Worship Planning Tools - July 2023 by CofChrist

2 July 2023

9 July 2023

16 July 2023

23 July 2023

30 July 2023

Worship Resources

2 July 2023

Ordinary Time (Proper 8)

Romans 6:12-23

Seek Right Relationships

Additional Scriptures

Genesis 22:1-14, Psalm 13, Matthew 10:40-42, Doctrine and Covenants 164:4c

Preparation

Have Communion emblems placed somewhere that is visible to the gathered community. Have a chime or bell ready for the Spiritual Practice and Reflection.

Prelude

Welcome and Call to Worship

Welcome to sacred community. Today we seek right relationships. As we make the intentional decision to enter the sacrament of Communion with one another, we desire to be instruments of peace and righteousness.

In prayer, song, and sacrament we seek right relationships with God, each other, and all of creation. May we be attuned to the melody of Christ’s peace.

Hymn of Praise

CCS 319 OR “Bless the Lord” sing at least twice

“God’s Melody of Peace”

CCS 575 OR “Praise the Lord Together Singing”

Divide into 4 groups and sing this in a round.

Scripture Reading

Romans 6:12-23

CCS 642

Spiritual Practice and Reflection: Discerning Our Faithfulness

Be prepared with a bell or chime to ring between moments of reflection. In our lectionary scripture from Romans, readers are asked to contemplate questions about allegiance and loyalty. Specifically, Paul asks followers of Christ to no longer be instruments of sin and wickedness, but to instead be instruments of righteousness and obedience to God.

In a time of spiritual practice, we will reflect on questions, and examine our own lives. Where do our loyalties lie? Are we instruments of love, peace, and justice, or do we participate in ways of life that perpetuate injustice, disconnection, and separation from God?

I will ring the chime to signal transitions through this time of practice. To begin, I invite you to spend a few moments in deep breath, clearing your mind and seeking connection with the divine.

Pause for a few moments, and then ring the chime 3 times.

Spend a few moments reflecting on the last week. Draw your attention to a time that you felt union with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit. What feelings and circumstances surrounded this moment?

Pause for a few moments, and then ring the chime one time.

Now, draw your attention to a time that you felt disconnected from God. What emotions did you feel in these moments? What was it about this time that made you feel separated from God?

Pause for a few moments, and then ring the chime one time.

Reflecting on connection and separation, consider your own priorities. Consider the primary influences that guide your choices in your daily walk. What shifts might you make to be more aligned with God’s vision for creation? With your own sense of calling in discipleship?

Pause for a few moments, and then ring the chime one time.

In this moment, be mindful of God’s grace. Offer gratitude knowing that in all we experience, God is with us. Receive comfort and peace knowing that each day, we have the opportunity to say yes to God in new ways. May we be blessed as we seek to be instruments of God’s righteousness. Amen.

Prayer for Peace

Peace Hymn

“Healer of our Every Ill”

CCS 547 OR “Lord, Make Us Instruments” CCS 364 OR “We Serve the Prince of Peace” CCS 348

Light the Peace Candle. Statement

You are invited to pray for inner peace as a vessel to outer transformation. Prayer

Loving Source of Peace and Righteousness,

We seek your peace today and all days. We repent for times that our loyalty lies with sin, individualism, greed, systems of injustice, and ways of being that separate us from your loving presence. We lament systems in our world that perpetuate poverty, violence, racism, environmental degradation, and all forms of harm to your beloved creation. We pray that we would be attuned to your Spirit of peace. We pray that our hearts and souls will seek righteousness, goodness, justice, and peace. May this inner work of prayer lead us to pathways of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit. Sensitize our holy attention to your world. In the name of Christ, the Peaceful One, we pray. Amen.

For additional ideas: Find this day’s Prayer for Peace service on the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org

Morning Message

Based on Romans 6:12-23

OR Dwelling in the Questions

Lead the congregation in a time of sharing in small groups or pairs with these questions connected to the time of Spiritual Practice and Reflection earlier in the service. Print or project the questions for all to see.

· When have you felt closest to God?

· What sometimes keeps you from feeling close to God?

· What spiritual practices help you experience deeper meaning and divine presence?

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Hymn of Preparation

83 OR “In These Moments We Remember”

“Come Away from Rush and Hurry”

515 OR “Let Us Break Bread Together”

Communion Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:17-30

Communion Focus Talk

Invitation to Communion

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

Blessing and Serving of Bread and Wine

Disciples’ Generous Response

Hymn of Grace and Generosity

CCS

CCS 521

“Brothers and Sisters of Mine”

OR “My Gratitude Now Accept, O God/Gracias, Señor”

CCS 616

CCS 614/615 Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 13:5-6

Statement

In Community of Christ, one of our Enduring Principles is Grace and Generosity. On the Community of Christ website, you find these words: “Having received God’s generous grace, we respond generously and graciously receive the generosity of others”.

This defining phrase of our Enduring Principle is in harmony with the words from the psalmist. There is recognition that all we have is a sacred gift from God. With this knowledge, we are called to give freely and abundantly, just as God has done in our lives.

On the first Sunday of each month, we draw emphasis to Abolish Poverty, End Suffering, which includes Oblation ministry. This ministry, which is highlighted each time we take Communion, is grounded in an ethic of abundance. It draws our attention to where there is need and inequity, compelling us to respond as vessels of generosity and justice. Knowing that all that exists in this world is a gift from God, we strive to bring the Kingdom of God nearer when we share resources through compassionate, gracious acts.

During this time of a Disciple’s Generous Response, we focus on aligning our hearts with God’s heart. Our offerings are more than meeting budgets or funding mission. Through our offerings, we are able to tangibly express our gratitude to God, who is the giver of all.

As we share our mission tithes either by placing money in the plates or through eTithing, use this time to thank God for the many gifts received in life. Our hearts grow aligned with God’s when we gratefully receive and faithfully respond by living Christ’s mission.

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

For additional ideas, see Disciples’ Generous Response Tools at CofChrist.org/spiritualpractices-generosity/.

Closing Hymn

“Bwana Awabariki/May God Grant You a Blessing”

CCS 660 Sing several times. Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

OR “Lord Jesus, of You I Will Sing/Jésus, je voudrais te chanter”

CCS 556 Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.

OR “Christ’s Partners All Are We”

CCS 630

Benediction Response

Sending Forth

May our experience today lead us to deeper commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ. As we enter a new week and encounter many competing priorities, may we return to prayer and practice, abiding in the loving and guiding presence of God. With the taste of Communion emblems still on our lips, may we be blessed as we seek to be incarnation in our community and world. Go with God. Postlude

Sermon Helps

Sermon Helps Year A - Letters Ordinary Time (Proper 8)

Romans 6:12-23

Exploring the Scripture

Last week, we explored the idea of taking part in Jesus’ death and resurrection through baptism. Buried with Christ in the waters of baptism, we die to sin’s power. We rise to new life, “alive to God” through our union with Christ. This week, Paul uses the symbols of slaves and soldiers to move from the theory of justification to the practical application for everyday life.

He begins by speaking about power and control, using the word “dominion.” Imagine sin as a ruler who commands loyalty and service. He begs the Roman faithful to avoid offering their “members” (faculties, abilities, and desires) as weapons to be used to serve sin. They are to offer all they are to God, for Godly purposes, knowing that sin has no control over their lives any longer.

Verse 14 states, “you are not under law, but under grace.” As a Jew, being “under the law” would recall the Jewish law, Torah, and the many interpretations and additions to the original Mosaic law. But many of the Roman church members were Gentiles. Being “under the law” for them would have meant striving to obey multiple civic, social, and religious laws. For both groups, the law stresses human striving for perfection and holiness, an unending task. Humans are not equal to God. God alone offers the gift of grace as the key to righteousness.

Paul expands the idea using the imagery of slaves. Note the contrast is not slavery and freedom, but rather two kinds of slavery. We are never entirely free. We owe allegiance to one Master or the other (See Matthew 6:24). Whose are we? Where do our loyalties and obedience lie? What occupies our minds and controls our spending?

Paul asserts that we were all once slaves to sin, obeying the impulses and passions of broken human nature. The result is spiritual death. By opening our hearts to the teachings of the Spirit, we have “been set free from sin.” The sins that control us are not just reduced but are conquered. We have transferred our obedience to a different Master. We are now “slaves of righteousness.” Righteousness means being in the right relationship with God due to the combined forces of God’s grace and our continued faith.

Paul sums up the result in one word: sanctification. When we were slaves to sin, we were free from the expectations of being in a right relationship with God. But the outcomes led to death dysfunctional lifestyles, broken relationships, physical death, moral break down, and spiritual death. Now, forgiven and justified by faith, we become slaves to God. The result is sanctification the process of becoming ever more righteous and holy, as we live sacramental lives based on the covenant we made in baptism. We choose to live sanctified lives, not to earn God’s love and acceptance, but as the natural result of receiving God’s grace and mercy.

How we act reveals whose we are. “The end is eternal life” (v. 22) within the love and grace of God, both in our daily existence and in eternity. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v. 23)

Central Ideas

1. Christian ideas of Jesus’ death and resurrection have ethical and practical implications.

2. Either sin or God has control and power over our lives. The choice is ours.

3. Being set free from sin results in a right relationship with God based on God’s grace, human faith, and sacramental living.

4. Sanctification is the process of becoming more aligned with God, more holy, and more open to Spirit’s movement.

Questions for the Speaker

1. To whom do you give allegiance? What is the evidence for your answer? How do you deal with the split loyalties in your life?

2. How does sanctification relate to our idea of sacramental living? Which comes first?

3. What present-day imagery would you substitute for the ancient symbols of slavery in this discussion of loyalty, allegiance, and masters?

4. How does this passage affect your understanding of Christ’s mission and the hope of the kingdom?

Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A, Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 8

Romans 6:12–23 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Ordinary Time is the Christian calendar period from Pentecost to Advent. This part of the Christian calendar is without major festivals or holy days. During Ordinary Time we focus on our discipleship as individuals and as a faith community.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Today’s Prayer for Peace is inspired by hymn 42 in Community of Christ Sings, “As the Wind Song through the Trees.” The words are by Shirley Erena Murray, and the music is by Swee Hong Lim:

Never seen, ever known where this wind has blown bringing life, bringing power to the world.

Ever-moving and ever-still Spirit, we thank you for the wind!

Gentle wind that cools us.

Whipping wind that urges us faster.

Howling wind that piques our curiosity.

Quiet wind that awakens our sense of direction.

As the wind coaxes us, may we be open and discerning to your guidance. May we bring life peaceful life to our neighborhoods. May we step into the wind and with the wind. Open our wings and let your wind carry us to never-seen yet always-known places. May we harness your Spirit of peace and blow it into the stuffy, stale corners of our communities, bringing breezes of peace to those gasping for fresh air.

In the name of Jesus, the breath of peace. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Discernment through Contemplative Prayer

Enduring Principles are foundational in Community of Christ. Today we are focusing on the Enduring Principle of Responsible Choices.

We find stories in the scriptures of people reflecting on their history and seeing God’s hand in all of it. When we pause to discern God’s presence, we can sense the divine presence in our life. Recognizing God’s presence can help us discern Responsible Choices in our lives. One way to help us discern is through contemplative prayer.

It is a method of meditation used by Christians to sit in silence with God. This prayer helps us experience God’s presence within us. When we get quiet and listen to our heart, we can discern where God is calling us.

Choose a word as a symbol of your intent to open yourself to God’s presence. Sit comfortably, with your eyes closed and repeat your word slowly and silently.

When you become aware of thoughts, physical sensations, or emotions, allow them to pass from your mind. Return gently to your word. We will continue this practice for three minutes.

Ring a chime to start the meditation. After three minutes ring a chime to end the meditation. Read the following:

Now we will sit in silence for three minutes to see what comes up for us in the silence. Ring a chime to start the meditation. After three minutes, ring a chime to end the silence. Invite the group members to share how they felt with that experience.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 6:12–23 NRSV

Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Today’s scripture continues the themes of sin, repentance, grace, and Jesus Christ; this time in relation to slavery. We no longer are in bondage to sin, like those in physical bondage. Grace gives us hope, courage, and examples of reconciliation.

As we respond to grace, we no longer are under constrictive religious laws, as are the Jews. As we follow the words and examples of Jesus, we go deeper than simply following rules (law) and begin to act with an understanding of the grace-filled love of God that is the essence of Christian purpose and community.

The gift of hope in the resurrection is that God loves all God’s creation, no matter what. Let us be that hope to those around us.

Questions

1. How are you in bondage to sin today?

2. Can following rules too rigidly be a form of sin?

3. How do you understand God’s grace in your life?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

165:6a

Discipling God, as we navigate our world of debt and consumerism, help us to save wisely, spend responsibly, and give generously. In this way may we prepare for the future and create a better tomorrow for our families, friends, the mission of Christ, and the world. Amen.

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 207, “Creator of Sunrises”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Thoughts for Children

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

• 515 “In these Moments We Remember”

• 516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat this Bread”

Thoughts for Children

What is something you didn’t know how to do when you were younger and had to learn? (Affirm all answers. Be prepared to offer suggestions: ride a bike, read, etc.)

Just like you’ve learned how to do more things as you’ve gotten older, as we age, we learn more about making Responsible Choices.

Because we always are learning and growing, it is important that we forgive ourselves when we make mistakes. Just like you wouldn’t get mad at yourself for falling off your bike before you knew how to ride it, you shouldn’t stay made at yourself when you make an irresponsible choice. Instead, you should learn from it and make a better choice in the future. I want you to think of a choice you have made that wasn’t responsible. Now pretend to blow it into a bubble. As the bubble starts to float away, pop it and forgive yourself for the choice.

Worship Resources

9 July 2023

Ordinary Time (Proper 9)

Romans 7:15-25a/7:15-27 IV

Where is My True Self?

Additional Scriptures

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30; Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

Preparation

Create a worship center that reflects life’s journey and discipleship for those in the group. Consider using mirrors to encourage a posture of reflection, or display items from multiple arenas of life to provoke consideration of how our choices align with God’s will.

Prelude

Hymns of Praise

“Halle, Halle, Hallelujah” sing several times

CCS 86 OR “Fanana”

CCS 596

Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. Or sing along with the vocal recording found on Community of Christ Sings Audio Recordings, available from Herald House. OR “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”

CCS 581

Welcome

Invitation to Worship

Our experience today will invite us to be present with discerning hearts. Jesus, the peaceful One, modeled a devoted life of prayer and relationship with God. When life gets busy, even in church, it is all too tempting to step away from prayer and spiritual practice. In our lectionary scripture from Romans, it is made clear that when we step away from prayer and discernment, we begin to lose sense of who we are in God, and how the Holy Spirit is calling us to live our lives. Today, through spiritual practice, music, and sharing, we will explore ways to more deeply align our hearts and minds with divine purposes.

Prayer of Invocation

Response

Scripture Reading

Romans 7:15-25a

Prayer for Peace Statement

It is important to consider peace through the lens of discernment. Discernment invites us to discover the mutual yearning between ourselves and God. Somewhere in the midst of that yearning, God meets us, and an emerging vision for a peaceful world becomes clearer. It is easy to dismiss peace when we consider the suffering present in human lives, natural systems, and creation as a whole. And yet, God invites us to a vision of hope. God reminds us that even in the midst of significant challenges, the work of reconciliation continues.

We yearn for peace when God’s yearning breaks open our capacity to see, to “suffer with,” and love. The deepest discernment question in our hearts needs to be: “What does God yearn for?” The Enduring Principles of Community of Christ state it clearly: “God wants shalom (justice, reconciliation, well- being, wholeness, and peace) for all of creation.” The larger goal of discernment is to recognize and join God’s redemptive activity of restoring creation to wholeness and joy.

-Carolyn Brock, Yearning

for God

How might we embody these words? As we consider our own yearning for peace, may we be aware of God’s yearning for Shalom, and offer deep prayers within that lead to meaningful action in the world around us.

Light the Peace Candle.

Hymn of Peaceful Preparation

CCS 195 OR “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”

“O God, We Call” sing 2 or 3 times

CCS 605 Prayer

God of Peace, We yearn for your peace.

We yearn for your justice.

We yearn for your action.

We yearn for your grace.

We yearn that you might restore creation.

God of Peace,

You yearn for our peaceful way of life.

You yearn for justice in our daily living.

You yearn for action in our faith.

You yearn for grace in our relationships.

You yearn that we might restore creation. May we meet in this place.

In the name of Jesus, the Peaceful One. Amen.

For additional ideas: Find this day’s Prayer for Peace service on the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org

Time of Community Practice: The Prayer of Examen

In our Lectionary scripture from Romans 7:15, we hear and relate to these words: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” We live in a world of interrelated and complicated choices. We wrestle with the dissonance between the values of our Christian faith, and the predominant influences of forces including capitalism and individualism. Sometimes we are conscious of this dissonance. At other times, we get so swept up in the patterns of our culture that we lose touch with the rhythm of life that God calls us to practice.

As a way to prepare for deeper exploration of our scripture and theme, we will share together in a spiritual practice called the Prayer of Examen. In this prayer we reflect on our daily walks, and how our actions align, or don’t align with God’s purposes in the world. We also take time to look ahead, seeking deeper attention to God’s invitation to be more attuned to divine presence as we make choices, and move through the world.

Now, let us together enter a time of spiritual practice.

Lead practice based on suggestions from Community of Christ: https://cofchrist.org/prayer-of-examen/ Hymn

twice

Message

Based on Romans 7:15-25a.

OR Sharing in Small Groups in Response to Lectio Divina

Print or project the following questions. Form small groups or pairs to reflect on the questions.

· What kind of experience did you have engaging with the Prayer of Examen?

· How might this practice impact your personal discipleship?

· How might this practice impact this community?

· How might this practice, like Paul in his letter to the Romans, help us recognize and respond to natural dissonance between the ways of our world, and the way that God yearns for the world to be?

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

Statement

of Reflection and Preparation

“Let This Mind Be in You” CCS 169 OR “Listen in the Silence” CCS 153

sing at least

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

For additional ideas, see Disciples’ Generous Response Tools at www.CofChrist.org/disciples-generous-response-tools.

Hymn of Sending Forth

“Grace Moves in Rhythm” CCS 375 OR “Christ Has Calls Us to New Visions” CCS 566 OR “Go Now Forth into the World” CCS 646

Benediction

The Mission Prayer Offered by the presider or as a unison reading for all present. God, where will your Spirit lead today?

Help me be fully awake and ready to respond. Grant me courage to risk something new, And become a blessing of your love and peace. OR “Awaken” by Daniel Harmon

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pm1sprqxj5nacsm/Awaken%20Song%20Chapel%20Take.m 4v?dl=0

Postlude

Sermon Helps

Sermon Helps Year A - Letters Ordinary Time (Proper 9)

Romans 7:15-25a

Exploring the Scripture

In Romans 6, Paul outlines two competing loyalties being slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Romans 7:14 introduces the struggle to remain loyal to God. Being “of the flesh” refers not simply to bodily appetites but our whole self-focus, greed, and broken relationships with others. The passage that follows is Paul’s confession of sin and a recognizable pattern that all humans tend to follow, regardless of their intent.

“I do not understand my actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Paul expresses a struggle that is current and ongoing, the moral dilemma for Christians in all ages, regardless of how religious or mature they are. He admits that negative impulses and emotions control him and us, even when our best intent, judgment, and reasoning have been converted to God. He recognizes that doing what he knows to be wrong proves that he cares about the law, righteousness, and good (v. 16); but it does not guarantee that our actions will follow.

Paul’s attitude toward the law of Moses was complex. He urged Christians to avoid reliance on obedience to the law as a means of salvation. But he also did not advocate abandoning the law as worthless. It provided helpful guidance and teaching that allows people to understand the difference between right and wrong. Therefore, it was necessary to uphold the law as “holy” (v.12), “just,” (v. 12), “spiritual” (v. 14), and “good” (v.16). The danger is in believing that obedience to the ever-increasing demands of law can lead to perfection and holiness. Sin can warp any human effort to be good and create the very evil we are trying to avoid.

“…it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me” (verses 17-20) has led to ongoing controversy because it could be interpreted to mean that Paul does not need to take responsibility for his actions. Something out of his control (sin) is at work within his inner being, and he is merely a puppet, acting against his will. But he has already answered this charge, in Romans 1:31-2.5, and 5:12, 14. Paul fully upholds human will and the ability to choose our master and loyalty.

He delights in the law of God but also knows the law of sin, selfishness, and ego still resides in his “members” (attitudes, actions, and passions). Willing and acting are at war, and he takes full responsibility for being the battlefield for the conflict. Like so many before and after him, Paul cries for help in resolving the struggle. “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Where does a helpless slave turn when the master abuses power? The self is trapped and cannot heal the illness that has taken up residence within the ego.

The triumphant answer is the climax of Paul’s confession. “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” When Paul could do nothing more, God’s grace and initiative provided the saving power. We cannot regulate, control, or master such grace but only accept it as a gift. Only with God’s help can the good in us be victorious over the power of evil, guilt, and death. Our life experiences clarify the struggle to turn from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.

Central Ideas

1. All humans struggle with the conflict between good intents and bad behavior, Christian knowing and un-Christian actions, loving attitudes, and selfish motives.

2. Throughout his writings, Paul fully upholds human agency and the ability to choose our loyalty. We are not puppets to an evil force within.

3. The law provided helpful guidance about right and wrong and was therefore necessary, spiritual, and reasonable. But it cannot provide salvation.

4. Only with God’s help and grace can the good in us be victorious over the power of evil, guilt, and death.

Questions for the Speaker

1. When have you struggled with the inner conflict between good and evil?

2. How do you understand the paradox of human will and God’s power, vision, and control?

3. What role does law play in your life? In the lives of children? In the lives of the most enlightened, spiritual leaders through the ages?

4. What role does grace play in your life? Give some examples of events where God’s grace rescued you from the results of sinful intents or actions.

Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A, Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 9

Romans 7:15–25 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Today’s Prayer for Peace is inspired by the African American spiritual, “Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley,” 452 in Community of Christ Sings.

We must walk this lonesome valley; We have to walk it by ourselves.

Oh, nobody else can walk it for us; We have to walk it by ourselves.

God of paradox, we live in community, we long for community, and we work for peace in community. Yes, we are many, yet we are one. Empower us in community that we would stride with confidence into our lonesome valleys, knowing even as we walk in solitary paths in pursuit of peace, our friends walk with us. And the peace we walk toward is worth the price.

May we lean into these uncomfortable lonesome paths of peace with the assurance that our community waits for us, and that you, God, are ever-present.

In the name of Jesus, who walks ahead, beside, and within us Amen

Spiritual Practice

Praying for Peace

For today’s Enduring Principle we are focusing on the Pursuit of Peace (Shalom). In Community of Christ we follow the impress of the Holy Spirit to “work with God and others to restore shalom to creation.” As we pray for loved ones, nations, the world, and even those with whom we disagree, we focus our hearts on restoration, relationships, and reconciliation

The following prayer was written by Saint Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

Amen.

Read the prayer again. Invite the group to repeat each line as you read it.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; Amen.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 7:15–25 NRSV

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

This scripture calls attention to our natural state as humans, who have capacity to sin. Often we make wrong or irresponsible choices. We are torn between wanting to do good and actually doing it Sometimes complacency, ignorance, or pride keeps us from even recognizing the good we should be doing!

Yet at the end of this passage, we are reminded of the hope humankind finds in the gracefilled way of Jesus. We cannot earn, create, or master grace. We can only accept it. One way we do that is by turning our self-centeredness to God-centeredness. As we relinquish our personal objectives and strive to focus on God’s purposes in the world, we are accepting and living grace to those around us.

Questions

1. How has complacency, ignorance, or pride kept you from participating in God’s reconciling purposes in the world?

2. What steps do we take to begin to shift from self-centeredness to God-centeredness?

3. What do you think it means to live grace to others?

Sending Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 194, “Dear God, Embracing Humankind”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Thoughts for Children

Thoughts for Children

You will need: coloring supplies paper

This scripture reminds us that making Responsible Choices is not easy. What are some things that make it difficult to make Responsible Choices? Affirm all answers.

Although our choices ultimately are our own, when we are having trouble making a Responsible Choice, it can help to ask someone for advice.

Draw a picture of a person you trust and respect whom you could ask for help when you are struggling to make a Responsible Choice.

Worship Resources

16 July 2023 Ordinary Time (Proper 10)

Romans 8:1-11

Recognize the Spirit

Additional Scriptures

Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Doctrine and Covenants 163:10b

Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. OR "God Within God Around”

20 Sing several times. If available ask a woodwind instrument musician to add the Descant.

Responsive Reading Invocation

The responsive reading can be done with congregation’s right side as the Reader and the left side as the People. OR Use individual readers or a series of readers that will stand and read their portion while the Congregation responds as the People.

Reader: God, your touch is like the wind. In gentle silence your Spirit often lingers nearby. Sometimes you sweep into our lives like a mighty storm, purging our souls of the worldly misdeeds that fence us off from your grace.

PEOPLE: Spirit of God, touch us with gentleness and power.

Reader: Like a gentle dove you move around us, God. Your wings of mercy and healing brush against the hurts of our lives, soothing our pain. Like a dove of peace you bring us hope for new opportunities.

PEOPLE: Spirit of God, inspire us with compassion and peace.

Reader: Like a soft rain, you wash away our sorrow, God. You leave us clean as a spring morning. Our sin-parched souls are made new by the refreshment of your forgiveness.

Prelude Welcome and Sharing of Joys and Concerns Hymn of Praise

the Wind Song through the Trees” CCS 42 OR “Wa Wa Wa Emimimo”/Come,

CCS 157

CCS

“As

O Holy Spirit, Come”

PEOPLE: Spirit of God, transform us with grace and hope.

Reader: Like searing flame you cleanse us, God. Your Spirit melts our coldness and resistance, and we see a fractured world as the place where we can offer our wounded selves in service.

PEOPLE: Spirit of God, renew in us servant ministries that shape, grow, and bless others. Amen.

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Hymn of Peace

“God’s Melody of Peace” CCS 319 OR “Spirit Fill Us” CCS 160

Prayer

O God of Peace,

We praise you and give you thanks for your gentle guiding Spirit in our lives. Forgive our sinful ways and bring to our remembrance those actions and deeds that will foster peace in the world. We remember the broken lives, the wounded bodies, the wasted years, and the degradation of war. Guide and strengthen those who suffer. Give us a desire to seek peace with and for our neighbors. Heal us, we humbly pray. May your Spirit’s presence help shape us into instruments of peace. Amen.

For additional ideas: Find this day’s Prayer for Peace service on the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org

Scripture Reading

Romans 8:1-11

Focus Moment: The Diving Bell Spider

If possible, find a picture of a diving bell spider to project or show for all to see. There is a little water spider that lives beneath the surface of a pond in a kind of diver’s bell. In other words, it makes a thimble-shaped house of silk, which it anchors by fine threads to the bottom of the pond. The opening of this tiny dwelling faces downward…like a bell. That is why it is called the Diving Bell Spider. This spider then goes to the surface, and by using the hooked hairs that cover the lower part of its body, entraps a bubble of air, which it carries down and releases it inside its little “bell” home. The spider repeats this journey until all the water in the silk bell house is gradually displaced by the air bubbles it brings in so now its home is full of air instead of water. Then this little spider goes about its work inside the house, and when it has used up all of the air in its bell house, it goes up for more to replenish its supply. So, it is that this little spider maintains its existence in a strange environment only by continual vigilance to its source of life-giving oxygen.

In a manner similar to this little spider, we are called to pay attention and attend to the spiritual life within us. God gives us daily opportunities for renewal in the Spirit. Daily resurrection makes everything new every day. When we live in the Spirit, we are more

alive, more whole, and more fully the people God has called us to be. We must continually return to the source of God’s life-giving spiritual nourishment and be vulnerable to divine grace.

Ministry of Music or Congregational Hymn

“God, the Source of Light and Beauty”

Morning Message

Based on Romans 8:1-11

Disciples’ Generous Response

Hymn of Giftedness

CCS 160

CCS 593 OR “Spirit Fill Us”

“Though the Spirit’s Gifts Are Many”

Statement

CCS 609

CCS 334 OR “Take My Gifts and Let Me Love You”

Blessing of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

The family of God, gathers at this altar bearing gifts. We bring ourselves, our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, cousins… our memories our nowness our dreams our realities our struggles. All these and more we offer to God and to each other. We offer the gift of ourselves.

Creator God,

Please accept these gifts and those of the heart. Enable us to

feel your Spirit as we strive to serve a world in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-Judy Judd, Prayers and Readings for Worship, Vol. 2, p. 83, adapted.

Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

For additional ideas, see Disciples’ Generous Response Tools at www.CofChrist.org/disciples-generous-response-tools.

Hymn of Blessing

“Touch Me, Lord, with Thy Spirit Eternal”

CCS 574

OR “The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning”

Sending Forth

Doctrine and Covenants 163:10b

Postlude

CCS 548

CCS 384 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. OR “Hands of Blessing”

Sermon Helps

Sermon Helps Year A - Letters Ordinary Time (Proper 10)

Romans 8:1-11

Exploring the Scripture

Last week, we read about the struggle between good intent and selfish acts, concentrating on how difficult it is even for mature, faithful Christians to avoid sin. The discussion ended with a contrast between the law of sin and God’s law. Today’s passage continues discussing the two laws in a more positive, hopeful vein. God does not condemn those who live in Christ Jesus (v. 1). We are free from God’s judgment because God sent Jesus to do what the law could not do: reconcile us to God or others.

Paul affirms the law of the Spirit sets us free from the law of sin, which cannot provide salvation. Through Jesus Christ, God has created a new order of living, where the Spirit lives among us and sin is condemned to die. Christ came in the flesh, which is weak but he conquered the selfishness that weakens our will and causes us to sin. When we live in Christ, we take part in the life of the Spirit, and the Spirit of God lives in us to give us life eternal.

Those who “live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (v. 5). Paul moves from comparing two laws to a contrast between two lifestyles. Living “according to the flesh” fosters a perspective that centers on possessions, selfishness, wants, and passions. Living “according to the Spirit,” on the other hand, creates a mental attitude and perspective dominated by grace, peace, compassion, generosity, faith, and love. The lifestyle we choose depends on who or what we allow to live within us: The Spirit of God or the spirit of the world.

Living “in Christ” means we identify with Christ and we belong to Christ. We are free from that which once separated us from God. Paul recognizes that even when we live in Christ, sin still exists within us and brings death. Paul never promised a life without death but instead, new life beyond death, both physically and spiritually. Because we belong to Christ, the Spirit can combat sin and continue to give us life. Any death that occurs is not final because death is not the end. God, who raised Jesus from the dead, promised us new life in every day (mortal) existence (v. 11). The promise is daily resurrection. God makes everything new every day through the centrality of the Spirit. Resurrection life begins now, in this existence, and is completed in the final days when God raises all beings into a new life.

Paul writes of the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, and “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead” (v. 11). Paul uses them interchangeably to refer to the one Divine Spirit who lives among us and within us. By the power of the Spirit, resurrection occurs. The Spirit characterizes the new age begun by Christ’s death and resurrection. The life of the Spirit offers an alternative to the life of the flesh, which is hostile to God. The Spirit lives in us, and we live in the Spirit, in a reciprocal exchange that is the hallmark of righteousness. When we live in the Spirit, we are more alive, more whole, more fully the people God has called us to be.

Central Ideas

1. The law of the Spirit sets us free from the law of sin, which cannot provide salvation.

2. Through Jesus Christ, God has created a new order of living, where the Spirit lives among us and sin is condemned to die.

3. Living “in Christ” means we identify with Christ and we belong to Christ, but sin still exists within us and brings death.

4. But death is not the end. God gives us daily resurrection, making everything new every day, through the centrality of the Spirit.

5. When we live in the Spirit, we are more alive, more whole, and more fully the people God has called us to be.

Questions for the Speaker

1. Where do you see evidence of God’s new order of living, where the Spirit lives among us?

2. When and how have you experienced daily resurrection?

3. How do we create little deaths in one another’s lives through our selfishness? What can be done to bring new life in the face of those little deaths?

4. How have you fallen short of the person God called you to be? How have you claimed your identity through God’s grace and transformative power?

Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A, Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 10

Romans 8:1–11 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Today’s Prayer for Peace is inspired by Community of Christ Sings 614 and 615, “My Gratitude Now Accept, O God.” The words and music are by Rafael Montalvo.

From all your bounty I give to you; For all the blessings you impart.

Receive this offering I bring.

Receive my joyful heart.

Spirit of joyful peace, we don’t always feel joyful or peaceful. Our human brains jump from day to day in search of the path of least resistance. Yet, the path of peace is filled with resistance! We pause today to remember that you are faithful and ever-present in our strivings for peace. Open our cautious spirits to your leading Spirit, which is joyfully active each day. You are so generous with your blessings! May we gratefully accept your blessings and respond by following your promptings to grow peace within our hearts, in our house, and from the hilltops of our towns.

In the name of Jesus, who grants abundant peace. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Unity

Our Enduring Principle focus this week is on Unity in Diversity. There is not one person on Earth who is exactly like another person. We all are shaped by our culture, genetics, upbringings, families, experiences, beliefs, etc. One thing we all have in common is that we all are divinely made. Unity in Diversity respects the differences while honoring the Divine in all voices.

Read the following to the group:

But God has so arranged the body…that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Think back over the past week. Who showed you compassion when you felt sad or were suffering?

Invite people to share.

Who rejoiced with you, celebrating the good things in your life?

Invite people to share.

Whom do you know who suffered this week? How were you able to share this burden?

Invite people to share.

Who has rejoiced this week? How did you celebrate with them?

Invite people to share.

Offer a short blessing of unity and close with “Amen. ”

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 8:1–11 NRSV

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

This passage continues with the theme of sin, this time relating to being of the flesh or of the Spirit. In some traditions this concept of flesh can be described as sexual in nature, carnal lusts, etc. But if we consider it with the previous chapters, flesh is simply more self-centered and selfish. The Spirit is our outward focus on peace, grace, and generosity, indeed on Godly things. Throughout our lives we often search for a sense of call. How do my abilities and desires align with God’s? Perhaps it is by taking some of these more human, or fleshy attributes (selfcenteredness, need for control, status, and power), and focusing on care for the least, reconciling relationships, and serving others. By shifting focus from flesh (self) to Spirit (God’s purposes) we participate in Christ’s resurrection and overcome human darkness and sin.

As we strive to dig deep into our sense of call who God is calling us to be with our innate giftedness we live an aspect of grace for ourselves and others.

Questions

1 Corinthians 2:24–26 NRSV

1. When have I focused on my own wants and needs (flesh) rather than what was best for others (Spirit)?

2. What is a personal talent or attribute you have transformed or developed to serve or bless others?

3. When have you sensed the Holy Spirit “dwelling” in you?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 44, “O Holy Dove of God Descending”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Thoughts for Children

Today’s scripture reminds us that the Spirit of God dwells within us. And if the Spirit of God dwells in us, it also dwells throughout creation.

Today we are going to try a spiritual practice that helps us know that life and creation are good and are gifts from God.

I will read a few short sentences of affirmation. After I read each one, I will pause briefly to allow time for you to think of each statement. In the pause, try to create a picture of what I just said in your mind and think about what it means for your life and the world.

The Spirit of God breathes life into the universe (pause)

The Spirit of God is experienced in friendship, family, and community, through our similarities and differences (pause).

The Spirit of God helps us choose peace and get along (pause).

The Spirit of God touches all creation (pause).

The Spirit of God is within me (pause)

The Spirit of God is within those who are close or similar to me (pause).

The Spirit of God is within those who are far away or different from me (pause)

The Spirit of God is within all (pause).

Worship Resources

23 July 2023

Ordinary Time (Proper 11)

Romans 8:12-25

Set Creation Free

Additional Scriptures

Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Joys and Concerns

If possible, accompany this song with guitar. OR “God of All Time”

270 OR “Siyahamb’ Ekukhanyen’ Kwenkhos’/We Are Marching in the Light of God” CCS 95 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. If possible, add percussion.

Opening Prayer

Response

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Peace Hymn Sing several times

“Wa Wa Wa Emimimo”/Come, O Holy Spirit, Come” CCS 157 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. OR “Listen in the Silence” CCS 160

Prayer

O Loving Creator, We come before you this day.

Awaken within us a new song,

Prelude Welcome

Invitation to Worship Read “Open My Heart” CCS 171 Hymn of Gathering

CCS

and Sharing of

“Draw the Circle Wide”

273

CCS

a song of peace. Make us vibrant and alive as its sweet melody rings through our souls. Enable us to be instruments of peace, reconciling with love and grace. Unite us in our peace endeavors as we invite others to a better way –your way. Amen.

-Barbara Stuck, Prayers and Readings for Worship, Vol. 2, Herald House, p. 17, adapted.

For additional ideas: Find this day’s Prayer for Peace service on the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org.

Scripture Reading

Romans 8:12-25

Focus Moment: “The Other Way to Listen”

Read the storybook or tell the story, The Other Way to Listen by Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall. Aladdin Paperbacks of Simon & Schuster, © 1998. ISBN 978-0-689-81053-4. This is a story of an old man who had a special way of hearing and of a child who hoped to learn his secrets. After hoping and trying, the child is finally able to hear the hills singing. When you know “the other way to listen,” you can hear wildflower seeds burst open. You can hear rocks murmuring and hills singing, and it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it takes a lot of practice, and you can’t be in a hurry. Most people never see or hear these things at all.

Spiritual Practice: Death and Resurrection A Holy Rhythm

Using the rhythm of breath prayer, silently repeat the words or phrases that emerge in response to the prompts. Print or project the prompts for all to see.

Inhale: What is dying in me is...

Exhale: What is coming to life in me is...

Inhale: What is ending around me is...

Exhale: What is beginning around me is...

Hymn of Creation

“All Creation Sings God’s Music” stanzas 1, 2, and 4

OR “God Who Cares for All Creation” stanzas 1, 3, and 4

Message

Based on Romans 8:12-25

CCS 110

CCS 14

Disciples’ Generous Response Statement

Read stanzas 1 and 5 of “Christ Has Changed the World’s Direction!”

CCS 356

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

For additional ideas, see Disciples’ Generous Response Tools at www.CofChrist.org/disciples-generous-response-tools.

Hymn of Transformation

568 OR “Touch the Earth Lightly”

“God, Who Touches Earth with Beauty”

137 OR “Light Dawns on a Weary World”

Sending Forth

Hope for God’s new creation, like an unborn child, cannot be seen, or voices in creation cannot be heard if we do not truly listen. We live with a foretaste of the coming glory and “kin-dom” of God, waiting patiently and joining God where we discern God is at work. The love and mercy of God we experience in this life are blessings of the Spirit. They are enough to carry us in the hope for what is yet to be. We go this day, leaning into the future, God’s future. Go in peace.

Postlude

CCS

240

Sermon Helps

Sermon Helps Year A - Letters Ordinary Time (Proper 11)

Romans 8:12-25

Exploring the Scripture

Several weeks ago, the text discussed the conflict between good intentions and poor decisions regarding two slaveries (Romans 5:15-23). Paul makes the point that we are never really free. We are slaves to either sin or righteousness, depending on where we place our loyalty and focus. But in today’s passage, Paul changes the metaphor from slavery to adoption.

He begins by repeating that those who live according to the flesh (selfish, possessions, superficial goals) will die. But if we “put to death the deeds of the body,” we will live. Paul’s meaning is not limited to the physical excesses of bodily wants and passions, but all the activities and attitudes that are self-centered instead of God-centered. When we let our selfish nature die, we live as children of God, led by the Spirit. There is no room for fear of sin’s hold over us in the new life of faith. We are no longer slaves because we have been adopted into the family of God.

Kinship was the foundation of a society that governed every part of life. Your kinship group determined who your friends and enemies were, whom you would marry, with whom you could share table fellowship. Your life values, occupation, social status, and religious beliefs came from your family. Jesus called God “Abba,” a word which is usually translated as “Father” but is better translated as the endearing, familiar term “Papa.” Those who followed Jesus used “Abba,” and it flavored how they understood their relationship to God. Paul deepened the meaning by saying they have been adopted into God’s kinship group.

If God adopts us, we share the same values, beliefs, goals, and fellowship that Jesus embraced. We become “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (v. 17). We inherit both Christ’s suffering and Christ’s glory the resurrected life God gives. They are inextricably linked when we truly live in Christ, but there is no need for anxiety. Paul considered suffering far less important than the glory which God would reveal.

Creation itself has suffered bondage, decay, and futility. Nature yearns for God’s kingdom to be revealed, groaning with labor pains as it awaits the promised transformation. Labor before childbirth is an apt symbol for Paul’s presentation of life’s pain, mingled with hope. A woman’s labor pains are accompanied by anticipation and joy for the newborn child’s arrival. Like humans, nature has experienced distress, pain, lack of harmony, and imbalance as it awaits God’s new creation. When human beings realize their true identity as children of God and act accordingly, all of creation will rejoice in freedom.

Hope for God’s new creation, like a child not yet born, cannot be seen. If we could see the form and details it would take, we would know, not hope. We live with a foretaste of the coming glory and “kin-dom” of God, waiting patiently for the full expression to occur. The love and mercy of God we experience in this life are only the first fruits of the Spirit, but they are enough to carry us in the hope for what is yet-to-be. We lean into the future, cherishing hope with patience.

Central Ideas

1. When we let our selfish nature die, we live as children of God, and there is no room for fear of sin’s hold over us.

2. If God adopts us, we share the same values, beliefs, goals, and fellowship that Jesus embraced.

3. We inherit both Christ’s suffering and Christ’s new life, which are inextricably linked, like a woman’s labor pains and hope for a newborn child.

4. Nature has experienced distress, pain, lack of harmony, and imbalance as it awaits God’s new creation.

5. Hope cannot be seen. We expect the fullness of God’s “kin-dom” and live with the first fruits of our trust and hope in Christ.

Questions for the Speaker

1. How well does the symbol of adoption into God’s family fit our current culture? What meaning does it suggest today compared with Paul’s time?

2. What life examples combine suffering and hope, distress, and new life, besides childbirth?

3. How is the church today about to bring forth new life out of its labor pains? Give examples.

4. Where have you witnessed the “first fruits” of God’s “kin-dom” in the lives of people? Where have you witnessed it in creation?

Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A, Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 11

Romans 8:12–25 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle

Today’s Prayer for Peace is inspired by Community of Christ Sings 225, “Ososŏ,” with words and music by Geonyong Lee

Spirit of reconciliation, We crave peace that looks like Gentle wind on freshly fallen snow, Fragile-winged butterflies on strong stems, A tiny grain of sand rolling down the silent dunes created of its cousins. Your peace is astonishing and beautiful!

Thank you for bringing our poetic minds back to the truth that pursuing peace means reconciliation. Reconciliation is beautiful, too, though it takes work, humbling and setting aside our precious egos for the sake of our community’s health.

Strengthen our resolve to pursue peace in this way. May we be quick to forgive and to set healthy boundaries in the name of pursuing peaceful relationships.

In the name of Jesus, our example of reconciliation. Amen.

Spiritual Practice Holding in the Light

Our Enduring Principle focus this week is on Blessings of Community. We are called to create communities of peace in our families, neighborhoods, congregations, nations, tribes, and around the world. A spiritual practice that helps us feel connected to our communities is called Holding in the Light. It is a form of intercessory prayer/meditation adapted from the Quaker movement.

We will stand in a circle together. I will have a candle to light in my hand. The rest of you will hold your hands in front of you as if also helping me hold the light.

Pause to let group get situated.

Read the following:

While looking at the light from the candle, center yourself and breathe in the word love; breathe out the word light. Repeat three times.

Say the names of the loved ones, communities, or countries you are holding light for. You can name them aloud to hold as a group or keep them in your heart.

Pause to let people present names.

Now imagine these persons being surrounded by the light as bright as the candle. We will hold these loved ones in your light for three minutes.

Say the following:

Offer a moment of gratitude for your loved ones, your communities, and this experience of holding in the light.

Next time you see a sunset or sunrise, you can remember to hold a loved one in the light.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 8:12–25 NRSV

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Paul addresses living according to the flesh or the Spirit, this time with a rather unique analogy of family. “If we are led by the Spirit, we are children of God.” We are heirs of God and Christ We are adopted as children of God The suffering we experience can at times be like labor pain, and the ever-gentle reference of God as “Abba” or Papa all rather endearing. There is a beauty in this passage using such familial terms in reference to our life transformation. The work of salvation is not simply an individual task of repentance with the Divine but something each of us regularly can take part in as a collective family. In other writings by Paul, we are referred to as the body of Christ. Each part serves a wonderful and important purpose. Encouraging others and removing roadblocks that prevent individuals from fulfilling their call is part of the work of salvation.

When we think of the reign of God’s kingdom, perhaps we should think of kin-dom. Because of God’s radical love for us and creation, we work toward reconciliation with each other as children of God.

Questions

1. Are family relationships a positive analogy for you, or are they difficult?

2. When have you experienced healthy family-like relationships in your faith community?

3. What does it mean to you to be “adopted” as a child of God?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 137, “Touch the Earth Lightly”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Thoughts for Children

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

paper coloring supplies

Have you ever had to wait for something you were excited for? Your birthday? A holiday?

What did it feel like to wait? (Affirm all answers )

Today’s scripture tells us that all of creation is waiting for God’s preferred future to come. God’s preferred future will bring peace and wholeness to all of creation. Draw a picture of something you think will happen in God’s preferred future. (Be prepared to help with suggestions for participants who get stuck )

After participants have had an opportunity to draw their picture, allow them to share what they came up with.

Say: A lot of time when we are waiting for something, there is nothing we can do to make it come quicker. However, we all can work to make God’s preferred future become a reality. What is something you can do to make what you

Worship Resources

Ordinary Time (Proper 12)

Romans 8:26-39 Search My Heart

Additional Scriptures

Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52; Doctrine and Covenants 163:11a

Prelude

Welcome and Sharing Time Light the Peace Candle. The Prayer for Peace will be read as the Closing Prayer.

Call to Worship Responsive Reading

Leader:

How can we one small group, be fully open to the wonder of a new creation within our gathering?

Congregation: May we see God creating a living wholeness vibrant with joy, energized with discussions of hope and new visions.

Leader: May we be open to learning through disagreements, open to seeing fresh possibilities. Let us sense the blessings that come from birthing new directions.

Congregation: May our fears transform into the hard work of building, letting our hearts move our hands to embrace diversity and plans that free our dreams into reality.

Opening Hymn

366 OR “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”

“As God Is Joy” sing twice

367 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

Prayer of Invitation

30 July 2023

Hymn of Gathering “Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart” CCS 48 OR “O Holy Dove of God Descending” CCS 44 OR “Breath of the Living God/Soplo del Dios viviente” CCS 43 Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.

CCS

Response

Spiritual Practice: Lectio Divina (sacred reading)

Romans 8:26-28

This scripture passage will be read at least 3 times and possibly 4. Choose someone to read the whole passage through directing the congregation to just listen to the flow of the message and how it rests on their heart. Choose another voice to read the passage a second time directing the congregation to listen for understanding, meaning and deeper comprehension of the message it brings. Choose a different voice to read the passage for a third time. Direct the congregation to listen for what God’s invitation is calling to them to do or be…what are they feeling. If time permits, have the passage read a fourth time directing the congregation to just rest in God’s presence and to “lean into” it’s message for them.

Moment of Silent Meditation

Hymn of Healing and Wholeness

“Come Now, You Hungry” CCS 227 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

OR “Healing River of the Spirit” CCS 232

Message

based on Romans 8:26-39

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture Reading: Psalm 105:1-4, 45b

Song of Discernment

“Searcher of Hearts” CCS 178

Statement

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

For additional ideas, see Disciples’ Generous Response Tools at www.CofChrist.org/disciples-generous-response-tools.

Hymn of Commitment

“At the Heart of Sacred Calling” CCS 509 OR “All Are Called” CCS 606 OR “O Christ, My Lord, Create in Me” CCS 507

Prayer for Peace as Benediction

God of our Struggles, we have hearts that are heavy for the children who go without food every day. We hear the deafening silence of those voices who yearn to be heard and relieved of their suffering. We also hear the cries for peace and justice as all creation groans with the heaviness of greed and careless consumption of valuable resources. We long for peace…your peace

God of Understanding, we grieve because we cannot meet everyone’s need or resolve every injustice in this world. We weep for those who have lost their way and hold close the ones who are starving for knowledge of your love and grace.

God of Compassion, today we feel the warm embrace of your Spirit as we let down our walls of doubt, pride and guilt. As we become more attentive to the gentleness of the touch of divine grace through your spirit, we seek sacramental vision so that we will see others with new insight as was taught by your son, Jesus, the peaceful one. May we come to know your loving nature and that you are also a God of miracles and the warm center of our being. When we choose to live according to your Spirit and set our minds and hearts on things of the Spirit, our eyes and our ears will become attuned to the sacredness in our sisters and brothers. The spaciousness within your welcome continues to expand and gives hope for the unfolding future.

O Searcher of our Hearts, may we come to realize that the sacredness that dwells within the very nature of who you are, also dwells within each of us the same, and give us life within you. May we go into the world this day and be the very breath of your peace.

We pray this in the name of your son Jesus, the peaceful One…Amen.

-Cheryl Saur, used with permission

For additional ideas: Find this day’s Prayer for Peace service on the church’s website at www.CofChrist.org.

Sending Forth

Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 163:11a

May we answer the call to be that community and offer the ministry of Jesus Christ to our friends and our neighbors, to the poor and the homeless, to the immigrant and the refugee. We go commissioned to serve. Go in peace.

Postlude

Sermon Helps

Sermon Helps Year A - Letters Ordinary Time (Proper 12)

Romans 8:26-39

Exploring the Scripture

Today’s text includes one of the most controversial passages of Paul’s writings and one of his most significant affirmations. Either topic is worth exploring in a sermon, class, or private meditation.

Paul began with human limits (weakness), expressed in our inability to pray adequately (v. 26). God’s animating Spirit (the breath of God) prays through us with sighs (breaths) deeply centered in our lives beyond our grasp. But God knows and understands our hearts. God understands the Spirit sighing that prays through us on our behalf. The Spirit moves at the impulse of the will of God and according to God’s overall purposes.

God’s purposes encompass everything that good, including those who love God and are called. Paul described God’s purposes in these terms:

1. God knew us before birth and predestined us to be formed in the image of Christ, as firstborn in the family of God.

2. God also calls those who are predestined.

3. Those who are called are also justified.

4. Those who are justified by faith are also glorified (receive resurrection life).

“What then are we to say about these things?” (v. 31). What, indeed? Church leaders have tried for centuries to understand predestination as Paul outlined it, with resulting schisms that continue today. Some theologians argue that God selects only an elite group of faithful followers and then engineers their life experiences to empower a life of faith, ministry, and glory. They use this passage and Paul’s reference to “God’s elect” in verse 33 to support their interpretation. It is an understanding which focuses on personal, individual salvation.

When Paul wrote, however, individualism was not part of the culture or expectation. Salvation, repentance, and mercy referred to the entire community, nation, or people. From the beginning, God’s purposes pointed toward redemption. Predestination suggests that God intends all humanity to be formed in the image of Christ. This hope may or not be lived through any one lifestyle. As a firstborn son bears a likeness to the head of the household, humankind (or God’s inclusive community of people) bears within itself the image of Christ and becomes the family of God. God’s grace is extended to every soul; God calls every person; God yearns to justify each person’s faith and trust, and God gives resurrection life to all. In support of this interpretation is the great affirmation that ends this lectionary passage: “[nothing] can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 38-39).

Being a Christian is not easy. It is human to fear pain and suffering. Paul himself experienced hardship, distress, persecution, famine. So did many other Christians. But suffering cannot separate us from the love of Christ. We can embrace a life free from fear, whatever we face. Neither death nor life, neither good nor evil, nor powers of any kind, can separate us from God’s love. Even divisions within the faith community can’t separate us from God’s love. Could a God with such all-encompassing love arbitrarily separate us into the blessed and the

cursed before our lives even take shape? No. God’s purposes stand sure, and by grace, we are enfolded in those purposes as surely as in God’s love through Christ.

Central Ideas

1. The animating Spirit of God prays through us, trying to align our wills with the will of God to bring about God’s purposes.

2. God’s intent for all humanity is to be formed in the image of Christ and joined into a Divine, inclusive family.

3. God calls, forgives, and justifies, and finally offers salvation to humankind through grace.

4. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even God’s “predestination” of salvation for humankind. That salvation is available to all.

5. God’s purposes stand sure. We are enfolded in those purposes as surely as in God’s love through Christ.

Questions for the Speaker

1. How has your prayer life been enriched and transformed by an awareness the Spirit of God prays through you?

2. How would you express Paul’s idea of predestined salvation for all humankind in terms that can be understood in today’s individualistic world?

3. When have you felt separated from the love of God? How did you and God overcome that separation?

4. What would it be like to live without fear?

5. How does your congregation fit into God’s purposes for all of creation? How do the ideas of discernment, vision, mission, agency, and faith fit into God’s purposes?

Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A, Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 12

Romans 8:26–39 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Today’s Prayer for Peace is inspired by Community of Christ Sings 647, “The Peace of the Earth,” a Guatemalan Song.

Deep peace falling over you; God’s peace growing in you.

Creator God, thank you for peace in all its forms. The roaring peace of rivers, the crashing peace of oceans, the constant peace of the Earth’s gravity, the mysterious peace of the heavens.

Help us pursue peace in all its forms. The still peace in our hearts, the just peace in our society’s systems, the calming peace of reconciliation in relationships, the humbling peace of treating our Earth with integrity.

As we pursue this peace, plant it deep within us, God, so it can begin to grow within us, working within us to become a new creation. As we feel that peace growing, help us cultivate it in others so they can sense the growing peace of your presence. Then as we go out together with this new expression, we might draw others to you so they can grow peace within their hearts, too.

In the name of Jesus, the Giver of deep peace. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Receiving in Gratitude

Today we are focusing on the Enduring Principle of Grace and Generosity. The first thing we do in this life is receive. Our first breath is a gift. It is given freely. The spiritual practice for today is a breath prayer. During the prayer we use words to breathe in and words to breathe out. Today we will breathe in the words receive life and breathe out the words thank you.

Slowly read aloud:

Sit with relaxed posture and close your eyes. We will spend three minutes in breath prayer.

Breathe in a regular, natural rhythm.

As you breathe in, silently say, “Receive life ” As you exhale, respond, “Thank you ” Breathe in and out, focusing on what you are inhaling and exhaling. Watch the time for three minutes. Urge participants to continue the breath prayer for the full three minutes.

When time is up ask the following questions for a short group discussion: What is one thing you are grateful for in this moment?

After the discussion, say:

Thank you, God, for another day. Thank you for the opportunity to connect with others, to receive and to give to one another. Amen.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 8:26–39 NRSV

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This scripture is one of the weightier and more controversial passages. Divisions in beliefs and churches exist today because of their interpretation of these verses. This resulted in various beliefs regarding which group of individuals would be categorized as mostly holy, glorified, or righteous.

Thankfully the end of this passage lends some clarity. “…In all of these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.” As we focus on who Jesus is and how Jesus lived, including the hope found in the resurrection, we can have a greater resolve, strength, and example for how to live. While some have used this passage as a fear tactic to force others to believe a certain way, these final verses tell us that all are included and valued as the beloved of God.

Questions

1. What would you tell someone who believes that God loves only those who believe a certain way?

2. How do you see the all-inclusive love of God present in our beliefs and practice in Community of Christ?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 258, “Shall Tribulation or Distress”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Thoughts for Children

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

two fairly strong magnets whose exposed sides attract one another

In today’s scripture, we are reminded that nothing can separate us from God’s love. No choices we make, no things we are embarrassed about, no skills we don’t have. Nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Sometimes, it can be hard to image what God’s love feels like, so I brought something that I think might help.

Show participants two magnets. Invite them to pull the magnets apart and feel the resistance the magnets give.

Say: God’s love for you is like a magnet. God doesn’t want to be separated from you, and just like an invisible magnet force, God’s love is always present even when you feel like you are separated from God.

Next time you feel separated from God, remember these magnets Also remember that the invisible force of God’s love is always around you, inviting you to be connected with God. Note: Some of your super science-y participants might note that magnets also can repel each other or can get so far apart that they no longer pull toward one another.

Acknowledge their brilliant scientific minds and use their observation to note that those things don’t happen with God. God never will push you away, and there is no place you can go where God’s love can’t reach you.