Proper 23 C (October 13): Living in the Present/Love Where You Live

There is a 2022 version of this blog with lots more resources - see my archive at left

Bible readings: Jeremiah 29:1,4-7, Psalm 66:1-12, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19

About the image:
Upper Left: This comes from a great free lectionary based image site: Hermano Leon Clipart. You will find a link to this site in my link column at left. Well worth a visit.
Upper Right: The image comes from a now defunct free worship image site. I put the text onto it. 
Middle Left: This is a free image from Cerrezo Barredo - see his site in my link column at left.
Middle Right: This image comes from the awesome Church Galleries website which is down at present.  This particular one was free on the site.
Lower Left: This obviously fits with the Old Testament theme but you probably need to be living in the Knox area in Melbourne, Australia for the pictures to be relevant - but you get the idea :)

Prayer Brighten My Heart
Found in Celtic Prayers by Robert Van de Weyer, Hunt and Thorpe, 1997, ISBN 1856082814 page 43 (pictured at left). This makes a lovely opening prayer.

Listening Song: Speechless
By Steve Curtis Chapman on his album, Speechless or on WOW 2000 (pictured at right). This goes very well with the Psalm reading.

 Listening Song: Unspoken
By Jaci Valasquez on her album Unspoken or on WOW 2005 (pictured at left).  This song fits in very well with the Jeremiah reading.

 Listening Song: From a Distance
By Bette Midler on her album, Some People's Lives (pictured at right). This makes a great introduction to the following discussion linked with the Luke reading.

Discussion:
How do/What happens when we keep people at a distance?
How do/What happens when we keep God at a distance?

Video Clip: As Good As It Gets
(pictured at right). Play the restaurant scene which is about 1:35-40 minutes in.

Discussion: As Good As It Gets
1. Think of examples where Jesus met somebody and their whole life was transformed.
2. How does this happen?

Drama: Unclean, Unclean.
Found in Present on Earth by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose, 2002, ISBN 0901557642, page 227 (pictured at left). This drama is based on the gospel reading.

Drama: I'm At The Synagogue
Found in Let's Make a Scene by Verena Johnson, Lutheran Publishing House, page 27 (pictured at right) . This drama is based on the gospel reading,

Story: Attitude of Gratitude
Found in The New Century Version Youth Bible, Word, 1991, ISBN 0849909252, page 1040 (pictured at left). This story is based on the gospel reading.

 Story: Faithfulness of God
Found in 750 Engaging Illustrations from Craig Brian Larson and Leadership Journal, Barker Books, 1993 (pictured at right). Story No. 200. This story is based on the gospel reading.

Who Am I? John Newton
Play a who am I game with John Newton as the subject: a man who came face to face with God.

Response Activity:
Ask:
1. What is it about your relationship with Jesus that the world cannot live without? (a Bill Easum question)
2. How can you share it this week....without words?!

Response Activity:
1. Project the poem Falling In love by Father Pedro Arrupe (attributed) line by line on a screen accompanied by images and music. You can find this poem at http://www.arrupe.org/pl/sentence.html
2. Hand out the poem printed on a sheet of paper and allow people time to sit and absorb the words.
3. Finally project the following questions at thirty second or one minute intervals.
a. Who are you in love with?
b. What fills your heart and your head and your time?
c. What seizes your imagination?
d. If God the Creator, Saviour, and Enabler does not figure largely in your answers, maybe it's time to return, like the Samaritan leper, to deepen your relationship with Jesus?
(I have lost the acknowledgements for this activity - not sure if it is mine or belongs to someone else. Let me know if you can source it).

Response Activity: For the Jeremiah reading
How do we work for the peace and consequent prosperity of the communities where we are? Give everyone a piece of A4 paper folded into three with each section labelled as follows: my church, my community, my world.
Encourage people to either discuss together or work alone in order to jot down practical ways they can work for peace in each of these three areas.

Also:

Meditation: Thanksgiving

Found in Meditations from the Iona Community by Ian Reid, Wild Goose Publications, Trowbridge, 1998, ISBN 1901557022, page 21.

Worship Activity: Thanks to the Lord

By Jim Burns and Robin Dugall in Worship Experiences, Gospel Light, 1999, ISBN, 0830724044, page 45.  This is based on the Luke reading.

Proper 22 C (6 October 2019): The Art of Lament/ Rekindle the Fire/ Mustard Seeds/When things Get Tough

There is a 2025 version of this blog with lots more resources - see my archive at left

Bible Readings: Lamentations 1:1-6, Lamentations 3:19-26, Psalm 137, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10.

About the Images:
Upper Left: The image comes from the excellent Imagebank site and is therefore free for worship related activities (see my link in the column at left) and the words come from the quote below.
Upper Right: This is my image so feel free to use it for worship and related activities.

Middle Left: This free image comes from the Heartlight site - please see my link column to the left.

Middle Right: This image comes from the awesome Church Galleries website which is down at present.  This particular one was free on the site.   

Lower Left: This is my front yard and my photo which I thought went quite well with Lamentations 3:22-23. Please feel free to use for worship and related activities. 

Listening Song: Rivers Of Babylon
This song is based on Psalm 137. There are plenty of versions of this song around - Boney M had a very famous one which is still on a number of their albums and Sinead O'Connor has two great versions (London and Dublin) on her Theology double album (pictured at right).

Kid's Story: Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going To Move.
By Judith Voirst, Robin Preiss Glasser and Ray Cruz, Scholastic,1995 (pictured at right). This story can get a conversation going about lament, being taken to a new place etc etc.

Kid's Talk: Don't Be Ashamed
Wear your footy team colours to church and ask the kids what team they barrack for or play the Grand Final winner team song in church and have a talk about how we are not ashamed to wear our favourite team colours and sing our team song. This connects very well with the Timothy reading for this week.

Dramatic Reading: Psalm 137

Found in Parable Performing by Kristen Etscheid, Hodder and Stoughton, 1985, ISBN 0340336676, page 12 (pictured at left).

Story/Quote: Devout Mothers

Index 1670 from Bible Illustrator for Windows Version 1.0d, Parsons Technology Inc., 1990 or find it at http://www.webbiblia.com/SermonHelps/11543455/ Another similar story can be found at http://www.christianity.com/SermonHelps/11558052/ These stories both go well with the Timothy reading.

Discussion:
How did you come by your faith?
Was it a sudden conversion or a gradual dawning?
Where you helped by a member of your family, through a friend or member of a church, or did it come straight from God with no human intervention at all?
Share how you came by your faith with somebody sitting near you?
Is your faith actually yours?
Have you ever claimed your faith ..and how is it at the moment?
Has the flame been fanned as you have travelled through life or is it dying out?

Poem: A Grandmother's Faith

By Marie Livingstone Roy in Imaging the Word Volume 2 by Susan A. Blain Sharon Iverson Glouwens, Catherine O'Callaghan, Grant Spradling (Eds.), United Church Press, 1995, ISBN 0829810331, page 43. (pictured at right). This fits in very well with the Timothy reading

Poem: What Did I Dream?

Found in Resources for Preaching and Worship - Year C compiled by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, ISBN 066422508X, page 257 (pictured at left). This goes very well with Psalm 137.

Quote: J.B Phillips
Every time we say "I believe in the Holy Spirit" we mean that we believe there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.

Also:

Creative Ideas: Jeremiah: The Weeping Prophet 

Found in Multi-Sensory Prophets by Mike Law, Scripture Union, 2007, ISBN 9781844272587, page 34 (pictured at right). This is based on the Jeremiah reading.

Service Starter: Letters to a Friend

Based on the 2 Timothy reading, this is found in The All-Age Service Annual Volume 4, published by Scripture Union, 2010, ISBN 9781844275199, page 31 

Proper 18 C (8 September 2019): Letting Go, Letting God

 

A newer 2025 version of this post is now available with heaps more resources - see my archive at left.

Bible Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-11, Psalm 139 1-6, 13-18, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33.

About the Images:

Upper Left: Sometimes , in order to appreciate beauty, we have to let go of things that make life comfortable.  This is an image of the Simpson Desert in the Australian outback. Please feel free to use this image for worship and related activities. For more info on the Simpson, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson_Desert 

Upper Right: This is a free Microsoft clipart image and goes very well with my theme of Letting Go, Letting God.

Middle Left: This goes with the image above - the things we voluntarily let go of in order to appreciate something better - like swapping a house for a swag when we want to enjoy the beauty of an isolated desert.

Middle Right: This is a free image from the Heartlight site - see my link column to the left. 

Lower Left: And another free image from the Heartlight site - see my link column to the left. 

Listening Song: I've Always Loved You
By Third Day on their album, Time (pictured at left). This makes a great declaration of grace after the prayer of Confession. I made a film clip of this song matching the words with relevant images.

Listening Song: Psalm 139

By Sons of Korah on their album, Rain (pictured at right). I made a film clip of this song putting relevant images up as it played.

Kid's Time: Holidays
Show them some photos of a camping holiday and relate this to the things that they need to leave behind in order to have an exciting time eg you cannot take your bed camping, instead you take a swag, you cannot take your oven, instead you light a fire, you cannot take your electric kettle, instead you take a billy etc etc. Relate this to the gospel reading.

Film Clip: The Apostle
Use the scene right near the end of the film where Sonny lets go of his church and allows himself to be arrested so that he can clean up the wrongs things in his life.

Story: How Will The Church be Lighted?

Just google the title of this story and you will find it easily in any number of places.

Adult Response:
Ask people to find a partner and discuss the following two questions together:

1. What do you find hard to let go of?
2. What sort of things make it hard for you to be a disciple? Is it time, is it energy, is it doubt about God, is it some sadness or loss?
Afterwards ask each person to write a prayer for their partner (provide paper and pens) and seal it in an envelope (also provided) on which they will put their partner's name and address. Ask everyone to put their letters in the offering plate as it comes around. I collected all the envelopes and posted them about a month later. I received heaps of good feedback on this. People were not only touched by the prayer they received, but they also appreciated the reminder it brought to them of their discussion.

Also:

Story Plus Other Stuff: Wuncy Nicks Off

Found in Wally the Dodgy Trolley and other Stories of Faith and Humour by Ian Johnson, Scripture Union Australia, Lidcombe, 2000, ISBN 0949720984, page 75 (pictured at right).

Poem/Meditation: Jonah
By Ruth Burgess in Dandelions and Thistles: Biblical Meditations from the Iona Community by Jan Sutch Pickard (ed.) Wild Goose Publications, 1999, ISBN 1901557146, page 32 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Jeremiah reading.

Kids: Jesse

By Tim Winton, Penguin Books Australia,  with lots of ideas for a whole worship service found in Worship is For Everyone by Julie Pinazza, Openbook Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0859109259, page 49 (pictured at right). This goes well with the Psalm reading.

Taize Service: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 16 (pictured at left). This is based on the Psalm reading.

Prayer Exercise: Silence and Solitude

Found in Prayer: Heart of the Pilgrimage by Jenny Youngman, Upper Room Books, Nashville, 2007, ISBN 0835898369, page 52 (pictured at right).  This is based on the Psalm reading.