Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. -Ambrose Bierce, journalist

Transcription

1 (War in Gaza used with permission from Google Creative Commons) Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. -Ambrose Bierce, journalist :15 a.m. August 10, 2014

2 2 The Colonial Church in Prairie Village United Church of Christ Politics without Principle Sunday Worship Service in the series The Seven Deadly Social Sins Please silence your mobile phone in preparation for worship. * Please rise in body or spirit. WE GATHER AS GOD S PEOPLE ORGAN PRELUDE In Thee, Lord, have I hoped -Dupre WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (Please sign and pass pew pads and fill out Prayer Request cards you may have. You can place the Prayer Request cards in the offering plates later in the service.) MOMENT TO LAY YOUR BURDENS DOWN * OPENING HYMN #576 For the Healing of the Nations * CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: Leader: Leader: For all the ways we squander right relationship grabbing to have more while some go without God, in your mercy, forgive and transform. For all the ways we abuse our freedom engaging hateful speech towards those not on our side God, in your mercy, forgive and transform. For all the ways we deny equality deeming some in and others out God, in your mercy, forgive and transform. * SONG OF PRAISE GLORIA #759 ADAPTED Glory to the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. Amen. * SHARING GOD S WELCOME (Greet everyone in the hope of peace and friendship.)

3 CHILDREN S CONVERSATION (Children of all ages are welcome to come forward to the chancel steps. Following the Conversation, children are welcome to remain to worship or to attend our Sunday School.) This little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 3 THE WORD PROCLAIMED WE HEAR GOD S WORD Pastor Aaron Roberts The Beginning of Land Conflict in Israel/Canaan/Palestine Deuteronomy 7:1-6 Now once the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to take possession of, and he drives out numerous nations before you the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: seven nations that are larger and stronger than you once the LORD your God lays them before you, you must strike them down, placing them under the ban. Don't make any covenants with them, and don't be merciful to them. Don't intermarry with them. Don't give your daughter to one of their sons to marry, and don't take one of their daughters to marry your son, because they will turn your child away from following me so that they end up serving other gods. That will make the LORD's anger burn against you, and he will quickly annihilate you. Instead, this is what you must do with these nations: rip down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their sacred poles, and burn their idols because you are a people holy to the LORD your God. John 9:1-3 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth. Jesus' disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents THE WORD IN OUR HOLY MEAL Communion Prayer Pastor: The Liberating God be with you! And also with you! Pastor: Lift up your hearts with joy! We lift them up to God! Let us give praise to the Author of Freedom! Express your thoughts via social media at #ColonialUCC.

4 4 Pastor: Pastor: Pastor: Pastor: It is right to give our thanks and praise! It is right, and a good and holy thing to give our praise to you this day, Liberator of all Humankind. You unleashed your creative power and a world blossomed. You bestowed upon every living thing life and breath, color and movement. No matter how many battles we wage within and between ourselves and against you, your promise, vision and gift of peace and abundance continues. And so we lift up our voices in celebration of You! Holy, holy, holy are You! We join all the prophets and saints! Heaven and earth are full of your glory! We join the parade of justice! Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord! We add our cries and exclamations! Hosanna in the highest! Remembering and Consecrating Pastor: Holy are you and blessed is Jesus. To those who were imprisoned by status, law, illness, poverty, gender, age, disease, he said, your trust has set you free. You are a child of God. He invited disciples, friends and strangers alike to his tables. He proclaimed God s grace to all with whom he broke bread. He proclaimed God s love to all with whom he shared the cup. And he told us to remember: All: Freedom has come, and freedom is coming! Pastor: Holy Spirit, transform this meal and transform this body so that we might be free to love without condition, invite without hesitance, go without reservation and proclaim your freedom to all the world! Let the people say, Amen! Sharing the Bread and Cup (As the bread and cup are served, we will sing Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound, which is #547 in the hymnal. Drink the cup as you are served as a sign of God s particular love for you. Hold the bread until everyone has been served, and we will eat it together as a sign of our unity in Christ.)

5 5 WE RESPOND WITH THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER CALL TO OFFERING AND OFFERTORY Cavatina -Stanley Myers -Chucho Marquez, guitar * Doxology (#780 adapted; tune Old Hundredth) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, you heavenly host: Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen. * Prayer of Dedication Make us agents of peace, LORD. Send us out with your true Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. Amen. TIME OF PRAYER Prayers of the People Believing that each joy and/or concern expressed is indeed a prayer, after each expression, the pastor will say: Lord, in your mercy. And the people may respond: Hear our prayer. Praying in Silence Our Lord s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

6 6 WE DEPART TO SERVE * HYMN #86 When Morning Gilds the Skies * RENEW OUR COVENANT (Turn towards the center aisle as we bless one another with the promise of our covenant.) We covenant with the Lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in Christian Love. We seek to worship God in spirit and in truth and to love our neighbors as ourselves. With God s help we will honor Colonial Church in our conduct, support its program, and extend the influence of Christ throughout the world. * CONGREGATIONAL SONG OF BLESSING #809 God Be With You God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. O God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. * BENEDICTION AND POSTLUDE New Britain - Kern Liturgist: Children s Conversation: Greeter: Head Usher: Ushers: Communion Servers: Jayne Moore Martha Wofford Becky Johnson Howard Lee Bob and Judy LeVeau, Tim Taylor, Howard Lee Marti Lee, Stacy Lybarger, Martha and Bruce Wofford

7 7 Colonial Church Study Guide God is Still Speaking, but how do you know what God is saying? Monday Genocide Read Deuteronomy 7:1-6 Does this sound like God to you? The entire book of Joshua is the story of the battles that ensue in accord with this command to kill. Entire nations, albeit very small ones, were condemned to death, and 3,000 years later were are still seeing the horror of war over the same piece of land. Over the next few days, we are going to ask some hard questions that have no easy answers for this brutal passage that seems to advocate genocide. Even if you accept that death is God s penalty for wrongdoing, does God have methods that are more targeted than mass killing? Or perhaps not? Can children be blamed and punished for the sins of their parents or culture? Think about the Passover. Tuesday Is Just Following Orders Justified? Read Exodus 23:2 Don t take sides with important people to do wrong. This commandment of Torah states that just following orders of an important person a leader to do wrong is itself wrong. You are accountable for your actions. The command to strike down entire cities must be questioned, even if it is coming from a respected religious or national leader. Think about times in history that the just following orders line has been used. What comes to mind? Are there instances where complete obedience is necessary in a military context, for example? Wednesday People Justifying Their Selfishness Read Leviticus 19:33-34 The command to strike down people living in Canaan didn t come directly from God to all people. It came in this instance through Moses, and was remembered and recorded many years later. When the Israelites first came to Egypt, escaping famine, they were greeted with hospitality for a while. After Joseph, the people were enslaved. This passage reminds the Israelites to welcome immigrants remembering their own history. So, why strike down the Canaanite cities? The justification given is that they are immoral, and God wanted them gone. Is that good enough?

8 8 The Canaanites had something the Israelites wanted land. When people think that they are owed something, they can justify a great deal to get it. Do you think that is possible in this case? Thursday Authority of Religious Leaders Read Exodus 33:7-11 Moses had a tent in which he could go to speak to God directly. Joshua, who would later lead the attack on Canaan, wouldn t even leave this tent. Later, Samuel was able to discern God s voice directly. Religious leaders are blessed or credited with the ability to discern God s voice. A pastor s call, or vocation, from God is questioned, tested, and confirmed in the process of ordaination. It is a sacred and important task in a religious community to recognize these gifts. But what if someone lies? Or, what if God s voice goes silent to that person? A wise woman of faith once said, Ordination doesn t mean a thing unless the Holy Spirit is present. The same thing is true of baptism. How should any member of a religious community hold authority of religious leaders? How should a religious leader be tested? Who should test them? Every person has spiritual dry spells, but they can be especially hard for religious leaders. What should a pastor do when he or she is having difficulting discerning God s voice? (It s kind of important for the job ) Friday Jesus as Pioneer and Perfecter Read Hebrews 12:1-3 For anyone who studies scripture seriously, there are troubling passages like the one we dealt with on study. People in the Bible are often dishonest, lying, and hurtful just like people you may know. We are broken. The overarching narrative of the Bible though is about finding healing, being renewed, and resurrected. For Christian disciples, it is in the person of Jesus of Nazareth that God is most clearly revealed. How Jesus lived - his teachings and actions become the goal of how to live a fully enlightened human life. Jesus purposefully did not get involved as a politician or as a direct rival to the Roman Emperor. Instead, his political activism was done with people directly. Jesus critiqued and even condemned the abuses of power he saw, but he never forced himself on others a lesson that some of his followers sometimes forget. Jesus shared a vision of how this world could be healed and find peace. He did this in practical terms, and his church is committed to this day of continuing to try to build that world. Even when we fail, the effort and the condition of your heart matters to God.

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