1^st Sunday in August (Week 32) David’s Legacy (2 Samuel 7:1-29; 1Timothy 1:12-17, 3:10-13, 6:11-16; 2 Samuel 5 – 7, 11 – 12, and 18)

Faithfulness is a tricky thing. It is not as easy to figure out as we think. Saul thought he was faithful, and was not. David feared he was unfaithful, but he was. Faithfulness, it seems, is not so much what we do for God, but what we let God do with us. This is why Biblical people regarded all experiences in life as various kinds of “tests”. They always lived in ambiguity, wrestling with what “being faithful” might mean on any given day or century. The principles are clear enough … we are called to love kindness, do justice, and walk humbly with God. Or we are called to follow and imitate Christ. Or we are called to be obedient to our covenant with God. But how will we do that … today? Or in the space of the next week?

David is perhaps the most human Biblical character we have met yet in salvation history. He may be a king, but he understands (and sometimes behaves) like us common people. He is subject to human vices, just as he impresses us with human nobility. Not only is he always being tested, but sometimes he fails the test … badly. Yet God loves him. His heart was always faithful to the Lord … he was always surrendering himself to God’s will … his repentance was always so touchingly sincere … his desire to please God was always so obviously apparent. What would happen to the history of humankind if a descendant of David could have all of the commitment, without any of the weakness?

Team Meditation (1Timothy 1:12-17, 3:10-13, 6:11-16)

Even though you are tested, always remain faithful. That is the most urgent advice Paul gives to Timothy and his fellow travelers in the mission to the gentiles. Some tests are easy, some are hard. Some tests are obvious, and some are subtle. Every test refines our character, defines our purpose, and tempers our resolve. It is a useful exercise for worship teams to spend time anticipating how each individual might be “tested” by the relative success or failure, joy or disappointment, of the coming experience of worship. Alternatively, you might reflect on recent experiences of worship (and indeed of life) that have tested you recently. Do not evaluate yourself; invite team members to evaluate each other. That will be a test of honesty, intimacy, and trust.

Worship Theme (2 Samuel 7:1-29)

The greatness and weakness of David … and perhaps of the great church leaders we have known … is revealed in the play on words in this scripture. God plays with the double meaning of “house”. House can mean a tribe, community, or nation, with a distinct identity, value, and calling. So God speaks of the “house of David” as the community of Israel itself, the chosen people, all of David’s descendants to the most distant cousin, across history. On the other hand, “house” can refer to a building of brick and mortar, wood and stone, in which the family resides. Which “house” is really God’s “house”?

David’s gratitude to God is such that he is ashamed God is honored simply by a portable Ark (box), while the gods of all the other nations have elaborate temples. He wants to build God a “house”. Meanwhile, God replies through Nathan that he already has a “house”. It is the “house of David”, the community which treasures the covenant and distinguishes itself among the nations as obedient to the Lord. David’s heir will eventually be Jesus, who will expand God’s house to include rooms for all the micro-cultures on earth.

David is sincerely grateful. His humility is genuine. Yet, as we learn, he just can’t shake the idea of building God a “house”. The temple is eventually completed by his son, Solomon. Inevitably, it seems, the sacredness of the covenant is eventually morphed into the sacredness of the property. The people stray from the covenant. But here is the painful point. The people don’t know that they have strayed from the covenant! They actually think that in building, maintaining, guarding, and worshipping in the “house” that they are being faithful to the “House”. They can no longer distinguish between the sacred covenant of body in motion, symbolized in the portability of the Ark of the Covenant, from the sacred property of the body in residence, symbolized in the permanency of the temple. God is angry with them, and they don’t even understand why!

And is this suggestive of what has happened to our church? Our founding fathers and mothers were sincerely grateful for God’s grace that had sustained them on the journey … and built a building. Their descendants transferred loyalty to the covenant to loyalty to the building. And could it be that our very devotion to the building as a “house of God” is actually unfaithful to the covenant promise to make the community itself the “house of God”?

Worship Design (2 Samuel 7:1-29)

From the inception of Christianity until the reign of Constantine, the church thrived without a building program.  Rather than putting funding into real estate, the church leveraged the real estate, the tithes, and the offerings of disciples of Jesus Christ to support the mission of the church as it marched its way across Asia Minor and into Europe.  Throughout this period the church on mission focused on pushing into the frontiers of the pagan world with the message of Jesus.  However, once Constantine built the first church building in 313, the construction of buildings and cathedrals added a significant drain on the church's resources.  Over a relatively short time, the focus of the church shifted from go ye into all the world to come ye into the church (building).  The beauty and majesty of the edifices that became the Lord's House became show pieces for the world and, today, they have become museums that recall a day back when.

Isaiah would write of the Temple "Where is the house you will build for me?  Where will my resting place be?  Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" (66:1-2).  Now, lest we be accused of suggesting that the North American church should divest itself of all its property, let us assure you that we're not advocating the liquidation of church buildings; however, we would recommend leveraging the property for its maximum potential.  Whether that means using the building as a center for the training, equipping, and deploying of faithful disciples (rather than as a showplace for the glory days of the past) or using the equity in the property to launch a new ministry or even a new church, making the most of the congregation's investment is the only faithful response to the "talents" that God has entrusted to the local church - and perhaps the only faithful response to the covenant.

To raise this issue within the worship service, use a clip from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.  The scene to use is the clip where the three orphaned children, Klaus, Violet, and Sunny Baudelaire, are taken to Count Olaf's mansion.  Begin the clip during the car ride.  When the children arrive at the mansion they are given a tour and briefed - rather tersely - on Count Olaf's rules including the do not touch, no noise, and don't ever disturb Count Olaf.  Use the scene to introduce the holiness the church bestows - and ancient Israel bestowed- upon their sacred houses of worship. 

Continue the service by reminding the participants that David wanted nothing less than to ensure the Lord's presence in Israel by building the Temple and "moving" God from the transient tabernacle into a permanent, immovable, and "safe" place (remember, by this time the Philistines had already "stolen" the Ark of the Covenant for a time and David had restored it to Jerusalem).  Because they had come to believe that God was "contained" in the Ark, they concluded they needed a building to house God in.  In a very short time, once Solomon built the Temple, they had codified the believe that the world must "come to God" at the Temple for worship.  Later Jesus would remind the woman at the well in Samaria that God wasn't much interested in the where - but that God would be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

Our buildings still contain God, or so the common language of the church suggests.  And so we designate our buildings sacred space (as if the building is somehow more holy than the street where Jesus walks and seeks the lost).  We go to church rather than being the church, or rather, we go to the Lord's House.  And we practice what we actually believe rather than what we say we believe - and we invite the unchurched to visit our church building instead of inviting them into a relationship with the Jesus who is on mission on the highways and the byways in our communities.  With a lit tea light on each participant's table, have each table leader put a clear drinking glass upside down over the candle until it goes out.  And so it is with the church that contains God by the church building.  Though the edifice may remain as a sacred shrine, the flame will sooner or later burn up the precious resources trapped within the church building and the spark will be extinguished.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (2 Samuel 5 – 7, 11 – 12, and 18)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

It appears that the Bible is a strange book.  One would think the writers would have wanted to put the best foot forward, to place Israel, its great leaders, and the nation's response to God's covenant in the highest regard.  But that's not the way of it, is it?  Here is King David, a "man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), but his life is hardly pristine.  Murder, adultery, bad political decisions, and a host of family problems ranging from the disdain of his wife to the usurping by his son all plagued the King - and every ugly wart has been carefully recorded for all to see.  What was God thinking?

Discuss the following questions in your small group.

1. In the readings for the week, you saw a leader who seemed to fail almost as often as he succeeded.  Look at each failure and then compare and discuss how David responded to each.
2. How did God respond to David's sin?  To David's repentance?
3. Why do you think David was called a man after God's own heart?
4. How have you responded to failure?
5. What would it take for you to be a disciple after God's own heart today?  Tomorrow?  The rest of the week?

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2^nd Sunday in August (Week 33) David’s Legacy (Psalm 22 and 23; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-24; 1 Kings 1:1 – 3:28 and 8, and Psalms 1, 8, 19, 22, 23, 42, 46, 77)

Why is leadership succession such a tricky thing? Because it takes more than shared blood and ritual oaths to ensure the continuance of core values, beliefs, vision, and mission that is the heart of a community or nation. Just think about how hard it is to pass on the mantle of leadership to pastor a church or elect a national leader. Imagine the responsibility in passing authority to honor God’s covenant to a new generation of leaders. David clearly failed with his eldest son, Absalom. Although the propagandists of the future King Solomon described the succession of power in the best terms possible, it is clear that it was not without problems. And those problems would only increase in with succeeding kings and queens. Indeed, Solomon would only manage to hold the tribes of Israel together during his lifetime, and after that the realm would be divided between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

It may be that the building of the Temple was another way David and Solomon hoped to preserve the core values, beliefs, vision and mission of Israel. Their faith in bricks and mortar would prove ill placed in the centuries to come, as successive leaders spent more time rebuilding and maintaining property and rituals that rebuilding and maintaining justice and hope. Ironically, it is not the temple that has endured, but David’s songs. These are the psalms, once sung to choruses in the temple, then sung silently around the campfires in exile, and finally repeated in the heart by the wandering faithful over the next millennium. It makes you wonder. What’s your real legacy for your children?

Team Meditation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-24)

The letter to the Thessalonians translates the poetry of the psalms into practical advice. Seasons come and seasons go, but none of them last forever. Good times? Excellent! But don’t expect them to last. Bad times! We pray for you! They will not last forever.

• Rejoice always;
• Pray constantly;
• Test everything;
• Hold fast.

Give thanks in all circumstances, and do not quench the Spirit. There you have the best advice in the world to endure, and overcome, all the changes and crises and challenges of church leadership. The North American church has had it pretty good for a long time, but the day is fast coming when an increasingly hostile public will remove the many privileges now enjoyed by the established church. Take this advice as the “wisdom of Solomon”.

Worship Theme (Psalm 22 and 23)

It may be by accident that these two psalms were printed #22 and #23 back to back, but they seem to naturally belong together. Psalm 23 is a song for good times; Psalm 22 is a psalm for bad times.

Perhaps David composed Psalm 22 when he was fleeing from the wrath of Saul, the pursuit of the Philistines, or the rebellion of Absalom. He doesn’t sound very happy, nor do his circumstances sound very promising. All seems hopeless. And yet he ends the Psalm with a courageous burst of confidence, convinced that God will come to his rescue. If ever there was a psalm to read in the hospital or on the battlefield, this is it.

Perhaps David composed Psalm 23 when he was safe again from hostility. He sounds scarred, but satisfied; still sore from numerous wounds, but those wounds are healing; the memory of starvation still lingers, but his stomach is full now. This is the song of one who has suffered much, and waited long, but who has experienced (once again) the deliverance of God. If ever there was a psalm to read after the surgery or on the plane home, this is it.

The two psalms belong together, but they are often separated. Usually, we repeat Psalm 23, but our faith is soon tested. What do we do when the Shepherd seems to have deserted us? When you are in want? When you are definitely not feeding in green pastures? When you there is no comfort? When no banquet has been served? When goodness and mercy seem far away? Do you have the faith, like David, to sustain you through the dark, hungry, lonely night, when your strength is like dust, and your bones are out of joint, and your heart is like wax?

Worship Design (Psalm 22 and 23)

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, we live in the best of times, and we live in the worst of times.  Today is a day like no other.  As you read this and as your congregation experiences this, this is the best day of your life - because it is the only day that you have.  Tomorrow is a dream and yesterday is a memory.  All you have is now. 

However, as you read this and as your congregation experiences this, you live in the worst of times.  The church membership and attendance in North America is in serious decline, the number of Christians in North America continues to decline, and we live in a time where more Christians are martyred across the globe for their faith than ever before. 

Living in the moment is one of the most difficult things we do in the North American culture.  The Declaration of Independence declares that everyone should have the right to pursue happiness, as if happiness was something that should be pursued.  But happiness, joy, and contentment aren't pursuable - they are attitudes of life.  If we chase these attitudes, it's a cinch we'll never attain them.  On the other hand, if we learn to live in the moment we'll discover all three waiting to engulf us.

That's the beauty of these two psalms.  They both exist for the moment.  They both "celebrate" the present - even when the present seems less than blessed.  Indeed, Psalm 22 pronounces "From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him-- may your hearts live forever!" (25-26).  These are the words of someone who has learned to live in the here and now, regardless of the present circumstances.  This is the lesson for all to learn.

To bring this lesson home for the congregation you will be using two different video clips.  The first is from The Matrix.  Use the clip where Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) makes the deal with Agent Smith to betray Neo.  In this clip, Cypher reveals his longings for the good old days and is willing to give up reality in order to live there.  Today, many people are trapped by the call of yesterday and would do anything, including living in denial, to not live in the now.  The second clip is from Simon Birch.  Use the clip toward the end of the movie where Simon (Ian Michael Smith) is faced with the decision to risk his own life in order to save others.  One of the points to make from the clip is that each day we, like Simon, are faced with choosing to live in the moment or to not live at all - knowing that to live fully is a risky endeavor.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Psalms 1, 8, 19, 22, 23, 42, 46, 77)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

This week's reading includes some of the most popular psalms in the Bible.  However, not only are they popular, but they represent several of the different types of psalms found in the Psalter.  >From psalms of lament to psalms of praise, these selected psalms cover a wide range of human emotions, needs, and desires.  As you read them, take time to meditate upon them, feel the emotions of the psalmist, and consider when in your own life you might have considered writing such words to the Lord.

Discuss the following in your small group time.

1. What are some of the emotions that you sensed in these psalms?
2. Psalm 22 is a psalm of lament: the writer is in a place of trouble and calls out to the Lord for relief.  In the psalm, the writer attempts to "make a deal with God" (vss 21-22).  When is it alright to try and strike such a bargain?
3. In what circumstances might each of these psalms be a helpful prayer?
4. The phrase "Count your blessings" may well have come from the text of Psalm 77.  And yet, this accounting came amidst spiritual (and perhaps physical) angst.  What do you turn to in times of spiritual angst?

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3rd Sunday in August (Week 34) David’s Legacy (1 Kings 19:1-21; 2 Cor. 11:21-12:10; 1 Kings 16:29 – 22:40)

The titanic struggle between Ahab (and Jezebel), and Elijah, is a paradigm for the struggle between pragmatism and faithfulness that will confront Israel and the emerging church for the next two millennia. The reason the Bible spends so much time on Ahab’s reign, rather than the reigns of other kings, is that Ahab was in fact pretty successful. It’s not hard to confront a bad king who gets the country in trouble … but it is much harder to criticize success. Ahab was caught between powerful nations to the south (Egypt) and north (Assyria) and frankly did a pretty good job protecting security and prosperity. Unfortunately, his policies of appeasement conflicted with the uncompromising demands of the covenant.

How many boards have asked the pastor to be more practical and compromising? How many Christians have accommodated to the pragmatic necessities of the workplace, government policy, and economic stability for the sake of peace, family, and eventual retirement? Where is the boundary between faithfulness and recklessness? What is the difference between self-sacrifice and masochism? When do we confront and when do we comply?

Do not be too quick to judge Ahab and Jezebel. At least, look for the log in your own eye before you condemn the speck in their eyes. And do not be too quick to applaud Elijah. At least, consider the possibility that his policies might have hastened the conquests of Israel and Judah, and the subsequent enslavement and exile of the people, earlier than it actually happened. There is a price to be paid for obedience to the Lord, just as there is price to be paid for disobedience to the Lord.

Team Meditation (2 Cor. 11:21-12:10)

Paul writes: “… for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

Those are the hardest words to believe you will ever read. Would you elect a President or Prime Minister who believed that? Would you call a senior pastor who believed that, or elect a trustee who believed that? Would you marry and raise a family based on that principle? Be honest now! I doubt it. Common sense dictates that you become as strong as you possibly can. Only then can you protect your rights, your freedom, your family, and your church. Certainly Ahab did not believe that, and it is doubtful that many of his subjects would have wanted him to.

I don’t think church leadership teams want to believe this either. They would far rather be strong … in talent, knowledge, alliances, and resources. If we were just stronger, we could do more. Yet it is this fundamental reliance upon our own strength that Paul (and Elijah before him) challenged. They believed in weakness, because through weakness God could and would demonstrate power and grace.

Such conviction represents a considerable risk. You may believe God will rescue you … but the manner and the timing may be unexpected. It is noteworthy that the phrase “wait upon the Lord” has dropped out of the vocabulary of many church leaders today in their hurry to grow the church. Maybe there is a little bit of Ahab in all of us.

Worship Theme (1 Kings 19:1-21)

The ancients believed that all creation was made up of four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water. At the crisis of Elijah’s life, he not only fled for safety but doubted his calling. In his struggle with Ahab, it seems Elijah had won all the battles and lost the war. No matter what demonstrations of God’s power Elijah made, Ahab (and the most of the people) still did not turn from their self-centered and self-destructive ways. And they so hostile to Elijah that there was no safe place to hide except a remote cave.

Elijah experienced three of the basic elements of creation and destruction … wind, earthquake, and fire … and realized that God was not in them. He probably expected a deluge of water, and was prepared for God to be missing in that as well. But when he heard the quite voice, the word, he knew who it was. This was the word that commanded wind, earth, fire, and water. This was it.

What the heck are you doing, Elijah? God asks the questions, and his questions shake even the mighty Elijah to the core. God asks us, as we hide in the cubicle at work, the car on the commute, or the basement where we have found solitude from the stress of family life: What the heck are you doing here?

Elijah had his excuses, and so do we. But even as Elijah enumerated how he was persecuted and alone, he realized how lame they sounded. God was with him. What else did he really need? Such an assumption leaves us in a quandary. First of all, we are not all that sure the Lord is with us. Are we really doing what God calls us to do … or are we just working for living? Second, we are not all that sure that we want to be with the Lord! Are we prepared to stake everything (even our family’s safety and our financial security) to follow the Lord? Finally, we are not sure that God’s promise is enough. It would be nice if the Lord had given Elijah an army … or a fortune … or even supernatural powers of prayer so that he could fulfill God’s call. But the Lord only gave him Elisha … one helper … and he was neither educated, nor wealthy, nor powerful.

Yet it was enough. All he had was a still, small voice; one faithful disciple; and absolute trust. He would change the world.

Worship Design (1 Kings 19:1-21)

The standard preaching format for this passage is to focus on the storms and the still small voice.  Prayer, listening, solitude, retreat, and escape tend to be the foci.  This week, however, we're going to run with Tom's theme and deal with doubt.  Take the time to refresh yourself with the Team Meditation passages, for the "I'm strong when I'm weak" truth should be a touchstone.

Paul wrote to Timothy and reminded him that God hadn't given him a spirit of timidity, but one of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).  Elijah was given the same message; God just used different words.  If self-doubt is common amongst church leadership, imagine how prevalent it must be among the rank and file.  Addressing the issue provides an opportunity to confront the elephant in the room that we don't tend to talk about.

Last week my oldest daughter, Toni, called.  She is taking classes to become an EMT and she had just finished one of her performance tests when she phoned.  My daughter is like a lot of people we know ... she appears to be confident of her abilities, but deep inside is the voice of self-doubt.  She had taken the performance test twice that day.  The test was to demonstrate for the instructor how to do triage, to systematically check for injuries.  The first time, she stood before the test dummy and apparently froze.  "I don't know what to do first; I don't think I can do this," she told her instructor.  Now, Toni is a sharp kid (really - it's not just parental pride) and she knew the material inside and out.  She simply suffered from a wave of doubt.  The instructor knew it too.  He took her by the shoulders and said, "Do something.  I can approve of right.  I can correct wrong.  But I can't do anything with indecision."

Taking a leap of faith in the face of fear is just that - it's a leap.  But the greatest cavern we'll ever leap across is the one of our own devising: our own self-doubt.  To get the point across visually use a clip from The Matrix (1999).  Use the scene where Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) is testing Neo (Keanu Reeves).  Neo must leap from the top of a tall building in order to understand that what he sees - what he perceives as the reality - isn't real, that he can overcome it.  The clip is found at chapter 15, timestamp 53:18.  You may want to point out the metaphor that what Neo perceived as real, the building, the street below, the whole universe he saw, was not real at all.  We face the same reality - when faced with following God's calling the fears we perceive as "reality" are not reality as God sees it. 

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (1 Kings 16:29 – 22:40)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

Elijah is considered by the Israelites and the Jewish faith to be the greatest prophet of all time.  He is the archetypical prophet, the one by which all others are measured.  Certainly he met with great success, but his ministry was also marked by great anxiety.  The church remembers Thomas as the one with doubt.  Perhaps Elijah should be remembered as the one with self-doubt.  The difference between Elijah and most of us is that, although he had self-doubt, he managed to trust God and step out with great faith between bouts of fears. 

Discuss the following in your small group time.

1.     It's one thing to jeopardize yours own self-comfort for the sake of the Gospel.  It's another thing altogether to risk others.  Elijah put the widow and her son in peril when he asked for something to eat in Zarepheth.  When is it appropriate to risk others for the Gospel?  Can you give examples of this in your church?

2.     It's been asserted that global Christianity is growing because it is experiencing persecution - that persecution actually drives Christianity.  Some have even said that the reason Christianity is one of the few religions in decline in North America because of our tolerance of religion policies.  However, there is no evidence that the people of the covenant (the Israelite faith) expanded when Jezebel was seeking out and killing the followers and leaders of God.  Do you think Christianity would find revival in North America if it lost its favored status and the church began to be oppressed?  Why or why not?  Have you seen any evidence that the church is subtly (or not so subtly) being oppressed by society and our leaders?

3.     It seems that when Elijah was faithful and achieved a great success for the Lord that he immediately tucked tail and ran (the calling of the drought, the contest between God and Baal).  Often, church leaders behave in the same way.  They'll take a risk for the Kingdom, they will experience success, but when opposition arose, they backtrack or hide.  Why do you think this is?  Are your church leaders risk-takers in the name of the Lord?  If not, why do you think this is?  If so, have you seen Elijah's pattern of risk, opposition, retreat in operation?  How can you support your leaders before, during, and after risk-taking opportunities?

4.     Where do you go and what do you do when you need to listen to God?  What was the last thing you heard from God? 

5.     When was the last time you felt God nudging you to take a risk for the sake of the Gospel?  How did you respond? 

6.     How do you deal with self-doubt?

Bill T-B

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4^th Sunday in August (Week 35) David’s Legacy (2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 4:23-30 and 17:12-19; 2 Kings 2; 4:1-5:19; 13:14-21)

I think one of the most pervasive questions lingering in the Bible … throughout the Old and New Testaments … is the haunting mystery: “Were not ten cleansed? What happened to the nine?” God’s grace is poured out to so many. We have received mercy upon mercy. Healing, insight, guidance, comfort, hope, and love have been received over and over again. And yet so many are ungrateful. So many say they are disciples, but do not follow Christ. So many experience the power of God’s unconditional acceptance, yet in the end, they go about their way, enjoy life as if they deserved it, and never really say “Thanks!”

The great mystery is not really the problem of evil. I mean, the real mystery is not why bad things happen to good people. The real mystery is why good people fail to give thanks. Good is happening all around us. The evil seems gratuitous and alarming, simply because that is not the norm. The “norm” is God’s love. Yet so few give thanks.

Team Meditation

The sad truth is that ‘familiarity breeds contempt.” It’s not a nice thing to say, and very hard to admit, but we see it again and again. Now here is the problem. We also advise transformational church leaders to hire from within the congregation. “Grow up your own leaders,” we say. “Don’t hire from outside.” By doing so, church leaders have more confidence in the reliability of their staff to reflect and embody the DNA of the congregation.

The problem is, it is harder for “home grown” leaders to gain broad credibility for their spiritual leadership. We know them too well. We know their foibles and quirks, their vulnerabilities and failures. And human nature being what it is, we tend to dwell on these more than their insights, growth spurts, and personal transformations.

What to do? It is even more important that “home grown” leaders visibly enjoy the support of senior pastor and other staff. And it is even more important that they be given visible opportunity to pray, guide, and share their spiritual growth with the people. Credibility must be slowly and deliberately earned. It is not gained simply by holding an office or working in a position of authority. It beckons an even greater surrender to God.

Worship Theme

Why Naaman? The story of the healing of the Syrian general is a tremendous story, and our sympathy certainly goes out to Naaman. Leprosy is a terrible thing. It’s like cancer, in that no one is immune. Money and power and influence mean nothing. Anyone can be stricken. So we sympathize with Naaman, even though as a Syrian he is a traditional enemy of Israel. He does not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but in his desperation he is willing to turn to any god who might help him. And the Lord heals him through Elisha the prophet.

But the question that lingers is … why? Something similar happened with Elijah, who healed the son of the widow of Zarephath. She was another ‘alien’. For those who truly believe that ‘generosity begins at home’, these healings are shocking and perhaps even insulting.

Jesus puts this in perspective. He says that ‘prophets are generally not accepted at home’. So, they have to demonstrate God’s love ‘through the back door’ (so to speak). It turns out that pagans seem more open to miracles than members. Maybe ‘members’ should stop being preoccupied about what they think they deserve, and concentrate in stead on recognizing that they are no different than anyone else in not deserving anything. God’s grace is real grace … blessings freely given to people who are totally undeserving. Maybe if we stopped thinking of ourselves as ‘members’, and just started thinking of ourselves as ‘human’, we might be more ready to receive a miracle.

Worship Design (2 Kings 5:1-14)

Naaman was an important person and he deserved better treatment than to be sent to a river for a bath.  “So he turned and went off in a rage” (v 12).  When Jesus told the story about Naaman’s healing and how God works miracles on the undeserving, the “church” went off in a rage and tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.   We don’t always get what we deserve.  Thank God.  And we don’t always get what we deserve.  Dammit.  It all depends on whether we think we deserve blessing or we deserve to be caught.

There is probably not a better scene for showing both than the near-final scene of the 1971 version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  Use the clip when Charlie (Peter Ostrum) appears in Wonka’s office (Gene Wilder) to receive his “prize.”  When he approaches and inquires about it to the “busy” Wonka who is huddled over his desk, Wonka springs up and rattles off a litany of the “sins” Charlie and Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) have committed on their tour.  Grandpa tries to usher Charlie out, muttering invectives under his breath, but Charlie returns the Never Ending Gobstopper that he has in his hand.  At that, Wonka springs up again and welcomes Charlie as the winner – he passed the test.  Though he doesn’t deserve to win, Wonka had all along wanted him to win. 

The scene illustrates both points.  God doesn’t owe us anything.  Period.  We’ve sinned, we should get what we deserve.  But by the grace of God, we receive so much more.  We just don’t deserve it, but all along, God wants us to win too.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (2 Kings 2; 4:1--5:19; 13:14-21)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

Elijah is the archetypical prophet from the Old Testament, but if there was a contender for the title it should be Elisha.  Elisha was Elijah’s apprentice and companion, and when Elijah went up in the chariot of fire, he granted Elisha a last request.  “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Kings 2:9).  And it was done.  As you read and reflect over the events of Elisha’s life, consider the impact of Elisha’s odd request 

1. Why do you think Elijah tried to dissuade Elisha from following him across the river?

2. Compare the response to Elisha’s position as Elijah’s replacement by the company of prophets in 2 Kings 2:15 and that of the young men in Bethel, one of the cities of the prophets (these may have been some of the sons of the company of prophets) in 2 Kings 2:23-24.

3. Which miracles did Elisha do that Jesus would repeat in his ministry?  Which were unique to Elisha’s ministry?

4. Elisha did works of mercy and works of judgment.  Of the miracles he performed, who received what they deserved and who were the recipients of grace?  How do you feel about that? 

5. In the church, long-time members often engender the attitude that their preferences should prevail because of their faithfulness.  In Luke 17:12-19 Jesus refers to the healing of Naaman and compares that act of grace to an undeserving non-member.  How did Elisha, and Jesus, dispel the notion of the privilege of membership ?

Bill T-B