November 15 Twenty-fourth after
Pentecost
Lectionary
Lectionary readings from Vanderbilt Divinity Library online
(http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BPentecost/bProper28.htm)
Samuel
is born to Hannah.
The
song of Hannah.
Hebrews 10:1114, (1518), 1925
Provoke
one another to love and good deeds.
Not
one stone of the temple shall be left standing.
Spark
Bring
a few sets of building blocks into the worship space, and invite people to play
with building structures and taking them apart.
With Children
Lets
build a tower (with blocks or boxes). Invite people to describe the kinds of
things that their tower would be good for. After hearing some of their
suggestions, suggest some things that the tower wouldnt be good for, eliciting
feedback. If a structure doesnt work for what we need it to do, what could we
do about it? Is it a good idea to keep things exactly the same if they arent
doing what needs to be done?
Sometimes,
both in our lives and in the life of the church, we build patterns that work.
Sometimes, in our lives and in the life of the church, we get stuck in those
patterns. To live out the ministry that God has given us, we need to be ready
to take our patterns apart, find out what still works for what were being
called to do, and create something new.
Sermon Starter
When
one of the disciples points out the beauty of the temple stones, Jesus agrees
that they are monumental, then goes on to talk about how theyre going to come
tumbling down.
This
could be a time to explore our own monumentsespecially our church buildings.
What do they mean to us? How does our connection to these stones affect our relationship with God? What would it mean
to our faith if these walls came tumblin down? What do we do if our
structuresthe building, our governance, our patternsget in between us and
Gods call?
Note:
If youre thinking about exploring Hannahs story, especially around issues of
infertility/fertility, read Hope Deferred,
edited by Nadine Pence Frantz and Mary Stimming (Pilgrim Press), for an
exploration of the theology of infertility.
Hymns
VU
446/447 O God of life
VU
559 Come, O fount of every
blessing
MV 37 Each
blade of grass
VU
373 As comes the breath of
spring
MV
46 Bless the Lord
MV 109 My
soul is thirsting for you
VU
374 Come and find the quiet
centre
VU
691 Though ancient walls
MV
23 Come, O Holy Spirit
MV
62 There is room for all
MV 138 My
love colours outside the lines