SCROLL DOWN FOR JUNE 15 AND JUNE 22
Welcome to Hunger Sermon Starters!
The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads –sermon starters – among the themes of this day’s texts. (We're presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true!
June 15, 2008
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Exodus 19:2-8
Romans 5:1-8
Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)
· How would the disciples fair in our communities?
· Would they be welcomed? Would they receive hospitality? Would they receive food?
· Are there strings attached when we give?
· What would it mean for us to freely give?
· What does it mean for us to have freely received?
· How does the hope received through God’s free giving of the Holy Spirit move us into freely giving?
· Our God is a God of the harvest – of abundance – both in those who are ripe to be brought into the reign of God and also in the grace that has been given to us.
· Here are photos from an email forward I received. It is a series of photos of families with the food that they consume in a week. The photos poignantly show the abundance of many of us compared to the need of others.
· How will we respond to what God has given us? Will we freely give as we have received? Will we respond together with the Israelites: “We will do everything the Lord has said”?
Pastor Ben Sheets
Associate Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
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June 22, 2008
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 20:7-13
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
· Jeremiah and Jesus speak about the controversy their teachings have/will bring. Jeremiah is persecuted. Jesus comes to bring a sword and not peace – to split families.
· How does speaking about/working towards ending world hunger bring controversy for our communities?
· We continue to live lives of the old self under the name of our new lives in Christ.
· Paul’s words are proclamation of good news AND an ethical imperative.
o “Remember this, says Paul, in baptism you put envy, greed, and ambition to death.
Christ lives: serve him.” (Dave Bartlett www.workingpreacher.org)
· Dead to Old Self
o What does it mean for our communities to die to our old selves?
o Dying to our old selves is difficult.
o How does the need of the world cause us to face our own inadequacies? To face our need to die to our old selves? Are we willing to face them?
o How would we respond if we were asked to look to the needs of others before our own?
o If we were asked to give 20% of our Growth Stimulus checks to the poor?
o If we were asked to eat lower on the food chain?
o If we were asked to cut back our lifestyles in solidarity with the earth and those who have little?
· Alive in Christ
o What does it mean for our communities to be alive in Christ?
o Being confident in the grace God pours upon us in baptism
o Being free from fear – for God knows the hairs on our heads
o Being not above those whom we serve, but like those whom we serve
o Being like Christ. Being like the Hungry.
o Speaking what has been whispered in our ears from the rooftops
o Speaking grace and hope in the face of adversity and despair
o Speaking for those who have no voice.
o Feeding those who have no food.
o Being a family with those who have none.
o Our response to being alive in Christ is reorienting our families, our habits, our priorities. Looking to the life of the hungry before our own – trusting in God’s grace and not fearing what may come.
Pastor Ben Sheets
Associate Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
