Cross + Gen Worship LESSON #1-10 SAMPLE DISPLAY COPY Narrative Lectionary Cross + Gen Worship Leader s Guide
Sunday, November 11, 2018 Lesson #1-10 Micah [1:3-5]; 5:2-5a; 6:6-8 C+G Worship Key Verse: What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 The Point: God s promised shepherd will bring peace and teach us to lead lives of justice and mercy. Making Connections: Promises Made, Promises Broken Spiritual Practice: Service 1
Printed copies of photos of a diverse group of people, in age, gender, ethnicity, background, etc. None None God s Dream, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams Discussing God s dream for peace. Depicting God s story. Bible Paper Colored pencils Paper Pens or pencils Creating a list of ways in which to better honor and worship God. Paper Pens or pencils None Photos from Welcoming Time 2
None None None 3
C+G Worship has at its core the concept that faith is passed on from generation to generation (back and forth) through meaningful relationships, and through finding our place in God s story by exploring that story in community. Effective cross+generational experiences are: experiential interactive engaging story-centric home-based equalizing all of which promote an encounter with God. All of the activities included in this worship guide are intended to engage these principles, through intentional cross+generational interaction and active, creative activities that bring the Bible story to life in our lives. We pass on the faith through worship, and weaving teaching and learning moments into worship experiences reinforces the understanding that we are an active part on an ongoing story of God s work in the world. 4
This background information is provided for the use of preachers, storytellers, music leaders, and anyone else who has a role in worship planning. It gives a deeper understanding into the context and thematic material found within and behind each text. Feel free to use it to inform your worship material choices. Making Connections This new unit, entitled God s Plan for Peace, moves us into a new biblical genre, and provides us a new perspective on the narrative of God s promises to God s people. The first unit (God s Promises Bring Hope) led us through Torah readings, and the second (Living Faithfully in the Promise) told us stories of the Israelites in the History genre. This third unit brings us into the books of the Prophets. Prophets were individuals who brought messages from God to the people. Their prophecies can often seem biting, since the people often were off track, and had to be redirected. But prophecies were intended to bring hope and a vision of God s glorious kingdom. The common thread that will become clear through the three lessons of this unit is that God s vision is one of peace not just the absence of conflict, but also a peace that is enduring and all encompassing. Story Summary: Mercy, Justice, and Peace Like many other biblical prophets, Micah was sent to bring God s message to the people of Jerusalem. The text opens with very expressive, even poetic, language describing the impending wrath of a God who has been betrayed by Israel s disobedience. The second excerpt (which skips forward four chapters) softens and brightens in tone, and introduces the hope of the Messiah, who would not come in power and strength, but like a shepherd, out of the small town of Bethlehem, the city of David. The final excerpt invites the people of Jerusalem to hold on to that hope, and gives instruction for them to change their disobedient ways. Obedience is not complicated, but it is also not easy. God does not require empty sacrifices, but instead asks for mercy, justice, and humility. 5
The Point God s promised shepherd will bring peace and teach us to lead lives of justice and mercy. The concluding verse of this lesson is probably the most well-known verse from the book of Micah and, perhaps, one of the most well-known sayings from one of the prophets, in general. It sums up the law in three basic actions: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly. The work of following these commands is sufficient to guide our lives in the way that God would have us travel. Though the reading itself does not mention the coming Messiah, Christians see Jesus as the promised shepherd-king, who will show us how to live those actions and to urge us to do so throughout our lives. Spiritual Practice: Service The role of the prophet is to call the people to action. The three texts of this unit focus on actions that bring peace. As mentioned above, today s key verse calling us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly is an extremely concise summary of the kind of life that is commanded through all of the Law. It calls us to service of God through service of one another, which brings us into a relationship of harmony with both God and neighbor. 6
C+G (Worship) Lesson #1-10 November 11, 2018 Cross+Generational Worship will look different in each different setting. Some congregations may worship in stationary seating, such as pews. Others may have a more flexible space. These suggestions are offered with these diverse settings in mind. The times indicated are just estimates, and you can take more or less time as you see fit. Feel free to adapt each element to fit your setting, remembering that the more you can engage the principles of Cross+Generational Ministry, the more vibrant and effective your worship can be. You will need: Printed copies of photos of a diverse group of people, in age, gender, ethnicity, background, etc. Before class: 1. Find photos of a diverse group of people, in age, gender, ethnicity, background, etc. It would be helpful if you knew something about the identity and background of the people. 2. Decide how you would like to carry this activity out, depending on the flexibility of your worship space and whether or not you would prefer people to move around. If people will move around, you may either post the photos around the worship space and have people gather around them, or you can print a photo for each worshipper, creating multiples of smaller number of photos, inviting worshippers to find others with the same photo. If worshippers will remain seated, hand out a photo to groups of people sitting in proximity to one another. 3. Once you have decided how to carry out the activity, find and print the number of photos you need. 4. Post the photos around the worship space or determine how to hand them out to worshippers. 7
During class: 1. Welcome to worship! We are happy that you are here. Today, we will be talking about God s Plan for Peace as it appears in the book of Micah. Part of practicing God s peace is being aware of the people around you and becoming able to put yourself in someone else s shoes. 2. Greet the people around you. Introduce yourself to anyone you do not know. Create a group with the two or three other people around you, and look at the photo you have been given. (Adjust that direction, based on how you are carrying out the activity.) 3. Imagine who this person might be. Where might they be from? What might they care about? What do they do with their time? This activity might make you feel uncomfortable, because you might feel like you are jumping to conclusions or stereotyping people, but the act of peacemaking requires empathy. So, put yourself in this person s shoes, and empathize. Try to imagine what they are all about. With your group, create this person s potential life s story. 4. Give groups about five minutes to discuss. 8
God of Mercy: You offer a peace that the world does not understand, and invite us to live as peaceful people. Empower us in our worship today to grow in our commitment to mercy, justice, humility, and peace, and to become the peacemakers of the world. Amen. We begin our worship today by confessing the times when we have not been instruments of God s peace. I will read a petition of confession, ending with God of peace. You will respond with Show us your mercy, teach us your justice, and bring us your peace. You will then be invited to offer your own petitions of confession. Please conclude them with God of peace..., and we will respond to you. Let us pray Leader: We confess the times that we have noticed injustice and turned away, or when we treated others unfairly God of peace All: Show us your mercy, teach us your justice, bring us your peace. Leader: We confess the times we have closed our hearts to one another, out of fear, mistrust, or anger God of peace All: Show us your mercy, teach us your justice, bring us your peace. Leader: We confess the times we have brought violence on those around us, whether it be through our words or our deeds God of peace All: Show us your mercy, teach us your justice, bring us your peace. Leader: Please hear the confessions we offer you now (Pause for worshipper petitions.) Thank you for hearing our prayers of confession. We rejoice that you give us clean hearts and renew us to serve you and work for peace and justice in the world. All: Amen. 9
Discussing God s dream for peace. You will need: God s Dream, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams Before worship: 1. Consider whether or not you will be able to show the pictures as you read the book. If the congregation is small enough, you can walk around the worship space as you read. Or, perhaps, someone can shoot video of you reading the book to project. During worship: 1. We hear about God s plans, visions, and dreams in the scripture that we read every week. We can also hear God speak to us through the words of other authors. Over the next three weeks, we will hear stories that bring us God s visions and dreams through the perspectives of human role models. 2. Listen to the story God s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. Read the story aloud. 3. Discuss these questions with those around you: What do you dream about? What does God dream about? How can we make God s dream come true? What steps can you take? 10
Depicting God s story. You will need: Bible Paper and Colored pencils Before worship: 1. Decide if, during the third reading, worshippers will walk around to see each other s creations, or will hold them up while staying in place. Please adapt the instructions to your chosen method. 2. Decide how to distribute creative materials. They may be at the seats already, people can receive them when they come in to worship, or ushers can hand them out at the appropriate time. 3. Decide whether one person will read the text all three times, or if you will have different readers. During worship: 1. We will hear today s reading three times. After the first reading, we will discuss the content of each of the sections. During the second reading, you will draw or write a one or two word response to what you heard. During the third reading, we will share our responses with each other. 2. Read Micah 1:3-5; 5:2-5a; 6:6-8 for the first time. 3. Discuss: a. What is the main idea of each section? [Section 1: The anger of the God who had been wronged; Section 2: Bethlehem, out of which would come the shepherd king; Section 3: The qualities of mercy, justice, and humility that God expects.] b. What do you think these three themes have to do with each other? c. What do they tell us about God s peace? 4. Now you will hear the text a second time. Create a response to only one of the sections. It can depict what you imagine it to look like, or it can show what you think or feel about it. 5. Read the text a second time. 6. We will hear the text one final time. When I read the section you depicted, hold it up for everyone to see (or walk around and look at other people s creations). 7. Read the text a third time. 11
Creating a list of ways in which to better honor and worship God. You will need: Paper Pens or pencils Before worship: 1. Decide how to distribute the paper and pens or pencils. You could potentially use the back of the photo that you used in the Welcoming Time activity. During worship: 1. As we heard in our reading, God was angry because the people of Jerusalem were making empty sacrifices. They worshipped in the acceptable way, but their hearts were not in it. The list that Micah offers is simple, but not easy! We are to do justice, love, mercy (or kindness), and walk humbly with God. 2. With the people around you create a list, in three columns, of things we do in worship, ways they can be done that do not honor God, and ways we can do them that are more honoring to God. 3. Allow groups seven to ten minutes to work. 4. Invite groups to offer one of their thoughts to the entire worshipping community. 12
The offering is a great time to engage all ages. Giving is a discipline that both important and easy to teach. Preparing and placing an offering in the plate is participatory, kinesthetic, and visual. You can order special envelopes for kids or have them decorate plain envelopes according to the day s theme. 1. Place your commitment to do one act of justice, mercy, or humility this week in the offering. As we discussed earlier, we can only become peacemakers when we can empathize with another person. If information about the people in photographs used during Welcoming Time is available, share that with the worshippers. Gather with the people you were with during Welcoming Time, and pray for the person in your photo. Pray that your peace is with them, wherever that are and whatever they are doing. God of peace. You created a world of beauty and harmony, where justice was knitted into the fiber of all of creation. But our disobedience and selfishness broke the harmony and tore the fabric of unity, and created a world where winning was more important than being in community. But, at just the right time, Jesus put on flesh and became human to restore harmony, to live a life of justice and peace, and to redeem us from our brokenness through his death and resurrection. He showed us the way of peace on the night in which we was betrayed 13
One way to reinforce the connections amongst the community, and our responsibility to each other, is by having the congregation serve communion to each other. This can be done while the congregation is at their seats. It is helpful to have a communion assistant to hold the wine while people offer the bread, and to help the bread and wine move smoothly from one row, section, or table to another. God of justice: Your plan for peace is not just for a world that is without conflict, but for a world that embraces mercy, justice, and humility. Hear our prayers of thanks for the example of those whose lives show us your way of peace. Allow time for petitions. Thank you for offering us a chance to turn back from our broken ways, and to lead the way forward toward your peaceful kingdom. In your name we pray. Amen. Invite worshippers to turn to the people on either side of them and, with their permission, make the sign of the cross on their hand or forehead, and repeat, Show mercy, teach justice, bring peace. If your congregation is using the Sharing God s Story @ Home insert, remember to hand them out before they leave worship. This week: Follow through with your commitment to do one act of justice, mercy, or humility. Find someone different from you (on TV, a stranger you pass, etc.) to empathize with and to pray for. Discuss with your family or prayer partner one daily activity that you can change to be less sacrificial and more merciful. 14