July 19 Seventh after Pentecost
Lectionary
Lectionary readings from Vanderbilt Divinity Library online
(http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BPentecost/bProper11.htm)
David
is not the one to build Gods house.
I
will sing of Gods steadfast love.
You
are citizens with the saints, members of Gods household.
Jesus
teaches and heals the sick.
Spark
What
is the church? Display a variety of images of church as suggested in With
Children.
With Children
Gather
pictures of church buildings varying in size and shape from cathedrals to
storefront churches. Also gather pictures of people being the church,
pictures that depict service, love, worship, and charity. Make sure the images
include different cultures. If possible, project the images or display them in
a way that the whole congregation can see.
Then
discuss with the children why and how each of these pictures could represent a church.
Are they all images of churches? Why or why not? In todays epistle reading, we
learn that even though some churches may seem alien or strange and even
though how we might be the church can vary, because of Jesus Christ we are
all members of the same church, the household of God.
Conclude
by singing The church is wherever Gods people (VU 579).
Sermon Starter
Todays
readings help us to explore what the church is and why. Is the household of God
fixed, or does it move with its people? The church is action. In our gospel reading, we see the disciples acting as
church to the people around them, opening their doors to serve the masses even
though they are tired and hungry.
In
your community, how does the church reach out to those who are in need of
healing? How does God call us to act as the church?
The
church is mobile. In our Hebrew
reading, we see that God does not wish to be restricted to a holy place or a
holy people. As people change, the church must also change. God promises to
remain with us throughout every journey, just as God remained with the Hebrew
people from the land
of Egypt.
As
a community, how do we try to keep God in a box? How have we changed over the
years? In our epistle reading we see that the church is inclusive. People of different customs, traditions, and generations
are all welcomed as part of the household of God. We are told that the church
is to be an inclusive community that everyone who is searching for a
relationship with Jesus belongs to. If we are to be an inclusive community, why
are our fitness centres and schools more diverse than our churches?
Hymns
VU
660 How firm a foundation
MV
1 Let us build a house
MV 42 Praise
God for this holy ground
VU 804 My
song forever
VU
606 In Christ there is no east
or west
VU
627 Now there is no male or
female
MV
44 Shadow and substance
MV 145 Draw
the circle wide
VU
358 When Jesus the healer
VU
681 Where cross the crowded
ways of life