Contributed by Lindean Barnett Christenson, Bozeman, MT

Warm-up Question

How well would you say you can multitask? What are some tasks you frequently do at the same time? What do you find distracting (music, friends, text messages, concerns)?

Pay Attention!

It seems that many people pride themselves on their skills at “multitasking,” doing several things at one time rather than doing them sequentially, one at a time. Research has shown, however, that multitasking simply isn’t possible. When it comes to paying attention, multitasking is a myth, says developmental molecular biologist, Dr. John Medina.

Perhaps that explains why more and more states and cities are strictly limiting, or banning altogether, the use of cell phones and other devices while driving. Statistics show drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash than non-distracted drivers. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which is the equivalent, if you’re driving 55 mph, of driving the length of an entire football field without looking at the road.

Many states have state-wide bans on cell phone use while driving. Other states leave it up to individual cities or municipalities to draft and enact their own bans. Missoula, Montana is one such city. A ban on the use of hand-held cell phones while driving was passed by the City Council just over a month ago. The hope is that strict enforcement of the new ban will not only help (force?) people to take the ban seriously, but also increase road safety in the city.

Discussion Questions

• How often do you talk on the phone or text while driving or performing some other task that would benefit from undivided attention? Have you ever missed out on something because you were distracted?
• Why do think people who know the dangers of texting while driving still do it?
• Why is it difficult to postpone communications or entertainment- why is waiting so hard?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 2, 1012 (First Sunday of Advent)

 Jeremiah 33:14-16

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

(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

It’s the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year in the church. For the next year, most of the lectionary Gospel readings will come from the Gospel according to Luke. Yet instead of beginning at the beginning of the Gospel, our first reading echoes a parallel reading from just two weeks ago from the Gospel according to Mark. (And for an excellent discussion of the purpose and uses of apocalyptic writing, see Dennis Sepper’s Faith Lens reflections for November 18^th).

In our passage from Luke, and the verses that precede it, Jesus teaches the crowds in the temple about the coming of the Son of Man and the arrival of the kingdom of God in all its fullness. The predictive signs are things that always seem to be happening: wars and insurrections (v 9), earthquakes and famines (v 11), the changing of the seasons (v 30). Jesus urges his listeners to be on guard, to be alert, to be paying attention to the world around them. He doesn’t want them to be so distracted by the pleasures or the worries of life that they miss the arrival of the kingdom of God in their midst. He wants them to be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.

Given that it’s been close to two thousand years since Luke wrote down this account of the Gospel, many Christians today find it difficult to live in constant anticipation of Jesus’ return. And yet Jesus’ words are for us, too: be alert, be on guard, don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing.

Discussion Questions

• Do you tend to be distracted more by fun and pleasurable things or by worries and fears?
• How is life different (or how could/would it be different) when you live each day looking for signs of the kingdom of God? What do you think the kingdom of God is like? What other Bible stories do you know that teach about the kingdom of God?
• What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever had? How has your faith, or someone else’s faith, surprised you?
• Some people seem to be obsessed with figuring out exactly when the world will end, some people live as though the world won’t ever end. Where do you fall along that spectrum? Why?

Activity Suggestions

• Check out some of the research on multi-tasking at Brain Rules: http://brainrules.blogspot.com/2008/03/brain-cannot-multitask_16.html
• Use a concordance (online or a printed version – check out your congregation’s library or ask a pastor for one) to look up verses about the kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven and discuss what you find.
• Make Advent Calendar chains to celebrate the season of Advent and count down the days to Christmas.

Supplies:              25 strips of blue paper for each person in the group.

Pens and pencils

Staplers or tape

Figure out how many Bible verses/activities/prayers each member of your group will need to come up with (if you have 5 participants, each person will come up with 5 activities).

Have each person write each of his/her activities on a strip for each person in the group.

Distribute the strips so each person has one strip for each day of Advent, then use the staplers or tape to make a paper chain out of the strips.

Each day during Advent, participants can take one link off the chain and read the verse/do the activity, etc.

Closing Prayer

O Lord, come. Come into our busy lives and into out distracted minds and hearts. Give us eyes to see the world you love and the coming of your kingdom. Bless us with faith to wait and to trust you in the details and distractions of our everyday lives. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

Contributed by Dave Dodson, Shalimar, FL

Warm-up Question

Who do you consider to be a good leader?

Leader of the Free World

Three weeks ago, the longest election cycle in United States history ended with the re-election of President Barack Obama.  The race received a great deal of media attention, not only within the United States, but worldwide.  Even citizens of European, Asian, African, and South American nations often favored one candidate over another and followed the race from their own countries.

This seems a little much, doesn’t it?  After all, the President does not have absolute power, even in the United States.  His power is balanced by powers given to Congress and the Supreme Court.  The President cannot pass laws on his own; he can only ratify or reject laws approved by Congress.  Why, then, were so many people, both inside and outside of the United States, so very invested in the result of the Presidential election?

To a large degree, the Presidential race matters because it represents the United States as a whole: what the majority of our citizens believe, what values we hold to be most important, and what we’re willing to fight for.  Since the Cold War, the President of the United States has often been given the nickname “Leader of the Free World”, suggesting that his leadership defined the values and actions of democratic countries around the world.

Certainly, the President has a very important political position.  To the rest of the world, though, he is also a very powerful symbol of the will of the citizens of the United States.

Discussion Questions

• Can you think of any other leaders, political or otherwise, in recent world history who have exemplified the values of their followers?  (Prompt your students to “think outside the box” if need be!  Examples could be political figures, such as Nelson Mandela or another US President.  They might be ideological, like Martin Luther King or the Dalai Lama)

• Should we hold political leaders to a high ethical standard?  What about leaders in other fields, like music, sports, and business?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 25, 2012 (Christ the King Sunday)

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

Revelation 1:4b-8

John 18:33-37

(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

When Pilate stands before Jesus to question him, we can tell that he desperately wants to put some sort of label on him.  Jesus has been accused of no specific crime against the Roman Empire at this point.  The Pharisees and their followers have simply dragged Jesus before Pilate, insisting that he be put to death, without giving a reason.  Pilate isn’t concerned with Jesus or the Pharisees.  All he wants out of Jesus is a quick answer so he can label him, pass judgment, and dismiss him.

“Are you the King of the Jews?”  Pilate wants Jesus to simply confirm that he is on some power trip, trying to gain control of the nation of Israel.  If Jesus says “Yes”, he can probably be dismissed as a crazy person, found guilty of no crime against the Roman Empire, and released.  If he says “No”, he can be written off as a victim and, again, probably released.

Instead, Jesus’ answers to Pilate’s questions indicate that he is not the “King of the Jews”, but is a king in a far greater way. Jesus is much more than a worldly king.  His kingship extends to more than just the nation of Israel.  His power passes far beyond that of a political ruler.  And most of all, his message of peace and love is for absolutely all people everywhere.  Jesus is clear about this when he answers Pilate: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”

Sometimes, Christians and non-Christians alike have been guilty of the same mistake that Pilate makes.  We want to put a single label on Jesus so that we can dismiss the fullness of his mission and ministry.  We want to limit Jesus’ message to just the parts that make us comfortable or help us win an argument.  We want Jesus’ words to make us feel good all the time, and we ignore the parts of Jesus’ teachings that challenge us.  Sometimes, we even seem to forget that it isn’t just Christians who are part of God’s people — that Jesus’ message is for all people everywhere.

Let’s learn from Pilate’s mistake.  Rather than trying to make Jesus fit our expectations, let’s open our minds up to hear his teachings again, and let him tell us about his kingdom!

Discussion Questions

• Jesus is the ultimate example of a faithful leader.  What sort of traits did Jesus have that we should emulate?  How does this differ from the values of secular culture?
• How do leaders in your church follow Jesus’ example in their actions and ministries?

Activity Suggestion

Create crowns from posterboard (or gather cardboard crowns from a local fast food restaurant).  On the crowns, write the attributes and attitudes that Jesus modeled through his words and guidance (peace, forgiveness, love, faith, etc).  Decorate the crowns.  (If you wish, invite students to make a gift of the paper crowns to church members who exhibit these traits in their congregational leadership.)

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, you gave us a magnificent world and abundant blessings.  Help us to be good leaders in your world and spread your love and blessings to all people.  Let us be your hands in a world that longs to feel your touch.  Amen.

Contributed by Dennis Sepper, Tacoma, WA

Warm-up Question

What kind of stories do you like?  What have you learned from those stories?  Is there any “truth” you learned that you thought was good advice or applied to your life?

LOL

Sometimes a story can convey the truth in a more powerful and meaningful way than just stating it.  For example, there is no real Harry Potter or Hermione Granger, but the stories about them reveal the truth of friendship, the struggle to form helpful values and relationships, and the fight between good and evil.  The same could be said of Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games trilogy.  In the Bible there are several places where an author uses a story full of symbols to give encouragement and hope to their readers.  These stories have a technical name you may have heard: they are called apocalyptic writings.  Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament are prime examples of apocalyptic writings.  Daniel and Revelation were written during times of persecution so the authors had to be careful so that the persecutors wouldn’t know what they were saying to their people.  They used symbol and wild imagery to confuse the people in power and give hope to people suffering oppression.

I have a friend who received a text from a female co-worker.  She was sharing with him a funny thing that happened to her that day and ended the text with the abbreviation “LOL”.  My friend was concerned that she had some feelings for him because he interpreted “LOL” to mean “Lots of Love”.  After he showed me the text I assured him that she was not hitting on him and that the abbreviation meant “Laugh Out Loud”.  He was relieved and embarrassed!

But that is the way apocalyptic writing works.  The powerful oppressor thinks the author is saying “Lots of Love” when the author is signaling his people to “Laugh Out Loud” because, no matter how bad things are, God is with them and the goodness of God will triumph over the evil of the oppressor.  It is meant to give them hope in the face of suffering and what might look like a hopeless situation.

Discussion Questions

• Think of a time you were in a situation where things really didn’t look good for you.  What gave strength and hope?  Was it a person?  A story?   A Bible verse?
• Do you think there is a difference between hope and optimism?  Look up the definition of both online.  Which do you think is more powerful, hope or optimism?  Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November, 18, 2012 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Daniel 12:1–3
Hebrews 10:11–14[15–18] 19–25
Mark 13:1–8

(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

In addition to Daniel and Revelation, each of the first three Gospels contains one chapter which speaks of an apocalypse, specifically the time when the current world will end and Jesus will return.  Mark 13 is one of those apocalyptic chapters (along with Matthew 24 and Luke 13).  In this week’s Gospel text Jesus warns the disciples that they too will face persecution and suffering for the sake of the Gospel but  he says, “fear not,” for God is still in control and God will reign.

Thoughts about the end of the world can be scary, so much so that Hollywood has made a lot of money creating films about either the end of the world or what a “post apocalypse” world would be like (see this list from Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apocalyptic_films )

However, remember the purpose of apocalyptic writing, to affirm that God always keeps God’s promises and God will always be with us to the end of the age.  That message is strong and clear in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  We have nothing to fear as always and ultimately we are held in the hand of the God who created heaven and earth, and in the hand of a Savior who showed forth love and compassion even to death on the cross.

You may have also heard that according to some interpretations of the ancient Mayan peoples calendar that world will end on December 21, 2012.  Many predictions have been made over the years, most based on certain Bible passages.  I have a book a cousin gave me many years ago.  It was written by a pastor she interviewed for a newspaper article and in it this pastor predicted the world would end in 1980!  How many years was that before you were even born?  I keep it as a reminder that Jesus knew what he was talking about when he said only God knows the date and time of the end, neither the angels in heaven nor even Jesus knows (see Mark 13:32).

It is interesting to note that the things Jesus presents as signs of the coming end are things that are always going on.  There are always wars and rumors of war, nations do rise against other nations, and there are always famines in our world.  I think two things can be said about this, first, that we do not have to worry about missing the return of Jesus.  When that day comes there will be no doubt about it.  Second, Jesus is encouraging us to keep awake and alert and to carry on our discipleship with a sense of urgency…sort of a “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” message.  The Church year season of Advent begins in two weeks and that sense of keeping watch, keeping alert is one of the major themes of the season.

All in all, maybe Martin Luther had the best advice, when asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow, Luther supposedly said he would plant an apple tree.  We do not have to worry about the end of the world for we are forever held in the arms of God.

Discussion Questions

• The text speaks of a lot of scary events.  What is most personally scary for you; what do you most fear?  How does your faith speak–or sometimes not speak–to that fear?
• If you knew the world would end tomorrow how would you spend the last day?
• Why do you think many persons seem so obsessed with figuring out a timeline for the end of the world?

Activity Suggestions

The people in the Caribbean and all along the east coast are recovering from the damage of Hurricane Sandy.  They are not being persecuted but they sure could use some hope and comfort.  Why not pick a synod or two and send the Bishop of the synod a card or a letter of encouragement which the Bishop could share with the people of the synod?  Let them know that you are thinking of them, praying for them and standing with them in their time of need.  Can you imagine how their spirits could be lifted by cards and letters from youth groups and individuals around the country?  Here is a link where you can find the names of the Bishop and the address of the Synod office.  http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Synodical-Relations/Regions.aspx  Just click on a region on the east coast and then you will see links to the synods in that region.  Do not forget the Caribbean Synod for they suffered at the hands of Sandy too.  It may not be an apocalyptic writing that you send but it still can bring hope!

Editor’s note:  I was serving as Lutheran campus pastor at Virginia Tech when the shootings occurred on that campus.  We received a number of bookmarks from a synodical youth event in New England which expressed care and support during that crisis.  It meant a lot.  This week’s writer is dead on in his suggestion!

Closing Prayer

Loving God, you created the universe and all that is in it and yet you call us by name and hold us in the palm of your hand.  Strengthen all those who are suffering or facing persecution.  Give them hope through your Word and through us, their fellow pilgrims on the journey of faith.  We pray also for those of us who are wondering if things will ever work out for the good, if the good will ever overcome evil.  Speak a word of peace and hope to us and remind us that we can never be separated from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Contributed by Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

Generosity: Is it just a nice idea or is it a life commitment?

Reckless Generosity

Earlier this fall blogger David Briggs, writing for the Huffington Post, noted that recent research reveals that many churchgoing Americans misrepresent the amount of money they give in charitable contributions.  Whether intentionally or not, many people reply to questions about their giving by overstating the amount they actually give.  Briggs describes the research findings as indicating a “gap between perception and reality.”  Many people think that they give more than they really do, perhaps because they are unaware of their actual giving.  They may claim that they give more than they really do because they want to be regarded as more generous than they really are.  Apparently, many people are more committed to the idea of giving than to the actual practice of it. For Briggs’ full article on the research findings, go here.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think many people overstate the amount of money they actually give in charitable contributions?
• Do you think it is difficult to be generous?  If so, why is it difficult?
• Do you know any generous people?  Who are they?  In what ways are they generous?
• Are you a generous person?  Do you find it difficult or easy to be generous?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 11, 2012 (Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost)

1 Kings 17:8-16

Hebrews 9:24-28

Mark 12:38-44

(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

By commending the example of the poor widow, Jesus makes it clear that true generosity cannot be measured in money but only in attitude.  The widow’s two small copper coins, worth only a penny, count for little in comparison to the much larger sums of money given by others.  The true value of her offering is that it represents everything she has to give.  In other words, the widow is more generous than all the others because she gives everything while they give only something.

Jesus emphasizes that the widow “put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”  By any human calculation, the widow has done something reckless and foolish.  But her reckless folly mirrors the generosity of God.  Again and again in the teaching of Jesus, as in the entire Bible, God is seen to be reckless and foolish in God’s own abundant generosity.  Consider the stories that Jesus tells about the father and his two sons (Luke 15) or the laborers hired to work in the vineyard (Matthew 20).  Read what Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:25-33, and reflect upon the ways in which the poor widow has taken such teaching to heart.

By commending the generosity of the poor widow, Jesus points to the generosity of God.  The widow is a witness to the generosity of God, who gives everything and all.  Consider what Martin Luther teaches about God’s generosity in the Small Catechism, where Luther explains the Apostles’ Creed.  Scripture tells us that human beings are created in the image of God.  The poor widow shows us what it means to live as the image of the God who gives everything and all.

Discussion Questions

• How do our practices of generosity witness to the generosity of God?  How does our giving represent what we believe about God?  What does our giving teach others about God?
• What does it mean for us to be people created in the image of an abundantly generous God?  How does our generous God call us to live?

Activity Suggestions

• Have a conversation at home with your family about financial giving.  Ask how much money the people in your family give in church offerings and other charitable contributions.  What are the beliefs and attitudes that guide the giving habits in your family?  Are the people in your family willing or reluctant to talk about their giving?  How does your family teach and practice generosity?
• As a group, identify a project or a concern toward which you would like to make a collective contribution.  Make a plan about what you will do together, including the commitments that each person will make to help fulfill that plan.

Closing Prayer

Help us who have received so freely from you to give as freely in our turn, and so have the pleasure of giving as well as the happiness of receiving.*  Amen

 (*for this and other prayers)