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ELCA Blogs / Faith Lens / November16, 2014–Marketing and Stuff

November16, 2014–Marketing and Stuff

Brian Hiortdahl, Overland Park, KS

Warm-up Question

What responsibility scares you?

Marketing and Stuff

Rikk Wilde became an instant internet sensation for the awkwardness of his presentation of a Chevy truck to the 2014 World Series Most Valuable Player, Madison Bumgarner.  He noted the prize vehicle’s “technology and stuff,” a phrase that Chevrolet has since embraced as part of a new marketing campaign:

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http://www.businessinsider.in/Chevy-Had-The-Perfect-Response-To-The-Awkward-World-Series-Trophy-Presentation/articleshow/44996438.cms

A member of the congregation I now serve, who knows Mr. Wilde and his boss, told me that the marketing value of this presentation has been tracked at roughly ten times what was expected for this moment in the national spotlight.  A gaffe became a goldmine.

 

Discussion Questions

  • What is your most embarrassing moment?  Did something positive come from it?
  • Do you agree with the author’s assessment of how Chevrolet handled this situation?
  • Circus legend P.T. Barnum is credited with saying, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.”  Is that true?  Why or why not?

Lectionary 33

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

Jesus tells his disciples a surprising parable of exaggerated proportion:  a master leaves town and entrusts three servants with “a few things”:  a ton of money!  (A talent was more than fifteen years worth of an average worker’s earnings.)  The first two servants trade with the money and return double the original amount.  The third servant digs a hole and buries it in the ground, in accordance with rabbinical wisdom:

This activity shows him prudent and trustworthy. In commenting on the Mishnah, “If he guarded it [money] in the manner of guardians [and it was lost] he is not liable,” the Gemara quotes Rabbi Samuel: “Money can only be guarded [by placing it] in the earth.” In the ancient world, underground was the only safe place… (B.B. Scott, Hear Then the Parable, p. 227)

The surprise is that the master, upon his return, banishes the cautious, “trustworthy” servant with fury. Why?

A possible explanation lies in what does not happen in the parable.  No one loses money in this story’s economic marketplace, a clue that maybe Jesus is not talking about money at all.  If God is the master and we are the servants, as Matthew’s pattern of presenting Jesus’ parables suggests, then we have been entrusted with treasure that no one can afford.  Could that treasure be the miracle of being alive?  Could that treasure be the Jesus, who is the kingdom of heaven in human form…who was buried in the earth too?  (Compare Matthew 13:44!)  Could that treasure be, as Martin Luther wrote, “the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God”? (Thesis 62)

God’s grace cannot be squandered or wastefully invested.  The only way to lose it is to bury it in fear.  If we trade with grace, exchanging love and blessing, it will only grow.  If we hide it and hoard it, we don’t really know God the way we claim we do.  The kingdom of God is like publicity:  it’s all good, even when it doesn’t seem like it.  Use it or lose it.  (Just ask Chevy!)

Discussion Questions

  • What riches (or “talents”), literally or figuratively, have been entrusted to you?  What do you do with them?
  • Do you agree with what seems to be Matthew’s inference that God can be like a harsh master?  Why or why not?  If not God, who does the master in the story represent?

Activity Suggestions

Invite members of the stewardship committee and the council at your church to share a Bible study on this parable with your group.  What does it have to say to your congregation as a whole about taking chances?

Closing Prayer

Thank you, God, for entrusting so much to us.  Help us to overcome fear and share your blessings boldly with the world, and lead us all to the joy of our master, Jesus Christ our Treasure and Lord.  Amen

November 9, 2014 — Are You Prepared

Jocelyn Breeland–Fairfax, VA

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Warm-up Question

What’s the most important way you are preparing for your future?

Are You Prepared

Here are some things that have been happening around the country in the last couple of weeks:

Authorities on the Big Island of Hawaii have gone door-to-door notifying residents to make preparations for a possible evacuation in advance of lava flows from the Kilauea volcano. Will everyone remain safe? Will their homes?

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Christmas decorations, on store shelves for weeks, are even more prominent now that Halloween has passed. Have you bought yours yet?

Hospitals and state and local governments are working urgently to develop plans in the event of a case of Ebola in their areas. Will the plans be successful in containing the disease?

Voters in Texas, Ohio and North Carolina scrambled to comply with Supreme Court action that upheld new voter ID requirements, fewer voting dates and an end to same-day voter registration – respectively, in those states. Was there a noticeable reduction in voter fraud, as some insisted, or would poor and minority voters be suppressed, as others feared?

In every case, people are foreseeing the future, and taking steps to be ready.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Have you ever been in a situation where you were unprepared? What lesson did you learn from that experience?
  • How do you handle things you can’t prepare for?
  • Is there a difference when you plan to avoid something bad as compared to planning for something good?
  • How is your faith part of your preparation?

Lectionary 32

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

Matthew 25 contains two stories that Jesus uses to teach his disciples – and us – about God’s expectations. He wants us to be prepared, like the virgins who carried extra oil for their lamps.

In verses 14 – 28, he urges us to be like the men who invested their bags of gold. And in verses 31 – 46, he explains why.

The good news is that God always provides the oil for the lamp and the riches to invest. We have everything we need to live the lives he has planned for us.

Discussion Questions

  • Describe the parable in plain terms. How are we like the virgins who planned ahead? How are we like those who did not?
  • Does this scripture contradict Matthew 6: 25 – 34? What are we supposed to worry about and plan for, and what are we not?
  • What things or people can help you prepare?
  • Do factors such as age, gender, location or economic status affect your preparations?

Activity Suggestions

 

Imagine you know that Jesus is going to be visiting your group next week. How will you prepare?

  • Make a list of things you might do to get ready for Jesus’ visit. They should be things you can actually do, but don’t worry about not having time to do everything on the list. Just spend a few minutes writing down as many options as you can think of.
  • Select one or two of the options and commit to doing them in the next week.
  • Share your list and your commitment with the others in the group.
  • Next week, make time to discuss your experience.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we offer you praise and thanksgiving for blessing us with everything we need to live the lives you have planned for us. Remind us daily whose we are and who we serve. Lift our spirits when we are discouraged. Give us the wisdom to see what you would have us do, and the courage to do it boldly. We ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

November 2, 2014–Thanks in the Midst of Trial

Jay McDivett, Waukesha, WI

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Warm-up Question

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do? What got you through it? When it was over, how did you feel?

Thanks in the Midst of Trial

After 21 long days of quarantine, over 40 people who may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus were released with a clean bill of health last week. Several others still wait to be cleared.

Even though the threat of an Ebola epidemic in the United States is extremely minimal, media attention has created a state of panic for many in this country, worrying about the safety of travel, immigrants, and casual contact with folks at the supermarket or at church. (Several pastors report parishioners wanting to do away with the passing of peace and intinction or common cup Communion because of fears of Ebola and other communicable diseases.)

But for those who were in contact with Thomas Duncan (the one Ebola patient to die on U.S. soil), the fear was very real. It’s over now. This is especially real for Louise Troh, Duncan’s fiancée. “Praise to God. I am free. I am so happy… All thanks to God,” Troh said, according to a spokesperson who spoke to ABC News.

Thankful, but still mourning the loss of her fiancée. Other folks are still under quarantine, with their movements restricted and their hearts and families anxious about whether or not they’re sick.

And the rest of the country waits to see what will happen next.

 

Discussion Questions

  • On a scale of 1-10, how worried are you about Ebola?
  • How would you feel if you were Louise Troh? Or one of the people who are still on quarantine?
  • Think of a time when you were really scared about something… and then everything turned out okay. How did that feel?

November 2, 1014–All Saints Sunday

Revelation 7:9–17
1 John 3:1–3
Matthew 5:1–12

(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

The book of Revelation is scary. And weird. And totally wonderful.  More than anything, it is a bold and constant proclamation of a foundational promise: God is in charge. From beginning to end of the book of Revelation, we hear the same word: God is the beginning and end.

That doesn’t mean that what happens in the middle doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean that death and disease, war and worry are nothing.  It means that all of this is the “great ordeal” that we fumble through. Some days are wonderful and blissful and full of nothing but blessing. Some days just plain suck. Most days have some of both.  And the Lamb of God reigns and rules above it all; God is with us and among us through it all, and is working to bring us through it all.

November 1 is All Saints’ Day – celebrated in church on November 2 this year. It is the day to remember how God was present with all those who have gone before us – through all their trials and tribulations, all their fears and failings. And to remember how God is present with us now, too – surrounding us with this “great cloud of witnesses” – inspiring us with the stories of how they endured all manner of “great ordeals” and came out on the other side, dressed in the white robes they were given when they were baptized. This promise is ours, too. No matter what we face, the “Alpha and Omega” – the “Beginning and the End” – will be with us.

In the face of that, Ebola ain’t got nothin’ on us. Seriously.

Discussion Questions

  • Tell a story of a “great ordeal” (a trial or test, a disease or defeat) that someone close to you has “come through.” What gave them strength?
  • All Saints’ is a time to remember those who have completed their baptismal journeys. Tell the story of someone close to you who has died. Where was God in their life? What did you learn from them about faith?
  • How could you help someone who is going through a “great ordeal”? How can you be present with people who are struggling to be faithful when life kind of (or really) stinks?

Activity Suggestions

Materials: Paper, writing utensils, crayons/markers/colored pencils/paint, magazines/scissors/glue sticks, whatever you need to express yourself.

Create a stained-glass window of a saint. It could be a saint of the church, or a saint in your life. Anyone who has died whose faith has taught you something about your own faith.  Invite folks to share their saints with each other.

Closing Prayer

God: Your love and grace make broken people holy – saints. Thank you for that. Help us all to be better than we could ever be on our own. When we are afraid or challenged, bring us through. Keep us, and all who have gone before us, safe. Amen.

October 26, 2014–Parents Just Don’t Understand

Danny Stone, Marion, IA

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Warm-up Question

Share the story about a disagreement between you and your parent/guardian/caregiver.  Who won the fight?  How did you feel?  How did they feel?

Parents Just Don’t Understand

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In the Grammy Award winning teen rant, Will Smith raps that “parents just don’t understand.”  It was true in 1988, true now and true when families gathered around the fire to roast a mastodon. 

Imagine for a moment a student and father battling.  Dad is a strong willed and ambitious owner of a construction company.  He has worked hard all his life and dreams that his son will be a lawyer.  Mike just finished college and hates the career that is father has chosen.  He feels anxious and lost. In the past year, Mike has seen two friends die, leaving heavy questions on his heart.

While traveling between law school and home, Mike’s car hydroplanes in a thunderstorm, spins wildly and narrowly misses a truck.  His car lands in the ditch.  With his life passing before his eyes, Mike decides to follow his calling.  He vows to quit school and join the Peace Corps.

Elements of this story may sound familiar.  We have all heard stories about children and parents not agreeing about college and career.  Who hasn’t felt pressure to excel?  This story becomes completely familiar when we replace character names and a few details.  The father’s real name is Hans, and he owns a small copper mine.  The student is Martin; he is frightened by a lightning strike on the way to University of Erfurt and promises to become a monk.  The year is 1505.  Yes, Martin Luther’s father wanted him to be a lawyer, not the scholar-priest who led the Reformation.

Discussion Questions

  • Have you had “lightening” in your life that points you in a new direction?
  • What do your parents want for your future?
  • Share the story of a time that you were mad, angry or frustrated with your parents.
  • Discuss the difference between winning an argument and forging an agreement.
  • What can your church, congregation and faith do to help improve family relationships?

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

Martin Luther’s childhood under the thumb of a domineering father a left him with deep scars.  The church of his time offered little comfort.  He might have been free of his earthly father but feared eternal punishments from his father in heaven.  Luther felt crippling fear but found hope in the Gospel.  Today is Reformation Sunday — the day we celebrate Luther’s movement that brought the church back to Christ’s unswerving message of forgiveness, salvation, and freedom.

John’s Gospel promises freedom from slavery.  Many of us might say like the disciples, “Wait, we are not slaves.”  Slavery is much deeper and more common than the obvious.  Jesus was not talking about the slavery we know from history.  Slavery is common, everyday, and afflicts all of us.  On an elemental level, we are all slaves to our fear of death.  We may be slaves to drugs and alcohol.  We may eat too much, be forced to follow the group, have crippling debt, bow down to obsessive behaviors.  Slavery is everywhere.

The truth of Christ’s death and resurrection frees us from sin, death, fear, and anxiety.  We do not have to live as slaves.  Luther’s movement sought to enable Christians to take up the Bible, so that we may discover this truth.  Once we are free, we can live in communion with Christ, the world, and even our families. The truth sets us free.

Discussion Questions

  •  In what ways do you feel enslaved?
  • How does life in Christ give us freedom from inappropriate expectations of others?
  • One reason we observe Reformation Sunday is to remember that the church is in constant need of being re-formed, created anew.  From what does the church need to be freed in our day so that it can more effectively serve Christ?

Activity Suggestions

 

Bookmark these items in advance.  Have small groups review a video.  Discuss and share with the large group what each clip can teach about children, parents, and family relationships.

“Father and Son” by Cat Stevens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-DsYmxznWA

“Cats in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5r2spPJ8g

Bill Cosby on childhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anNR5YU98OQ

“Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_cGeb8K1BA

“Daughters” by John Mayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZLbUIa7exE

“Butterfly Fly Away” by Hannah Montana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrL8ndJRgcQ#t=115

“Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-Om7UMSJc

“Cleanin’ Out My Closet” (clean version) by Eminem
http://vevo.ly/gFujFl

Closing Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, parent of all, bless our families and aid our growth.  Help us find freedom through the death, resurrection and forgiveness of your son, Jesus Christ.  In your name we pray, Amen.

October 19, 2014–Why Pay Taxes?

Erik Ullestad–West Des Moines, IA

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Warm-up Question

How do you stay connected with your friends?

Why Pay Taxes?

Cell phone usage is at an all-time high.  Many people are getting rid of their landline phone and exclusively using a mobile device for all their communication needs.  The pre-teen market has grown significantly in the last five years.  The average age for a kid’s first cell phone is 11 years old and 77% of kids ages 12-17 have a cell phone.  Contributing to this growth in mobile device usage are an abundance of new devices entering the market place (like two varieties of Apple’s new iPhone 6) and wireless service providers that offer a wide variety of monthly plan options suited to the needs of the customer.

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Phone companies and wireless providers aren’t the only groups who are profiting from the mobile boom.  Federal, state, and local governments are seeing increased revenue as a result of taxes applied to cell phone plans.  According to a study by the Washington D.C.-based Tax Foundation, the U.S. average combined tax rate for wireless plans is 17.05%.  The federal rate is currently fixed at 5.82%, which is added to the varying state-local rates.  Washington State has the highest rate at 18.6 percent, compared to neighboring state of Oregon which has the lowest at 1.76 percent.

For some, the issue of high cell phone taxes is political.  Governor Rick Scott has promised to give the people of Florida at $120 million annual reduction in the communications services tax.  Others see this as a justice issue.  The Centers for Disease control reports that over 56 percent of adults living in poverty have only wireless service as their means of communication.

Discussion Questions

  • Do you have a cell phone?  If so, how do you use it?  (Social media, texting, phone calls, etc.)
  • How much money do you think is an appropriate amount to spend on a cell phone?
  • What do you think is a reasonable tax rate for wireless service plans?

Lectionary 29

Isaiah 45:1-7

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Matthew 22:15-22

(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

 

In the Gospel reading today we find Jesus in a potentially sticky situation.  The church leaders, in conjunction with Herod’s followers, have set a trap for Jesus.  They ask him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? [17]” This was a trick question.  If Jesus answered “yes”, the church leaders would be upset because they felt taxation – especially the poll tax – was unjust.  If he answered “no”, the emperor could throw Jesus in jail for challenging the law.

Jesus offers an answer that leaves both parties speechless.  He says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and give to God the things that are God’s [21].” In saying this, Jesus not only silenced his adversaries, but he lifted up the importance of giving back to God.  The money that was to be given to the emperor was just money – an idolatrous coin with the face of Caesar on it.  God, the creator and ruler of all, blesses us more than any earthly leader ever could – which means we have a lot to give back.

When it comes to “giving to God”, students might remember the 3 T’s – time, talents, and treasures.  When we give to God in this way, it’s not about acts of service; it’s about lives of service.  It’s about a life-altering change in the way we look at our tangible and intangible gifts.  Like Abraham, God blesses us so that we may be a blessing to others [Genesis 12:3].

Discussion Questions

  • How did the Pharisees try to trick Jesus?
  • Why do you think the Pharisees sent their disciples to confront Jesus instead of talk to Jesus themselves?
  • How did Jesus answer the question about taxes?
  • What do you think Jesus’ words mean to you today?  What does it say about your priorities?
  • In Jesus’ day, taxes were often associated with corrupt leaders who made themselves rich at the expense of the poor.  What do you think about taxes today?  Are they important?  Why do you feel that way?
  • What are ways that God has blessed you?
  • What is one way that you can share these blessings with others this week?

Activity Suggestions

Consider making a commitment as a group to financially support a local, national, or global organization that helps other people.  Ask the group if they have any suggestions.  If they don’t, offer some of your own.  You’ll want to research this in advance.  ELCA Good Gifts can give you some great ideas.  Discuss all the suggestions, and then try to come to a decision as a group.  Sign a covenant that everyone will bring a regular offering to help support this project.  You may want to make a poster that demonstrates how much money is given each week/month to this ministry.  Inform parents and other congregation members of the way that the young people are “giving to God what is God’s.”

Closing Prayer

Generous God, we give you thanks for the ways in which you bless us.  Help us to be in tune with the gifts we have received, and help us to use those gifts to bless the lives of those around us.  Open our eyes to the needs of others and give us the strength to share words of peace, hope, and love to the world.  For the sake of Jesus, we pray, amen.