Contributed by Pastor Seth Moland-Kovash
All Saints Lutheran Church
Palatine, IL

Warm-up Question:  How easy do you find it to forgive a friend when something bad happens that is clearly their fault?

Finding fault and placing blame are things that all people do. Somehow it just seems to make us feel better when we can place the blame for someone on someone’s shoulders. Of course, it only serves to make us feel comfortable if we can place the blame on someone else’s shoulders. There are times when placing blame isn’t just a matter of words, but of serious consequences: sometimes thousands or millions of dollars, or other punishments.

One way that this happens is through medical malpractice lawsuits. A doctor or hospital can be sued for malpractice if a mistake is made in treating a patient or something is overlooked that should have been seen or treated.

One current proposal that is part of the debate on the healthcare system as a whole is to limit the amount of money that could be awarded to patients or families in malpractice cases. Called “tort reform,” one proposal would limit the amount of money that people could win to $500,000 for punitive damages and $250,000 for “pain and suffering.” The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change would save the government $54 billion over the next 10 years.

Some say that the legal awards need to be limited to be reasonable and to cut the costs that doctors have to pay for malpractice insurance. Others say that there is no amount of money that should be considered too great for the family of someone who has died because of malpractice. 

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think? Should there be a limit on the amount of money that a doctor or hospital would have to pay in a malpractice case?
2. If someone you loved died because of a clear case of malpractice, how much money do you think would be a fair punishment?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 1, 2009 (All Saints Day).

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

• Isaiah 25:6-9 or Wisdom 3:1-9
• Psalm 24 (5)
• Revelation 21:1-6a
• John 11:32-44

Gospel Reflection

Lazarus was dead. He was dead and buried and in the tomb. Jesus was late. The emergency message had been sent, but Jesus wasn’t there at the right time. Mary (Lazarus’ sister) said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” What do you think that she felt Jesus could have done? Whether she was right or not, she felt that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had gotten there in time. Perhaps there was a hint of blame in her statement.

Where is God when it hurts? Why doesn’t God seem to be around to help me now like he helped all those people in the Bible? These are common questions that come to our minds when something bad happens. We want to know where God was and why God let that thing happen. In this story, we see that people even during the Bible times had the same experiences. Mary wanted to know why Jesus hadn’t gotten there in time. She wanted to know why this bad thing had to happen to her family. She was in pain.

And Jesus had healing for her pain. It wasn’t like anything she could have imagined. She imagined that, if Jesus had been able to get there before Lazarus died, then Jesus could have healed him. But once he was dead, Mary thought that was the end of the story.

Today, on All Saints Sunday, we remember again that death is not the end of the story for any of God’s saints. Your grandmothers and grandfathers, any of God’s children who have died, are alive again. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nothing can separate us from God’s love; not even death (Romans 8:37-39).

Discussion Questions

1. Tell about a time you were in pain and wondered whether God was even there.
2. Have you seen signs that God is there in painful times? What do those signs look like? (Hint: Look at the other people in the room… they may be the signs for you)

Activity Suggestion

Create an “All Saints” remembrance with your youth group. Bring a memento or photo that makes you think of someone who has died. Tell your friends about that person. Say, “I am thankful to God for ________ because __________.”

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the saints you have given us who have shown us your love and your mercy. Help us to continue to live as your faithful children until the day when we are reunited with all your saints. Amen.

(Or use the prayer for the “Rememberance of the faithful departed” found on page 82 of Evangelical Lutheran Worship.)

Contributed by Steven Alloway
Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question:  Have you ever been tricked into believing something that you found out later wasn’t true? How did you respond? What did you do when you found out?

The nation watched in shock and anxiety this past Thursday afternoon as a large, silver Mylar balloon swept across the Colorado skies. The balloon was believed to be carrying six-year-old Falcon Heene, whom his parents reported had climbed into the balloon that was tethered in their backyard, just before the knots were untied, releasing Falcon and the balloon into the air.

Four hours later, the balloon landed — empty. It was discovered that Falcon had been hiding in the attic of the garage the entire time. But now, authorities believe that the entire ordeal was actually a hoax, a publicity stunt orchestrated by his parents in the hope of securing a reality television show for their family.

Sheriff Jim Alderen says that suspicions of the hoax first arose when the Heene family was interviewed on CNN’s “Larry King Live”. 

Felony and misdemeanor charges are expected to be filed against Richard and Mayumi Heene, as well as an investigation by Child Protective Services.

Discussion Questions

1. Did you follow the news coverage of Falcon Heene and the balloon? Were you concerned for his safety? What’s your reaction now that it was all a hoax?
2. What do you think should happen to Richard and Mayumi Heene? Should they be found guilty? What should be done with their children?
3. With all the publicity surrounding these events, do you think the Heene family will ultimately be successful in their bid for a reality show? If so, would you watch the show? Why or why not?
4. How real is reality TV? How much do you trust the truth or reality of what goes on in “reality shows”?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 25, 2009.

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

• Jeremiah 31:7-9
• Psalm 126 (5)
• Hebrews 7:23-28
• Mark 10:46-52

Gospel Reflection

“I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” The words of this familiar hymn, Amazing Grace, of course do not refer to literal blindness. It’s about blindness to the truth about Jesus, the gospel. Earlier in the chapter, the Pharisees provide an example of this blindness. They ask Jesus a silly question to test him, to trip him up. They weren’t concerned about the truth. They were too busy with their own public image and reputation, and the fact that Jesus was making them look bad.

On the other hand, Bartimaeus had his eyes open before Jesus ever restored his physical sight. He had no doubt heard of Jesus’ ability to work miracles, and he too wanted to be healed. So as soon as he heard that Jesus was near, he cried out to him. And he continued to cry out! In spite of being scolded by those around him, he continued to call to Jesus to help him.

And Jesus took notice. He called Bartimaeus over to him, and restored his sight. And as he does, he tells him, “Your faith has made you well.” Miracles are all well and good, but without faith, what difference do they really make? Blind Bartimaeus saw the truth about Jesus: that this was the Son of David, the man who could make him whole again, both physically and spiritually.

Many today are still blind to the truth and good news of the gospel. At times, our own vision and faith can be a little weak. There is strong temptation and encouragement to make us think that the way of the world is the only path to take, the only way to be happy and whole; that the gospel, and even God, is a hoax.

We may look like fools shouting into the wind to some people when we cry out, “Jesus, have mercy on us!” But we must press on. We must continue to cry out for Jesus for mercy, healing, forgiveness, and love, no matter what anyone says or how we look.

We can trust that God does hear us. God answers. Where we were blind, we shall see… through faith.

Discussion Questions

1. Could Bartimaeus still have been healed physically had he not first been healed spiritually? Why or why not?
2. What are some ways that God uses our afflictions and weaknesses (and strengths) to help accomplish his mission and work?
3. What are some ways that we can help share and illuminate God’s promises and truth with others, including each other?
4. What makes our words and actions of witness trustworthy?

Activity Suggestion

Sing “Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #779. 

Do some research into famous hoaxes in history. An Internet search for “famous hoaxes” is a good place to start. Why did people believe them? How was the truth finally discovered? How does this compare with the truth of the gospel, and the claim by some people that it’s all a hoax or myth? Talk about what faith, trust, and belief mean, especially in relationship to proof and fact.

Closing Prayer

Lord, I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see. Let my eyes always be open, that I might not be blind to your truth and word. Help me to share your truth with others, so that they too might see and know your great love and healing. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Jay McDivitt
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Denver, CO

Warm-up Question: Do you ever wonder if your family can pay the bill when you are sick enough to need a doctor?

With just over a month until their August recess, Congress and the White House are working on what seems like an impossible ask: to compromise on a plan to provide health insurance to most, if not all, citizens of the U.S. (Currently, an estimated 47 million U.S. citizens do not have health insurance.) This issue is challenging for many reasons, including these:

• Medical providers, insurance companies, and lawyers have very different opinions regarding lawsuits and penalties for medical malpractice.
• Hospitals and doctors are worried about decreased payments for providing services to people who have government-supported health care (Medicaid, Medicare, etc.), and adding more people to these programs (or programs like them) will be very costly.
• Business leaders worry about the rising cost of providing health insurance for their employees, as well as the losses associated with employees getting sick.
• Churches and non-profit organizations who try to help people who have no health insurance are running out of money to do so, especially as the number of uninsured people continues to increase.
• Some people worry about adopting health care programs similar to those in other countries (throughout Europe and the Americas), because these programs will likely require increased taxes for some, if not many, U.S. citizens. Some people see this as the growth of a kind of “socialism” — a word with a long and difficult history in the U.S.
• Medical technology and research costs are very expensive, which accounts for much of the increased cost for health coverage. Many argue that these costs are necessary as an incentive for inventors and researchers.

There are many more challenges and opinions standing in the way of a compromise on health care reform. Very powerful people with lots of money are involved on all sides of the debate, and the members of Congress and the President are always worried about re-election. This conversation has been going on for a long time, at least since the early 1990s, but key leaders and the President are committed to finding an answer. Time will tell if that answer is available, but it will certainly be an interesting summer in Washington, D.C. And in the meantime, millions of Americans are deciding which is more important, groceries or medicine? Doctor visits or the rent?

Discussion Questions  

• How do you feel about the 47 million of our neighbors who don’t have health insurance? Who is responsible for their health? Who should pay for it?
• What are you hearing — from parents, pastors, teachers, peers, media — about the health care crisis?
• What do you think are the most important questions that Congress and the President should ask about this problem?
• Do you think health care (getting to see a doctor or getting medicines you need) is a “right” or a “privilege”? Why do you feel that way? [For example, the U.S. believes that voting is a “right” for all citizens (which means you can’t lose your right to vote except under extreme circumstances), but getting to drive is a “privilege” (you can lose the privilege of driving legally if you drive drunk or lose your ability to see clearly).]

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 28, 2009.

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

• Lamentations 3:22-33 or Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
• Psalm 30 (1)
• 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
• Mark 5:21-43

Gospel Reflection

Jesus has many titles: Messiah, Christ, Lord, to name only a few. But it is clear that everywhere Jesus went, he earned the reputation of being a healer.

Jairus, the leader of a synagogue, throws himself at Jesus’ feet and begs him to heal his little daughter because he has heard that if Jesus would only lay his hands on her, she would be “made well” or “healed”. And sure enough, even when everyone believes the girl has died, when Jesus takes her hand she stands up and walks.

In the middle of that story, a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years pushes her way through the crowd, believing that she only needs to touch Jesus’ clothes and she will be “made well.” Just a touch of the Healer’s clothing, and she is cured — even after spending every last dime on doctors and getting nothing but worse.

Healing stories always raise more questions than answers (see the discussion questions below). Nevertheless, we learn from these stories that it is impossible to separate God’s mission of saving the world through Jesus from God’s mission to do something about the real, physical pain and suffering that human bodies experience. We know that because in Greek, the language Mark wrote in, the word that is translated “made well” or “healed” is the same word that is translated elsewhere as “saved” (This happens in English, too: “salve” is a healing ointment, which obviously shares its root with the word “salvation.”). Health and salvation are inseparable in the mission of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, health and salvation are inseparable in the mission of the church of Jesus Christ as well. Our church (the ELCA) calls for “equitable access to health care for all” (See http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/Health-and-Healthcare.aspx for more information on what this church believes about health care.). How we achieve that is a matter of debate, but the end goal is clear: we cannot proclaim the message of salvation in Jesus Christ without also caring for the basic, bodily needs of our neighbors.

Getting there is a difficult and costly endeavor. But faithfulness has always been costly. Paul reminds the Corinthians of that in today’s second reading: “I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a questions of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little’” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15). That is, being the church means being willing to share so that everyone has enough. Paul was talking about sending money from Corinth to help those who were poor and hungry in Jerusalem, but fairness and equity are concerns that extend to all needs — physical, spiritual, emotional, or otherwise.

That sounds like an impossible task — and on our own, it is. Greed and need are sicknesses that are just as deadly as any other disease that Jesus encountered. But we believe that with Christ, all things are possible. Jesus the healer is Jesus the Savior, and God’s mission to save and heal the whole world will not stop until every corner of creation has felt the healing touch of Christ Jesus our Lord. And thanks be to God for that! Amen.

Discussion Questions

• How do you understand the difference between healing and a cure? What do you think God is able to do when people are suffering from physical illness? Does Jesus still heal people? Have you ever felt the presence of Jesus as a healer?
• What do you think is the connection between health and salvation?
• What does “fairness” mean when talking about health care, food, or other things that are necessary to sustain human life? What would fairness look like? How possible is it?
• What would Jesus think about the current debate about health care? How would Jesus feel about the 47 million people who are uninsured? What would he do about it? What should the church do about it?

Activity Suggestion

• Check out the ELCA Social Statement on Health Care (“Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor”). Summarize some of it in language that your youth will understand. Write letters to your representatives and the President about how you feel about health care reform.
• Arrange a conversation with a health care provider (nurse, doctor, etc.) who is also a Christian, or a chaplain who works in a health care facility. Ask them how their faith is connected to their work as a healer, to tell stories about “healing” or “cures,” or to discuss how they relate to people who are in need of health care but can’t afford it. Bring this person to youth group, or, better yet, take your youth group to the hospital chapel.
• Write “HEALTH” horizontally on a piece of paper, and “SALVATION” vertically, connecting either the “Ls” or the “As” to form a cross. Write a poem using these letters as starters, or make a collage/drawing/word picture about health and salvation. Discuss these pictures or poems together. Sing a hymn together about healing (e.g., “Healer of Our Every Ill,” # 612, Evangelical Lutheran Worship).

Closing Prayer

Jesus, with a touch or a word, you healed the sick and raised the dead. Surround us with your healing presence now. Help us to make your healing power known in every corner of creation, especially among those who cannot afford a doctor or life-saving medicines. Invite us and strengthen us to spread your healing and saving Word, until all people know about your grace, love, health, and salvation. Amen.

Contributed by Jay Gamelin
Pastor of Jacob’s Porch, Lutheran Campus Ministry to The Ohio State University

Warm-up Question: Share a time when something happened that was just not fair, that you had no control over. For instance, a car wreck, getting blamed for something you didn’t do, etc.

It seems all we hear about is news about the economy these days. When we hear all the news, we hope that somehow the biggest fallout will pass us by. We hope we will keep our jobs as long as we keep working hard, keep our heads down, and hang on. But for 1,100 Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler dealerships, suddenly they are no longer hanging on but have become a part of the growing statistic of pink-slipped people.

After filing for bankruptcy, Chrysler has been waiting for the results of the government’s plan to help the automaker recover. The decisions are not Chrysler’s, they can only wait and see what recommendations come through. The government put into place one recommendation asking for 1,100 dealerships to close by the end of the month. With the potential of 40,000 jobs lost, many people are in fear for their financial lives. The news comes in the mail this week via letter to the dealerships. Perhaps a mail carrier has never been watched more closely at a Chrysler dealership than on May 15.

Many men and women around the country are also watching their mailboxes, in-boxes, e-mail, and inter-office memos closely waiting to see if they are the next people cut in the continued need to trim budgets in a weakening economy. Tension runs high in many places as people worry, “will I be the next to receive the luck, or perhaps bad luck, of the draw?”

Discussion Questions

• Do you know anyone who has lost a job or had to accept a cut in salary, pay, or work hours because of the economy? How are they dealing with the change?
• What if this situation happened to you? How would you feel? Would you be angry? Frustrated? Relieved? What sort of changes do you think you or your family would need to make to cope?
• Do you believe in luck? Why or why not?
• Why do you think good things keep happening to some people and bad to others? Is there a greater design to it that some are given blessings and others are not — on purpose?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 24, 2009.

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

• Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
• Psalm 1
• 1 John 5:9-13
• John 17:6-19

Gospel Reflection

Reading the Gospel lesson again, I am reminded that I have always felt bad for Barsabbas. I mean seriously, the poor guy is obviously someone who has followed Jesus for a long time if he is to be considered a choice to be apostle. He is named “Son of the Sabbath” which is a really cool name, and here he is passed over because he drew the short straw. Man, that just stinks for him. Now he is not an apostle simply because of luck?

Perhaps, but also perhaps the world spins on its own and God chooses moments to intersect the kingdom of heaven with the kingdom of earth in actions like healings, tremendous coincidences, visions, and prophecy, to name a few. We call them miracles because, well, they do not happen all the time, right? It seems that God does intervene sometimes, but not in others. How then does God choose when and how? Why are some healed and some not? Why do good things happen to some and others, well, seem to “draw the short straw”? What happens? Is it luck, a choice, or God’s action?

There is no perfect answer to this question, but we can take reassurance in one interesting thought: for every person healed or raised from the dead or freed from slavery, all of them still suffered the ultimate end, death. Yes, we glimpsed the kingdom when Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he eventually died anyway. Yes, Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead and all wondered and praised God, but she died eventually too. I have known friends who have recovered from cancer and yet in their old age they still moved on into death. It seems that no matter what little thing befalls us in this life, the good and the ill, in the end we all have our ticket punched and none of us live forever. (Just ask Voldemort.)

How is this good news?

These glimpses of the kingdom, these tiny, infrequent moments, are not rewards for people who have been good or bad, they are signposts for what God wants to do in total. We can see that if God wants to raise one of these from the dead, this is a sign that God can do this for all of us. Ultimately we know this through Jesus who was raised from the dead so that while we know death we will not have fear. We are all blessed to receive the miracle of Jesus’ grace. For all that luck or blessing or miracle or curse or whatever we may call it on this side, in the end we are all victorious. We are all blessed. We are all given the gift of new life.

I am not sure I believe in luck. I am not even sure that God played a hand in picking Matthias over Barsabbas. Maybe it just was, for good or bad. Or maybe this was the hand of God in this small instance, a miracle, picking the right one for the job. I just don’t know. Instead, rather than seeing the small picture, I choose to see the big picture. Remember that we are all chosen, straws or not, to be God’s children. This isn’t luck. It’s a blessing.

 Or was it luck? It seems that the text wants us to consider that God had a hand in how this drama unfolded, that the true apostle would be picked by divine providence and the right one would become the apostle. But does God work this way? Is God really the one pulling all the little strings of every moment of every action?

Discussion Questions

• How do you think it would have felt to be Barsabbas? What do you think you would have done? Been mad and left? Stuck around? Accepted the decision? Been bitter?
• The good and the bad that happen to you… do you think they all come from God?Do you tend to call good things luck and bad things God — or vice versa? Why?
• Is God is at work in every little thing? Why or why not? Do you think God works to bless some people in special ways? Do you think God tries to challenge, maybe you’d even say curse, others?
• What do you think when you ask God for an A on a test, or a good job evaluation, or a faster solution to a problem and it doesn’t happen? Who do you blame? God? Do you think it’s life, luck, blessing, or curse?
• What do we do when we pray for healing for someone and it doesn’t happen? Is this God? Life, luck, blessing, or curse? Does healing occur sometimes in a way that we don’t think of or ask for? How?

Quotables

• “We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?”  Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)
• “It is bad luck to be superstitious.”  Andrew W. Mathis
• “Luck favors the prepared, darling.”  Edna Mode in The Incredibles
• “I have a lot of luck, it’s just not always good luck.”  Carter Terry
• “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  Seneca, Roman dramatist
• “Shallow [people] believe in luck, believe in circumstances. Real [people] believe in cause and effect.”(ed. “men”)  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Activity Suggestion

Lucky Straw

This is a wishing game. It is a simple test, for good or ill. Everyone think of a hope for the coming week, a wish, so to speak. They can be as simple (“I want to be really happy”) or as complex (“I want to grow wings and shoot fireballs from my eyes”) as they wish, but it has to come true this week.

Give people a chance to consider their hope, then write it down on a slip of paper. Give everyone a few minutes to look at the slip of paper, concentrating really hard, REALLY wanting it to happen. Now throw all the slips of paper into a hat or container. Mix them all up telling them that whatever they draw out will come true. Have each person pull one out and read it out loud.

Discuss:

• Do you think it is going to happen? Why or why not?
• Is this a trustworthy process? Why or why not?
• Come back the following week and discuss whether the wish came true. Why do you think it did or didn’t?
• Do you think God or luck played a hand in this?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, for all the good and bad that comes in the world, I know that no matter what, you are our Father, and of you we will have hope that we will rest eternally in you. Thank you for whatever blessings we have been given, forgive us for ascribing good or ill to you that is not yours, and give us confidence to follow you, for good or ill. Amen.

Warm-up Question: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most dependent), how dependent do you think you are on electricity for your daily life?


The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continued to hand out emergency food and medical supplies in the aftermath of a multi-state ice storm that has killed 55 people so far. Over 150,000 people were still without power a week after the storm damaged Kentucky’s power grid and knocked out power to 1.3 million homes in several states.

Kentucky’s entire available National Guard has also been deployed to help repair power lines, remove debris, and distribute generators to keep essential services like hospitals and water services running. Emergency service workers are also beginning to go door-to-door in the more rural areas, checking on people trapped in their homes by debris or unable to get to shelters.

Amid the destruction of trees and power outages, rural neighbors are coming together to help each other, sharing food, blankets, and lanterns, and in some cases, knowledge. Kentucky’s 8,500 Amish population, which shuns modern conveniences like electricity, have been helping their neighbors figure out how to live without power in the cold winter temperatures.

Of the 55 deaths blamed on the storm so far, most are from hypothermia, traffic accidents, or carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper indoor use of portable heaters and generators.

Discussion Questions

• What would your first priority be if your power went out in cold weather?
• How do you typically handle emergency situations? (i.e., panic, problem solve, try to get help, make a plan, etc.)
• What do you think is the best response to an emergency situation?
• Who is the first person you’d contact or try to reach for help in an emergency?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 15, 2009.
(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

• 2 Kings 5:1-14
• Psalm 30 (2)
• 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
• Mark 1:40-45

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

I wonder how many treatments the man with leprosy (people of Jesus’ time thought this skin disease was contagious) tried before coming to see Jesus. I wonder how desperate he had to be to come before Jesus “begging on his knees.”

I don’t know about your life, but there have been times where I have been that desperate. When I was 16, I became pregnant. Yes, I was still in high school. I was ashamed. I was terrified. I was desperate. Maybe you have been in a situation where your own choices or just a bad situation have put you in a corner, seemingly with nowhere to go.

Right now, in Kentucky, I wonder if there are people who cannot leave their homes, but are running out of food and ways to keep warm. They must be desperate too.

I hope that in our times of desperation, we can get on our knees like the man with leprosy and ask Jesus to come into our lives and do what only he can do. I’m not saying that Jesus will take away all our problems and fix everything in our lives. That will not be the case.

But, he will be with us as comforter, strengthener, healer, and friend. He will make a difference in our situations and our lives. I am living proof that this is true. When I was pregnant, I asked for God’s help in what seemed like an insurmountable task for a 16 year old: raising a child. My daughter is now 18 years old. She has been an incredible blessing to me. She has also opened me up to many other blessings in my life: parents who helped and supported me in every possible way, the grace of my church in loving me and my child, and a husband who loves my daughter like his own. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jesus is just as much a miracle worker today as he ever has been. He continues to work in our lives and the lives of those we care about—in every situation!

Discussion Questions

• How would you feel if you were the man suffering with leprosy and avoided by the people around you? What would you feel after the healing?
• Do you think Jesus is still involved in our world today? If so, how and why? If not, give a reason.
• Have you ever had one of your prayers answered? (Remember, no and maybe are among the range of possible answers. Sometimes other people are the answer.)
• How comfortable do you feel telling other people about how God has worked in your life? What or who would stir up more courage in you to do so?

Activity Suggestion

Provide the words and music to one of the following songs:

• “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns from the Lifesong album.
• “Blessed Be Your Name” by the Newsboys from the Devotion album.
• “Amazing Grace,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #779.
• “Borning Cry,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #732.

Videos for these songs can be found on Youtube.com if you have the capability to play them in your class (some of the videos even display the lyrics). If you choose “Amazing Grace” or “Borning Cry,” maybe your church musician or one of your young musicians can play the song for the class while they read (sing?).

Give out (or post up) the lyrics and play the song.

Explain to your students that it is sometimes difficult to talk with others or confess the things in our lives that make us feel desperate. Give out slips of paper on which students can write down something about themselves or their situation that they want to ask God’s help with. If you have an old diary box or cash box with a key, have students put their papers into the box and lock it. Get rid of the key. You can also use an envelope that you seal.

Hold the box or envelope and pray the following:

Closing Prayer

Jesus, we praise you for the way you have always transformed people’s lives and continue to do so even today. We ask that you would come into the situations on these pieces of paper and help us with them in whatever way you will. Thank you for caring about all the small and large details of our lives. Amen.

Contributed by Jennifer Krausz
Bethlehem, PA