Will We Suffer?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In this week's epistle text, Paul notes that "since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" -- and he outlines a powerful sequence of experiences in which we move from suffering to hope. Of course, there is a long tradition of persecution and martyrdom for those who dare to share the gospel -- but while this type of distress may well have been what Paul was specifically referring to, the paradigm he identifies also applies to a wide variety of human afflictions. When we have the hope that faith provides us with, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to forge ahead through difficult circumstances. Indeed, the character produced in us through suffering is similar to the process by which steel is tempered and strengthened. Yet the concept of redemptive suffering is one that modern Americans typically avoid. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Kate Murphy discusses the important role suffering plays in our faith, and why it's crucial for our people to understand that suffering can actually strengthen us. Kate points to the case of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea last year, as an important example of how a commitment to a greater purpose can produce hope in even the bleakest of circumstances -- and she suggests that Paul's words on God's love offer a powerful message to people who feel their lives are falling apart due to circumstances far beyond their control, whether the form it takes is economic, personal, or spiritual. It's precisely because, in Paul's words, "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" that we can have the courage to take on risk and suffering for a higher calling.
Team member Ron Love offers some additional thoughts on the gospel text's theme of the Holy Spirit as the spirit of truth, and its effect on us ("he will guide you into all the truth"). As the headlines have reminded us again this week, that's certainly an issue for many of our public figures, whose reliance on lies and misstatements demonstrate that they value expedience over wisdom. Whether it's the continued dissembling of BP executives regarding the severity and cause of the Gulf oil spill or the latest peccadilloes of our politicians, there are plenty of examples of untruthfulness. But as Ron reminds us, when the Holy Spirit works in our lives we are compelled to speak the truth -- and to do otherwise not only weakens the credibility of our message, but it also leads to suffering (which may build character but is only redemptive because of God's grace and forgiveness).
Will We Suffer?
by Kate Murphy
Romans 5:1-5
THE WORLD
On June 8, 2009, we all watched gratefully as Laura Ling and Euna Lee walked down the steps of a plane onto the jetway. The two journalists for Current TV had been imprisoned in North Korea for 140 days -- and they faced a sentence of 12 years hard labor for spying. Both women were clearly overwhelmed and overjoyed. But as I watched Ms. Lee hug her 4-year-old daughter Hana (who stood stiffly in her mother's tearful embrace), I realized this wasn't a simple "and they lived happily ever after" moment. Here was a mother who had lost 6 months of her daughter's life, a mother who sat in a prison cell every day facing the very real possibility that she might miss her daughter's entire childhood, a mother who would now have to explain to her daughter why she chose to do such dangerous work, why she risked inflicting such suffering upon her family.
Why did these two women go to North Korea?
Laura Ling and her sister Lisa Ling (the prominent actress who worked tirelessly to publicize the women's plight and secure their release) appeared this past week on several high-profile talk shows, including Oprah Winfrey, public radio's Fresh Air, Today, and CNN's Larry King Live , to discuss their experience and try to answer that question.
Laura explains: "We were covering a story about North Korean defectors, people who are fleeing the very desperate conditions in North Korea -- mass starvation, a brutal dictatorship -- and they're crossing over into China. Now, many of these defectors are women, and many of these women are trafficked into really horrendous situations in neighboring China. They are forced into marriages. They are lured into the prostitution industry. And because China does not regard North Korean defectors as refugees... they will send them back across the border to North Korea if they are caught. And that means that these people face certain punishment. They will be sent to North Korea's notorious labor camps and possibly face torture or worse. That's the story I was trying to bring to light for Current TV."
Laura Ling and Euna Lee are journalists. They have a calling. They believe the work they do is so important that they are willing to risk what is most dear to them in order to complete it. When they began working to tell the story of North Korean defectors, they knew there was a very real chance they would be imprisoned. Yet they chose to do the story anyway. In all of the interviews they have given since their ordeal, they've never expressed outrage over their imprisonment. They knew the risks, and they accepted them in order to do their work. They had such a passion for journalism that they were willing to suffer.
Christians used to be willing to suffer too. We used to understand that if we wished to follow Jesus, suffering was more than a risk -- it was inevitable. Suffering was so much a part of the Christian experience that Paul had to reassure the church that "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us" (Romans 5:3-5). But how many of us have the courage and passion for Christ necessary to risk 140 days of solitary confinement? How many of us would risk turning up for worship if it meant separation from our children or the loss of our jobs? Historically, church attendance has risen during times of crisis. People found strength and hope through faith in Christ during the Great Depression and the World Wars.
But just the opposite seems to be happening these days. Many of our members wonder why they should bother with the God who seems -- after six months of unemployment, a child's descent into addiction, a bleak medical diagnosis -- to have abandoned them. Modern Christians have somehow gotten the poisonous idea that loving God means they will never have to suffer, and so their faith crumbles just at the time they need it most.
We live in an age when suffering, even in its most temporary and benign forms, is perceived to be unnecessary. We are not willing to exercise to lose weight or to forgo junk food to become healthy. Our parishioners are not even willing to suffer through a hymn they don't like during worship. Somehow we've gotten the idea that because God loves us, we are entitled to a life of uninterrupted bliss. So this week's lectionary passage offends and confuses us. Paul shocks us with a radically countercultural perspective on faith and suffering. What can his words teach us in these desperate days?
THE WORD
The apostle Paul's letter to the Romans is a letter of introduction. It is his curriculum vitae for the church in Rome -- a church he did not plant but intends to minister to anyway. Unlike his other letters, it is not written in response to a particular problem which has cropped up. Rather, it is a systematic theology, a primer of faith. Since he did not introduce them to the gospel, Paul is giving the Roman church his version of the faith, both to prove his authenticity and to correct any errors in the theology of the founding apostles.
This letter is composed particularly for believers in Rome -- the most sophisticated, technologically-advanced, and powerful city of its day. It was a city with a shrine on every street corner, where thousands of priests compete for the attention and devotion of its citizens. (Sound familiar?) Paul is writing to make sure the Roman church understands what discipleship is and also what it is not. Jesus Christ is different from all the other gods of the marketplace. Our Lord is not exchanging divine favors for treats and trinkets left on altars, not doling out power in proportion to ritual acts of devotion. Unlike followers of other gods, disciples of Jesus Christ need not live in constant anxiety, fearing the consequences of fickle gods who grow bored or distracted. Paul reassures the Romans that through Christ, "we are justified by faith" and so "we have peace with God." Because of Christ, we need not approach God in a frenzy of fearful bowing. Because of Christ, "we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand" before God. In Christ, we receive hope that one day we too will share "the glory of God." Paul encourages the church in Rome to boast about these promises from God -- and that makes sense to us. Who wouldn't rejoice upon receiving such good news?
But there is more -- and here is where it gets confusing and offensive for us. Paul goes on to say that disciples certainly must rejoice in the gospel's promise of salvation, but "not only [in] that." Disciples of Christ must "also boast in our sufferings." Paul instructs the church that their boasting must not stop with their blessings. They are also to rejoice and brag about it when they suffer.
Really? Has Paul forgotten that Rome is one giant spiritual buffet full of competing religious entrees? Who would chose a plate of Christ-flavored misery when they could opt instead for Zeus' unlimited power or the passion of Aphrodite? What kind of God allows his followers to suffer, much less instructs them to brag about their misery? That's no way to win new converts! Any God who wants to win significant market share in Rome's religious economy had better promise freedom from want and perpetual bliss. And when devotees suffer, the threat of punishment should convince them to keep quiet about it -- it's bad for the divine image.
But unlike other shrine preachers, Paul isn't selling anybody anything. He is only announcing the truth which God in Christ has revealed to him. Disciples in Christ receive salvation and peace with God, not because of the force of their devotion, not because they happen to have pleased a fickle god -- but because God so loved the world he gave his only son Jesus the Christ who has accomplished salvation on our behalf and offers it as a free gift. This is the good news.
And we will suffer. This is the real news. Salvation has been accomplished, but the fallen world has not yet been redeemed. Until it is -- and it will be -- those who God loves will continue to suffer. Even when we lead holy lives which are completely pleasing to God, as Jesus himself did, there will be times in which we suffer... because, much as we would like to believe otherwise, suffering and pain are not punishment -- they are irrevocably part of this age. And Paul has no need to lie about it to the church.
But there is good news still. Paul entreats the church to rejoice in their suffering -- not because he wishes us to be sadists, but because there is actual cause for rejoicing. We boast in our suffering because we do not go through our trials alone -- Christ is still with us in our pain, God's promises still apply to these times. We rejoice even in our deepest pain because we remember God's audacious track record of bringing new life out of sin and death. God has promised us that in Christ "all things work together for good." All things. So when terrible things happen in our lives -- even when they happen because of our own sinful stupidity, we can rejoice because the goodness and love of God is more powerful than our brokenness. Out of our deepest suffering and despair will come something holy and good. Paul believes the spiritual chain reaction looks something like this: "suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us."
CRAFTING THE SERMON
We live in an age of indignant denial. Every time we turn around someone is promising us that if we buy this or use that, our lives will be perfect. The myth of technology assures us that it is only a matter of time before someone makes the next scientific breakthrough or creates the next biochemical engineering gadget that will solve all our problems. Life without pain, at least for people who look and think like us, is ever on the horizon -- seemingly just about within our reach.
But as long as we live in this world, there will be suffering. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell us something. This is a hard and necessary truth -- and it is rarely proclaimed anymore, even from the pulpit. How many of the folks in our congregations have been paralyzed in their faith journeys by the lie that it is possible to avoid serious suffering if you keep your head down and avoid challenging the powers and principalities of this age? Christians need to hear this truth proclaimed from the pulpit: following Christ is risky; it will bring you suffering and death. BUT, so will not following Christ. The lesser gods of this world, the idols we worship and seek to appease -- they will betray and wound us. A life free of suffering is not an option. The question for believers is not "How can we avoid suffering?" or its tragic counterpart "What can I buy or ingest to render me insensitive to it?" The questions for believers are: "How shall we live when we suffer? And what is worth suffering for?"
Which brings me back to Laura Ling and Euna Lee. These two women believe in their work. They have decided that telling the stories of suffering people is so important that they themselves are willing to suffer to do so. And I want to know, where is such passion within the Christian community? We tell ourselves that following Christ simply requires living however we please, with an occasional pause to announce "Christ died for your sins" to unsuspecting bystanders. This milquetoast version of discipleship is seductive blasphemy because it will rarely lead anyone into danger. But, of course, that isn't what life looks like when you take up a cross and follow Christ.
Journalists like Laura Ling and Euna Lee are willing to suffer to bring us the painful true stories about the suffering of God's people. The question is, are Christians like you and me willing to suffer in order to respond to the brokenness of the world with the embodied gospel of Jesus Christ?
ANOTHER VIEW
The Immeasurable Value of Truth
by Ronald H. Love
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:12-15
THE WORD IN THE WORLD
"Talk is cheap, but try to buy it back." It was just an offhand remark my fourth-grade Sunday school teacher made in class some five decades ago, yet I remember it to this day. In fact, that littlie "momism" has guided me through life. It is so easy to say something -- but the cost of the remark can be immeasurable, especially when what was said is not true. Sometimes it goes almost unnoticed, but in more cases than not it can ruin a reputation and a career. Cheap talk is a failure to act responsibly. It can span the range from that little white lie to a cover-up scheme. It can be words of inappropriate criticism, unfair blaming, a misrepresentation of facts, or hypocrisy. The cheap talk may also be one not of words, but conveyed instead through body language or a misrepresentation of one's image. Yet in all cases, the speaker's reputation is forever in jeopardy and the recipient is forever degraded. Sometimes it can be bought back with a quick apology, but in most cases nothing can be said or done to repair the heartache and restore the damage created. The cost of restoration could be deemed as unaffordable. The speaker, in character alone, is bankrupt.
Lies and misstatements throughout history usually come to the forefront, but never with such regularity as in today's society with the instantaneous technological reach of YouTube -- a fact underlined by a wave of recent headlines:
* Indiana Rep. Mark Souder resigned his congressional seat after it was revealed that this strong proponent of "abstinence education" (who the Washington Post described as "known for his support of traditional family values") was having an affair with a young staffer. The cost -- eight terms in Congress.
* It was discovered that Connecticut Attorney General and senatorial candidate Richard Blumenthal never served in Vietnam, as he claimed in a recent speech. Further investigation revealed that this was an often-repeated misrepresentation in Blumenthal's speeches over the years.
* The public yearns for one or all of the CEOs involved in the Gulf oil spill to admit some responsibility, rather than accusing each other. This distasteful behavior was on public display at a recent congressional hearing where BP, Transocean, and Halliburton executives attempted to shift the blame to one another.
* Despite a slew of follow-up denials and clarifications, Kentucky senatorial candidate Rand Paul is having a great deal of difficulty separating himself from the inference that he believes privately owned restaurants, if the owner so chooses, ought to be segregated.
* Actress Jennifer Aniston is demanding more "print adjustments" to the movie The Switch, so she appears on screen younger than her age of 41.
So what has been gained? What has been lost?
The price of buying back an untruth should keep us all alert to what is being said and done around us. But the real cost of truth is selling it. A recent New York Times article examined the price being paid by Russian journalists who dare to speak the truth by denunciating corruption and political oppression. The article cited the example of Mikhail Beketov, who was the editor of the newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda (Khimki Truth). Beketov wrote regularly about corruption among local officials, and was exposing dubious land deals. As he kept reporting, one day his dog was found dead on his porch. Another day his car was blown up. Then he was beaten so badly that not only were three fingers and a leg amputated, but he also has such severe brain damage that he cannot speak and he is confined to a wheelchair at the age of 52. The beating was recorded as a robbery, though no money (only newsprint) was stolen. There is a cost to selling the truth, but the return on the investment is immeasurable.
Our gospel lesson this week states that "the Spirit of truth comes, [and] he will guide you into all the truth." The message for Trinity Sunday is that the Holy Spirit will continually reveal the truth of Jesus the Christ to us. This means as we live in a changing and constantly emerging culture the scriptures will not remain static, but can be applied to our current circumstances. The litmus test for understanding a correct interpretation of the Holy Spirit is if it brings glory to God.
Yet this still requires discernment. That is why it is paramount we also study this week's reading from Proverbs 8. The chapter personifies wisdom. It opens by saying she stands at the gate where the roads come together. It is here that evil dwells, and she will raise her voice above evil for all mankind to hear. The question, as the remaining chapter discusses, is whether we will listen. This places the hearer in a difficult situation, for as we all know, determining which course of action is best requires the wisdom of discretion. This process is highlighted by a recent roundtable on President Obama's Afghanistan strategy that appeared in the Washington Post. Six experts presented differing assessments on the success or failure (or "too soon to know") of the military surge in Afghanistan. Each one spoke truthfully as they understood the facts; it is the requirement of the informed reader to discern who is the wisest. And this, like so many other issues, cannot simply be brushed aside -- for lives and properties are at stake. Discretion, we pray, comes with the leading of the Holy Spirit. But we are assured that "those who seek me find me." And those who find wisdom will "make laws that are just."
SERMON OUTLINE
Here is a possible sermon outline addressing this theme:
I. Discuss the importance of truth as it relates to character. You may want to share the problems that not telling the truth can cause, and contrast that with how truth-telling can promote justice and equality.
II. In our desire to speak the truth to a constantly evolving culture, the scriptures remain a dynamic representation of the message of Jesus as the Holy Spirit instructs us. You may want to share ways in which we can be receptive to the "speaking" of the Holy Spirit.
III. Truth cannot stand alone, for it must be coupled with wisdom. From Proverbs 8 we learn the characteristics of wisdom. Wisdom speaks louder than evil. Wisdom was present with God prior to creation, which is a theme repeated in the prologue to the Gospel of John. Wisdom is our most valued possession -- and when we are able to acquire wisdom, we will act in a just and righteous manner. You may want to share with the congregation how we can use the resources of the church to know if we are properly employing wisdom, rather than pretending to act wisely for personal gain.
IV. If we listen to the Holy Spirit and seek wisdom, then as Christians we will be in the position of selling truth and not buying back untruth.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From paper cuts and mosquito bites to the ravages of cancer and the death of a loved one, suffering is a fact of life that all religions try to make sense of.
In Hinduism, suffering is seen as the result of karmic debt owed from a prior incarnation; we suffer through, building up "good karma" to balance out what is, ultimately, our own personal fault.
To Buddhists, life is suffering because we desire; this desire must be extinguished by walking the Eightfold Noble Path of right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right thought, and right meditation.
In Islam, suffering is seen as the result of Allah's positive will ("Verily We have created man into toil and struggle" -- Qu'ran 90:4).
In Rabbinical Judaism, suffering is seen as everything from senseless to positively willed by God to (for some self-described "Torah-true" Jews) a result of Jewish disobedience.
For some brands of Protestantism, suffering is always the result of personal sin ("You're sick? You shouldn't have been playing cards..."), and God wants only "health and wealth" for His people as long as they "believe" (and "plant seeds" by sending a "love gift" to some televangelist).
One ancient and venerable practice in the Christian tradition is "offering it up." We offer our suffering to God as a gift and ask God to use our suffering for some positive purpose. Perhaps God will use it to make us better servants of those who suffer. Or maybe God will use it to bring some other soul a sense of meaning and purpose for their own trials. Or maybe God will allow us to find, in our suffering, a powerful witness to others who suffer.
However God chooses to use our suffering, our "offering it up" gives it meaning that we might not have otherwise found.
-- www.fisheaters.com
* * *
Many people would be ready to accept suffering so long as they were not inconvenienced by it. "I wouldn't be bothered by poverty," says one, "if it didn't keep me from helping my friends, educating my children, and living respectably."
"It wouldn't bother me," says another, "so long as people didn't think it was my own fault." Or another would be willing to suffer evil lies told about him as long as no one believed his detractors.
-- St. Francis DeSales
* * *
On a "senior and single" cruise a gentleman noticed an attractive lady as he was boarding the ship and offered a smile and a brief greeting. She returned his smile with genuine warmth, and hoping after hope, he managed to find a way to be seated at the same table with her that night at dinner.
He introduced himself and told the lady that he was taken with the brightness and warmth of her smile. She said, "I hoped I wasn't being too forward, but I just couldn't help but smile at you. You see, you bear a striking resemblance to my third husband."
"Oh," the man said, "how many times have you been married?"
She smiled that smile again and said, "Twice."
* * *
Several years ago a young teacher took a job as a tutor at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. On her first day she received a note from an English teacher asking her to visit a certain young boy and help him work on his adjectives and adverbs.
She was surprised to find the boy in the burn unit of the hospital, covered with hideous burns and in great pain. The last thing he needs, she thought, is adjectives and adverbs. But that was her job, and so she went to it. She entered the unit, put on the sanitary gown provided for her, and introduced herself. "I'm the hospital tutor, and I have a note from your teacher to work on your adverbs and adjectives so you don't fall to far behind."
The next day she returned to the unit and was stopped by a nurse. "What did you do to that boy?" The young tutor started to defend herself and apologize when the nurse stopped her. "No, no. It's not bad; it's good! He has started responding to treatment. He's fighting to live. Whatever you did, keep doing it."
Later, the boy explained to his tutor: "I figured I was going to die. But you showed up and I thought, 'Well, I guess they wouldn't want me to learn adjectives and adverbs if I was going to die. So I went to work on getting well."
* * *
Anthropologist Margaret Mead used to tell the story of another anthropologist who went abroad to study a native people who, it was reported, were mired in poverty and misery. His goal was to see what sustained them in such dire circumstances.
When he arrived at the island where these people were said to live, he found them dancing and singing around a big bonfire on the beach. The huts they lived in were small and miserable; their food supply was meager at best. The island was covered with forest so thick it was nearly impenetrable. There was no medical care, no schools, nothing about which these people should be happy. Yet here they were, dancing and singing, as happy as larks. When there came a break in the music he asked them what they had to be so happy about that they should be dancing and singing like this.
The head man of the village answered: "Oh sir, we do not dance because we are happy. We are happy because we dance."
* * *
Hope, it has been said, is the primary ingredient in making a good biscuit.
Taken by themselves, flour, baking powder, salt, raw egg, and the other ingredients don't taste at all good. But when put together in the proper order and amounts, they produce a delicious biscuit.
The Christian approaches life as though it were a biscuit yet to be made. All of the ingredients are not necessarily tasty or enjoyable on their own, but put together in the right order and in the right amounts by a skilled baker, they can produce a marvelous and authentic life.
* * *
Victor Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, tells of the triumph of hope in the midst of the worst suffering imaginable -- the Nazi concentrations camps.
In the camps cigarettes were often a form of barter and became like money. A person didn't dare smoke them because they were too valuable. Someone who lost hope and gave in to despair was said to be "smoking their cigarettes."
Hope, he says, was almost always tied to some future goal that was yet to be accomplished, some future event that was yet to be experienced. When a person no longer had a future to think about or look forward to, they would, without fail, smoke their cigarettes.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, our Sovereign, how majesty in your Name.
People: Your glory, O God, is above the heavens.
Leader: We look at the universe you have created
People: And we are in awe that you care for us.
Leader: You have made us only a little lower than yourself
People: And you have committed your creation to us.
OR
Leader: God calls us into worship and into life.
People: We have come to sing God's praises.
Leader: God lives not only in our praises but in our troubles.
People: It is not easy to see God in our problems.
Leader: If we look with faith, we see God incarnate in all of our lives.
People: We will look for God and follow Jesus every day.
Hymns and Songs
"I Want Jesus to Walk with Me"
UMH 521
PH 363
AAHH 563
NNBH 500
NCH 490
CH 627
"Saran am, Saranam"
UMH 523
CCB 73
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
UMH 526
PH 403
AAHH 430/431
NNBH 61
NCH 506
CH 585
LBW 439
"Nearer, My God, to Thee"
UMH 528
AAHH 163
NNBH 314
NCH 606
CH 577
"Be Still, My Soul"
UMH 534
AAHH 135
NNBH 263
NCH 488
CH 566
"I Need Thee Every Hour"
UMH 397
AAHH 451
NNBH 303
NCH 517
CH 578
"Jesus Calls Us"
UMH 398
H82 549/550
NNBH 183
NCH 171/172
CH 337
LBW 494
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
UMH 140
AAHH 158
NNBH 45
NCH 423
CH 86
Renew 249
"Through It All"
CCB 61
"Something Beautiful"
CCB 84
Music Resources Key
UMH United Methodist Hymnal
H82 The Hymnal 1982
PH Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH The New Century Hymnal
CH Chalice Hymnal
LBW Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God, you know that we are but creatures of the earth who know pain and suffering: Grant us the grace to endure our hardships that you may work in us to redeem them for our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
O God who is truth: Grant us the courage to live truthfully before you, ourselves and one another; though Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we deny that suffering is a part of life and the ways in which we blame people for their own suffering.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want life to be all smiles and good times. We want everything to be effortless and easy. When things don't go as we had hoped we complain that life is not fair to us because we do not deserve to have troubles. When these same things happen to others outside our little circle, we blame them for bringing on their own problems. We avoid those opportunities to grow by dealing with our setbacks in mature ways. We avoid those opportunities to grow in compassion for others who suffer. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may walk with Jesus through our difficulties and find new life as he did. Empower us to walk with others so they may find comfort and meaning in their own sufferings. Amen.
Leader: God, our loving Parent, wants us to grow into the beautiful adult children we were created to become. God grants us forgiveness and the Spirit of Jesus to empower us and enable to grow into the very likeness of our Savior.
Prayers of the People
You, O God, have created the world to be a place for your children to grow and mature. You have made this world to be a good place. You have filled it with beauty and with your own presence.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confessions has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want life to be all smiles and good times. We want everything to be effortless and easy. When things don't go as we had hoped we complain that life is not fair to us because we do not deserve to have troubles. When these same things happen to others outside our little circle, we blame them for bringing on their own problems. We avoid those opportunities to grow by dealing with our setbacks in mature ways. We avoid those opportunities to grow in compassion for others who suffer. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may walk with Jesus through our difficulties and find new life as he did. Empower us to walk with others so they may find comfort and meaning in their own sufferings.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which we find your love and grace surrounding us. We thank you for the good earth that provides not only for our needs but delights our senses with its beauty. We thank you for the Spirit of Jesus that guides us and helps us deal with difficulties that enter our lives. We thank you for the ability to reason and to see beyond the moment. We thank you that you created us to learn and to grow in spirit and mind as well as body.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for each other in our need and for all who suffer this day. We pray that where it is possible to overcome that suffering, healing, wholeness, and truth will prevail. Where that suffering will not abate, we pray for comfort, strength, and the ability not let it destroy the spirit within.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father ... Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Visuals
pictures of natural disasters, war, hospitals, bread lines, lonely people surrounding a picture of Jesus
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children the story of Helen Keller or some other person who overcame great difficulties. Remind the children that God does not want anyone to be blind or to suffer but we always have a choice, we can fight and be nasty to people like Helen did when things don't go as we want or we can let God's love and grace help us overcome by being better people.
CHILDREN'S SERMON What is Trinity?
John 16:12-15
Object: a glass of water
Good morning, boys and girls! Today is the First Sunday after Pentecost, which we also call Trinity Sunday. I know you've heard that word "Trinity" used a lot, but does anyone know what it means? (let them answer)
The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Now, since each is God, does that mean that we have three Gods? (let them answer) No, there is only one God, but He exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, that is a great mystery and we don't know how it can be, but it is true and we know that it's true because the Bible tells us so.
Jesus often talked about the Father and the Spirit and made it clear to people that he and the Spirit and God were all one. As I said, it is a great mystery and we can't explain it, but let me give you an example to help you understand a little about it.
What do I have here? (show the water and let them answer) Yes, this is a glass of water and it's a liquid. Now, what would happen to this water if I put it in a freezer? (let them answer) Yes, it would freeze. Would it look different than it does now? (let them answer) Yes, it would, but it would still be water. Now, what would happen to the water if I heated it up until it boiled? (let them answer) Well, it turns into a vapor and drifts off into the air. But, even though it turns into a vapor, it's still water. It looks and acts differently, but it's still water.
Maybe this will help you understand the Trinity; one God, but this one God shows Himself to us in three different persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as this water is only one, but can look different when it is frozen or boiled.
Prayer: Dearest God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we love you and we know that you love us. Help us to accept the mystery of your existence as three persons in one God even though we can't fully understand it. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 30, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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 Ron Love offers some additional thoughts on the gospel text's theme of the Holy Spirit as the spirit of truth, and its effect on us ("he will guide you into all the truth"). As the headlines have reminded us again this week, that's certainly an issue for many of our public figures, whose reliance on lies and misstatements demonstrate that they value expedience over wisdom. Whether it's the continued dissembling of BP executives regarding the severity and cause of the Gulf oil spill or the latest peccadilloes of our politicians, there are plenty of examples of untruthfulness. But as Ron reminds us, when the Holy Spirit works in our lives we are compelled to speak the truth -- and to do otherwise not only weakens the credibility of our message, but it also leads to suffering (which may build character but is only redemptive because of God's grace and forgiveness).
Will We Suffer?
by Kate Murphy
Romans 5:1-5
THE WORLD
On June 8, 2009, we all watched gratefully as Laura Ling and Euna Lee walked down the steps of a plane onto the jetway. The two journalists for Current TV had been imprisoned in North Korea for 140 days -- and they faced a sentence of 12 years hard labor for spying. Both women were clearly overwhelmed and overjoyed. But as I watched Ms. Lee hug her 4-year-old daughter Hana (who stood stiffly in her mother's tearful embrace), I realized this wasn't a simple "and they lived happily ever after" moment. Here was a mother who had lost 6 months of her daughter's life, a mother who sat in a prison cell every day facing the very real possibility that she might miss her daughter's entire childhood, a mother who would now have to explain to her daughter why she chose to do such dangerous work, why she risked inflicting such suffering upon her family.
Why did these two women go to North Korea?
Laura Ling and her sister Lisa Ling (the prominent actress who worked tirelessly to publicize the women's plight and secure their release) appeared this past week on several high-profile talk shows, including Oprah Winfrey, public radio's Fresh Air, Today, and CNN's Larry King Live , to discuss their experience and try to answer that question.
Laura explains: "We were covering a story about North Korean defectors, people who are fleeing the very desperate conditions in North Korea -- mass starvation, a brutal dictatorship -- and they're crossing over into China. Now, many of these defectors are women, and many of these women are trafficked into really horrendous situations in neighboring China. They are forced into marriages. They are lured into the prostitution industry. And because China does not regard North Korean defectors as refugees... they will send them back across the border to North Korea if they are caught. And that means that these people face certain punishment. They will be sent to North Korea's notorious labor camps and possibly face torture or worse. That's the story I was trying to bring to light for Current TV."
Laura Ling and Euna Lee are journalists. They have a calling. They believe the work they do is so important that they are willing to risk what is most dear to them in order to complete it. When they began working to tell the story of North Korean defectors, they knew there was a very real chance they would be imprisoned. Yet they chose to do the story anyway. In all of the interviews they have given since their ordeal, they've never expressed outrage over their imprisonment. They knew the risks, and they accepted them in order to do their work. They had such a passion for journalism that they were willing to suffer.
Christians used to be willing to suffer too. We used to understand that if we wished to follow Jesus, suffering was more than a risk -- it was inevitable. Suffering was so much a part of the Christian experience that Paul had to reassure the church that "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us" (Romans 5:3-5). But how many of us have the courage and passion for Christ necessary to risk 140 days of solitary confinement? How many of us would risk turning up for worship if it meant separation from our children or the loss of our jobs? Historically, church attendance has risen during times of crisis. People found strength and hope through faith in Christ during the Great Depression and the World Wars.
But just the opposite seems to be happening these days. Many of our members wonder why they should bother with the God who seems -- after six months of unemployment, a child's descent into addiction, a bleak medical diagnosis -- to have abandoned them. Modern Christians have somehow gotten the poisonous idea that loving God means they will never have to suffer, and so their faith crumbles just at the time they need it most.
We live in an age when suffering, even in its most temporary and benign forms, is perceived to be unnecessary. We are not willing to exercise to lose weight or to forgo junk food to become healthy. Our parishioners are not even willing to suffer through a hymn they don't like during worship. Somehow we've gotten the idea that because God loves us, we are entitled to a life of uninterrupted bliss. So this week's lectionary passage offends and confuses us. Paul shocks us with a radically countercultural perspective on faith and suffering. What can his words teach us in these desperate days?
THE WORD
The apostle Paul's letter to the Romans is a letter of introduction. It is his curriculum vitae for the church in Rome -- a church he did not plant but intends to minister to anyway. Unlike his other letters, it is not written in response to a particular problem which has cropped up. Rather, it is a systematic theology, a primer of faith. Since he did not introduce them to the gospel, Paul is giving the Roman church his version of the faith, both to prove his authenticity and to correct any errors in the theology of the founding apostles.
This letter is composed particularly for believers in Rome -- the most sophisticated, technologically-advanced, and powerful city of its day. It was a city with a shrine on every street corner, where thousands of priests compete for the attention and devotion of its citizens. (Sound familiar?) Paul is writing to make sure the Roman church understands what discipleship is and also what it is not. Jesus Christ is different from all the other gods of the marketplace. Our Lord is not exchanging divine favors for treats and trinkets left on altars, not doling out power in proportion to ritual acts of devotion. Unlike followers of other gods, disciples of Jesus Christ need not live in constant anxiety, fearing the consequences of fickle gods who grow bored or distracted. Paul reassures the Romans that through Christ, "we are justified by faith" and so "we have peace with God." Because of Christ, we need not approach God in a frenzy of fearful bowing. Because of Christ, "we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand" before God. In Christ, we receive hope that one day we too will share "the glory of God." Paul encourages the church in Rome to boast about these promises from God -- and that makes sense to us. Who wouldn't rejoice upon receiving such good news?
But there is more -- and here is where it gets confusing and offensive for us. Paul goes on to say that disciples certainly must rejoice in the gospel's promise of salvation, but "not only [in] that." Disciples of Christ must "also boast in our sufferings." Paul instructs the church that their boasting must not stop with their blessings. They are also to rejoice and brag about it when they suffer.
Really? Has Paul forgotten that Rome is one giant spiritual buffet full of competing religious entrees? Who would chose a plate of Christ-flavored misery when they could opt instead for Zeus' unlimited power or the passion of Aphrodite? What kind of God allows his followers to suffer, much less instructs them to brag about their misery? That's no way to win new converts! Any God who wants to win significant market share in Rome's religious economy had better promise freedom from want and perpetual bliss. And when devotees suffer, the threat of punishment should convince them to keep quiet about it -- it's bad for the divine image.
But unlike other shrine preachers, Paul isn't selling anybody anything. He is only announcing the truth which God in Christ has revealed to him. Disciples in Christ receive salvation and peace with God, not because of the force of their devotion, not because they happen to have pleased a fickle god -- but because God so loved the world he gave his only son Jesus the Christ who has accomplished salvation on our behalf and offers it as a free gift. This is the good news.
And we will suffer. This is the real news. Salvation has been accomplished, but the fallen world has not yet been redeemed. Until it is -- and it will be -- those who God loves will continue to suffer. Even when we lead holy lives which are completely pleasing to God, as Jesus himself did, there will be times in which we suffer... because, much as we would like to believe otherwise, suffering and pain are not punishment -- they are irrevocably part of this age. And Paul has no need to lie about it to the church.
But there is good news still. Paul entreats the church to rejoice in their suffering -- not because he wishes us to be sadists, but because there is actual cause for rejoicing. We boast in our suffering because we do not go through our trials alone -- Christ is still with us in our pain, God's promises still apply to these times. We rejoice even in our deepest pain because we remember God's audacious track record of bringing new life out of sin and death. God has promised us that in Christ "all things work together for good." All things. So when terrible things happen in our lives -- even when they happen because of our own sinful stupidity, we can rejoice because the goodness and love of God is more powerful than our brokenness. Out of our deepest suffering and despair will come something holy and good. Paul believes the spiritual chain reaction looks something like this: "suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us."
CRAFTING THE SERMON
We live in an age of indignant denial. Every time we turn around someone is promising us that if we buy this or use that, our lives will be perfect. The myth of technology assures us that it is only a matter of time before someone makes the next scientific breakthrough or creates the next biochemical engineering gadget that will solve all our problems. Life without pain, at least for people who look and think like us, is ever on the horizon -- seemingly just about within our reach.
But as long as we live in this world, there will be suffering. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell us something. This is a hard and necessary truth -- and it is rarely proclaimed anymore, even from the pulpit. How many of the folks in our congregations have been paralyzed in their faith journeys by the lie that it is possible to avoid serious suffering if you keep your head down and avoid challenging the powers and principalities of this age? Christians need to hear this truth proclaimed from the pulpit: following Christ is risky; it will bring you suffering and death. BUT, so will not following Christ. The lesser gods of this world, the idols we worship and seek to appease -- they will betray and wound us. A life free of suffering is not an option. The question for believers is not "How can we avoid suffering?" or its tragic counterpart "What can I buy or ingest to render me insensitive to it?" The questions for believers are: "How shall we live when we suffer? And what is worth suffering for?"
Which brings me back to Laura Ling and Euna Lee. These two women believe in their work. They have decided that telling the stories of suffering people is so important that they themselves are willing to suffer to do so. And I want to know, where is such passion within the Christian community? We tell ourselves that following Christ simply requires living however we please, with an occasional pause to announce "Christ died for your sins" to unsuspecting bystanders. This milquetoast version of discipleship is seductive blasphemy because it will rarely lead anyone into danger. But, of course, that isn't what life looks like when you take up a cross and follow Christ.
Journalists like Laura Ling and Euna Lee are willing to suffer to bring us the painful true stories about the suffering of God's people. The question is, are Christians like you and me willing to suffer in order to respond to the brokenness of the world with the embodied gospel of Jesus Christ?
ANOTHER VIEW
The Immeasurable Value of Truth
by Ronald H. Love
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:12-15
THE WORD IN THE WORLD
"Talk is cheap, but try to buy it back." It was just an offhand remark my fourth-grade Sunday school teacher made in class some five decades ago, yet I remember it to this day. In fact, that littlie "momism" has guided me through life. It is so easy to say something -- but the cost of the remark can be immeasurable, especially when what was said is not true. Sometimes it goes almost unnoticed, but in more cases than not it can ruin a reputation and a career. Cheap talk is a failure to act responsibly. It can span the range from that little white lie to a cover-up scheme. It can be words of inappropriate criticism, unfair blaming, a misrepresentation of facts, or hypocrisy. The cheap talk may also be one not of words, but conveyed instead through body language or a misrepresentation of one's image. Yet in all cases, the speaker's reputation is forever in jeopardy and the recipient is forever degraded. Sometimes it can be bought back with a quick apology, but in most cases nothing can be said or done to repair the heartache and restore the damage created. The cost of restoration could be deemed as unaffordable. The speaker, in character alone, is bankrupt.
Lies and misstatements throughout history usually come to the forefront, but never with such regularity as in today's society with the instantaneous technological reach of YouTube -- a fact underlined by a wave of recent headlines:
* Indiana Rep. Mark Souder resigned his congressional seat after it was revealed that this strong proponent of "abstinence education" (who the Washington Post described as "known for his support of traditional family values") was having an affair with a young staffer. The cost -- eight terms in Congress.
* It was discovered that Connecticut Attorney General and senatorial candidate Richard Blumenthal never served in Vietnam, as he claimed in a recent speech. Further investigation revealed that this was an often-repeated misrepresentation in Blumenthal's speeches over the years.
* The public yearns for one or all of the CEOs involved in the Gulf oil spill to admit some responsibility, rather than accusing each other. This distasteful behavior was on public display at a recent congressional hearing where BP, Transocean, and Halliburton executives attempted to shift the blame to one another.
* Despite a slew of follow-up denials and clarifications, Kentucky senatorial candidate Rand Paul is having a great deal of difficulty separating himself from the inference that he believes privately owned restaurants, if the owner so chooses, ought to be segregated.
* Actress Jennifer Aniston is demanding more "print adjustments" to the movie The Switch, so she appears on screen younger than her age of 41.
So what has been gained? What has been lost?
The price of buying back an untruth should keep us all alert to what is being said and done around us. But the real cost of truth is selling it. A recent New York Times article examined the price being paid by Russian journalists who dare to speak the truth by denunciating corruption and political oppression. The article cited the example of Mikhail Beketov, who was the editor of the newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda (Khimki Truth). Beketov wrote regularly about corruption among local officials, and was exposing dubious land deals. As he kept reporting, one day his dog was found dead on his porch. Another day his car was blown up. Then he was beaten so badly that not only were three fingers and a leg amputated, but he also has such severe brain damage that he cannot speak and he is confined to a wheelchair at the age of 52. The beating was recorded as a robbery, though no money (only newsprint) was stolen. There is a cost to selling the truth, but the return on the investment is immeasurable.
Our gospel lesson this week states that "the Spirit of truth comes, [and] he will guide you into all the truth." The message for Trinity Sunday is that the Holy Spirit will continually reveal the truth of Jesus the Christ to us. This means as we live in a changing and constantly emerging culture the scriptures will not remain static, but can be applied to our current circumstances. The litmus test for understanding a correct interpretation of the Holy Spirit is if it brings glory to God.
Yet this still requires discernment. That is why it is paramount we also study this week's reading from Proverbs 8. The chapter personifies wisdom. It opens by saying she stands at the gate where the roads come together. It is here that evil dwells, and she will raise her voice above evil for all mankind to hear. The question, as the remaining chapter discusses, is whether we will listen. This places the hearer in a difficult situation, for as we all know, determining which course of action is best requires the wisdom of discretion. This process is highlighted by a recent roundtable on President Obama's Afghanistan strategy that appeared in the Washington Post. Six experts presented differing assessments on the success or failure (or "too soon to know") of the military surge in Afghanistan. Each one spoke truthfully as they understood the facts; it is the requirement of the informed reader to discern who is the wisest. And this, like so many other issues, cannot simply be brushed aside -- for lives and properties are at stake. Discretion, we pray, comes with the leading of the Holy Spirit. But we are assured that "those who seek me find me." And those who find wisdom will "make laws that are just."
SERMON OUTLINE
Here is a possible sermon outline addressing this theme:
I. Discuss the importance of truth as it relates to character. You may want to share the problems that not telling the truth can cause, and contrast that with how truth-telling can promote justice and equality.
II. In our desire to speak the truth to a constantly evolving culture, the scriptures remain a dynamic representation of the message of Jesus as the Holy Spirit instructs us. You may want to share ways in which we can be receptive to the "speaking" of the Holy Spirit.
III. Truth cannot stand alone, for it must be coupled with wisdom. From Proverbs 8 we learn the characteristics of wisdom. Wisdom speaks louder than evil. Wisdom was present with God prior to creation, which is a theme repeated in the prologue to the Gospel of John. Wisdom is our most valued possession -- and when we are able to acquire wisdom, we will act in a just and righteous manner. You may want to share with the congregation how we can use the resources of the church to know if we are properly employing wisdom, rather than pretending to act wisely for personal gain.
IV. If we listen to the Holy Spirit and seek wisdom, then as Christians we will be in the position of selling truth and not buying back untruth.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From paper cuts and mosquito bites to the ravages of cancer and the death of a loved one, suffering is a fact of life that all religions try to make sense of.
In Hinduism, suffering is seen as the result of karmic debt owed from a prior incarnation; we suffer through, building up "good karma" to balance out what is, ultimately, our own personal fault.
To Buddhists, life is suffering because we desire; this desire must be extinguished by walking the Eightfold Noble Path of right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right thought, and right meditation.
In Islam, suffering is seen as the result of Allah's positive will ("Verily We have created man into toil and struggle" -- Qu'ran 90:4).
In Rabbinical Judaism, suffering is seen as everything from senseless to positively willed by God to (for some self-described "Torah-true" Jews) a result of Jewish disobedience.
For some brands of Protestantism, suffering is always the result of personal sin ("You're sick? You shouldn't have been playing cards..."), and God wants only "health and wealth" for His people as long as they "believe" (and "plant seeds" by sending a "love gift" to some televangelist).
One ancient and venerable practice in the Christian tradition is "offering it up." We offer our suffering to God as a gift and ask God to use our suffering for some positive purpose. Perhaps God will use it to make us better servants of those who suffer. Or maybe God will use it to bring some other soul a sense of meaning and purpose for their own trials. Or maybe God will allow us to find, in our suffering, a powerful witness to others who suffer.
However God chooses to use our suffering, our "offering it up" gives it meaning that we might not have otherwise found.
-- www.fisheaters.com
* * *
Many people would be ready to accept suffering so long as they were not inconvenienced by it. "I wouldn't be bothered by poverty," says one, "if it didn't keep me from helping my friends, educating my children, and living respectably."
"It wouldn't bother me," says another, "so long as people didn't think it was my own fault." Or another would be willing to suffer evil lies told about him as long as no one believed his detractors.
-- St. Francis DeSales
* * *
On a "senior and single" cruise a gentleman noticed an attractive lady as he was boarding the ship and offered a smile and a brief greeting. She returned his smile with genuine warmth, and hoping after hope, he managed to find a way to be seated at the same table with her that night at dinner.
He introduced himself and told the lady that he was taken with the brightness and warmth of her smile. She said, "I hoped I wasn't being too forward, but I just couldn't help but smile at you. You see, you bear a striking resemblance to my third husband."
"Oh," the man said, "how many times have you been married?"
She smiled that smile again and said, "Twice."
* * *
Several years ago a young teacher took a job as a tutor at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. On her first day she received a note from an English teacher asking her to visit a certain young boy and help him work on his adjectives and adverbs.
She was surprised to find the boy in the burn unit of the hospital, covered with hideous burns and in great pain. The last thing he needs, she thought, is adjectives and adverbs. But that was her job, and so she went to it. She entered the unit, put on the sanitary gown provided for her, and introduced herself. "I'm the hospital tutor, and I have a note from your teacher to work on your adverbs and adjectives so you don't fall to far behind."
The next day she returned to the unit and was stopped by a nurse. "What did you do to that boy?" The young tutor started to defend herself and apologize when the nurse stopped her. "No, no. It's not bad; it's good! He has started responding to treatment. He's fighting to live. Whatever you did, keep doing it."
Later, the boy explained to his tutor: "I figured I was going to die. But you showed up and I thought, 'Well, I guess they wouldn't want me to learn adjectives and adverbs if I was going to die. So I went to work on getting well."
* * *
Anthropologist Margaret Mead used to tell the story of another anthropologist who went abroad to study a native people who, it was reported, were mired in poverty and misery. His goal was to see what sustained them in such dire circumstances.
When he arrived at the island where these people were said to live, he found them dancing and singing around a big bonfire on the beach. The huts they lived in were small and miserable; their food supply was meager at best. The island was covered with forest so thick it was nearly impenetrable. There was no medical care, no schools, nothing about which these people should be happy. Yet here they were, dancing and singing, as happy as larks. When there came a break in the music he asked them what they had to be so happy about that they should be dancing and singing like this.
The head man of the village answered: "Oh sir, we do not dance because we are happy. We are happy because we dance."
* * *
Hope, it has been said, is the primary ingredient in making a good biscuit.
Taken by themselves, flour, baking powder, salt, raw egg, and the other ingredients don't taste at all good. But when put together in the proper order and amounts, they produce a delicious biscuit.
The Christian approaches life as though it were a biscuit yet to be made. All of the ingredients are not necessarily tasty or enjoyable on their own, but put together in the right order and in the right amounts by a skilled baker, they can produce a marvelous and authentic life.
* * *
Victor Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, tells of the triumph of hope in the midst of the worst suffering imaginable -- the Nazi concentrations camps.
In the camps cigarettes were often a form of barter and became like money. A person didn't dare smoke them because they were too valuable. Someone who lost hope and gave in to despair was said to be "smoking their cigarettes."
Hope, he says, was almost always tied to some future goal that was yet to be accomplished, some future event that was yet to be experienced. When a person no longer had a future to think about or look forward to, they would, without fail, smoke their cigarettes.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, our Sovereign, how majesty in your Name.
People: Your glory, O God, is above the heavens.
Leader: We look at the universe you have created
People: And we are in awe that you care for us.
Leader: You have made us only a little lower than yourself
People: And you have committed your creation to us.
OR
Leader: God calls us into worship and into life.
People: We have come to sing God's praises.
Leader: God lives not only in our praises but in our troubles.
People: It is not easy to see God in our problems.
Leader: If we look with faith, we see God incarnate in all of our lives.
People: We will look for God and follow Jesus every day.
Hymns and Songs
"I Want Jesus to Walk with Me"
UMH 521
PH 363
AAHH 563
NNBH 500
NCH 490
CH 627
"Saran am, Saranam"
UMH 523
CCB 73
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
UMH 526
PH 403
AAHH 430/431
NNBH 61
NCH 506
CH 585
LBW 439
"Nearer, My God, to Thee"
UMH 528
AAHH 163
NNBH 314
NCH 606
CH 577
"Be Still, My Soul"
UMH 534
AAHH 135
NNBH 263
NCH 488
CH 566
"I Need Thee Every Hour"
UMH 397
AAHH 451
NNBH 303
NCH 517
CH 578
"Jesus Calls Us"
UMH 398
H82 549/550
NNBH 183
NCH 171/172
CH 337
LBW 494
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
UMH 140
AAHH 158
NNBH 45
NCH 423
CH 86
Renew 249
"Through It All"
CCB 61
"Something Beautiful"
CCB 84
Music Resources Key
UMH United Methodist Hymnal
H82 The Hymnal 1982
PH Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH The New Century Hymnal
CH Chalice Hymnal
LBW Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God, you know that we are but creatures of the earth who know pain and suffering: Grant us the grace to endure our hardships that you may work in us to redeem them for our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
O God who is truth: Grant us the courage to live truthfully before you, ourselves and one another; though Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we deny that suffering is a part of life and the ways in which we blame people for their own suffering.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want life to be all smiles and good times. We want everything to be effortless and easy. When things don't go as we had hoped we complain that life is not fair to us because we do not deserve to have troubles. When these same things happen to others outside our little circle, we blame them for bringing on their own problems. We avoid those opportunities to grow by dealing with our setbacks in mature ways. We avoid those opportunities to grow in compassion for others who suffer. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may walk with Jesus through our difficulties and find new life as he did. Empower us to walk with others so they may find comfort and meaning in their own sufferings. Amen.
Leader: God, our loving Parent, wants us to grow into the beautiful adult children we were created to become. God grants us forgiveness and the Spirit of Jesus to empower us and enable to grow into the very likeness of our Savior.
Prayers of the People
You, O God, have created the world to be a place for your children to grow and mature. You have made this world to be a good place. You have filled it with beauty and with your own presence.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confessions has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want life to be all smiles and good times. We want everything to be effortless and easy. When things don't go as we had hoped we complain that life is not fair to us because we do not deserve to have troubles. When these same things happen to others outside our little circle, we blame them for bringing on their own problems. We avoid those opportunities to grow by dealing with our setbacks in mature ways. We avoid those opportunities to grow in compassion for others who suffer. Forgive us and empower us with your Spirit that we may walk with Jesus through our difficulties and find new life as he did. Empower us to walk with others so they may find comfort and meaning in their own sufferings.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which we find your love and grace surrounding us. We thank you for the good earth that provides not only for our needs but delights our senses with its beauty. We thank you for the Spirit of Jesus that guides us and helps us deal with difficulties that enter our lives. We thank you for the ability to reason and to see beyond the moment. We thank you that you created us to learn and to grow in spirit and mind as well as body.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for each other in our need and for all who suffer this day. We pray that where it is possible to overcome that suffering, healing, wholeness, and truth will prevail. Where that suffering will not abate, we pray for comfort, strength, and the ability not let it destroy the spirit within.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father ... Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Visuals
pictures of natural disasters, war, hospitals, bread lines, lonely people surrounding a picture of Jesus
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children the story of Helen Keller or some other person who overcame great difficulties. Remind the children that God does not want anyone to be blind or to suffer but we always have a choice, we can fight and be nasty to people like Helen did when things don't go as we want or we can let God's love and grace help us overcome by being better people.
CHILDREN'S SERMON What is Trinity?
John 16:12-15
Object: a glass of water
Good morning, boys and girls! Today is the First Sunday after Pentecost, which we also call Trinity Sunday. I know you've heard that word "Trinity" used a lot, but does anyone know what it means? (let them answer)
The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Now, since each is God, does that mean that we have three Gods? (let them answer) No, there is only one God, but He exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, that is a great mystery and we don't know how it can be, but it is true and we know that it's true because the Bible tells us so.
Jesus often talked about the Father and the Spirit and made it clear to people that he and the Spirit and God were all one. As I said, it is a great mystery and we can't explain it, but let me give you an example to help you understand a little about it.
What do I have here? (show the water and let them answer) Yes, this is a glass of water and it's a liquid. Now, what would happen to this water if I put it in a freezer? (let them answer) Yes, it would freeze. Would it look different than it does now? (let them answer) Yes, it would, but it would still be water. Now, what would happen to the water if I heated it up until it boiled? (let them answer) Well, it turns into a vapor and drifts off into the air. But, even though it turns into a vapor, it's still water. It looks and acts differently, but it's still water.
Maybe this will help you understand the Trinity; one God, but this one God shows Himself to us in three different persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as this water is only one, but can look different when it is frozen or boiled.
Prayer: Dearest God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we love you and we know that you love us. Help us to accept the mystery of your existence as three persons in one God even though we can't fully understand it. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, May 30, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 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.
