she felt, in this stable -- a place where Jesus will find his home -- a home for her child.”
For Father Heanue and his congregation, the moment was an expression of God’s welcome and promise. For officials in the city’s vast foster care system, it became an opportunity to illustrate the needs of children in its care.
Using the social media hashtag #adoptionjoy, New York City child welfare officials drew attention to 3,000-plus children waiting permanent placement in the city. With more than 11,000 children in foster care, New York child welfare officials know that this is more than a Christmas story. “We want New Yorkers to be aware that we have children that are waiting for loving homes, and it’s really important that they have a permanent, loving home that will care for them, that will provide for them,” Children’s Services commissioner Gladys Carrión said.
According to the Dave Thomas Foundation, more children become available for adoption each year than will be adopted. The average age of a child waiting to be adopted is eight. Each year, about 29,000 children turn 18 and leave the foster system without being adopted.
And while the stories of glamorous adoptions by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, or Madonna attract headlines, there are countless other stories of children who yearn to hear “You’re one of us.”
Those were the words three Oregon children heard on Christmas morning of 2014. Sarah and Michael Perks gift-wrapped final adoption papers for their three foster children last year, and gave them the gifts to open first on Christmas. The couple received the papers from the court just two days before Christmas, and decided to surprise their entire family, which includes older children.
Call it the “perks” of being a family. How can Santa top that?
As their parents videotaped the emotional moment, Corbin (13), Kierra (8), and Damien (4) each opened the gift-wrapped boxes. As their older siblings watched, the children began to understand the gift’s meaning. Tears flowed as an older sibling called out “You’re one of us now.”
Those words remain elusive for some. Others are placed -- but are later returned to foster care when, for one reason or another, the adoption fails. The percentage of failed adoptions (known as either disrupted or dissolved adoptions) are small, yet each one is devastating.
Reasons for failed adoptions vary -- in some cases, the child is a victim of pre-adoptive sexual abuse, or the child has particularly difficult emotional and behavioral needs, or the parents had unrealistic expectations or inadequate preparation. A 2012 government study indicated that more research needs to be conducted in order to improve post-placement services for adopted children. Adoptive families, like all families, often feel overwhelmed and underprepared.
For many families, however, the journey of adoption is one that is framed as a spiritual trek, undergirded by assurances such as Isaiah’s prophetic promise of comfort: “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.”
It is such a promise that has characterized Sheboygan, Wisconsin residents Cori and Mark Salchert’s commitment to adoption. With eight biological children, the Salcherts were already a remarkable family. Cori, who is a registered nurse, had a special passion for assisting families of dying children. It was that experience that drew her to care for hospice babies -- infants with a life-threatening illness whose parents had severed parental ties.
The abbreviated lives of some of those infants are often lived in the corners of hospital nurseries. Many are rarely held. “There was no judgment on my part that the parents should just be able to deal with the circumstances,” Cori said. “But I thought, ‘Wow, I would really like to take those kiddos and care for them.’ ” Following an illness that left her without employment, Cori said she prayed that somehow God would bring good out of the difficult situation.
It seemed God had an idea.
Since 2012, the Salcherts have fostered or adopted three hospice infants. One died, while another overcame his ailments and was successfully adopted by another family. Their children lend their support, even when the circumstances are physically and emotionally difficult. The family most recently adopted a baby boy suffering from neurological impairments resulting from lack of oxygen. At first, baby Charlie’s complex web of tubes and breathing apparatus overwhelmed Cori.
“But God told me we’re going to kick this fear in the butt,” Cori said. “It’s OK to be afraid, but never let fear cripple your life.” The voice of the Lord is indeed powerful, thundering across the waters. Or even bassinets.
In the Scriptures
Baptism is the sign of entrance into the Christian life -- a reminder of our redemption and a sign of God’s love. Each of this week’s lectionary texts offers ample opportunity to reflect on the joy of our baptism and to celebrate God’s covenantal promises. It is a time of hearing God’s joyous acclamation of Jesus as the beloved: “That’s my boy!” The scriptures also recall our belonging to God -- celebrating our adoption, as it were. It is as if the triune God would say to us, “You’re part of us now.”
The voice that claims Jesus as God’s own in Luke finds a parallel in Isaiah’s hopeful remembrance of God’s promise of redemption. Those who fear being lost in the overwhelming flood or drowned by rushing river waters are assured of God’s nearness and redemption in Isaiah. It is a claim similar to the announcement by God that Jesus is the beloved.
For Isaiah, as in baptism, the promised action of God is one of redemption. God’s people are claimed as God’s own; they are cherished and beloved, even as they are tested. Isaiah’s sings of God’s redemption with exuberance. The prophet is confident of the work God has begun -- and emphatically assures God’s people that “You are mine.”
Luke’s telling of Jesus’ baptism differs from the other synoptic accounts in subtle but significant ways. Matthew includes the push-and-pull encounter between Jesus and John. John’s question of “Why do you come to me?” is met with Jesus’ reply “Let it be so now.” Meanwhile, Mark’s characteristically terse prose still manages to add a bit of drama and flair to the event by emphasizing the heavens tearing open as Jesus comes up from the Jordan.
Luke, by contrast, seems to make the baptism sound a bit ordinary. “It sounds,” Fred Craddock once said in a sermon, “like a line of people being baptized and there’s John at the edge of the water, saying, ‘Next,’ and it’s Jesus” (“And Jesus Also,” in The Collected Sermons of Fred B. Craddock [Westminster/John Knox Press, 2011], p. 148). The announcement of redemption comes as Jesus is praying, but also as he has shown his solidarity with the diverse crowds which Luke tells us have come to John for baptism. It is a telling description of what God is doing in claiming soldiers, the poor, the wealthy, and the religious as beloved children of God.
In the Sermon
Baptisms are special occasions for families and for the family of God. As water is poured into the font, we give thanks for the gift of salvation and see again the depth of God’s love that calls us to be children of God. In baptism, we are given an identity and are reminded that we are adopted by God. Such identity conveys the exuberant hope of Isaiah, and empowers disciples to live in the remembrance of that hope.
In many churches, declining numbers of children and new members often means declining opportunities for baptism. This Sunday, in particular, can be a time of recalling our baptism. Water should be everywhere! By attending to the Isaiah and Luke texts carefully, a sermon could describe what it means to be adopted by God.
For example, the sermon could reflect on how the waters of baptism spill out from the font and into our lives. “I have called you by name, and you are mine... Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston.” “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you... victims of flooding.” “Do not fear, for I am with you, residents of Paris and San Bernardino; refugees from Syria.” The words and structure of the sermon could evoke the hope that we too are God’s beloved.
Some adoptive families celebrate adoption-day anniversaries by telling their family’s story. At the beginning of the new year, a sermon on baptism could fulfill this function for a congregation by naming the ways or telling the stories of how it lived its baptismal identity in the previous year. How did we discover that God has been with us? Where did we know, in the words of Cori Salchert, that God would help us “kick this fear in the butt”? Or perhaps most poignantly, where have we been called to say to others, in the words of the Perks family, “You’re one of us”?
Not far from my church, hundreds of families have been displaced due to the Christmas floods. The waters, literally, have overwhelmed them. But over New Year’s weekend, a group of Christians from out of state showed up in one of the areas hit the worst. They knocked on doors of churches, asking “What can we do?” They shopped for supplies, and donated to relief offerings. Recalling their baptism, they said to the residents of those areas “Do not fear.”
They said, “You’re one of us.”
SECOND THOUGHTS
Brotherly Love
by Robin Lostetter
Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:21-22
So let’s imagine our Acts passage set in the 21st-century Middle East:
Now when Iran’s Shiite leaders heard that Saudi Arabia’s Sunnis had begun to accept their interpretation of Islam, they sent Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to them. The Sunnis and Shiites prayed together, and the Holy Spirit came upon them all, baptizing them in the Holy Spirit. Praise be to Allah.
As unlikely -- in fact, shocking -- as this may seem in the wake of the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, it may give us a better sense of what Peter and John faced when heading into Samaria to baptize new converts.
The enmity between Jews and Samaritans began in the 10th century BC, when the worship of the Baals and other false gods was accepted and blended with the worship of Yahweh during the corruption of the kings of Judah. (See, for instance, 1 Kings 16:32; 2 Kings 13:6, 13; 2 Kings 14:14.) In the gospel according to John, Jesus bridges this divide by not only talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, but talking theology with her (John 4:19-26)! The well-known phrase “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” countermands both the Jewish and Samaritan locales for worship: Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim.
Further understanding of this hostility between Jews and Samaritans can be found in the story of the “Good Samaritan,” where the kind actions of the hated Samaritan are posited in contrast to the callous apathy of the Jewish priest and Levite. This parable is often interpreted for modern ears by assigning contemporary racial identities to the parties. However, it would be more in keeping with the intrareligious differences to think of one as Sunni and the other as Shiite. With this deeper understanding of Acts 8:14-17, what do we make of our calling from this passage?
The Muslim community and various governments have dealt with the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr through political and military action, and prophetic vengeance. As followers of the Prince of Peace, and in the shadow of Christmas where we celebrate the Incarnation of our God, we Christians need to find a different way.
When Jesus “had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Luke 3:21-22). This is one of those thin places, a Celtic Christian term for “those rare locales where the distance between heaven and Earth collapses.” And in that collapse we find the confirmation of Christ’s incarnation.
Christianity is based on an incarnational theology, so we are charged to live incarnationally, or “in the flesh.” We cannot simply speak from ivory towers or prophesy from a news conference. Like John and Peter, we must seek the face of Christ in “the other,” despite our differences, and seek to be Christ to “the other.” We then become vessels of the Holy Spirit in a way, spreading the baptism or adoption of “the other” into God’s family.
This is the risk-taking life that Christians are charged with. It may mean something as simple as taking a bouquet of flowers, a local map, a warm jacket, or a (non-pork!) casserole to one’s new Syrian refugee neighbor. Or it might mean taking the dangerous step of offering face-to-face aid in Syria, independently like “Kas” Jameel or through joining an NGO (non-governmental organization) like [the now executed] Alan Henning, if that is what one truly feels called to.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them)...
Let us pray. And let us serve.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a saying that he often repeats and has come to be known for: “The arrow is pointing up.” With the Steelers qualifying last Sunday for a wild card slot in this season’s NFL playoffs, their arrow is certainly pointing up.
Application: The story of the baptism of Jesus and the resting of the Holy Spirit upon him means we can always look up to God for guidance and assurance. For believers, the arrow is always pointing up.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
No one anticipated that when Gutenberg invented movable type there would be a revolution of accompanying inventions. Because movable type made printed books affordable, there was an increase in literacy. With an increase in literacy there also came a market for spectacles. This led to improved lenses, and then to the invention of the telescope. What followed was proof that the earth orbits the sun.
Application: When Peter and John were sent to Samaria, few could anticipate the results of their work and the ripple effects it would have. This is equally true for us when we go forth.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
Leonard E. Read wrote a famous essay in 1958 titled “I, Pencil.” In the essay a pencil declares that “I am a mystery,” because “not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me.” Indeed, this seemingly simple object is very complex in development. The wood for the pencil is harvested by loggers and then sent to sawmills. The cut wood is then transported by trains and trucks. The graphite is mined and follows a similar journey. The rubber for the eraser comes from foreign lands. And the aluminum to hold it all together is the product of a smelting process. The mystery of the pencil comes from thousands of people in multiple locations, each unaware that their task will end up on your writing desk.
Application: When Peter and John were sent to Samaria, few could anticipate the results of their work. This is equally true for us when we go forth. We are just one of many, and we may never know our impact on the lives of others.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy is running and dancing with joy while a perplexed Charlie Brown looks on. Singing with glee, Lucy says: “It’s here! It’s here! This is my year!” Charlie quietly asks: “Where does that leave the rest of us?” Lucy retorts bombastically: “Nowhere! Stay out of my year.”
Application: If Peter and John did not invite the people of Samaria into their year, they would have been denied the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Let us be sure to invite everyone into our year.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
When I was in college and associated with Campus Crusade for Christ, I felt excluded because everyone was exhibiting their gift of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the most prominent gift in the group was the ability to speak in tongues. To me it all sounded like gibberish, but it was a gibberish that I did not have. It was only years later that I learned that to be blessed with the Holy Spirit does not mean having the ability to speak gibberish, but rather means having a sincere relationship with the Lord. (Note: You can personalize this story by introducing it with the words “a friend told me...” or “I read about...”)
Application: Peter and John laid hands on the believers of Samaria, and they were blessed with the Holy Spirit. There’s no qualifying statement defining what the gift looked like -- we are only told that it was present. Without qualification, quietly accept your blessing of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
The Associated Press named Clemson coach Dabo Swinney as this season’s college football coach of the year. Swinney’s team had an unbeaten regular season and the longest run in the polls as the top-ranked team in the country. In receiving the award, Swinney said: “Football is a great team sport, and any individual honor is a result of having a great group of players and staff.”
Application: Peter and John were only successful because they went together and worked together in harmony. Let us be sure that we work harmoniously with our fellow Christians.
*****
Acts 8:14-17
In receiving the Associated Press’s award as college football coach of the year, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said, “Good coaches are a dime a dozen. Guys that know football, dime a dozen. Good coaches that are about the right things -- good men, good husbands -- that’s a whole different deal.”
Application: Peter and John were only successful because they were good men. If we are to be successful in our Christian ministry, we need to be more than just knowledgeable of the scriptures -- we must also be truly good individuals.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
In a Frank & Ernest comic strip, the two motley characters are sitting on a park bench, with a city landscape visible behind them. An unshaven Frank, elbows resting on the back of the bench, looks over at Ernie and says, “The problem with New Year’s resolutions is we keep trying to resolve things we’ve never solved before.”
Application: The message of Isaiah for the people of Israel is that their problems have now been resolved. It can be the same for us if we believe in the message of Isaiah.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
In the recently released movie Concussion, Will Smith portrays Dr. Bennet Omalu, the doctor who discovered that football players were dying from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). In the movie there is a scene showing a conversation between Omalu and Pittsburgh coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht (played by Albert Brooks). Wecht tries to explain to Omalu that the NFL will not cooperate with him and will do everything to disprove his research. Wecht says, “You’re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week -- the same day the church used to own.”
Application: Isaiah never gave up belief that God would redeem his people and once again claim the sabbath as his own. We too can never surrender the sabbath, and must always fight to keep it holy.
*****
Isaiah 43:1-7
On January 1, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson made a proclamation that still lives with us this day. The Danbury Baptist Association was concerned that Baptists were going to be forced to belong to an established church. In reply to their concern, Jefferson wrote that there is “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Application: Isaiah knew that no government and no foreign power were going to be able to own and control God’s chosen people. We too must be sure that the church remains in the sacred realm of God.
***************
From team member Mary Austin:
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Water, Water -- But Not Everywhere
Jesus’ baptism reminds us again of the power of water to create and sustain life. Water shortages are becoming common, and Bill Moyers reports that California’s recent drought is part of a much bigger problem. As he says, “every state west of the Rockies has been facing a water shortage of one kind or another in recent years. California’s is a severe, but relatively short-term, drought. But the Colorado River basin -- which provides critical water supplies for seven states including California -- is the victim of a slower-burning catastrophe entering its 16th year. Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California all share water from the Colorado River, a hugely important water resource that sustains 40 million people in those states, supports 15 percent of the nation’s food supply, and fills two of largest water reserves in the country.” Rights to the river’s water were decided years ago, when there was more water. Agricultural use and weather conditions all impact the amount of water available, and “the drought is drawing out the best and worst in people. Some people are conscientiously conserving water in their homes in little ways -- by not washing their cars or by capturing shower water from inside for their gardens outside, for instance. The drought has also inspired innovation in water conservation for restaurants, pools and lawns. Meanwhile, others have been caught stealing water from their neighbors and drought-shaming campaigns have multiplied online.” In Jesus’ time and now, water is important.
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Access to Water
Around the world, 10% of people don’t have ready access to clean water and walk long distances to get water. Tyler Riewer traveled around to communities without water to hear people’s stories, and in Niger he found “that it’s practically the Sahara Desert. Truly. One hundred and fifteen degrees, sandy, dry, and brutal.... The only available water in a place like this lies in 100-year-old holes in the ground, and the women have no choice but to hoist it out by rope, one bucket at a time.... On one of our final days, I followed a 26-year-old woman named Fadoum through part of her morning, just to see and capture what it was like. She described it for me in advance: waking up before sunrise to collect water, cooking breakfast, going to collect more water, pounding grain for lunch and dinner, and then collecting water again. But witnessing it was another story. I got to see all of the no-big-deal things that she left out: bathing and dressing her daughters, feeding her goats, cleaning her home. It was amazing. And it was also painfully exhausting. After an hour, I asked when she got time to rest. Fadoum laughed. ‘There’s no time for rest!’ ‘What’s your favorite part of the day?’ I continued. Without missing a beat, she looked up at me and replied in total seriousness: ‘Anytime I’m not pulling water.’ ”
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Things You Can Do with Water
A baptism is always a joy, but there are other things you can do with water. A balloon filled with water won’t pop, even over a candle flame: “Fill a balloon with water. Light the candle. Slowly place it on the candle. Amazingly enough, it doesn’t pop! But leave it too long and it will.” This works because “water obviously absorbs heat well. The water inside the balloon absorbs the heat from the flame, cooling the rubber down and preventing it from breaking.”
Or there’s glow-in-the-dark water. This one starts with tonic water and a UV light: “Simply turn of the lights and shine the UV light onto the tonic water.” It works because “tonic water contains ‘phosphors,’ like in the dye from highlighter pens. Phosphors turn UV light into visible light, making your tonic water glow.” Water: not just for baptisms any more.
*****
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Finding Your Vocation
With Jesus’ baptism he begins his public ministry, living into his vocation. Jim Hunter recently talked about the idea of servant leadership, modeled on Jesus’ life as the original servant leader. For those of us who hope to follow Jesus, Hunter offers insights on the process of bringing together leadership and servanthood -- not a natural combination. He says that “servant leaders are about the business of identifying and meeting people’s legitimate needs, seeking their greatest good so that they can grow. So the test of servant leadership is, do people leave you better than they found you? Do you leave things better than you found them? So am I going to grow as a result of being under your leadership?”
Hunter suggests Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, as one example -- in spite of his “Wild Turkey-drinking, chain-smoking, Harley Davidson-driving” persona. He says: “Herb built Southwest Airlines on servant leadership, and when he retired -- he’s still the honorary chair at Southwest -- a reporter asked him, he said, ‘Herb, which leaders at Southwest are most responsible for your phenomenal success?’... And classic Kelleher, [he] looked at the reporter -- you can see this on YouTube -- and said, ‘Well, that’s a pretty stupid question.’ And the reporter said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ And Kelleher said, ‘We’re all leaders at Southwest. We just have different responsibilities, that’s all. And the job market chooses to pay those responsibilities differently, that’s all.’ ” In our baptism, we all claim our different gifts, and use our own talents in service to God.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Ascribe to God glory and strength.
People: Worship God in holy splendor.
Leader: The voice of God is over the waters.
People: The voice of God is full of majesty.
Leader: May God give strength to the people!
People: May God bless the people with peace!
OR
Leader: Come to the waters and know God’s love.
People: We long to know that God loves us even as we are.
Leader: God does love us and cherishes us as children.
People: We want to live as God’s children in all that we do.
Leader: God’s love and God’s Spirit are poured out on us.
People: Thanks be to our loving, compassionate God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Spirit of the Living God”
found in:
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
STLT: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
“We Know That Christ Is Raised”
found in:
UMH: 610
H82: 296
PH: 495
CH: 376
LBW: 189
“Child of Blessing, Child of Promise”
found in:
UMH: 611
PH: 498
NCH: 325
W&P: 677
“This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now”
found in:
UMH: 608
LBW: 195
ELA: 448
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
found in:
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
ELA: 587, 588
W&P: 61
AMEC: 78
STLT: 213
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale”
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song”
found in:
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELA: 403
Renew: 280
“I Am Loved”
found in:
CCB: 80
“O How He Loves You and Me”
found in:
CCB: 38
Renew: 27
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
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who redeems us and brings us back into your family: Grant us the grace to live as your children and to invite others to experience the joy of kinship; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are the one who redeems us and calls us back into your family. Send your Spirit upon us once more, that we may hear you call us “the beloved” and then go and call others to this joy. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to sense your love for us and for others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us by name, but we have not been listening to your voice. We have had our attention turned from you by the many voices of the world. Instead of love, we have been focused on fear and hatred. Instead of compassion, we have feasted on revenge. Instead of believing we are your beloved, we have tried to earn our status in this world. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may participate in your family with joy as we call others to you. Amen.
Leader: God’s heart is open to all the children of the earth, young and old. God calls us by name because we are beloved. Receive God’s love, forgiveness, and Spirit, so that you may know the peace of the Christ.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
All praise and glory to you, O God, who calls us your beloved children. You are love, and you lavish that love on your creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have called us by name, but we have not been listening to your voice. We have had our attention turned from you by the many voices of the world. Instead of love, we have been focused on fear and hatred. Instead of compassion, we have feasted on revenge. Instead of believing we are your beloved, we have tried to earn our status in this world. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may participate in your family with joy as we call others to you.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for those who have showed love and compassion for us. We thank you for family and friends and for our place in the Church where your love is so evident. Most of all we thank you for giving us Jesus, who teaches us about your love and grace.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our needs, and especially for those who do not know of your love. We pray for those whose lives are so filled with hatred and cruelty that they cannot hear the loving tone of your voice. We pray for ourselves, that we might be able not only to hear your voice of love but that we also might echo that love toward others.
(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
“I love you.” “You are special.” Those are wonderful words to hear; they are wonderful words to say. All of us like to hear the kinds of words that tell us we are special and that we are loved. Jesus heard those words from God when he was baptized. God speaks those words to us at our baptism and throughout our lives. (You might want to make signs for the children to take home and put on a bulletin board or on the fridge: “I am loved by God. I am special.”)
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Water, Water Everywhere
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Items needed: a large, clear bowl of clean, warm (not hot) water, and a towel
(When the children have settled in, dip your hands in the water and then let the children do so as well.) Today we’re going to talk about water. Water plays an important role in the Bible -- there are lots of stories about water.
In the very beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, when God is creating the earth -- at first it is covered by water. Then God parts the water and makes dry land for animals and people to live on.
And there’s the story of Noah who built the _____ (ark) and saved his family and the animals from the flood of _____ (water).
In the story of Moses, when he was a baby his sister and mother save his life by putting him in a basket that is watertight and setting him to float on the Nile River -- which is made of _____ (water) -- so he can be found by Pharaoh’s daughter.
Later, when Moses leads the people of Israel out of Egypt, God parts the Red Sea so the people can escape from Pharaoh’s army. And, as we know, the Red Sea is made up of _____ (water).
Let’s see, what are some other examples of water in the Bible?
* Joshua leads the people into the Promised Land by crossing through the Jordan River.
*When the people of Israel are captured and taken to Babylon to live, they live “by the rivers of Babylon” -- which are the Tigres and the Euphrates Rivers.
* Jesus was baptized by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River.
* He walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee, where Peter and Andrew and James and John earned their living as fishermen.
* And after his resurrection, Jesus meets his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and eats lunch with them.
So water is pretty important in the biblical story, isn’t it? And it’s important to us too!
There are so many things we need water for. Can you help me think of some of them?
* We drink it.
* We make drinks out of it, like coffee and tea and lemonade and even soda.
* We wash in it.
* We water our plants with it so we have beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables.
Water is so important to us that without it we would die!
In fact, our body is made up of about 75% water. That’s three-fourths of our body weight. So if you weigh 100 pounds, 75 pounds of that is water. And the earth is about the same. Nearly three-quarters of the earth is covered with water.
Water is a very important and necessary gift which God has given to us, a sign of God’s love for us. It’s no wonder that when we want to celebrate God’s love for us we do that with water. And often the way we use the water is for baptism.
So the next time you see someone get baptized in our church, or the next time you have a drink of water, or the next time you take a bath or shower, or water your mom’s flowers, will you remember that water is a gift from God? And will you remember that it is a sign of God’s love for us?
You will? Me too.
Close with a prayer thanking God for water and for God’s love and grace, which we remember whenever we see or use water.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 10, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
