Sacred Space – Small Group Resources

Year A Letters

Ordinary Time, Proper 18

Romans 13:8–14 NRSV

Gathering

Welcome

Ordinary Time is the Christian Calendar period from Pentecost to Advent. This time 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 Community of Christ Sings 379, “O for a World,” by Miriam

Therese Winter

We welcome one world family and struggle with each choice that opens us to unity and gives our vision voice.

God of dreamers, thank you for hopes and dreams. It is a challenge to hope and dream; it is scary and requires us to be vulnerable. But as long as we dream of peace and what that means for our world, we can move! We can make those dreams happen! Thank you for those among us with peaceful, prophetic visions. Give them courage to call us into those visions. Give us courage to respond.

Each day, each choice is an opportunity to choose joy, hope, love, and peace. May our leaders be discerning in decisions, guiding us closer to shalom. May we, too, be thoughtful as we join in dreaming and restoring a world of peace.

In the name of Jesus, the Vision of the visionaries Amen

Spiritual Practice

Dwelling in the Word

Today we will experience Dwelling in the Word as we focus on the Enduring Principle of Continuing Revelation.

I will read a scripture aloud. As you hear it, allow words, images, or phrases to come to your mind. Try not to focus on them. Let them rest in you. After a moment of silence, I will read the excerpt a second time. As you hear the words again, listen for how God’s Spirit is nudging you or catching your attention.

Read the following excerpt from Exodus 3:13–15 NRSV:

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

Pause.

Read the passage a second time.

Pause.

Invite group members to share responses to these questions:

1. What words, phrases or images came to mind?

2. How do you sense God’s presence in this passage?

3. How is God revealing divine purpose in your life?

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 13:8–14 NRSV

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it now is the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

In today’s scriptures we find counsel given to early believers regarding Christian behavior in everyday life.

Paul advises the Romans to avoid debt. The only debt they should incur is indebtedness that results from loving one another. In ancient times, a standard definition of love was this:

Love is wishing only good for others, above all else. To want goodness for another carries a duty to work to make the wish for goodness active. Thus, it is impossible to love without being under the obligation (the debt) of love.

For centuries, rabbis and prophets debated which commandment was the greatest. Various answers were proposed, quoting scriptures such as Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, and Leviticus 19:2. Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded Jesus’s answer, based on Deuteronomy 6:5: to love God completely is the primary commandment. The second-most important is to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). However, before any of the Gospels were written, Paul identified love as the law’s fulfillment, which testifies to the early knowledge of Jesus’s teaching about love.

Love does no wrong. Living love supersedes all other commandments. Although Paul continues to offer advice and urge ethical behavior, all else functions as examples of doing no wrong while standing under the debt of love.

Early Christians believed Christ would return soon, possibly within their lifetime. Paul encourages them to be prepared and alert putting aside “works of darkness” and “living honorably in the day.”

Christians are creatures of the light: open, transparent, glowing with love and goodwill, awake and ready for Christ’s return. The faithful “put on” Jesus Christ to ward off temptations and strengthen resolve. Far beyond donning a mask or costume, to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” is a discipline of the heart that transforms and strengthens the believing community to fulfill the law of love in daily life.

Questions

1. What debts do you owe to those you love most deeply? How do you perform those duties?

2. How do you make “the wish for goodness” (love) active for God, self, and neighbor?

3. When have you made a conscious choice to live in light rather than darkness?

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:

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

CCS 226 “He Came Singing Love”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• construction paper with different shapes (large rectangles, small rectangles, small squares, large triangles) cut from different colors

• large piece of butcher paper with grass drawn on the bottom and “Love your Neighbor” written along the top in big letters.

• glue sticks

Say: Today, we are going to work together to create a neighborhood using these different shapes. You each can create a house that looks however you want. Once it is finished, you can attach it to our neighborhood paper along the grass.

Allow participants time to create the houses. As they work, comment on the choices that make each house special and different from the others.

If some participants finish sooner than others, allow them to work on another house to add to the neighborhood.

Once everyone has added their unique house to the neighborhood, say: In today’s scripture we are reminded that we should love our neighbors. Just like each house in our neighborhood looks different, each of our neighbors is different. These differences are important and make the world a better place. Regardless of how our neighbors differ from us, we still should love them.

Close with a prayer asking God to help us love our neighbors.