Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

Warm-up Question

What do you consider great faith or devotion to look like? Share an example with the group.

Are Christians Christ-like?

Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly criticized the religious leaders of his time, the Pharisees, for being self-righteous and judgmental of others, while not seeing their own sins. The Pharisees loudly condemned people for breaking God’s laws and made it clear that they were different, were more righteous. Jesus, on the other hand, did not hesitate to spend time with sinners and eat with them if it gave him an opportunity to show God’s love to them and gently encourage them to follow God’s ways. With sinners who knew their broken state, Jesus was merciful.  On the arrogant Pharisees, he heaped contempt and judgment.

A recent study by Barna Group shows that while some Christians model Christ-like attitudes and behaviors, many are more like the Pharisees in their viewpoints and actions. 51% of the self-identified Christians surveyed had behaviors and attitudes consistent with those of the Pharisees, such as avoiding those people they consider to be sinful and thinking that “people who follow God’s rules are better than people who do not.”

Only 14% of self-identified Christians had behaviors and attitudes consistent with those Jesus modeled during his life (as written about in the scriptures), such as caring about persons for who they are rather than what they’ve done and having compassion for people doing immoral things. A slightly higher percentage, about 21%, had a mixture of attitudes and behaviors, some Christ-like and some Pharisaic.

In a time when many people outside the Christian church consider Christians to be hypocrites, it is significant to consider whether our attitudes and actions mirror Jesus or a group for whom he had many harsh words.

Discussion Questions

• When you look around at the Christians you know, do they seem more like the Pharisees (focused on rules and appearances) or like Jesus (focused on God’s love and on showing compassion to others)?
• What steps do you think your church could take to be more Christ-like?
• Many non-Christians see Christians as being hypocrites. How do you think Jesus would answer such an accusation?
• What is the difference between accepting a person as they are and accepting an immoral behavior? Can we as Christians “love the sinner but hate the sin”? How?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 6, 2013 (Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost)

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:5-10

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

To understand these verses, we need to realize that saying that we have faith and acting according to our faith are two totally different things. When Jesus tells the disciples that if they had faith as tiny as a mustard seed they could make a tree throw itself into the ocean, he isn’t talking about reciting the Apostles Creed.

The kind of faith Jesus talks about is faith that gets into your life and changes you from the inside out, faith that compels you to treat those society thinks are the lowest of the low with dignity and respect. He means faith that leads you to stand up for what is right without putting down those you think are wrong, faith that takes you far out of your comfort zone to be the hands and feet of Jesus to all those people who think Christians are hypocrites.

This kind of faith isn’t primarily about doing things, although it ends up that way. This kind of faith is about being someone who gets to know Jesus in the most personal, give-away-your-heart kind of way. It’s about becoming a person who does what Jesus would do because you just love Jesus so much that you can’t help but follow in his footsteps. It’s about transforming from a self-centered person into a God-centered person. God can really work through a person like that.

The verses about the servant (7-10) don’t appear to have much to do with these verses about faith. A deeper look, however, does show a connection. Jesus is making a point here. He’s saying we can’t do good deeds and think that God somehow owes us some kind of reward. That’s not how God’s kingdom works. We can get caught up in the “servant” or “slave” language and start thinking it doesn’t apply to us today. We don’t have slaves and not many people have servants anymore either.

In the time when this was written, a servant was someone who was totally devoted to another person. Is it making more sense now? That’s us, or it should be us—totally devoted to God, right? In our devotion to God, do we feel like God should thank us or reward us? It’s good to remember that in reality, we are all unworthy of what God has already given us. When we get to thinking we deserve rewards for doing what God wants, we can’t focus on knowing Jesus and following him. The focus shifts back to ourselves, and God can’t use us as well.

Both these passages, seemingly very different, show what it is like to be a disciple–challenging, difficult, and yet so rewarding.

Discussion Questions

• If faith only counts when it is backed up by actions, do you consider yourself a person with great faith or little faith? Why?
• Why is it so difficult for the church as a whole to follow Jesus’ example?
• Why is it difficult for you to follow Jesus’ example?
• What steps could you take to be more Christ-like in your daily life? Do these steps seem difficult or easy? Why?

Activity Suggestions

• In most parts of the country, the weather is changing from summer into fall. What a great time to take a prayer walk, enjoy God’s creation, and draw near to God. Thank God for making everything, and ask God to reveal what you can do to impact the world around you for Christ.
• With your class or youth group, explore the attitudes Jesus would have toward different groups of people you come into contact with regularly. What would Jesus think of the cheerleaders? Of the football players? Of the kids on the fringe of middle or high school life? How do you think Jesus would want you to approach them with the love of God? Try to come up with some concrete ideas for actions to take.

Closing Prayer

Lord God, bring us into an ever deeper relationship with you. We pray that we would allow that relationship to transform us to be more like your son, Jesus. Help us to take Jesus’ attitudes and actions into the world around us and love people with your love. Amen.

Contributed by Paul Henrickson, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

These are some Lutheran bodies in the United States.  What do you know about them?  Can you explain the primary differences between them:

• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
• Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS)
• Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
• Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC)
• Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS)
• The American Association of Lutheran Churches (TAALC)
• Church of the Lutheran Confessions CLC)
• North American Lutheran Church (NALC)
• Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC)

That They May All Be One

The St. Mark’s Church and Life Center of Marion, Iowa, (along with its pastor) has been removed from the roster of ELCA Lutheran Churches.  St. Mark’s attempted to associate with both the ELCA and the LCMC.  In news accounts, different interpretations of the situation have emerged. Read this news story and respond to the following questions

 Discussion Questions

• According to the story what are the primary issues separating North American Lutherans in this instance?
• Are these issues about theology or practice or both?
• Thinking more broadly than this division among Lutherans, is it possible for the thousands of Christian denominations to all be authentically Christian?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, XXXXXX (SEASON)

Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

John 17 is the “High Priestly” Prayer of Jesus.  The whole prayer might be separated into three parts: vs 1-5 are about Jesus and His Father; vs 6-19 are about Jesus and the Disciples; vs 20-26  are about the unity of the church.  “That all may be one” has been the theme of countless conferences and programs about Christian unity.  Despite all the energy for unity, Christianity    remains more like a stained glass window than a cross-etched, clear glass window on the world.

The key phrase is  “…that they may all be one.”  This article in this study uses the Lutheran Church as an example of church disunity; but the larger focus is on the whole Christian community.  The question should not be what separates us, but what binds us together.

Discussion Questions

• Does Jesus really mean “one,” as in “one church?”
• Read Ephesians 4:4-7.  “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,one Lord, one faith, one baptism,one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”  Does “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” mean that the church cannot have different expressions?
• Is there a “power of evangelism” in having different expressions of the Christian Church? How does Sacramental practice separate Christians–or not?
• What binds Christians together?

Activity Suggestions

• Think about the people you know.  Name the many Christian expressions you come in contact with each week.
• How do Christians in your community work together?
• Plan and event in which you work with another faith community in a common service project?

Closing Prayer

God our Father, your Son Jesus prayed that his followers might be one.  Make all Christians on with him as he is one with you, so that in peace and concord we may carry to the world the message of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.  (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 61)

Contributed by Lindean Barnett Christianson, Bozeman, MT

Warm-up Question

• Do you have a nickname? What is it? Who gave it to you? Why? Do you like it? Why/why not?
• If you could change your name, what would you choose? Why?

What’s in a Name?

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to be the 266^th pope on March 13, 2013. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists crowded the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, waiting to learn not only who was elected, but also the name he would take for himself. Since the 11^th century it has been customary for a pope to choose a new name upon his election to the office (the first pope to take a new name was elected in the 6^th century).

The new pope, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was already known for his love for the poor and his own simple lifestyle. His choice of the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, indicates his intention to continue his focus on and devotion to the poor.

In an interview with journalists from the Vatican and Latin America, Pope Francis said that as the votes stacked up in his favor, a fellow cardinal from Brazil told him , “Don’t forget the poor.”  The new pope added, “Right away, with regard to the poor, I thought of St. Francis of Assisi, then I thought of war. Francis loved peace and that is how the name came to me.”

The new pope said he also thought of St. Francis of Assisi’s concern for the natural environment and how he was a “poor man, a simple man, as we would like a poor church, for the poor.”

This is the first time a pope has chosen the name Francis, and many Catholics, and non-Catholics alike, are hoping Francis’ new name is an indicator of changes and reform to come.

Discussion Questions

• What do you know about St. Francis of Assisi?  If you need to do some research, look up the story of his life.  What would a congregation heavily influenced by his vision of faith look like?  How would taking his values seriously affect your life?
• The papal name Cardinal Borgoglio took has been seen as a reflection of his priorities as a Christian.  If you were elected pope what name would you take to reflect your understanding of what is important in being a Christian?  Why would you choose that name?  (The name need not be a famous one; you might pick “Fred” because of a custodian who embodies the gospel for you.)

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 7, 2013 (Second Sunday of Easter)

Acts 5:27-32

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

The Gospel according to John doesn’t tell us where Thomas was on the evening of that first day of the week, the day of resurrection. We only know where he wasn’t: in the locked room with the rest of the disciples. Jesus shows up, wounds and breath and all, but when his colleagues give him the play-by-play Thomas simply cannot believe it. He says he needs not only to see, but also to touch, Jesus, in order to believe.

For wanting to experience what the rest of the disciples experienced, Thomas has received the nickname “Doubting Thomas” from history. John never calls him that. According to John, Thomas’s nickname is “the Twin,” though the gospel doesn’t elaborate on why.

A week later Jesus gives Thomas what he asked for and Thomas confesses his faith: “My Lord and my God!” Here, the one who doubts is also the one who believes and proclaims. Jesus, however, does not commend Thomas for this confession. Instead, he pronounces a blessing on those “who have not seen and yet have come to believe,” on us.

Discussion Questions

• What nickname would you give Thomas? Why?
• Who has helped you come to faith in Jesus? How have they done that?
• What do you think about the phrase “Seeing is believing”?  How about its reverse, “Believing is seeing”?
• Gospel-writer John steps into his story when he addresses his readers and says, “These [signs] are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” What do you think of this purpose statement?

Activity Suggestions

• Think of positive and encouraging nicknames for the people in your discussion group or others you all know (pastor, youth leader, etc.).
• Write thank you notes to those who have shared their faith in Christ with you (confirmation or Sunday School teachers, baptismal sponsors, mentors, etc.).
• Bless each other using Jesus’ words: Name, blessed are you who has not seen and yet has come to believe. Amen

Closing Prayer

God of new life, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into his disciples. Send your Spirit also to us, that we who have not seen yet may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing we may have life in his name. Fill us with your peace, and send us into your world. Amen

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been wrong about someone? Have you ever rejected a person as odd, stupid, or untrustworthy and later discovered that you were mistaken? What was the situation? What happened?

Treasure in Plain Sight

The white bowl with the pointy, leaf-like pattern shaped into it had sat on the mantle in a New York state home for several years. The family had paid three dollars for it at a tag sale. A belated curiosity about the trinket’s origin led the family to an assessor and a big surprise. Their humble little bowl was 1,000-year-old Chinese treasure, an example of “Ding” pottery from the Northern Song dynasty.

Given to the famous auction house Sotheby’s to sell, it was expected to fetch around $200,000. A bidding war among four art collectors resulted in a price ten times that much, $2.2 million.

Discussion Questions

• There is an old saying: He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. What does this mean? What is the difference between price and value?
• Is there anything in your life that you value, even though it is not worth much money? What? Why?
• Think about what people without Christ value, compared to what Christians value. Is there a difference? What is it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 31, 2013 (Resurrection of Our Lord Easter Day)

Acts 10:34-43

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Luke 24:1-12

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

There are two Bible stories that are so familiar to Christians that we hardly pay attention to the words when we hear them. One is the story of Jesus birth, the other is the story of his resurrection. These two miracles are the heart of Christianity, special occasions in the church. We give thanks, sing some songs, and go about our business.

But think about these words: “There were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.”

Um, yeah. So?

Shepherds were considered unclean by upper class Jews. They were not invited into homes. They were not allowed to testify in court. They were outcasts. Yet, these despised people were the first to hear about Jesus’ birth. God valued them and their strong, simple faith. He entrusted them with the news of his Son’s arrival. Sure enough, they ran to tell anyone they could find that the Messiah was born.

In today’s lesson we read the familiar story of the women finding the empty tomb. Women, too, were outcasts, thought inferior to men. Women, too, could not testify in court, because they would not be believed. (Notice how the disciples react when they hear the women’s testimony.) Yet God again chooses outcasts as the first to behold the culmination of his great plan of salvation, the greatest event in the history of the world. Again he gives them a message to tell. He shows how much he values those whom the world rejects.

God does not choose people who think they are worth more than others to spread the news of his salvation. He values the humble, the willing, the faithful, as if they were million-dollar treasures. He paid for them, for us, a price immeasurably greater than money. He paid with his lifeblood.

Let us run and tell!

Discussion Questions

• In today’s world humility is not considered a very valuable trait. Why is this so?
• What is the value of humility? What can humble people accomplish that those who think they are great can’t?
• Christians are often considered outcasts in the non-Christian world. How can we follow the example of the shepherds and the women in telling others the Good News?

Activity Suggestions

•  Think of a way the class can tell the Good News of Christ’s resurrection. Do it.
• Talk about what makes a person an outcast among young people. How we can value outcasts and not reject them as the world does?
• Sing any resurrection song

Closing Prayer

God of the humble, Savior of the outcast, we ask for true humility. Convict us when we put someone down or leave someone out. May the joy of your salvation fill us so that others can see and know that there is hope in you. In Our Savior’s Holy Name, Amen.

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

Warm-up Question

Are you a reasonable person? Is that an asset?

Be Unreasonable

Daniel Epstein is an unreasonable man. A self-proclaimed “impatient optimist” and founder of the Unreasonable Institute, Epstein believes entrepreneurship is the key to solving the world’s great problems and his organization is committed to supporting the entrepreneurs who are tackling our most impossible challenges.

For example, the team behind Artificial Vision for the Blind, have invented a way for people without sight – even without eyes – to learn to see using cameras mounted on glasses and a sensory pad that converts signals from the visual cortex into physical sensations. Individuals outfitted with this apparatus have been able to describe their surroundings, even read books.

The Unreasonable Institute supports innovators by giving them advice and help in raising capital so they can bring their ideas to the world. To date, the Unreasonable Institute has helped 70 teams in 36 nations, and they continue to attract new innovators every year.

The Unreasonable Institute gets its name from a quote by George Bernard Shaw, who said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Thanks to the Institute, unreasonable men and women all over the world have some help in changing the world for the better.

Discussion Questions

• Can you name a historical figure who succeeded by being unreasonable? (For example, you might say that Christopher Columbus was unreasonable in believing he could sail around the world to India or that Abraham Lincoln was unreasonable to think he could free the slaves without destroying the Union.)
• In the instance you named, what do you think contributed to the success of the unreasonable idea?
• Think of a problem in your congregation, your community, or the world. How could you address that problem? Be unreasonable.

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 23, 2012 (Fourth Sunday of Advent)

Micah 5:2-5a

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45 [46-55]

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel highlights a very improbable situation. We have Elizabeth, elderly and barren but carrying a child, and Mary, a virgin, also pregnant.

It might be a challenge for us to relate to the details of this scene. None of us is likely to be in the exact situation as Elizabeth or Mary. But we are similar in this way: Like these two women, we all have received gifts from God, and we each have a special purpose to do his will.

Although we are unlikely to ever be in the presence of the unborn Jesus, we do see and feel the presence of Christ in our lives every day. Through Bible study and prayer, we can come to know God better, and more easily recognize his constant presence among us.

Like John in the womb, God has given us souls attuned to his presence. If we can understand our world through the eyes of faith, as Mary and Elizabeth did, then we too will leap for joy, like John, in the presence of our Messiah.

Discussion Questions

• How does Elizabeth know that Mary is “the mother of my Lord”?
• Explain the blessings Elizabeth proclaims in verses 42 and 45.
• What does Mary mean in verse 46 when she says her “soul magnifies the Lord”?
• Does your soul also magnify the Lord? How so?

Activity Suggestions

Write your own Magnificat:

Luke 1:46-55 form a poem (sometimes sung) known as the Magnificat (translated: my soul magnifies). In it, Mary praises God for his blessing to her, and his many great acts on behalf of his people.

• To write your own, start with a simple expression of praise and thanksgiving for something God has done in your life. Tell what this means to you.
•  Next, list the qualities of God’s actions towards you (mercy, power, wisdom, compassion, etc.).
• Finally, list some (at least three or four) of the other ways God has shown his presence to you, your friends and family, and your community.
• Share your work with the others in the group.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many ways, great and small, that you show yourself to us every day. We are comforted by your presence, and emboldened to live fully the lives you have planned for us. Teach us to know and accept your will, and let our souls leap for joy to have you near. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.