WORSHIP RESOURCES
Ordinary Time (Proper 23)
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Choose Wisely
Additional Scriptures
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; Luke 17:11-19; Doctrine and Covenants 162:6c, 7a
Preparation
For the Focus Moment: Wrangling Over Words, in a medium-sized box, basket, or other container, collect as many of these items as desired. At least four are recommended: lollipop/sucker, pot/kettle, sneaker/tennis shoe, bag/sack, frosting/icing, pacifier/binky, wallet/billfold, soda/pop. If desired, provide a lollipop for each participant.
Also for Focus Moment: The Word of God Is Not Chained, print each verse of the lectionary scripture, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, on a separate numbered slip of paper that can be fashioned into a paper chain. Use paper clips to fasten the loops of the chain together for ease of disassembling.
Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of God’s praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us, you have tried us as silver is tried. Yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
—Psalm 66:8-10, 12b, adapted
Hymn of Praise
“Lord, You Have Brought Us” CCS 76
OR “Great and Marvelous Are Thy Works” CCS 118
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
OR “Takwaba Uwabanga Yesu!/There’s No One Like Jesus” CCS 121
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
Invocation
Response
Focus Moment
Wrangling Over Words
In a medium-sized box, basket, or other container, collect as many of these items as desired. At least four are recommended: lollipop/sucker, pot/kettle, sneaker/tennis shoe, bag/sack, frosting/icing, pacifier/binky, wallet/billfold, soda/pop.
If appropriate, invite children to gather around the speaker who says something like:
Words are interesting. Sometimes the same word means different things to different people. And sometimes the same item can be called by two different words.
Remove items from the container one by one. Holding each ask, “What is this called?”
If the group comes up with only one word, prompt them or reveal the other word. Encourage participation from any online attendees. Repeat until all items have been identified. To make connection with the scripture lesson, choose two or three of the items to point out usefulness regardless of label.
Examples: Hold the kettle. Ask, “Can I cook soup in this if I call it a kettle? What if I call it a pot?” Hold the shoe. Ask, “Will the person wearing this run faster if it’s called a sneaker?” Hold the icing: “Will this taste better on a birthday cake if it’s called frosting rather than icing?”
Then, turning to scripture, say, “Here is some advice from 2 Timothy 2:14. ‘…Warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.’”
Share the verse aloud. Then ask for definitions of “wrangle” or share, “To wrangle is to have a long and complicated dispute or argument. Have you ever heard people wrangling over what this is called?” Hold up one of the items. Pop/Soda would be good.
“Sometimes, people argue over Jesus’s words. They argue if salvation comes by faith or works. They wrangle about baptism and Communion. There are arguments about history, prophecy, religion, and even the very nature of God.”
End by reading 2 Timothy 2:7,8a.
If desired, provide enough lollipops for all participants and distribute candy at the end.
OR The Word of God Is Not Chained
Often a bit of novelty will add interest to a reading. Build on “chained” by printing each verse of the lectionary scripture, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, on a separate numbered slip of paper that can be fashioned into a paper chain. Use paper clips to fasten loops of the chain together, as it needs to disassemble easily for reading aloud.
Ask eight people in advance or call for volunteers during the service. Each person removes one loop/verse from the chain and reads aloud in order. For the benefit of review and for online participants, you might wish to project all verses on-screen during or after the Focus Moment. When the scripture reading is completed, ask for a couple of volunteers to reassemble the paper chain in the order of the scripture and place it on the worship center.
Hymn
“Teach Me, God, to Wonder” CCS 176
OR “Speak, O Lord” CCS 66
Morning Message
Based on 2 Timothy 2:8-15
OR
Testimonies
Ask at least two people to be prepared to share in response to one designated Question for the Speaker, found in Sermon and Class Helps, Year C, Letters. Choose the question that best fits your group’s circumstances. If time and inclination allow, also be open for spontaneous thoughts and testimonies.
Time for Reflection
Silence or instrumental or recorded music.
Prayer for Peace
Light the peace candle.
Peace Prayer
God of Wholeness and Possibility,
We thank you for the freedom to choose and for leading us to find ways of giving and serving that spread your peace in all our places. Today we pray for those not free to find or live their true capacity. So many are held back by poverty, hunger, lack of education, oppressive conditions, abuse, disease, war, or natural disasters. Often, it seems overwhelming, and sometimes we, along with the sufferers, begin to lose hope. Renew our compassion and resolve. As you came to seek out and save the lost, let us continually join you in that mission, each in our own capacity. Let peace be a word we say, a calling we choose, and a life we live. Amen.
Ministry of Music or Congregational Peace Hymn
“God! When Human Bonds are Broken” CCS 236
OR “Out of the Depths, O God, We Call” CCS 228
Disciples’ Generous Response
Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 162:6c, 7a
Statement
God’s generous compassion is limitless. As we open our hearts to courageously and generously share by placing money in the offering plates or through eTithing, we join the movement of God’s compassion in the world. God shares abundantly, we share faithfully, others share generously, and God’s love and compassion grow endlessly.
If you have participants joining the worship online, remind them that they can give through www.CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at www.eTithing.org (consider displaying these URLs).
Receiving and Blessing of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes
Hymn of Sending Forth
“Go Now Forth into the World” CCS 646
OR “God of Grace and God of Glory” CCS 624
Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.
OR “Make Us, O God, a Church That Shares” CCS 657
Commissioning Prayer
OR
The Mission Prayer
Spoken in unison.
Postlude
SERMON AND CLASS HELPS
Year C—Letters
Ordinary Time (Proper 23)
2 Timothy 2:8–15
Exploring the Scripture
“Remember…” Today’s lection begins with a word of command that needs more than memory. Disciples are to recall, consider, keep forefront in their minds, and learn by heart the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once again, we have Jesus Christ as both fully divine and fully human at the center of our faith. He is the Christ who was crucified and lives again; Jesus descended from David. Other issues include distractions that can occupy time and energy, so disciples must stay focused.
Proclamation of the centrality of Christ in all facets of life is the reason Paul is a prisoner, “chained like a criminal” (v. 9). But the gospel cannot be bound. Paul continued to witness freely of Christ, which resulted in the spread of the gospel through the imperial guard and other prisoners around him. (See Philippians 1:12–14.) Converting others gives Paul strength and endurance to continue sharing his faith for their sake, even when physically bound. Nothing can hinder the spread of the gospel.
Verses 11–13 might be the text of an early Christian hymn. The first line refers to dying with Christ through baptism, but it also affirms that followers who face martyrdom will live again through the resurrection still to come. Enduring persecution, shame, and humiliation are temporary; being with Christ and in Christ is permanent and brings followers into the peace of Christ’s reign.
If believers deny Christ, Christ will deny knowing them. But the warning is followed by the assurance that Christ is faithful even in the face of our denials. The hymn may be pointing toward God’s unconditional love and grace that will not waver, even when we do. Or it may point toward the internal commitment of faithful obedience to God that motivated and bore Jesus through his suffering.
The first meaning would reassure those persecuted that their loyalty to Jesus would be rewarded. The second meaning would challenge them to remain faithful as an expression of their integrity and unshakable witness of Christ.
The purpose of these reminders becomes clear in verse 14. Church members have been arguing publicly over doctrine, beliefs, or practices. Whatever the controversy, the disagreements have damaged the church’s unity, which “ruins those who are listening” (v. 14).
Paul urges, “Do your best…” (v. 15) to suggest the circumstance is difficult with no easy solutions and guarantees. As a church leader, Timothy’s task is to speak the truth boldly and compassionately, without embarrassment or hesitation. In the verses that follow today’s passage, Paul names two people who have argued the final resurrection of the dead already has occurred. Such a claim confuses the membership and leads to divisiveness as leaders try to combat lies with the truth. In 1 Timothy 1:20, we learn that Paul asked Hymenaeus to leave the church (“turned…over to Satan”) for blasphemy.
Modern-day Christians find inspiration in Paul’s faithfulness in the face of persecution. We, too, can faithfully proclaim new life in Christ, despite illness, death, and disasters. We are to remember Jesus Christ and teach others the way of discipleship, regardless of the personal challenges before us. Our lives are open and visible. Like Paul, we must strive to live our faith as models for others.
Central Ideas
- Paul proclaimed life through faith in Jesus Christ while facing death in prison.
- God remains faithful to us, even when we waver, deny Christ, or betray the call to service.
- Solutions to a conflict are not easy. Church leaders strive to act firmly but with pastoral compassion in addressing controversial circumstances.
- We are to remember Jesus Christ and teach others the way of discipleship, regardless of the personal challenges before us.
Questions for the Speaker
- How can personal suffering and disasters strengthen a person’s ministry toward others?
- What are the basic beliefs of the gospel for you?
- What minor disputes have threatened to distract disciples from the centrality of Christ? How have you helped to be a reconciling agent?
- What personal and corporate challenges have impacted your congregation? How have the members continued to remember and proclaim Christ during those difficulties?
SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY
Year C—Letters
Ordinary Time (Proper 23)
2 Timothy 2:8–15
Gathering
Welcome
Ordinary Time is the period in the Christian calendar from Pentecost to Advent. This span is without major festivals or holy days. During Ordinary Time we focus on our discipleship as individuals and a faith community.
Prayer for Peace
Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle.
O loving Creator, help us to be humble peacemakers. Allow us to see through your eyes. Let us walk as if every step were a prayer on your sacred Earth. Let us be still, so that we can listen to your Spirit. Help us acknowledge the things that we see, feel, and hear within us, and outside us, that we truly may serve you with courage, respect, commitment, and love. May we extend ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually to embrace those who call to you. Grant us courage, insight, and understanding so we might be true instruments of your peace. Amen.
—B. Hazel McDonald
Spiritual Practice
Prayer of Examen
Read the following aloud:
The prayer of examen is a prayer form developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556). It often is a prayer for the end of the day, but it may be used anytime as a way of reviewing the day with God. The intent is to recognize where we need forgiveness and healing, reconciliation, and recommitment. The following is an adapted prayer of examen.
Lead the group the prayer, line by line. Take your time, inviting participants to pray and meditate with each statement.
Thank you, Creator, for the beautiful gift of life today.
Let us see the day touched by your light.
Let us reflect on the interactions of our day.
Give us insight into the ways our responses were good and healing.
Give us insight into the ways our responses were insensitive or unloving to others, creation, or self.
May we find reconciliation, forgiveness, healing, and release in your light and goodness.
God, we give our tomorrow to you. May your light embody our thoughts, actions, and relationships as we live a new day in the presence of Christ. Amen.
Invite people to share the thoughts and feelings they experienced in the prayer of examen.
Sharing Around the Table
2 Timothy 2:8–15 NRSVue
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.
Remind them of this, and warn them before the Lord that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
The author is writing to Timothy as if Paul is in prison, expecting execution. In this context, Paul is advising and encouraging his protégé with a focus on what is true and most central to the gospel message. For Paul, the gospel is all about the raised Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, for which Paul has endured much suffering and hardship. Proclamation of the centrality of Christ in all facets of life is the reason Paul is a prisoner, “chained like a criminal.” But the gospel cannot be bound.
Paul encourages Timothy, and by extension other leaders, to remember Jesus, be faithful and endure, as he has modeled. He wants Timothy to know that he also may suffer for the gospel, and that there may be setbacks. Suffering takes many forms, from chains to the binding of one’s freedom and individual desires to submit more fully to the calling of ministry.
There is also suffering when Christian colleagues are ashamed, uncommitted, or faithless, and when one’s audience is unresponsive. Despite difficult circumstances, God, in the Creator’s love for humanity, is always doing something greater. As a church leader, Timothy’s task is to speak the truth boldly and compassionately, without embarrassment or hesitation.
Verses 14 and 15 acknowledge the presence of opposing teachers who had different theological understandings of Christ and the world. Paul instructs Timothy to avoid debating. It is better to explain “the word of truth.” Wrangling over words is senseless and unprofitable.
Modern-day Christians find inspiration in Paul’s faithfulness in the face of persecution. We, too, can faithfully proclaim new life in Christ, despite illness, death, and disasters around us. We are to remember Jesus Christ and teach others the way to discipleship, regardless of the personal challenges before us. Like Paul, we must strive to live our faith as models for others.
Questions
1. What are the basic beliefs of the gospel for you? Are you familiar with any helpful resources that explain core, basic beliefs of the gospel?
2. What minor disputes have threatened to distract disciples from the centrality of Christ?
3. What personal and corporate challenges have impacted your congregation? How have the members continued to remember and proclaim Christ during those difficulties?
Sending
Generosity Statement
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.
—Doctrine and Covenants 163:9
The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response. You also may give at CofChrist.org/give.
This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:
Discipling God, as we navigate our world of debt and consumerism, help us save wisely, spend responsibly, and give generously. In this way may we prepare for the future and create a better tomorrow for our families, friends, the mission of Christ, and the world. Amen.
Invitation to Next Meeting
Closing Hymn
Community of Christ Sings 632, “Christ’s Word to Us”
Closing Prayer
Optional Additions Depending on Group
· Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
· Thoughts for Children
Thoughts for Children
Materials:
· feathers (enough for everyone to have one)
· rock (It might be helpful to have more than one so that multiple kids can hold a rock at one time.)
Sometimes we become angry or hurt. What are some things that can cause you to feel angry or hurt? How do you feel when you choose to forgive them and repair your relationship? Affirm all answers.
Hold a feather in one hand and a rock in the other.
What do you know about these objects? Affirm all answers. Let them touch and hold the objects.
Say: What do you think will happen when I drop both objects at the same time? Allow responses before showing them what happens.
Say: The rock dropped quickly, and the feather floated down. When we do not forgive, we might feel heavy like the rock because we are holding hurt and anger. When we forgive, we are able to let go of the things that hurt us, and we are light like the feather. Forgiveness is not always easy. God can help us forgive and live in healthy relationships.
Have the kids help you pass out feathers to each person (adults and kids). Invite participants to use the feathers as a tool for meditation as you pray. Offer a prayer for all present that they might be able to forgive those who have wronged them and that their hearts and minds might be relieved of the burden of holding grudges.