1^st  Sunday in January (Week 1)

(Luke 13:22-30 and 15:11-32; Habakkuk 2:1-4 and 3:17-19; Luke 13-15 and 18, and Romans 12)

Jesus’ Purpose: The Hope of Jesus

The significance of Jesus does not end with Christmas. It is revealed at Christmas ... and then needs to be explored in the New Year. There is more here than an infant in a manger; this is the start of one single life that will eventually turn our world upside down. There is more here than a promise of grace; this is a salvation that is at hand. Yet how easily do we awaken the day after Christmas, forgetting everything we have seen and heard, to return to our selfish ways!

Contrary to popular wisdom, the love of money is really not the root of all evil. Pride is the root of all evil. Among the traditional “seven deadly sins,” pride is the most fundamental, pervasive, and insidious. It permeates everything that we are and everything that we do. It is for that reason that Jesus’ frequent assertions that “the first shall be last” are so difficult to hear. We like the feeling of being important. On the other hand, it is for this reason that Jesus’ other frequent assertion that “the last shall be first” fills us with such hope. The bottom line is that not one of us deserves to be first, second, or even third in line for God’s grace. We deserve to be rejected by God. Yet at the very moment of despair, God rescues us and welcomes us into his embrace.

Tom Bandy

Team Meditation (Habakkuk 2:1-4 and 3:17-19)

There are seven words that mark a true leader: “In spite of it all, I will rejoice ...” The Bible is filled with stories of incredibly unfortunate people. Habakkuk was one. Job was another. The list can go on and on through the Old Testament and into the New with the story of the early church. One by one the sources of our strength are pared away ... financial stability, food, water, home, even loving relationships and health ... until we are left with only one thing: God. At that moment we can either give up in utter despair, or cling to the everlasting strength of Christ. Only then will be fully with Christ, totally dependent on Christ, and alive only because of Christ.

Who can confidently promise that with their last ounce of strength they will assuredly choose Christ? It is easy to make such declarations when times are good. Standing at the nativity of Jesus in the stable, the shepherds and the magi would have sincerely declared their allegiance to Christ ... yet years later not one stood by him at the cross. So it is with us. Let us not be so proud as leaders that we should presume to be able to say “in spite of it all, I will rejoice.” Even these words are a gift from God. Faith and hope are gifts and not achievements. And when we surrender ourselves to receive these gifts, then we can lead others.

Tom Bandy

Worship Theme (Luke 13:22-30 and 15:11-32)

What exactly is the hope that God offers in Christ? Why should we be hopeful in the New Year? Why should be hopeful on any new day? Does a disciple of Jesus Christ simply have an optimistic attitude, or is there some deeper confidence that they bring to the trials and tribulations of life?

On the surface, Christians see in Christ a model of innocence and perfection that calls out the best in humanity. The generosity of God begets a responsive generosity among people. We are inspired to rise above our self interest, to do good to others. But if that is all there is to hope, prepare for despair. Humanity has never been consistently good for very long.

Going deeper, Christians find in Christ a companionship with God and each other that creates a new community of love. Where one person may fail, a community can succeed. They can support one another, hold one another accountable to higher ideals, and combine their strength to change the world. But if that is all there is to hope, prepare for disappointment. The church is far from perfect.

Going still deeper, Christians find in Christ an ethical teaching and moral backbone that can confront the politics, militarism, and victimization of our world. We can overcome racism, crime, and war. We can teach positive principles and modify negative behavior. But if that is all there is to hope, prepare for a crisis every few years. Public policy and global management can change with every election.

There must be a deeper reason to hope. If Christ is really the single most significant event in history, then something about history must be irrevocably different. It must be locked in and guaranteed, and not be defeated by the next depressing mood, church scandal, or failed quorum. Christ has done something that is dramatic, enduring, and beyond any attempt at contradiction. What is it?

Christ has freed us from our pride.

From the first moment of his ignominious birth, through all of his teachings about rescuing prodigal children, to his final words of forgiveness on the cross, Christ overthrows our deep-seated, inevitably self-destructive arrogance and guarantees us a second chance and a fresh start. We are acceptable to God, whether or not we deserve it, and whether or not we choose to accept that acceptance. Our decision-making is removed from the formula of salvation. God chooses us. It’s the beginning and the end of the story.

Tom Bandy

Worship Design (Luke 13:22-30 and 15:11-32)

The sin of pride has fated wars.  It has fueled crimes of greed, lust, and passion.  Pride goes before destruction (or a fall!).  And it’s pride that keeps the stereotypical man from reading the instruction manual or asking for directions when we’re lost (that, by the way, would be me). 

Freedom from pride.  What would that look like?  What would that be like?  A study of Jesus’ life is really the only good example we have.  Choosing to leave the palace of heaven to dwell on earth as a human – that’s a God free from pride.  And yet, freedom from pride doesn’t mean being a doormat either.  Only someone who rests confidently in themselves, their power, and their authority would be willing to wash the feet of their subordinates (notice Peter, James, or John didn’t step up to do it...it would have been too threatening).

Pride is why the doors were closed to those in Luke 13 – “Didn’t we do all this stuff in your name?”  And that’s the problem.  These ministers were all in “make it happen” ministries.  They had a dream, a vision, perhaps even a God-given vision.  But then they charged out to make it happen.  “Look God, what I’m doing for you.  Look at all this amazing ministry.  Now, bless it so it can be really successful.”  Which, translated means “So I can be really successful” though we’d hardly admit that.  And Jesus looked at the ministers and their ministries and said, “I don’t know you.”

Use two clips about pride in this service.  Begin by using the tongue-to-the-flagpole scene in A Christmas Story (1983).  In the clip, Flick (Scott Schwartz) is double-dog-dared to put his tongue against a frozen flagpole and when he does, his tongue sticks.  There are several points that can be made here, including a comment on how our words can paint us into a prideful corner that we can’t (won’t) get out of.

The second clip is about sucking up and surrendering our pride.  In this case, use the scene from A Knight’s Tale (2001) when William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) decides to swallow his pride and intentionally lose a jousting match to prove his love for Lady Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon). 

In the way of music, consider using One of Us by Joan Osbourne (“What if God was one of us, just a slob like one of us?”) or No Pride by Green Day (“You better swallow your pride; Or you're gonna choke on it; You better digest your values; Because they turn to shoot; Honor's gonna knock you down; Before your chance to stand up and fight; I know I'm not the one; I got no pride.”).

Use Rembrandt’s The Prodigal Son as a predominant image.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Luke 13-15 and 18, and Romans 12)

Humility has long been misunderstood in the North American culture.  If you overheard someone comment that so-and-so is humble you may not be sure quite what they’re intimating.  Does humble mean poor or substandard?  Does it mean self-deprecating?  Miserable?  Worthless?  To be a doormat?  When we conjure up the personae of a humble person we tend to envision words like quiet, introspective, and wise.  Humility is the antithesis of pride and this week’s passages illustrate pride and humility well.

Discuss the following with your small group.

1.  Luke 13-15 is a collection of stories, sayings, and teachings that well illustrate the sin of pride.  With that in mind, what are some of the reasons why those in Luke 13:23-30 were rejected?

2.  Pride is illustrated in a number of different ways in Luke.  Discuss the different pride issues revealed in the text.  What were the causes?  The results?

3.  What are some ways you’ve been prideful?  How did you deal with it?

4.  What is the solution to the sin of pride?  How does Paul’s teachings support your understanding?

Bill T-b

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2^nd Sunday in January (Week 2) Jesus’ Purpose (1 Peter 2:1-10; Psalm 27; John 2-5 and 1 Peter 1 and 1 John 4)

If you have been a Christian most of your life, and you are now between 50 and 60 years old, then you are probably familiar with the 60’s song “We Are One in the Spirit”. We sang it in Civil Rights marches, and in ecumenical worship services, and in praise worship so long ago. We sang about being one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, expressing confidence that one day all unity would be restored, and then repeated the mantra “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Today (about 50 years later) the Christian church is even more fragmented than ever. Racism is as acute as ever. Other forms of bigotry and meanness are even more powerful. And Christians spend more time competing with each other, judging each other, and jealousy hoarding our assets to survive as an institution one more year. What happened?

Could it be that we never really knew what we were singing about? Could it be that the only way the world will know we are Christians is not by our love, but by Christ’s love? Perhaps as the world lines up for forgiveness, Christians should move up to the front. It is time to rediscover just who and what we are supposed to be. Part of Jesus’ purpose was to reform the People of God, and although we may not have chosen this responsibility ourselves, God has chosen us.

Team Meditation: (Psalm 27)

Psalm 27:8  ⁸ Thou hast said, "Seek ye my face." My heart says to thee, "Thy face, LORD, do I seek."

In both ancient and modern times, meeting “face to face” is the most intimate and revealing kind of encounter. We literally look into each other’s eyes, and detect the hint of a smile or frown. Communication by email or telephone is so limited, because what you really need to know about another person is revealed in the nuances of their facial expression and the depth of their eye contact. The most important news can only be conveyed “face to face”. Who would willingly choose to propose marriage to their beloved in any other way than “face to face”? Who would ever want to be told of a tragic death except “face to face”?

God is seeking “face to face” relationships with us. God doesn’t want to communicate through any other medium. The telephone won’t work. Email won’t cut it. Even just reading the words of the Bible are not enough. God want to look us in the eyes, and God wants us to see into his eyes. That is why God became incarnate in Jesus, so that he could look us in the eyes and we could meet God “face to face”.

Christians are constantly seeking the face of God. Sometime you see God’s face in unexpected place, or reflected in the face of other people. Seekers are constantly seeking spiritual leaders who can introduce them to God “face to face”. They don’t want to talk to someone who only has “met” God through email; or on the telephone; or who only knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows the second cousin of a Christian in Toledo. They want you to introduce them to God “face to face”.

Worship Theme: (1 Peter 2:1-10)

When you think that most of the early Christians were slaves, working class, and common people, who were among the most heavily taxed, socially abused, and emotionally stressed people in the Roman world … you realize that it must have been quite a shock for them to be told they were a “royal priesthood” and God’s “chosen race”. Both then and now, such words can fill us with false arrogance. Just as the elite of the world looked down upon us, so now we think we are elite and can look down on others.

So our mentor Peter hastens to set us straight. We have only come to this status by the grace of God. We don’t really deserve it. We were sinners, and God forgave us. We were lost, and God found us. We were scoundrels, and God perfected us. Our redemption from slavery was purchased at a terrible price … the death of Jesus who loved us more than we can ever know.

We have no right to flaunt our status. Indeed, we should continue to be humble, obedient servants. The love that identifies us as Christians is not the brotherhood or sisterhood of the powerful, but the love we have for Jesus Christ. We love one another the way refugees support one another, or the way people rescued from a shipwreck keep in touch with one another, or the way comrades in arms care for one another. Our love is just a fraction of the enormity of God’s love.

Worship Design: Jesus’ Purpose: The Inner Meaning of Jesus (1 Peter 2:1-10)

Getting Christians in North America to recognize the “status” they carry can be daunting.  During a time when the “rights” of Christians to practice their faith freely and openly are eroding faster than a strip-mined meadow, it can be difficult to see our own arrogance.  But it’s there, nonetheless.  The indignant responses we make when we’re greeted with “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”  The disdain we have for those “oppressed Muslim women” in their burkas.  Or the snide commentary we make under our breaths when we see a Hindu, a Buddhist, or even a Mormon on mission wearing their religious “habits.” 

To explore this issue, begin the discussion by watching a clip from the film At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991).  Set up the clip by explaining to the congregation that the Quarriers are new missionaries in a remote jungle of South America.  This scene takes place shortly after they arrived at their compound, relieving the outgoing missionary family.  Use the scene when Hazel Quarrier (Kathy Bates) “freaks out” at the naked native and Martin (Aidan Quinn) tries to mollify her.  The scene clearly illustrates an arrogance that many twentieth century mission agencies promulgated on those they came to “save.”  (Alternatively, use the clip when Leslie Huben (John Lithgow) explains their lack of success on the mission field while both families travel upstream in the boat at the beginning of the movie.)

From this point, discuss the ways Christians and the church have demonstrated arrogance, particularly in the North American culture.  This isn’t the time to tread gently; the point is to uncover latent pride and arrogance.  Typically you will have to look no farther than the sanctuary – only in the church will you find people seated on furniture designed in the Dark Ages, singing songs written in the later Middle Ages, and played on instruments of the Renaissance.  Though one of the church’s primary missions is evangelism, it uses a vocabulary that is wholly unfathomable by those in the culture whom the church is charged with communicating the gospel.  The list could go on.

Wind up the service with a clip from the movie Kingdom of Heaven (2005).  Use the scene when Balian (Orlando Bloom) addresses the people of Jerusalem just before the battle with Saladin’s Islamic army:

Balian: It has fallen to us, to defend Jerusalem, and we have made our preparations as well as they can be made. None of us took this city from Muslims. No Muslim of the great army now coming against us was born when this city was lost. We fight over an offence we did not give, against those who were not alive to be offended. What is Jerusalem? Your holy palaces lie over the Jewish temple that the Romans pulled down. The Muslim places of worship lie over yours. Which is more holy?

[pause]

Balian: The wall? The Mosque? The Sepulcher? Who has claim? No one has claim.

[raises his voice]

Balian: All have claim!

Jerusalem (Jon Finch): That is blasphemy!

Almaric (Velibor Topic): [to the Patriarch] Be quiet.

Balian: We defend this city, not to protect these stones, but the people living within these walls.  

Use this clip to illustrate our need, as Christians, to band together in community.  In our case, though, it’s not about survival – it’s about relationships.  Will they know us by our love for one another or by our arrogance of them?

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion: (John 2-5 and 1 Peter 1 and 1 John 4)

Who is this Jesus?  It was the question of the century – literally the burning question of Israel’s first century.  It wasn’t just inquiring people who wanted to know.  Here he was, an obscure rabbi from Nazareth...or was it Bethlehem...or Capernaum?  Who knew?  Even those who followed him closely didn’t seem to fully understand.  And so the question was asked and the conversations were had.  And people were watching, and testing, and watching some more.  As you discuss this week’s scriptures listen for the answers others intimate about this man.  Or was he God?  Both?  Neither?  Who is this Jesus?

Discuss the following in your small group time.

1.  Take some time to discuss how people in these passages came to understand who Jesus was.  How did Jesus describe himself?  How did others describe him?  Do you see anybody “getting it”?

2.  How are Jesus’ followers described in these passages?  What do the metaphors about believers imply?  What does Jesus himself say about his followers? 

3.  The ultimate question is this: Is Jesus who the Bible says he is or not?  If he is, what does that mean about what he taught?  What does it mean about those who claim to be his followers?  Where and how do you fit in?

Bill T-B

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3^rd Sunday in January (Week 3) Jesus’ Purpose (Mark 4:1-9 and 26-41; Ezekiel 34:1-31; Mark 1-5 and Ephesians 2)

In the ancient and contemporary world in which so many people are interested in “spiritual things” and “spiritual people”, it is not hard to imagine the following conversation.

The Christian pilgrim has just been introduced to a shopping mall full of seekers, resting after a busy day of consuming, and one of them asks curiously: “So, this Jesus, what exactly did he do?” The pilgrim replies, “Well, he taught about right and wrong, and he did miracles of healing, and sometimes he was comforting and encouraging, and sometimes he was angry and challenging. He did good stuff, and he was a good man.” The hearers will be impressed. There are few enough “good people” in the world. “So he was just like ______ and ______, who were also insightful teachers and defenders of goodness.” At this the pilgrim pauses to collect his thoughts. “Not really,” he says. “Jesus was more.”

It is this “more” which has always been hard to define, yet it was the experience of everyone who came in contact with him. Something even more radical, powerful, foundational, and significant lay behind all the teachings and healings. Unlike other spiritual teachers, the power of his words didn’t really depend on our response. Whether we understood or not, acted or not, or leaned or not, wasn’t really the point. God doing something; something was happening; life would never be the same.

Team Meditation (Ezekiel 34:1-31)

Ezekiel 34:10-12   ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep … Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.  ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

What did Jesus do? One way to express it is that Jesus rescued people from religion. He rescued them from the clutches of would-be shepherds who were supposed to protect the sheep, but in fact used and abused the sheep. He himself became the Shepherd. He modeled what is meant to be a “Good Shepherd”. This is a hard saying for church leaders. Are we would-be shepherds or are we good shepherds? The proof is not revealed in your love for the sheep that are already in the flock, but in your risk-taking to rescue the sheep who are lost.  Any shepherd can feed the sheep who are at hand, but how many shepherds are willing to do anything, risk anything, go anywhere, search everywhere, to track down even the smallest and most wayward sheep? Shepherds are not church leaders. They are mission leaders.

Worship Theme (Mark 4:1-9 and 26-41)

There are really two parts to the parable of sower. Both are powerful stories that challenge us in the New Year and all through the year. Every season brings its own struggle with the “elements” of our lives.

The first part of the parable is about sowing seeds. God is a sower, Christ is a sower, and church leaders are all sowers of seeds. Some seeds never even get a chance to grow, sown in times of supreme selfishness, anger, or atheism so that people cannot even bear the very idea of Christ.  Some seem to grow, but have no depth of faith and fade as soon as adversity or discomfort comes. Other seeds grow in such a jungle of competition for our energies that summer holidays choke the life out of them. Yet some seeds are sown at just the right time, and a nurtured by other mentors and disciples, and flourish in good times and bad.

The second part of the parable is about harvesting fruit. The truth is that church leaders (i.e. mission leaders) usually cannot control, nor even predict, which seeds will fall on what kind of soil. It is God who will encourage the growth. So although church leaders can and should be involved in growing people up in Christ so that they bear fruit to God’s glory that will bless the hungry world, their primary role is really to sow seed … and then participate in the harvest. The harvest is when God gathers the fruit of mature plants in order to feed other people. The harvest is not stored away in barns forever. The seeds have been planted, and Christian disciples have grown to bear fruit, for the specific purpose of participating in a harvest that will feed hungry people.

Ephesians 2:13-16  ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.  ¹⁴ For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility,  ¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,  ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.

Worship Design (Mark 4:1-9 and 26-41)

Get ready for this service by doing a Google image search for “drought crops” and “crop damage” (for best results, use the Advanced Search option and choose Medium for the image size option). Create a number of full color posters using some of the stark images of damaged crops such as the example shown here:

Display these posters prominently throughout the gathering place – the more images the better. If you would also like to use a video clip, consider using a clip from The Plow that Broke the Plains (1938) from the compilation DVD Our Daily Bread and Other Films of the Great Depression (DVD released 2002, available only from www.amazon.ca) – use a clip that shows the devastation of the dust bowl (chapter 2 or 6).

Begin the service by asking the participants to describe how they think a crop farmer would react if he stepped onto his front porch one morning and saw his fields not only ripe and ready for harvest, but with an overwhelmingly abundant crop (excited, happy, joyful). Then ask how they think the farmer would respond to such a crop – how would he harvest it?

Next, read Luke 10:1-2 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” Begin a discussion by pointing out that there’s an incredible harvest in the fields of North America – but apparently a tragic lack of harvesters (as witnessed by the incredible shrinking church). Discuss what the church’s response has been when it overlooks their harvest field with an overwhelmingly abundant crop (depressed, overwhelmed – anything except happy, excited, or joyful).

Read the parables and talk about seed-scattering. Who’s charged with scattering seeds in our culture? Point out that there apparently a lot of seed being scattered by the church. Then ask who’s been charged with harvesting (hopefully they’ll realize that the one who scatters seeds is also responsible for harvesting).

As an exercise, use a flipchart and draw a vertical line down the middle. Label the left side “Seed Scattering.” Have the group brainstorm how they are scattering seeds in their culture and in their circles of influence. Don’t forget to also list sanctioned church events, but help them evaluate what they are doing personally. When the list seems exhaustive, label the right side of the paper “Harvesting.” Again, brainstorm how they are harvesting from their culture and from their circles of influence. Again, don’t forget to list sanctioned church events, but help them evaluate what they are doing personally. Invariably, the left side of the list will have many entries and the right side very few – with especially few personal entries. Take some time to discuss this. Point out the posters around the room – the crops that are rotting in the fields because they aren’t being harvested. Apply the analogy between the pictures and the church.

You may want to conclude the session with concrete suggestions on harvesting. Resources could include Willow Creeks’ Contagious Christianity or Gary Poole’s Seeker Small Groups. In late 2006 my book Evangelism On the Way will be available and provides harvesting tools for “real” people.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Mark 1-5 and Ephesians 2)

What was Jesus all about? Was he a radical who came to be a ferment to the stagnant faith of the Jews or the founder of a new religion? A meek-and-mild savior come to put a Band-Aid on the social ills of the world? A sacrifice to redeem us from the wages of sin? A philosopher who meant for his teachings to transform the world? As you read this week’s scriptures, look for who the Bible suggests Jesus is by thought, word, and deed?

Discuss the Small Group Discussion’s introduction in you small group time with the additional queries:

1. Why do you think so? (Use scriptures to support your conclusions.)

2. What difference does this make to how you share your faith with others?

Bill T-B

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4^th Sunday in January (Week 4) Jesus’ Purpose (Mark 6:30-52; Deuteronomy 10:10-11:7; Mark 6-9 and James 1)

Deuteronomy 10:12-13   ¹² "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  ¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I command you this day for your good?

I think Jesus would have admired Xtreme Sports. God is God of extreme measures. When it comes to the church, you can get away with just giving a tithe of your income, energy, and loyalty. The rest is yours. But when it comes to following God’s Way, you are obliged to surrender everything: all your money, all your energy, and all your loyalty. God is a God of extremes. Like a snowboarder rushing headlong down a mountainside, three yards in front of the avalanche, weaving in and out of trees and doing back flips over boulders, so also God expects you to rush headlong down the slippery slopes of daily living, three days in front of the avalanche, weaving in and out of obstacles, and doing back flips over temptations, to arrive at the Promised Land of God’s realm.

You are God’s. Your absolute trust is required. There is no distinction between “my personal time” and “God’s time”. There is no difference between work, play, family, and leisure time … and oh yes, I will dedicate every Thursday night to choir rehearsal because that is God’s time. It’s all God’s time. It’s all God’s energy. You belong to God.

This is the essence of Jesus’ teaching. As he said, he has not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. His life is the model of Xtreme obedience. We are called to imitate him.

Team Meditation (Deuteronomy 10:10-11:7)

Deuteronomy 10:19-22  ¹⁹ Love the sojourner therefore; for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.  ²⁰ You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him and cleave to him, and by his name you shall swear.  ²¹ He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and terrible things which your eyes have seen.  ²² Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitude.

I think it is no accident that Jesus initially sent his apprentice-disciples into the world as a group of seventy. Go read Luke 10:1. He was deliberately recalling and reenacting his roots. Seventy ancestors when down into Egypt and eventual slavery; seventy disciples are sent into the world and eventual freedom. The number seventy is a “tipping point” in church growth. A congregation with less than seventy active participants struggles with limited resources and has little impact on the mission field. Yet a congregation with over seventy participants suddenly is greater than the sum of its membership. Suddenly there is sufficient resource to be shared with a multitude. There are sufficient leaders to plan and implement mission anywhere in the world … and sufficient energy to follow up on their success.

Those leaders with a church under 70 need to aim for that tipping point. Those leaders with a church over 70 should stop thinking of themselves as a “small church”. Once you are over 70, all you have is a big opportunity … and God will multiply every gift a thousand fold.

Worship Theme (Mark 6:30-52)

What exactly did Jesus teach? Some of his teachings are recorded in the Gospels; some were remembered by his disciples; and many of his words were never recorded anywhere. John would later speculate that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). We often read that Jesus took his disciples aside to teach them. We know that his teaching was consistent with the original covenant between God and Israel. The entire Bible is a testimony to what he taught.

Rather than fill the world with books, ancient people told stories. They knew a picture was worth a thousand words, and a story was worth a million essays in systematic theology! Two stories stand out.

      The feeding of the 5000 reveals the essence of Jesus teaching about absolute trust in God’s power; true love for the stranger; grace that is sufficient for all our needs; unity with Christ and one another; and so much more. This single story can be applied and understood in a kaleidoscope of meanings all of which are true.

      The storm at sea reveals the essence of Jesus purpose. It teaches us the supernatural or spiritual purpose of Jesus’ life. We are in the storm, in danger of drowning in a sea of stress. You define that storm and that stress any way you want. Jesus will walk over it as if it were nothing. Jesus will come to our rescue. Jesus will calm whatever storm besets you.

In your personal prayer disciplines and later in your small groups, you need to spend time pondering and listening to the hidden messages and teachings that underlie these two key stories of the Bible. Jesus is teaching you something by his actions. Listen to him.

Worship Design: The Teachings of Jesus (Mark 6:30-52)

Education is big in the church. We call Christian Education ministers, we demand our clergy have at least a masters degree, and virtually every denomination puts lots of money into higher education institutions. In the West, to educates someone essentially means to pour the contents of one person’s head into another. Education equals knowledge.

On the other hand, we don’t see Jesus putting a lot of energy in educating. He never gave his disciples a syllabus, a handbook, or a reading list. Instead, Jesus embraced a different model of “education.” The Bible calls it discipleship, we would call it apprenticeship. Many people hung around Jesus, but Jesus chose twelve to apprentice. Of the twelve, he chose three that he closely mentored (Peter, James, and John) to whom he entrusted the church.

In North America, the church seldom effectively puts the apprenticeship model into practice. Even student pastors are largely tossed into the fray to sink or swim with only minimal support. There are few coaches, fewer mentors, and fewer still journey-men or -women available in the church.

In this week’s service, introduce the apprenticeship model that Jesus used so effectively. Use the suggested scriptures and Tom’s Worship Theme to demonstrate how Jesus trained his disciples. The medical field often uses the motto “See one, do one, teach one,” which nicely outlines the how-to of apprenticeship in the church. “Never go alone” is the rule clergy must embrace.

There should be two sides of apprenticeship in kingdom living. One side is “doing.” Walking with the experienced in doing ministry is an important facet. Jesus sent the twelve (Matthew 10) and the seventy-two (Luke 10) to go two-by-two in the towns and villages to do ministry, but not before they’d seen him do it.

The other side of kingdom apprenticeship is “being.” Walking with the faithful is perhaps the most important facet of all. In Western practice, especially in the church, accountability is to be avoided at all costs—and it shows as the church continues to slide into oblivion. Jesus had no problem holding the religious leaders and the disciples accountable for their behaviors, and even left instructions for how to confront sin for those who weren’t living up to their Christian commitment (Matthew 18:15–20).

To teach (train!) your apprentices this week, begin by showing a clip from Star Wars—The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Use the scene where Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) meets Master Yoda (Frank Oz) on Dagobah and chafes at his continuing apprenticeship. This clip sets up a discussion of apprenticeship and North American Christian’s distaste for both of its facets.

If you haven’t instituted accountability groups in your congregation, introduce the Journey Group Accountability Partnerships (www.therockcc.us/spiritual/journey-group.pdf). Print enough of the handouts for each participant to get one. (Alternatively, use Life Transformation Groups—a Google search will provide plenty of resources for LTGs)

ill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Mark 6-9 and James 1)

How did Jesus teach his disciples? What did he teach his disciples? Read through this week’s scriptures and take the time to ponder these questions. Don’t look so much for a list of how and what, but the expectations and the themes. Then zero in on the stories of the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus on the water (Mark 6). In your personal prayer disciplines and later in your small groups, spend time pondering and listening to the hidden messages and teachings that underlie these two key stories of the Bible. Jesus is teaching you something by his actions. Listen to him.

Bill T-B, Tom Bandy

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5^th Sunday in January (Week 5) Jesus’ Purpose (Mark 10:13-34; Isaiah 11:1-9; Mark 10-13 and Romans 8)

Human nature being what it is, we are always “surprised” by evil. No matter how well prepared we think we are, it is not enough. No matter how confident we are in our faith, it is not enough. No matter how close we feel to Christ, it is not enough. Inevitably, evil surprises and dismays us. Pain uses up all our reserves. Loneliness overwhelms all of our confidence. And only then do we really, really begin to understand why Christ came. He came so that nothing … absolutely nothing … would be able to separate us from the love of God. No matter how painful, lonely, or impossible life can become, nothing but nothing will separate us from God. Jesus proved it. Christ makes it happen.

Team Meditation (Isaiah 11:1-9)

History repeats itself … but Christian history really does repeat itself. The life of Christ, the betrayal of Christ, the victory of Christ, and the forgiveness in Christ happen over and over again. Just look at ourselves. We study Christ, enter into a relationship with Christ, and walk in conversation with Christ. He tells us that bad times are ahead this year, but we don’t believe him. After all, we’re enjoying talking with Jesus! How could bad times be on the horizon? Yet evil comes. Pain arrives. Jesus seems to vanish. We may be tempted to think it was all a lie … all the promises and assurances and love. So we will doubt. We will run away. We will get angry. We will stop believing. And we will! That’s the thing we need to understand. We will! The disciples didn’t think they would betray Jesus, and they did. We don’t think we will betray Jesus, but we will!

But in the worst of times, there remains this one faint hope. It’s like seeing a mighty tree cut down and rotting in the woods … and then spying a thin green shoot growing from the decaying roots. It’s a new tree … an even better tree … and everlasting tree of life. What took place in the Bible is going to happen again this year. Christ will rise. We will be forgiven. Peace will return. Hope will emerge. Justice will come.

So when the bad times come, as they inevitably will, remember this. It’s has happened before. Just when all hope seems gone, suddenly new hope springs forth. Christ comes again.

Worship Theme (Mark 10:13-34)

The best conversations start at one place and end up at another. The dialogue builds on itself. One great insight leads to a further question, which leads to another great insight, and so on. Christians who are in relationship with Christ literally participate in an ongoing conversation with Jesus. It’s just like talking to a close friend … only this “friend” is going to challenge, perplex, surprise, and teach us more than we can imagine.

Jesus loves children. We get that. We all love kids. It makes sense that God’s Kingdom would be best perceived through the innocence of childhood. But what about adults? How can we recapture that innocence? So Jesus replied that adults need to lead virtuous lives. But even if we do, will that be sufficient to enter the Kingdom? Well no, Jesus says. You need to follow Christ … imitate Christ … be in relationship with Christ. I will, we say. No you won’t, Jesus replies. In order to follow Christ you must surrender all other idolatries or ultimate concerns so that nothing stands between you and God. Like money? Yeah, like money.

Now the conversation takes a deeper turn. Sure, we reply, easy for you to say. But even if we stake everything, and risk financial instability and even death, how do we really know that we will enter the Kingdom of God? Maybe there is some form to fill out that we don’t yet know. Maybe there is some other hurdle, and another one after that? It’s OK, Jesus says, nobody who follows me will be turned away.

But that brings us to the real issue … the one we didn’t want to really name. What if Jesus himself isn’t enough? What if Jesus isn’t perfect enough, or powerful enough, and we follow him through thick and thin, only to discover even Jesus can’t guarantee entrance to the Kingdom? What then? Well, that’s why I’m going to die horribly, and be raised from the dead again victoriously, so that you poor cowardly, unbelieving, sinful adult idiots will finally get it. I’m the Lord. End of story.

Worship Design (Mark 10:13-34)

The “Yeah, but...” game is one of the most common games known to humanity. It starts when we’re three- or four-years-old. At that age we have an insatiable thirst for knowledge—we want to know more and more and more. It would be really nice if either that thirst continued, or if we grew out of the game, but alas we change the rules and keep at it. By the time we’re adults the “Yeah, but...” game is our way of objecting to information we don’t agree with.

Tom aptly illustrated the game in the Worship Theme above. Notice that no matter what answer Jesus may give, there’s a “Yeah, but...” just waiting to pounce.

The answer to the game is found in verse 15: “Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

A little child receive a gift in one of two ways. They either receive it or they reject it. There’s no in between. There’s no, “Yeah, but...” There’s no discussion. There’s only take it or not. It’s why the rich, young ruler went away sorrowfully. He was nursing a “Yeah, but...”

Trust is a funny thing. It’s like being a little pregnant. You have it or you don’t. Paul tells us the “Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:23). We receive it, or we don’t. Are there strings attached, you betcha. If you give a child a puppy, if they take it, they’re responsible for taking care of it. Will they ever blow it and forget to feed it? Yep. But that doesn’t mitigate their responsibility. And accepting the gift of eternal life doesn’t mean we get to quit living. In fact, just the opposite is the case. It means we have to start living eternally in the Kingdom in the here and now.

Trust and responsibility. You can find that theme explored in the episode “War of the Simpsons” on the DVD The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season. Although the whole episode has many opportunities to open the discussion, I’d suggest using a scene towards the end of the episode. The setting is Marge and Homer have gone to a marriage renewal retreat led by Rev. Lovejoy. Use the clip where they are doing the trust-fall exercise – and Marge is excused because Homer has snuck out to go fishing. If you run the clip to Marge and Homer’s reconciliation, you’ll have plenty to talk about in terms of trust.

Once again, this week deals with the high cost of being a faithful disciple and what we may have to give up. Make a point to keep the bar high.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Mark 10-13 and Romans 8)

Loneliness isn’t just a blight on a widow’s life. Loneliness attacks all of us now and again. We may be lonely in a crowd, in the midst of a family get together, or in the arms of our spouse. Loneliness may exacerbate, or even be a root cause, of some people’s depression.

As you read this week’s scriptures, reflect on how Jesus tried to prepare his closest friends for his immanent departure from this earth. Reflect on how Paul tried to encourage his readers in Rome who were suffering persecution by both the Jews from Jerusalem and by the Roman government. And reflect on the times you have been lonely. When you gather in your small group, discuss your reflections and then discuss the following questions:

1. How might those outside the faith experience loneliness? Spiritual loneliness?

2. How can your small group be a loneliness-buster in your neighborhood or community?

Bill T-B