Contributed by Jack Saarela, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Yale University

Warm-up Question

Look at the picture below.  What would you substitute for “especially bookstores”?

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

In seeking a thought-provoking picture about temptation to kick off this devotion, I noted that they were almost all one of two general types: (a) photos of women being tempted by food, especially chocolate; and (b) seductive, revealing photos of young, buxom female beauties, presumably representing the most common and compelling temptation for men.

But there are temptations other than overindulging in rich food or engaging in illicit, casual, uncommitted sex. I should wear a shirt like the one in this photo. No matter how many unread books are already on my shelf, no matter the state of our family budget, lure me into a bookstore, and you can be sure I won’t walk out without at least one more book to add to my library.  It’s not exactly “shop ‘til you drop”, but more like, “There’s always room for one more on my shelf”, and “I’ll read it later.”

Discussion Questions

• We pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” What do you think of when you hear that phrase?
• What are the temptations that follow you around like your shadow which you can only acknowledge to yourself?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 13, 201 (First Sunday in Lent)

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Romans 5:12-19

Matthew 4:1-11

(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 tells us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Don’t you think that rather strange? The same Spirit that descended and alighted on him in his baptism just a few verses earlier, now seemingly leading Jesus into temptation? What happened to “Lead us not into temptation”?

It’s interesting that the Greek word used by Matthew can mean either “temptation” or “test”. One commentator remarks, “Apparently, Satan tempts, but God tests.”

About what is Jesus being tested by God? God’s voice had been heard at Jesus’ baptism saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved . . .” In announcing Jesus’ birth, the angel had quoted the prophet who said the name of the young woman would be “Emmanuel, which means God with us.” So, how ready is Jesus to be God’s Beloved, to take on the mission given to him of being the very presence of God in the world? What means would he use to fulfill that mission?

Satan prefaced each temptation with, “If you are the Son of God . . .” How much would Jesus really trust the voice from heaven that proclaimed him the Son? Would he base his life on his God-given identity as the Beloved, or would he try to forge his own identity as a wonder-worker or oriental despot?

Matthew doesn’t describe the struggle that Jesus surely must have experienced in hearing Satan’s temptations. Is something really a temptation if it isn’t somehow within our grasp for the taking, and if it doesn’t involve a sacrifice to deny it?

But in the end, Jesus turned Satan down. He would live out his identity as the Beloved and fulfill his mission, not by pulling out the “God card” as Satan counseled. Instead, he would do the opposite. To be God with us, he had to become human before God, just like us. Paul writes to the Philippians that “though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness.” He wasn’t going to jump from the parapet of the temple, because flesh and blood doesn’t survive such a jump.

Don’t you find hope in Jesus’ victory over temptation and his passing God’s test? Son of God though he was, Jesus was no different in this respect from you and me. Temptation was as strong, as real, for him as for anyone of us. And being in human form, his power to resist was no greater than ours. Temptation strips all, including even Jesus, of any power of our own to save ourselves. Why else would Jesus teach us to pray for God to deliver us from evil?

Jesus relied on his God-given identity as the Beloved, and on all of God’s promises in Scripture, to pass the test and resist Satan’s tempting offers. All alone out there in the wilderness with Satan, that’s all Jesus had to rely on.

When we face our own temptations, whatever they are, that’s all we have to rely on too. But it will be enough.

Discussion Questions

• High school students interviewed in an episode of Real Faith TV list drinking, drugs, sex before you’re ready, and cheating on test as the Big Four temptations in their lives, and the lives of their peers (http://realfaithtv.com/realfaithtv/09-10_episodes.html) Do you agree?
• Do you think there’s always something deeper going on when we are tempted? That is, some dissatisfaction with out lives as they are that makes us particularly vulnerable to temptation?
• Not many of us consider ourselves “rich”. But by the standards of our world, most of us are quite comfortable. I would argue that the greatest temptation for us in our society is to rely on our affluence for our security. See I Timothy 6:6-10.  What do you think?

Activity Suggestions

Watch the “Marshmallow Test” and have a good laugh! See yourself in it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMkn4J_l9uU

Participants might also discuss whether they would eat or wait–and why.

Closing Prayer

Loving God, in the desert you called our Lord to the way of trust and service, rather than of presumption and power.  You  promised Him your sustaining presence.  Strengthen us in all our temptations, preserving us most of all from despair.  You, who know our weakness, forgive our failings and renew us daily, that our lives may be signs of your care for all creation.  We make our prayer in the name of Him who has walked the way of temptation before us, Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever found yourself in a tough situation with  no good choices?

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

LoHud.com recently reported the suicides of Nejla Akkoc, 71, and her 31-year-old daughter Ayshe who were found dead in their White Plains home.  Ayshe had cerebral palsy and needed a wheelchair.  Nejla, Ayshe’s sole care giver, had recently learned she had terminal cancer.  A note the pair left indicated it had become increasingly difficult for Nejla to care for her daughter, so the two decided to leave the world together.

The challenge of older parents caring for their children with disabilities is not uncommon.  Nationwide, 62 percent of people with disabilities live with family members; more than 700,000 of them live with parents or family members over the age of 60. At the same time, state budget cuts have made it more difficult for families to find services for their loved ones with disabilities.

In Indiana, families report that state workers have suggested they leave people with severe disabilities at homeless shelters.  A spokesman for the Family and Social Services Administration said this is not state policy and the individuals who made this suggestion have been disciplined.

Still, the situation is critical for families in a state where waiting lists for disability services contain more than 20,000 names.  Some of those on the list have been waiting more than 10 years, and 2,000 slots were eliminated in the most recent round of state budget cuts.  A similar story is playing out in just about every state.

“It’s heart-wrenching,as a parent, to watch it.  We are people and they are people,” said one parent, speaking of her son and others with disabilities.  “They have lives that are worth something.”

Discussion Questions

• Put yourself in Nejla and Ayshe Akkoc’s place.  What emotions do you think they felt?
• A common observation by those who work to prevent suicide is that “suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem.”  What might make someone believe suicide is the best of several bad options?  Do you think suicide can ever the best choice in times of crisis?
• Most of Nejla and Ayshe’s family lived in Turkey.  What role might separation from family have played in their feelings about their situation?
• What resources can Christian faith and community offer to people in situations like the Akkocs’?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 14, 2010 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Malachi 4:1-2a

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Luke 21:5-19

(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 Jews of Jesus’ time could be forgiven if they thought that after the coming of the promised Messiah things would get much better, both in the immediate future and for the long-term. In today’s gospel Jesus tells his hearers that not only is the end not coming right away, but there are going to be countless trials before that time.  Jesus anticipates many terrors: wars between nations, natural disasters, persecution in the synagogues, and even division within families.

With nearly 2,000 years of hindsight, we can certainly say these predictions have come true, and we have to expect that these trials will continue throughout our lifetimes.  But despite the certainty of persecution and even death, Jesus does not want us to despair.  “But not a hair of your head will perish,” he says.  “By standing firm you will gain life.”

No matter how difficult a situation, or how limited our choices, we know that Jesus is with us.  In the face of every hardship and disaster, Jesus’ promise of eternal life remains.  He is always with us; in the end, his victory is sure. Knowing this makes our hard choices easier.

Discussion Questions

• Who are the deceivers Jesus refers to in verse 8?
• Do you think knowing that difficulties are inevitable makes it easier to accept and cope with problems when they arise?
• What challenges do you face which are most difficult for you?  How does today’s gospel lesson speak to those challenges?

Activity Suggestion

Sometimes God’s answer to a desperate prayer is us.  Scan your local newspaper for stories of individuals and families faced with difficult choices and consider two questions:

• How is your congregation already engaged in supporting those who face the difficult choices noted in the stories?
• Are there specific ways you, your youth group, or congregation might be help those in these situations?

Offer a prayer, lifting up, by name, the persons mentioned  in the stories you identified.  Ask for God’s intervention in each situation and for the willingness and wisdom to be part of that intervention.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the many blessings you offer us every day.  When times are tough, help us to remember your steadfast promise of eternal life.  Give us the wisdom and strength to always choose your will, your way.  In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, our rock and our deliverer.  Amen.

Contributed by Jay McDivitt, Mequon, WI

Warm-up Question

What is one thing you have learned about “faith” from a grandparent and/or a parent?

Christian Kids Not Really Christian?

Kenda Creasy Dean, a professor at Princeton and author of Almost Christian, argues that more and more young people in Christian churches are embracing a “watered-down,” and not really “Christian” faith – something she calls “moralistic therapeutic deism” (MTD). MTD doesn’t reject basic Christian beliefs, but it doesn’t really encourage them either. Instead, MTD affirms that “God” created the world and is available to help you feel better when you’re down, but otherwise stays out of the way. God wants us to be nice and happy.  The God of MTD says good people who go to heaven. While these may be common assumptions about faith, Dean argues, these are not the historic claims of the Christian faith.

Why are kids embracing this watered-down version of the faith? Primarily because no one is taking their faith development very seriously. While parents will bend over backwards to drag kids to tutors, coaches, practices, and games to make sure that they learn or even excel in algebra, hockey, dance, soccer, or piano, it seems the name of the game for religion is to “expose” kids to faith – and hope they soak something up. Far from the radical commitments of the first disciples, many Christian churches assume that kids are doing well if they make a few good friends at youth group, have fun at camp, learn how to be nice, and avoid premarital sex or illegal drugs.

The problem lies mostly with parents, Dean argues: Too many parents don’t understand themselves why the Christian faith makes any real difference in their lives or in the world. They get “nice” and “good” – and, perhaps, “pure.” But they either didn’t grow up in the church or they were taught the same watered-down version of the faith.

What to do about it? The jury is still out. Many see a new passion growing among young people who want a faith that matters in a world that seems to be off balance. Others see an increasing decline in Christianity in North America that will bring faith practice here to the same low levels seen in Europe for decades.  One thing is for sure: Dean has started a conversation which will continue for some time as churches, parents, and young people wrestle with what it means to be Christian in the 21^st century.

Discussion Questions

• What do you think of Dean’s suggestion that Christianity has become mostly a religion of “nice” and “happy” people?  Does this sound like the Christian faith you see at church or in your home? Why or why not?
• Other than being “nice” and “happy” – and praying to God when you need help – what does it mean to you to be a Christian? What’s the real Christian faith, if the version Dean talks about is fake?
• When you think about the future, how do you want the next generation of kids (your kids or your friends’ kids) to learn about being Christians? What would you do differently from what you’re experiencing at home and at church today? What would you do the same?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 3, 2010 (Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:5-10

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

The disciples ask Jesus to “increase our faith!” How many of us have asked the same thing? When we read about tragedies around the world—or experience them ourselves in cancer, car accidents, or parents losing jobs—it’s hard for a lot of us to believe that God is real and doing good in the world. Faith gets rocked all the time, especially in the confusing and changing and crazy years of the teens and twenties.

Jesus’ response to this very normal request is surprising and a little bizarre: “If you had just a teeny-tiny bit of faith, you could move mountains.” Assuming none of us has ever told a mountain to move and had it obey, this seems like a rather strange exaggeration. Not all that helpful, at least on the surface.

But maybe that’s the point. Maybe what Jesus is saying is that the amount of faith isn’t what matters. We sometimes say “That woman is really faithful; she does x, y, and z for the church.” or, “I wish I could have faith like that guy; he’s always got the right answers.” That makes faith all about us—about how often we go to church, when and how we pray, what we do or don’t do on Friday night or Sunday morning, or how many Christian t-shirts or pieces of jewelry we wear. But if faith is all about us, then not only are we off track, we’re doomed.

That’s what is dangerous about the “almost Christian” faith that Dean describes. It’s all about us.  Faith becomes how we feel, about how nice we are – and God only enters the picture when we have a problem that we can’t fix. Then we pray “help me!” and hope God will show up and do something.

But that’s not what faith is all about. Faith is the hope that God has planted in us by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Faith is the trust that God didn’t just create the world—and occasionally shows up to fix things when we ask for help—but rather, God is turning the whole world upside down and inside out. God is the one moving mountains, destroying death, forgiving sin, healing divisions, and changing lives. Faith is the gift God gives us to see that “this is most certainly true” and the encouragement to tell the world about what we have seen.

Believing that God is turning the world upside down means that we will see, live, and talk differently. It means we will question more about “the way things are” and believe more about what God is doing. And it means we will have to practice seeing, speaking, and living the faith. Christian faith is a sheer gift, but it does not come naturally; it comes with practice. And practice takes patience and time.

That’s why it is so important for us to listen to our ancestors. Part of the problem of “MTD” is that it is all about “here and now” – it’s about my issues and my life. But Christianity is about the Beginning and the End; it’s about how Jesus is the first and last Word in creation. And that message has been given to us by those who have gone before us. The reading from 2 Timothy is a great example: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you…Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”

By the gift of baptism, we have living in us the same faith that was given to our parents, our grandparents, and all those who have gone before us. It is solid stuff which makes bold claims about the past, present, and future of creation that go way beyond being “nice” or “happy.” And it is ours to live, to grow in, and to pass on to those who come after us. Since we believe that we “rely on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to God’s own purpose and grace,” we know that whatever we do with this gift, God will keep on giving it to us and to our grandchildren, now and forever. And thanks be to God for that.

Discussion Questions

• What is different about what your grandparents believed and what you believe? If your answer is “not a lot,” why? If it’s “a lot,” what do you think created the difference?
• When have you ever wished for “more faith”? What happened?
• What difference does Jesus actually make in your life? In your parents’ lives? In the life of your church?

Activity Suggestions

• Arrange for a few older members of the church to come and talk about thier faith life. What was confirmation like for them? Did they ever leave the church? Why or why not? What do they think is the most important thing for young people to learn about Jesus and/or the church? [Perhaps this is a good time to pair each youth with an older adult for a mentoring/prayer partner relationship, if you don’t have one already.]
• Make a “faith family tree.” Have them draw their family trees – including non-“family” members (such as godparents, etc.). Identify what each person did (or didn’t) teach them about Jesus and the Christian life.
• Write a letter to your kids/grandkids/godkids/nieces/nephews. Whatever you imagine for your future in terms of relating to the next generation, pick a kid that you will someday be responsible for. Write them a letter about what you want them to know, learn, and experience as a child of God.

Closing Prayer

God of our ancestors: you have planted in each of us the seed of faith. Help us to grow in a deep and meaningful relationship with you. Teach us the important stuff, and strengthen us to pass it on to those who come after us. Thank you for all the faithful people who have gone before us and for giving us faith, especially when it’s hard to believe. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Contributed by Daniel Wiessner, Tacoma, WA

Warm-up Question

To whom do you turn when you’re not sure what to do?

An (Increasingly) Open Book

Turns out everyone’s Facebook privacy is getting a lot less private all the time and, unsurprisingly, a few feathers are getting ruffled.

Ryan Singel at Wired noted the private interests which are unavoidably public via Facebook. He wrote, “I’d like to make my friend list private. Cannot. I’d like to have my profile visible only to my friends, not my boss. Cannot. I’d like to support an anti-abortion group without my mother or the world knowing. Cannot.”

The recent addition of Facebook’s new “instant personalization” is getting particular attention due to its sharing of your personal information with Pandora, Microsoft Docs, and Yelp, in order to help those sites tailor their advertisements to fit your interests. Users can opt out, but the process is apparently complicated and confusing. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), among other organizations, is rallying against Facebook with claims that “Instant personalization violates user expectations and reveals user information without the user’s consent.”

Mark Zuckerberg, the guy who started this crazy Facebook thing, stated earlier this year that  Facebook is constantly being updated “to reflect what the current social norms are.  A lot of companies would be trapped by the conventions and their legacies of what they’ve built… doing a privacy change for 350 million users is not the kind of thing that a lot of companies would do. … But we viewed that as a really important thing, to always keep a beginner’s mind and what would we do if we were starting the company now and we decided that these would be the social norms now and we just went for it.”

Main article from: http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/raw/?p=2351
Wired quote from: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/facebook-rogue/#ixzz0nbOC4ojY
Zuckerberg quote from: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebooks_zuckerberg_says_the_age_of_privacy_is_ov.php

Discussion Questions

• Are you on Facebook? (Show of hands, for curiosity’s sake.)
• How do you feel about these privacy changes? Does it really matter to you?
• Some people argue that Facebook is causing these shifts in social norms that Zuckerberg spoke about. Do you agree with Zuckerberg (that Facebook is just following the trend) or do you think that it is a driving force in the change? Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 23, 2010 (Day of Pentecost)

 Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8:14-17

John 14:8-17 [25-27]

(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’m afraid I can’t “tsk” Philip too harshly for his opening line in this week’s gospel lesson because, really, he and I have something in common here: We don’t always pay attention so well. Fortunately for the both of us, we have been blessed to hold the company of some very kind and very patient people who are willing to explain things to us again and again.

If you remember, Jesus is going to be leaving his disciples, Philip included.  Reading the rest of John 14 reveals pretty clearly that the disciples are uncomfortable with the idea. The disciples general response is “But-but-but.. Wait! Where are you going? We feel kind of low on definite instructions. Is there any way we could maybe text you if we have questions?”

Jesus calmly and patiently reassures his disciples that things are going to work out just fine. In fact, he even leaves them a number to call, so to speak, in case they get confused. Jesus promises another advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will “teach [them] everything, and remind [them] of all that [Jesus has] said to [them].”

In the same way, by reminding us of Jesus’s teachings and instructions, The Holy Spirit acts as our own divine guide. This is a great gift when our easily confused moral compass might mistake North for East.

With this promise of the “Spirit of truth,” Jesus closes this week’s lesson with some of the most wonderful, calming words we could ever hear from our Lord and Savior. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Amen, Lord Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• Go back and explore the rest of John 14. Think about how the disciples felt before and after this week’s Gospel lesson. What do you think your reaction would have been?
• Looking back at the news for today, do you think that Zuckerberg’s moral compass is confused? Or is the Facebook privacy issue a moral issue at all? Explain.

Activity Suggestions

Texting Treasure Hunt:

In this exercise, there is one leader and a group of hunters. (For youth groups, I recommend there be an adult leader acting as the “leader” as well as another adult leader in the group of “hunters.”) The leader of this exercise must know the surrounding area well. To assist in delivering accurate directions, it may be helpful for the hunters to have  a GPS-enabled phone  while the leader tracks them via Google Latitude or a similar service.

The leader tells the group of hunters that he or she will be waiting for them somewhere nearby before suddenly leaving them. The hunters then petition text messages from the leader in order to help find their way. The leader may be as cryptic or simple as he or she desires.

After the hunters find the leader, they should explore how they felt during the exercise. Was it unnerving to be unaware of where they were headed? Was it reassuring to know that they could ask and receive directions whenever they needed it?

Closing Prayer

Dearest Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us along your pathways. Thank you for the reassurance you give us every day, through the remembrance of your great sacrifice, that we need never let our hearts be troubled. Amen.

Contributed by Angie Larson, Clive, Iowa

Warm-up Question

What does it feel like to be protected?

Protector and Defender

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the small country of Haiti. Among the stories of devastation are stories of hope. 

Frank and June Williams and their three daughters, Angie, Dawn and Pria; and two sons, Trevor and Mike, are Haitian residents.  Frank is one of the directors of World Vision in Haiti.  The apartment in which his family lived in Port-au-Prince collapsed, leaving June, Dawn and Pria trapped inside. Frank, who was outside, used a flashlight to frantically search for his family within the rubble. 

June recounts the earthquake this way in an e-mail to a friend, “There was a loud, deep rumble and the earth shook and shifted.  I couldn’t move my feet, I could only throw the girls down under me and under the archway.  Five stories of concrete and tile came down on us.  I looked at my hands that were covering the girl’s heads. My hands couldn’t protect them from anything. Yet, we were not crushed.  Five foot ceiling slabs came down.  Our heads were embedded with concrete. It was an absolute miracle.  I’ve determined that there must have been a great big, strong angel standing over us, and smaller pieces of rubble were being sifted through his wings and landed on us.”

June, Dawn, and Pria survived.  When the quake stopped they quickly ran from the apartment building through an opening in the outer wall.  A second tremor brought down the rest of the building as they were running for a mountainside. They took refuge under a tree.  A Canadian man helped them down and took them to his house, where he cared for them with a first-aid kit.  The three settled their thoughts on hope until they were reunited with their father, older brothers and sister.

Discussion Questions

• Would you lean towards hope or despair in this situation?
• Do you consider June a heroine?  Why or why not?
• How were June and her daughters protected?
• What would you say to the families of those who did not survive the earthquake?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 25, 2010 (Fourth Sunday of Easter)

Acts 9:36-43

Revelation 7:9-17

John 10:22-30

(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

In the gospel lesson for this week Jesus is defending his identity.  The Pharisees gather around Jesus like journalists trying to entrap a corrupt senator.  They question who he is, hoping that he will claim his identity as the Messiah. If Jesus claims this identity, they will likely stone him for blasphemy.  They desire to accuse and discredit him and also incriminate his disciples.  They have seen his miraculous actions but still refuse to believe who he is.

Jesus says his disciples are different.  In contrast to the Pharisees, who are trying to avoid the evidence in front of their eyes, Jesus’ followers enjoy a special and blessed relationship to God. He gives them a sense of belonging and identity.  They are his and he knows them intimately.  Not only does he know them, but he gives them protection and eternal life.  In me, says Jesus, my disciples know the love and care of the Father.

This gift is for us too.  Tragedy will come and shake our lives. We will lose people we love.  We will be tempted to despair.  Some days the challenges will seem overwhelming. Jesus tells us that no one will snatch us out of his hand.  He gives us his protection and defense.  His actions are even louder than his words.  June Williams placed her body over her daughters during the Haitian earthquake.  With her parental love, she protected her daughters.  So too did Jesus offer his body as a sign of his love for us.  Jesus assures us that he will hold us in his hands.  Following Jesus doesn’t mean difficulty won’t befall us, but it does mean God will hold us when it does.

Discussion Questions

• How does Jesus’ protection give you hope?
• What are some ways that Jesus’ actions spoke louder than his words?
• Jesus keeps his followers from being snatched up.  What in our world can snatch up people?  How can Jesus protect us from those things?  What can we do to follow him?

Activity Suggestions

• Do a fundraiser for Haitian relief. 
• Look on the ELCA website for stories of Haitian relief effort. www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action.aspx
• Draw a bulls-eye for the students:  five concentric circles, each bigger than the previous one.  Ask them to label the center circle with someone whom they protect, (for example, children they care for or the homeless). Ask them to label the next circle with their name.  Ask them to think of someone who protects them to label in the third circle, (for example, parents or teachers).  In the final circle ask them to write in “Jesus.”  Have them process what it means to be a protector and to be protected.

Closing Prayer

Blessed Savior, thank you for knowing and choosing us.   It feels so good to be chosen, Lord.  Thank you for your protection.  Please help us to protect those people whom you have entrusted to our care that, through our actions, they may see you.  Open our eyes to see the ways we question your claim on our lives and help us to remember that you have chosen as your beloved children and disciples.  In your name we pray, Amen.