Contributed by Angie Larson, Clive, IA

Warm-up Question

Would you sleep outside in a box? In the rain? In Iowa? When the weather is only 30 degrees?

Sleeping Under the Stars So Kids Can Reach Them

This past October 29^th nearly 1,000 Iowans abandoned their warm beds and homes.  They left their dinners and Halloween parties to head to Drake University’s outdoor stadium to sleep in cardboard boxes or on the ground.  Does it sound like a crazy thing to do?  Especially when the temperature neared 30 degrees and it began to rain.  Reggie’s Sleepout (www.reggiessleepout.org) began in 2001, after Reggie Kelsey died in the Des Moines River, three and a half months after he aged out of the foster care system.  During those months Reggie (who suffered disabilities) battled homelessness, stayed in shelters, and slept outside.  He was ill-equipped to live on his own.  After his tragic death, Des Moines took a hard look at itself and how it handled its over 3,000 homeless youth.  Reggie’s Sleepout was developed.  It’s not only a fundraiser for the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers but an awareness project for the community.  Participants spend one evening in the cold, raising awareness, learning, and listening to stories of youth who depend on shelters for survival in the cold Midwest.

When Mackenzie Devoto, a participant at Reggie’s Sleepout, was asked about why she chose to spend the night in a box she replied, “Helping others is part of who I am.  Learning about homelessness and the people it affects reminds me how lucky I am and also reminds me that because I’m so lucky I get to help them also.” After sleeping in the cold, participants reflect on how long the night feels when you have so little and how exhausted they are after just trying to stay warm.  It causes them to ask questions like, “What would it be like if I had to do this every day?” and “How would I be able function at work or get an education if I weren’t able to get a warm, soft night’s sleep?”

Discussion Questions

•  Have you ever spent a night in the cold?  How did you feel the next morning?
• What awareness projects are there in your community for youth homelessness?
• How would you respond to Reggie Kelsey’s death?
• At 18 years old would you be able to survive in the “real world”?  What resources would you use?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 20, 2011 (Christ the King Sunday)

 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

(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 Matthew chapter 25 Jesus brings us three different views of what to expect and how we are to be:   the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, the Parable of the Talents, and today’s text, the Judgment of the Nations. The king separates the sheep from the goats.  He tells the sheep that they will “inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.”  He tells them that they clothed him, fed him, visited him, took care of him, gave him something to drink, and welcomed him.  The “sheep” are surprised and ask when they did this; surely they would have remembered serving the king.  The king responds that when they do it to anyone they do it to him. For the people who are the sheep, serving seems to be woven into the very fabric of who they are.  They serve others because they can and because they understand the importance and humanity in the service.  The giving is a reflection of their character.

At Reggie’s Sleepout the participants slept outside to better serve and understand homeless youth in their community.  They spent time, energy, and resources to provide clothing, food, visitation, welcoming, and safety for the teens.  They responded not only to learn, but to experience what it was like to be homeless; to walk in their shoes, if only for one evening.  There are many reasons why people from Des Moines participated in Reggie’s Sleepout, but for many of them it was a reflection of who they are and how they desire to help make the world a better place for others.

Discussion Questions

•  How does your group or congregation live out their faith without even knowing it?
• What are some things that you do to help others?
• Who are some people who are under-served in your community?

Activity Suggestions

•  Brainstorm ideas for your group to clothe, feed, visit, care for, or welcome someone in your community.  Implement that idea.
• Host your own “Homeless Night Out.” Start by visiting a homeless shelter in your area, discover what their needs are and learn about the people they serve.  If you get the chance, visit with the homeless that use that shelter, get to know their stories.  Next develop your plan for your “Homeless Night Out.”
• Listen to Ben Harper’s “Picture of Jesus” while looking at pictures of people in your community.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for blessing us with this time together.  Open our hearts to your scriptures and our eyes to your people in need around us. Help giving and servanthood to become part of the fabric of who we are as people, so that when we respond, we continue to see the face of Jesus in all who surround us. Please use us Lord for your kingdom. Amen.

Contributed by Bill King, Blacksburg, VA

Warm up Question

What was the last thing you attempted to do which took you out of your comfort zone?  Most of us like to do things where we can be relatively assured of success; what was the last challenge which stretched you?

You First

Everyone seems to agree that the economy has a problem.  Pick up the morning paper or click on your favorite news feed and you will find an article about economic woes:  The bailout of Greece threatens to sink the Eurozone.  Housing prices continue sluggish, so many mortgages are either in foreclosure or under water.  Discouraging unemployment numbers edge up and down, but not very far either way.  Older workers wonder if their devastated pension funds will let them retire.  Students fear they won’t be able to get loans for college—or a decent job to repay them if they do.

But if there is consensus that we have a problem, there is precious little agreement on the root causes or what to do about it.  The economy can’t improve until spending goes up…but how can consumers spend if jobs are scarce and fragile?  Then create jobs…but how can companies create jobs if banks won’t lend them capital—and why should they expand anyway, since demand is soft.  Then let’s cut taxes so that banks and companies will invest…but wait a minute, wasn’t it those folks who turned Wall Street into a crooked casino and got us into this mess in the first place.  Maybe what we need is a massive governmental infusion of cash into the economy.  But it’s runaway deficits that are spooking the stock market—which means my mutual fund is in the tank, I feel poorer, and I’m afraid to start spending….Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows.

Each player in this game is saying, “You first.  You take the big risk.”  Everyone is afraid and nobody wants to take the chance that might make it better for us all.

Discussion Questions

• How has a weak economy affected you personally?  For example, has it affected your buying habits or the general atmosphere in your home or community?
• Why is it so hard for leaders to come to a consensus on what might benefit the common good?  Do you think they are really trying?
• What do you think motivates most Christians’ economic decisions?  If you were ranking the top five factors, where do you think the desire to reflect the values of Jesus would fall?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 13, 2001 (Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Matthew 25:14-30

(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

I’ve always thought that this parable would be a lot clearer if the servant with five talents had lost his shirt.  Perhaps it sounds presumptuous to suggest that Jesus could have done better, but because the first two servants are wildly successful we easily miss the real point of the story.  The servant entrusted with five talents earns five more; the servant who had three returns those plus three more to his master.  So we might hear this story as suggesting that God is the ultimate investment fund:  Put your money into god and you can be assured of a fantastic rate of return.

This is precisely the spin that some contemporary preachers give to the story—“God wants you to be rich; give to the Lord and he’ll give back tenfold.”  Now, while it’s true that such preachers may become very rich when you give to their ministries in hope of a little divine insider trading, this “prosperity gospel” conforms with neither our experience nor, more important, the rest of Jesus’ teaching.  To give to the Lord in the hope of getting rich is about as cynical and selfish (not to mention absurd, given that God knows the heart’s motivation) a reason to be religious as you can imagine.  Jesus does not promise his disciples that following him guarantees a material bonanza.  He promises to meet our needs not our greeds.

The first two servants do turn a tidy profit, but that is really beside the point.  What the master commends is only secondarily their success; what please him more is their willingness to take what they have been given and use it to the best of their abilities.  Presumably he would have applauded their efforts even if they had not been as wildly lucrative.  What the master condemns in the third servant is less his lack of profit than his unwillingness to risk.

Why the difference in the servants’ attitudes?  The parable gives us a hint.  The third servant does not really trust his master; he takes him to be a hard, unforgiving taskmaster.  The servant’s behavior is driven by fear of making a mistake; the irony is that he makes the biggest mistake of all in not taking a risk.  Afraid of displeasing his master, he enrages him by squandering the little he has been given.  The great pathos of this parable is that the third servant, because he misunderstands his master’s character, does not realize he has the freedom to fail.  He lives in fear instead of confidence.

At least two things are worth noting from this parable.  First, we are sometimes afraid to do bold things for God because we are afraid of failing.  We are pretty sure we don’t know our Bible well enough to win an argument, so we don’t tell someone what Jesus means to us.  The problem of hunger is so massive that we just never get around to even volunteering at the food pantry.  To the degree that our lack of action is rooted in fear of not measuring up to God’s expectations, we can relax; even if we fall flat, we are loved by God.  Second, one of the great gifts we can give one another is a gentle rather than judging spirit.  In the carnivorous world of cliques and vicious Facebook posts, accepting others just as they are may give them the confidence to take a risk and blossom.  And it’s that loving investment in human capital that our Master really wants from us.

Discussion Questions

• Who do you identify with in the parable?  What do you think motivates each of the characters in the story?
• The third servant’s great failure is not risking in behalf of his master.  What risk are you afraid to take—particularly related to your life as a disciple of Jesus?  Why?
• Do you agree with this week’s writer that it is unimportant that the first two servants turned a tidy profit—and maybe even a distraction?  How would the parable be different if they had lost all the master’s money?

Activity Suggestions

• Look at a variety of newspapers, magazines, and news feeds for stories involving religion.  Based on what is being said, what would a man from Mars understand God’s character to be?  What is God like?  What does God want?  How does God act in the world?  What gives God joy and sorrow?
• Have some in the group role play this parable in a contemporary setting while others watch.  Pay attention to the motivations of each character.  Let those playing a role share what it felt like to be that character.  What new thing did those observing learn which they had missed in simply reading the story.

Closing Prayer

God, it is so easy to be paralyzed by fear—fear of making a mistake, fear of looking foolish, fear of failing to measure up, fear of disappointing you.  When I am afraid, help me to remember that I am already yours, loved and valued before I accomplish anything.  Then give me the courage to dare bold things in your name, confident that you, who redeemed Good Friday, can certainly use even my failures to do your will in the world.  Amen.

Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL

Warm-up Question

Who do you admire and why?

What Makes Success?

The recent death of visionary Apple, Inc. co-founder, chairman and CEO Steve Jobs has spawned a national wave of mourning and reflection, not to mention iPhone sales. Consultant Carmine Gallo has identified “seven secrets” to Jobs’ success, summarized in an article from ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/steve-jobs-secrets-success/story?id=14692969

1. Do what you love no matter what it happens to be.
2. Put a dent in the universe.
3. Say no to 1000 things.
4. Kick start your brain by doing something new.
5. Sell dreams not products
6. Create insanely great experiences
7. Master the message.

It is natural and common for us as mortal human beings to reflect at times of death on the significance and meaning of life, whether one individual’s story or the collective experience.  Deaths of public figures enlarge the conversation, especially figures who are young and creative–who appear full of life, making their death feel like a surprise, even though we know that, ready or not, death will come at an undisclosed time for us all.   For some, the dread and certainty of death provides motivation for living life to its fullest and/or chasing after success while there is still time.

Discussion Questions

• How do you define success?
• Which of Jobs’ “seven secrets” most resonates with you?  Which one would you like to emulate more, and why?
• Have you experienced the death of someone significant in your life?  How did you and others react?  What meaning did you make of their life?
• What do you hope will be written about you after you die?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 6, 2011 (Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost)

 
Amos 5:18-24

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

(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 parable in this week’s gospel looks forward to a decisive ending.  Jesus changes his standard introduction “the kingdom of heaven is like…” to “then the kingdom of heaven will be like…” so that the disciples gathered around him will know that now he is talking future, not present.

The story focuses on readiness for the coming of the bridegroom, which the disciples would recognize as a symbol for God’s Messiah, the one for whose arrival Israel waited eagerly.  By presenting ten bridesmaids instead of one, Jesus shifts the focus from the community as a whole to individuals, who might (and do) prepare and respond differently.  Five bring extra oil along with their lamps, five do not.  The bridegroom is so delayed that all of them fall asleep.  A shout comes at midnight that the bridegroom is coming, so everyone scurries to light their lamps.  The five without oil ask for help from the five with oil, but all they get is bad advice:  “go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”  In the frenzy of excitement, nobody stops to consider that the streets are dark and the dealers are probably closed, so the five “foolish” bridesmaids miss the bridegroom on their frantic wild goose chase for unavailable oil.

The first three of Steve Jobs’ seven secrets give us an interesting lens through which to look at the success or failure of our bridesmaids.  A heart (and a vision) clearly set on the bridegroom, even if not prepared with extra oil, would not settle for chasing after supplies or anything else when what it most truly wants is at hand.  And it is the wise bridesmaids, not the foolish ones, who say, “no.”  They are the ones who are ready for the “insanely great experience” of the wedding banquet, the kingdom come.

Yet this story doesn’t only teach us about ourselves, but also about the bridegroom for whom we wait and hope.  For one thing, our bridegroom doesn’t come on our terms or timetable.  Jesus is certainly taking his sweet time to return and end the human story, and most Christians in history will see death before they see Him.  With such a long wait, even the wisest of us fall asleep.  The story ends with a true warning that “you know neither the day nor the hour” (there are so many things we don’t get to know!), but it does give us a valuable clue about Jesus’ arrival.  The bridegroom comes at midnight, an hour of darkness when it is nearly impossible to see.  Two weeks from now, we will experience another story from Matthew 25 in which Jesus is hidden from view, and neither of its two groups (sheep nor goats) see him hidden in “the least of these.”  Could it be that the bridesmaids need the oil not so that they will see him, because they won’t, but so that he will see them?  (Notice how the foolish bridesmaids know the bridegroom, but he says he doesn’t know them…even though they were invited!)  Could it be that our hope is ultimately not in our hands, but in Christ’s eyes?

Discussion Questions

•  Where, when, and how do you see Christ?  How does Christ see you?
• Do you see other connections between Steve Jobs’ secrets for success and the behavior of the ten bridesmaids?
• To what requests and suggestions should you say “no”?
•  How does thinking about the fact that life and history will have an end make a difference for your life in the world right now?

Activity Suggestions

•  Ask a signficant, trusted older adult in your life (a parent, a grandparent, etc.) to share with you about preparations they have made for their death.  Have they written a will?  Have they made arrangements for a funeral?  Who and what have they identified as important after they die, and why?
• Write your own epitaph.  Assume that your gravestone is small, so your epitaph will have to fit in a Twitter post!

Closing Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus.  Focus us on what is most important, prepare us for your appearance, find us wherever we are, look upon us with compassion and understanding, and bring us at last into your joy.  Amen

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland , Fairfax, VA

Warm-up Question

Is there a cause so important to you that you would risk arrest to defend it?

Occupation Nation

Since September 17, hundreds of protesters have congregated at Zuccotti Park in New York City, holding an ongoing series of demonstrations known as “Occupy Wall Street.”  The protesters are speaking out against economic and social inequality and against corporate greed. Some have called for raising taxes on the rich, ending corporate welfare, protecting Medicare and Social Security, and an audit of the Federal Reserve or its elimination. Their rallying cry, “We are the 99%!” refers to the vast income and influence disparity between the top 1% of wealthiest Americans and everyone else. They say it is time for the 99% to inspire change.    (photo by L Kragt Bakker / Shutterstock.com)

The protesters are largely peaceful, although there have been isolated skirmishes with police. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested. The movement has spread from New York City to more than 70 other cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Politicians and pundits from all parts of the ideological spectrum have commented on the situation. President Obama said the protests reflected frustration that the same people whose irresponsibility caused the financial collapse are fighting efforts to “crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this crisis in the first place.” Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain responded to the protests saying, “Don’t blame Wall Street; don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!”

At the time of this writing, protesters have avoided an attempt by the owner of Zucotti Park to remove them, ostensibly to clean the park, and the protests continue to spread.

Discussion Questions

• Do you support the justification offered by the organizers of Occupy Wall Street, that the vast majority of Americans – the 99% – need to be heard regarding solutions to the economic crisis?
• Do you think Occupy Wall Street can be effective in shaping government or corporate policies?
• How do you think Jesus would respond to the protests? Would he be in Zuccotti Park with the protesters or do you imagine he would have some other response?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 30, 2011 (Reformation Sunday)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

(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 seems everywhere we turn we’re bombarded with sharply divided opinions. Each side appears earnest and is backed up with research, expert opinion, and statistics. In the face of this information overload, how are we supposed to decide who is telling the truth? Is government spending the best way to fix the economy, or is lowering taxes the answer. Is that egg you had for breakfast an excellent, low-fat source of protein or a dangerous dose of cholesterol? How are we supposed to sort out answers to complex questions?

Unlike these topics, the truth that Jesus offers in today’s gospel is unambiguous. If we are really his disciples, he says, we will know the truth and that truth will set us free.

Despite this assurance, the rigors of discipleship can sometimes feel more like a burden than the freedom we’re promised. Discipleship comes with the responsibility to read and understand God’s word, to pray and worship regularly, to show compassion and care for our fellow humans, to forgive our enemies. Add these to all the other claims on our time and attention, and it can be tempting to see discipleship as just one more demand.

But if we live in the word as Jesus suggests, it’s easy to see that discipleship is not the burden. Rather, our burden is a whole host of human ideas and emotions that are binding us like slaves and keeping us from living God’s truth–fear, laziness, apathy, hatred, and peer pressure.

The truth is as simple as it is challenging. As we study God’s word, humbly seeking there the answers to our questions (“How can I serve God?” “What should I do?”), we begin to discover the path of righteousness and know the freedom that Christ’s sacrifice purchased for each of us.

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean to be a slave to sin?
• What are the things that keep you from living fully in God’s word?
• What is this truth that will set you free?
• We say that America is a free country, but are there aspects of American culture that can enslave a Christian?

Activity Suggestions

 In Alexandria, VA, there is a church with a sign out front that reads “Occupy King Street.”  (King Street is the “main drag” in town.) Imagine your congregation decided to occupy a street or square in your community. What would be the focus of your occupation?  What would be your demands? How would your behavior reflect a distinctively Christian vision? Who would speak at your rally? How many people would attend? How would the community in which you live respond to such a public witness?

Now consider completing your plans and making your occupation a reality. What would it take to make your occupation happen?  In your group discuss whether this is the most effective way to work for justice; are there alternatives?  When is such direct action demanded of a Christian?  Perhaps this path seems very difficult or radical. Before you dismiss the idea of such action, try to discern whether Jesus is indeed calling you to a new path of discipleship and freedom in pursuing your cause.

Closing Prayer

Most kind and compassionate Father, who anticipates all our needs, thank you for your Word, revealed in scripture and embodied in Christ. Release us from the bondage of sin. Help us to shake off the fear and complacency that makes it difficult for us to act according to your will. Always lead us in your way. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who is the truth and the way of everlasting life. Amen

Contributed by Dennis Sepper, Pacific Lutheran University

Warm-up Question

Did you help someone out today?  How?  How did it make you feel?

Proactive Love

Dateline El Cajon, California…By Brian Flores, FOX 5 San Diego Reporter
More than 600 El Cajon students created signs and formed a human chain around  an elementary school Thursday, pledging to make it a “bully-free  school.”  “This is a no  bullying zone, and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Bostonia  Elementary School principal Cindy White.  White’s school held several events on campus during the week to  remind and teach students about bullying and how to prevent it.  “We haven’t had as much of a problem as  we have now,” said White. “We do have bullying incidences that happen  down to our kindergarten level.”

 It’s not just in  El Cajon where students are taking a stand. Bullying remains a nationwide  problem.  According national statistics,
more than 13 million students have experienced some form of bullying.  In San Diego, about 10 percent of students  drop out of school because of repeated bullying, according to the San Diego  Office of Education.  “Sometimes it’ll be racially motivated. It may be motivated by how a student looks, how a student acts,” said White.  “When you have one child that’s more  dominant that tends to over and over confront another student, than that is  bullying.”  White said this is a  statement that students, staff, parents, and the community need to make bully-free schools.  “We are  committed to ensuring a bully-free school and every one of us has a part in making that happen,” said White.  [end  of article]

Bullying is a serious problem in our schools from  the elementary level right through college. According to the National Education Association 160,000 students stay  home from school everyday due to bullying.  Think about that for a moment…every day160,000 students are so afraid that they do not have the  courage to go to school.  Can we agree  that this statistic is not only nuts, but unacceptable?

The  month of October is National  Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  As  Christians who are called to love all, even our enemies, and to speak up on  behalf of those who cannot speak up for themselves, can’t we do something about  this?  I’m not talking about “going rogue”  which is the world’s response, but working together as the “Body of Christ” to  bring some hope to those who live in fear.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think some people become bullies?
• Does your school have an anti-bullying program?  Do you think it works?
• What do you think might help reduce bullying in your school?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 23, 2011 (Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18;

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Matthew 22:34-46

(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 the twenty-second chapter of Matthew Jesus is confronted by the religious authorities on a number of occasions.  Today we are told that after Jesus had quieted the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together to test Jesus by trying to force Jesus to pick one of the commandments over the others.  Jesus doesn’t fall for the trick.  Instead Jesus quotes two very well known (to the Jews of Jesus’ day) Old Testament passages.  The first is called the Shema which every Jew recited often.  It is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  Jesus then adds a passage from Leviticus 19:18 (our first reading for today): “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Now, you may note that while the Pharisees asked for one commandment, Jesus gave two commandments.  That is the unique thing about this passage.  Jesus links the love of God with the love of neighbor and self.  Don’t be fooled by the phrase “and a second is like it.”  For Jesus the two are equal and flow in and out of each other as if it were one commandment.  As we love God with all we have, we are naturally drawn to love our neighbor.

When Martin Luther reformed the Church, he too linked love of God with love of neighbor.  In his Small Catechism (which many of you are now familiar with, right?) Luther’s explanations to the commandments state how we should love our neighbor and be “proactive” in our serving of neighbor.  For example, Luther’s explanation to the eighth commandment “You shall not bear false witness” (which seems to apply to the bullying issue!) Luther states:  “We are fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations.  Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.” (italics mine).

This is the link to the bullying issue mentioned above.  Our fellow students are our neighbors.  We are not only to comfort those who are being bullied (reactive love which is very, very good and helpful) but we are also called to show proactive love, a love that works against the evil of bullying.  We can do that by praying for the victims of bullying (and for the bully…remember we are to also love our enemies!), we can band together with one another, teachers and parents to work against bullying as the folks in El Cajon are doing, and we can speak out as we feel safe and able against bullying.  If we totally ignore the problem we only allow it to continue.  Jesus and Martin Luther suggest we do more than that…that we show forth our love of God by loving and protecting our neighbor.

Discussion Questions

•  Do you agree with Jesus linking the love of God with love of neighbor?  Why or why not?
• The prophets often spoke a proactive love to the people of God and were treated badly for it.  What are some of the obstacles to showing proactive love toward our neighbor especially around the issue of bullying?
• What is one thing you will commit yourself to this week to work against bullying?  For suggestions visit this website:  www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov

Activity Suggestions

Gather your Youth Group or friends, write a script and make your own anti-bullying video!  For inspiration watch this YouTube video by
“the Mustache Man”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZGx6aBJG0&feature=player_embedded

 Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, send you Holy Spirit upon us.  Fill us with a strong and sincere love for you.  May it be so strong that it empowers us to love our neighbor and work for the common good.  Be with all those who are afraid this day to even do the simple task of going to school.  Give them courage and hope and if it be your will, use us as instruments to work against the evil of bullying.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Love incarnate.  Amen.