Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL

 

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been one of the first to purchase a brand new product;  have you watched a TV show or movie before it was officially released?  What excited you?

Shiny and New!

There is just something about Apple products, isn’t there?  Whenever a new iPhone or iPad is announced, millions of people all over the world begin anticipating its arrival.  The more recent version of the iPhone – the 4S model – is no exception.  During the three days following its launch, over 4 million iPhones were sold.  That’s over twice as many as were sold for the launch of the original iPhone 4.  In the weeks that followed, many stores had to use a reservation system, requiring customers to reserve their phones a day or more in advance.  There weren’t enough to go around!

 

Discussion Questions

• What do you think made the iPhone 4S such a high-demand item?
• Would you be willing to travel and wait in line to get a new, state-of-the-art phone, video game, or other tech toy?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 25, 2012 (Fifth Sunday in Lent)

 Jeremiah 31:31-34

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

(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’s story of Jesus’ ministry reaches a climactic point in today’s gospel reading.  This passage tells the story of the pivotal moment when Jesus’ message of the love of God becomes a message to the entire world.  To fully understand the meaning of this moment, we ought to break it down and consider each part in turn.

“We wish to see Jesus”

For Jesus (and for Paul after him), an important part of God’s love was that it is open to all people, everywhere.  In this passage, we see that Jesus’ ministry has awed so many people, that news of his preaching and healing has reached partway around the Mediterranean to Greece.  These Greeks have traveled hundreds of miles to the Temple in Jerusalem, and the most important thing to them is to meet this miraculous, loving Jesus.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

The visit by these Greeks is certainly an amazing thing for the disciples to see.  How amazing that people from so far away are traveling to see one man!  For Jesus, however, this is a sign of something more.  The arrival of these Greeks shows that the time of his ministry is complete.  Jesus has spread the word of God and has told the people what they must do to show their devotion to God.  He has told the people that God calls his people to care for “the least of these” – those whom society has all but forgotten.  And he has showed the people what it is to be truly holy – forgiving, loving, and healing, even when others thought it impossible.

Now, however, the second part of Jesus’ mission begins.  It is time for Jesus to show the world the true glory of God by not only giving himself over to die for the sins of the world, but by defeating death, rising again and guiding his people to eternal life in God.

“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for an eternal life.”

As Jesus prepares to make this sacrifice, he calls God’s people to make their own kind of sacrifice.  If we are attached to our own “lives” – our wants, our desires, our comfort – then we are doomed to lose them.  Instead, we are called to view these things as secondary to something much more important: our commission from God.  We are called to lay our own selfish desires aside and act as Jesus taught us, looking after the poor, the weak, and the oppressed, and bringing the message of God’s love to the world.

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”

Jesus’ call for us to lay our own desires aside is hard, but it comes will the best news we could ever here: If we follow Jesus, he will be right there beside us.  As we go into the world, we stand at the right hand of the one who taught us to love, Jesus of Nazareth.  This is good news indeed!

Discussion Questions

• What do you think it was about Jesus and his message that led the Greeks to travel so far to see him?
• Why does Jesus say that we have to make personal sacrifices in order to carry out God’s mission to us?
• How can Jesus’ words in this passage offer us strength?

Activity Suggestions

Create movie-style posters that show the people of God doing the work that Jesus called us to do.  Put NOW PLAYING or COMING SOON at the bottom, and explain your poster to the group.  Display these posters prominently in your church!

Closing Prayer

God our Father, we thank you for the many gifts you have given us; especially do we thank you  for sending your son to invite us into your kingdom.  Watch over and guide us this week.  Most of all, Father, prepare us at all times to represent your love and grace to those around us.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Contributed by Bob Chell, Brookings, SD

 

Warm-up Question

What would you like to be remembered for when you die?

Remembering Lloyd

To access this week’s news item click on

http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=13724&page=80

 Discussion Questions

• What question would you want to ask Lloyd about his life?
• What in Lloyd’s life sounds challenging and rewarding?
• What in Lloyd’s life sounds boring and unimportant?
• What in your life is challenging and rewarding?
• What in your life is boring and unimportant?
• What does it mean to be saved now, today?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 18, 2012 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)

Numbers 21:4-9

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

(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 first time I met Lloyd I had trouble understanding him. He talked quickly and his stroke made his words a mumble to me. I didn’t connect him with Pedro and Anna for months. Anna was a graduate student at the university. Pedro, and their son, Lwin, seemed to be walking every time I drove anywhere, to the school, to the park, to the store. When both our children won Radio Flyer wagons in the local radio station’s Christmas promotion they wanted to give one to Lwin. We delivered it to the apartment they shared with Lloyd. That’s when I made the connection.

The apartment was not small. It was tiny. It was clearly meant for one. I didn’t want to be nosy and never asked, but I suspect Lloyd  slept on the couch, while his long term guests had the bedroom. Whatever the arrangements, it was clear that with his meager income, Lloyd had welcomed a family into his life as well as his home.

Our gospel lesson is so familiar it sometimes seems to have lost it’s power to break through the routine of our lives to shape and change them. Someone once told me that anywhere the Bible says ‘believe’ you can substitute the word ‘trust.’ I like the truth that doing this reveals. I live in the Upper Midwest where an unusually warm winter has left the ice on lakes and rivers unsafe. You can stand on the shore and determine whether you believe the ice can hold your weight but it’s an entirely different matter to take the first step trusting it will sustain your weight.

Lloyd lived this truth, trusting in God’s promises, not only for him but for all people.  In trusting he took the hands of others, inviting them to join him in trusting God’s promises to undergird, support, and sustain them.

Discussion Questions

• The gospel also talks about being condemned. What does that mean for our lives now? Does it mean forever?
• Who is the Lloyd in your life, who quietly lives trust in God’s promises?
• When were you ‘Lloyd’ for another–listening, helping, or encouraging someone?
• How does your experience illustrate what Jesus meant when he said; “…those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

Activity Suggestions

• Write a thank you note to the “Lloyd” in your life telling them why you see them as inspirational.
• Determine a time or place this week where you can be a “Lloyd” for someone. Give it a try and talk next week about how that experience went (and what it means if it went terribly, as some are bound to)!
• If you are reading and discussing this in a group, determine how you can be a “Lloyd” in your congregation, school or other setting

Closing Prayer

God, you have gifted us with many things and we take your greatest gifts for granted, the gifts of life and loving friends and family. Thank you for those people who “get us” and understand what it means to struggle with pain and problems. Turn us away from our own struggles so that we recognize the pain of others and reach out to them in encouraging support.  We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Should corporations and millionaires be able to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns?

Best President Money Can Buy?

As the Republican presidential primaries roll on, Mitt Romney remains the presumptive nominee, but he’s been unable to close the deal. Many observers point to one explanation for this failing: money. The newest actors on the political scene are Super PACs, and they’re having a big impact.

In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a case known as Citizens United that the law prohibiting corporations, unions, and nonprofits from producing political ads violated their right to free speech. This ruling led to the proliferation of so-called Super PACs–-political action committees that can accept unlimited contributions and spend that money in campaigns, as long as they don’t collaborate with the candidates.

All of the candidates have benefited from Super PAC spending, but some credit super PACs with keeping the non-Romney candidates alive. In Iowa, the super PACs easily outspent the candidates. Much of the Super PAC funds is coming from just a few committed individuals. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson gave $11 million to a pro-Gingrich Super PAC. Pro-Santorum Super PACs are planning big ad buys in Ohio in advance of that state’s primary.

Campaign finance reformers are appalled, but it looks like, for now at least, big money will remain a key player in the political landscape.

 

Discussion Questions

• Do you agree that corporations should have the same right to free speech as individual citizens?
• Does the law give the wealthy and corporations unfair influence over elections?
• Does the influence of big money diminish the value of the individual voter?
• How can politicians avoid the perception that big campaign contributors are buying influence over their decisions once in office?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 11, 2012 (Third Sunday in Lent)

 Exodus 20:1-17

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-22

(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

What a scene it must have been at the temple. The crowd of Jews from far and wide was in Jerusalem preparing to celebrate Passover. Moneychangers and livestock salesmen noisily went about their business. And there was Jesus, with his whip, thrashing about in a furious rage.

What’s wrong with this picture? The Jews present that day might have said Jesus was the problem, he was the one causing trouble. But Jesus saw something different. He saw a system that was taking advantage of the worshipers, distancing them from God rather than drawing them nearer.

In that time, worship required sacrifice and to complete that task the pilgrims would have had to exchange currency and purchase animals for slaughter – all at extortionary rates that enriched the merchants and the temple. This not only excluded poor Jews from participation, but it also placed the emphasis on the ritual instead of on what was happening in the hearts of the worshipers.

Here and throughout his ministry, Jesus makes clear that the path to God is not through the doors of a building, no matter how holy, but through following the path of Christ himself. And Christ doesn’t require ritual or sacrifice of us. All he asks is that we seek him with open hearts and a desire to follow his example.

Discussion Questions

• What was the value of sacrifice in worship during the time of Christ?
• The Temple was hardly the first or the last religious institution to harbor abuses.  What are some things that can distract modern Christians from worship?
• If the space where you worship, your “temple,” were destroyed, what would happen to your congregation?

Activity Suggestions

Consider your congregation and your place of worship with the eyes of a newcomer, a stranger. Are there things that make it difficult for an outsider to join in? Would a street person in soiled clothes feel welcome? Would someone unfamiliar with the liturgy be able to easily participate? Are there language barriers or access challenges for people with physical disabilities?

Also consider steps your congregation is taking to be more accessible. Give yourselves a grade. Consider what further steps you might take.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we welcome you into our lives every day. Help us to also welcome others into our lives and into our worship, so that we can meet you as one united body in Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Contributed by Lindean Barnett Christenson, Bozeman, MT

 

Warm-up Questions

Has a parent, teacher or coach ever expected too much, or too little, from you? What was that experience like?  Have you ever expected too much, or too little, from a parent, teacher or coach? What was that like?

Not What Anyone Expected

Jeremy Lin is becoming a household name for basketball fans and for anyone who pays attention to sports media.  Now playing for the New York Knicks, Lin was captain of his high school basketball team his senior year. That team (Palo Alto High School) finished the 2005-2006 season with a 32-1 record, upsetting a nationally ranked school for the California Interscholastic Federation Division II state title.

Lin was named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year.  Yet at 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and with a high school GPA of 4.2, Lin was offered no college basketball scholarships. He chose to attend Harvard University and had a great college basketball career there.

No one selected him in the NBA draft and before becoming a star for the Knicks, Lin was cut by two other NBA teams. Now “Lin-sanity” has swept across, not just New York, but the sports world and regular news media as well. Why? Opinions vary. Lin is the first NBA player to put up the kind of numbers he did in his first five starts – at least 20 points and seven assists per game. He is also the only NBA player who is an American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Jeremy Lin has defied expectations and stereotypes and many do not know what to do when someone defies expectations in such a grand manner. From ESPN (which fired one reporter after he used a racist word in a headline) to Saturday Night Live, Lin’s skill on the court and the media’s reaction to it are ongoing topics of conversation.

 

Discussion Questions

•  How would you account for all the media hype about Jeremy Lin?
• Which is the bigger story – Lin’s basketball skills and recent performance or the media’s reaction to it? Why?
• What is the difference between a stereotype and an expectation?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 4, 2012 (Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Romans 4:13-25

Mark 8:31-38

(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

Jesus’ response to Peter was more than Peter expected.  In our reading from the eighth chapter of Mark, Jesus predicts for the first time his impending betrayal, trial, execution, and resurrection. That prediction proves more than Peter can handle, so Peter pulls Jesus aside to try to set him straight, “No way! That’s not how things are supposed to go!”

But it is, and Jesus sugar-coats nothing in telling Peter how it must be. Jesus’ passion prediction was not what Peter expected of a Messiah, of a Savior, even after so much time spent learning from and watching Jesus. And certainly it’s not what Peter was hoping would happen to his friend. Even all these years later, when we stop to think about it, death on a criminal’s cross seems an unlikely ending for the Son of God. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised when the life of faith turns out not to be easy all the time–when we are faced with difficult choices or put in uncomfortable situations because we strive to follow Jesus.

Our Lord hits us point blank, just as he did with his disciples and the crowd: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” As Deitrich Bonhoeffer put it, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

If this was all we knew of the story it might make us wonder why anyone would ever want to become a follower of Jesus in the first place. Jesus doesn’t just say we should deny ourselves something, like giving up chocolate for Lent. He says we should deny, or disown, our selves, meaning that his followers don’t belong to themselves anymore.  We belong to him.

Jesus knows something about us, that on our own we will strive to gain the world and lose our souls in the process. We will set our minds on human things, not divine things. We prefer strength and comfort and security, over weakness, suffering, and trust.

Life with Jesus is not always what we expect it will be, unless we expect our sinful selves to be surprised, over and over again, by grace, forgiveness, and the presence of God in the most unlikely places.

Discussion Questions

•  If someone were to ask you what it’s like to follow Jesus, what would you say?
• On a day to day basis, what do you expect God to do?
• When/how have you experienced God at work in situations of weakness, loss or suffering?

Activity Suggestions

• If appropriate in your context, watch the opening sketch from Saturday Night Live on February 18^th together. Keep track of all the stereotypes named. Ask: which stereotypes are offensive? Are there any that are not? What makes the difference? How do stereotypes get handled at school? In your congregation?
• Invite an experienced saint from your congregation to join your conversation, and ask about times they have been  surprised in following Jesus.

Closing Prayer

O God, it is not always easy to follow Jesus. Give us strong hearts and bold spirits to lose our lives in his life and death, that we may find our lives in his death and life. Bless us during this season of Lent, with faith to trust and follow your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Contributed by Scott Moore, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

What would you undo in your life if you could?

De-baptism?

Rene LeBouvier (71) has become the symbol for a number of dissatisfied Christians throughout Europe, Great Britain, and North America. LeBouvier has one seemingly simple request: he would like to have his baptism undone. He wants to be de-baptized.

As a young man, LeBouvier found himself and his beliefs to be further and further away from that of his Christian upbringing as a Roman Catholic in rural France. In 2000, he asked the Catholic Church to be “un-baptized”. He was informed that his request to leave the church had been noted but he could not be de-baptized. A few years later, he tried again only to be informed that a de-baptism was not possible. So, he took the church to court.

In October, 2011, the French court in Normandy ruled in his favor citing any person’s rights to revoke his or her membership from any organization. The Catholic church has appealed the decision on the grounds that baptism cannot be undone in God’s eyes as well as the church’s. The case has yet to be finally decided.

Discussion Questions

• When do you think a de-baptism might be necessary?
• What should the requirements be for someone to be de-baptized, in such a case?
• What effect would there be on someone if they could be de-baptized?
• What would a de-baptism look like?
• If someone said, they had been de-baptized and wanted to participate in a congregation’s life (worship, Communion, etc.) should they be re-baptized?
• What should the Church do/say to people who request this? (In 2010 there were a reported 2,000 requests for de-baptism in Belgium).

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 26, 2012 (First Sunday in Lent)

Genesis 9:8-17

1 Peter 3:18-22

Mark 1:9-15
(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

This Sunday’s Gospel text has three parts: The baptism of Jesus, Jesus’ time in the wilderness, and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Looking closely at the flow of these events in Jesus life, it seems to be a pretty tough life to be loved by God in the way that Jesus is loved. (This goes for those of us who are baptized, too.) Jesus comes and does what many others were doing. They were responding to the preaching of John the Baptizer to repent and think again about their lives. He called them to be washed anew in the Jordan River. He called them to a new life. Jesus gets baptized, Jesus gets a heavenly show, Jesus gets the Holy Spirit as a dove coming down on him, and Jesus gets the voice of God saying, “You are my beloved Son. With you I am well pleased.” Now one would think that everything gets better after that. Well, think again.

Immediately, Jesus is driven out into the desert—by the Holy Spirit! Forty days and forty nights. Satan, wild beasts, angels. After he survives that, Jesus returns to Galilee and picks up where John the Baptizer left off. “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; Repent, and believe in the good news.” Certain people didn’t like John’s message. He ended up with his head on a platter. Certain people didn’t like Jesus’ message either. Jesus ended up on the cross. Jesus died and was buried. And…and this is a big “and.” And, Jesus was raised again.

Holy Baptism joins us to Jesus’ destiny—to his life, death, and resurrection. In this seemingly simple bath, we are made a part of the mystical Body of Christ. We are united with Christ. We are made one with him. That’s serious business.

This first Sunday of Lent is the beginning of a time in the church year that was originally created as an intensive time of preparation for those who were going to be baptized at Easter. It was the final stretch of a longer process where the seriousness of baptism into Christ starts to sink in. It was a time of deep questioning of the baptismal candidates, a time of uncovering all that needs spiritual healing.

The gift of Holy Baptism is a powerful one. It is a mystical and mysterious one. It is about membership, but not membership in a club or organization. It is membership in the Body of Christ. It is here that we hear in a particular way, “We are God’s beloved. In us God is well pleased.”

Discussion Questions

Share with the group the particulars of your baptism:

• Where? When? Who was the pastor that baptized you?
• Who were your sponsors/Godparents?
• What do you remember?
• Are there any special stories?
• Did you get a baptismal verse?  What was it?  What does it mean to you?
• How do you celebrate your baptismal birthday?

What are the pros and cons of being baptized as a baby versus being baptized at an age where you remember it?

What are the implications of being united with Christ in baptism? What does that mean for you?

Activity Suggestions

• As a devotional exercise use “Thanksgiving for Baptism” in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 97 or the order below.  This can be done either in the worship space of your congregation or in your classroom. If you do it in your classroom, you will want to make sure you have things you need for the rite (bowl with water, ELWs, etc).

Evangelical Lutheran Worship–Thanksgiving for Baptism

Those present may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism, as the leader begins.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

or

Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, the fountain of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation.

Amen.

One of the following or another appropriate scripture passage is read.

A reading from the Psalms: The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is upon the mighty waters. O LORD, give strength to your people; give them, O LORD, the blessings of peace.  (Psalm 29:3, 11)

A reading from the Psalms: Let the sea roar, and all that fills it, the world and those who dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands, and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD. (Psalm 98:7-8)

A reading from Romans: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.  (Romans 6:3-5)

A reading from Second Corinthians: If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A reading from Revelation: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2)

The leader addresses those who are gathered.

Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God’s mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.

The leader gives thanks with these or similar words.

Holy God, holy and merciful, holy and mighty, you are the river of life, you are the everlasting wellspring, you are the fire of rebirth.

Glory to you for oceans and lakes, for rivers and streams.

Here particular bodies or sources of water may be named.

Honor to you for cloud and rain, for dew and snow. Your waters are below us, around us, above us: our life is born in you. You are the fountain of resurrection.

Praise to you for your saving waters: Noah and the animals survive the flood, Hagar discovers your well. The Israelites escape through the sea, and they drink from your gushing rock. Naaman washes his leprosy away, and the Samaritan woman will never be thirsty again.

Praise to you for the water of baptism and for your Word that saves us in this sacrament. Breathe your Spirit into all who are gathered here and into all creation. Illumine our days. Enliven our bones. Dry our tears. Wash away the sin within us, and drown the evil around us.

Satisfy all our thirst with your living water, Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Assembly singing may follow, especially song related to baptism. As a reminder of the gift of baptism, those present may be sprinkled with water during this time.

The order concludes with this or another suitable blessing.

Almighty God, who gives us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit and forgives us all our sins, strengthen us in all goodness and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Thanksgiving for Baptism from Evangelical Lutheran Worship copyright © 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America admin Augsburg Fortress. Reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher.

• If you prefer, consider composing your own brief liturgy to remember and give thanks for baptism.

 

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, you turn us from the old life of sin. Grant that we who are reborn to new life in him may live in righteousness and holiness all our days, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (“Daily Renewal,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p.86)