August 9 Tenth after Pentecost
Lectionary
Lectionary readings from Vanderbilt Divinity Library online
(http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BPentecost/bProper14.htm)
Davids
son Absalom dies.
Out
of the depths I cry to God.
Do
not let the sun go down on your anger.
I
am the bread of life.
Spark
As
people gather for worship, have someone kneading dough at the front of the
sanctuary. As worship begins, have another person ask, What are you doing?
Response: Im baking bread. Did you know that Jesus is the bread of life?
With Children
Do
you know what an argument is? Have you ever had an argument with your sisters
or brothers or friends? I remember an argument I got into
(share briefly). Why do you think we
argue? What do you think God wants for us when we are arguing? God is happy
when we find a way to sort things out and become friends again.
End
with a prayer:
Help me, God, to treat my family and friends as you would like me to treat
them. Amen.
Sermon Starter
How
many times do we have disagreements with people we associate with on a daily
basis? In the Ephesians reading, we are encouraged to make amends for any
disagreements with family, friends, and neighbours before the end of the day.
We are told not to let the sun go down on our anger, to seek and extend forgiveness.
Knowing
that it takes a lot of courage to do this, how do we handle situations that
require resolution and forgiveness? Then we read in John that Jesus is the
Bread of Life. We are encouraged to consider how these two readings show us the
way we should live on our lifes journey. These two passages give us much food
for thought.
Hymns
VU
607 O Jesus, think on me
VU
614 In suffering love
MV 66 Senzeni
na?
VU
611 Out of the depths
MV 143 We
cannot own the sunlit sky
VU
505 As a chalice cast of gold
VU
506 Take my life and let it
be
MV
31 Pure love
MV 154 Deep
in our hearts
VU
356 Seek ye first
VU
461 Bread of the world
MV
194 Bread of life, feed my
soul
MV 197 Bread of life, broken and shared