A Journey to Hope: Temptation
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Scripture Focus: Mark 14:32-40 (The Message)
32-34They came to an area called Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James, and John with him. He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony. He told them, "I feel bad enough right now to die. Stay here and keep vigil with me." 35-36Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: "Papa, Father, you can—can't you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?" 37-38He came back and found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, you went to sleep on me? Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don't enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don't be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire." 39-40He then went back and prayed the same prayer. Returning, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn't keep their eyes open, and they didn't have a plausible excuse.
Preaching Focus: When we tire on the journey, we are most susceptible to temptation. We may do something that will bring momentary pleasure but long-term pain. How can we stay true to the path even when we are tired, distracted or discouraged?
Jesus was at a point of tremendous pain, realizing how close he was to the agony that lay ahead. He did not turn back. He did not run away. Instead, he stayed with his closest friends and committed himself to prayer. Jesus’ prayer itself is revealing, acknowledging the personal struggle and the big picture. In it, he does not negate his own feelings, but yields himself to God’s will. Additionally in this Scripture, one can see the importance of friends “staying awake” during a time of hardship – even for Jesus! This demonstrates the importance of community and supporting one another.
This week’s mile marker is temptation, where we consider building up resistance to those things that interfere with reaching our intended destination. When people are depleted spiritually, emotionally or physically, where do they turn to refuel? Do they turn to life-giving resources or to quick remedies that numb the pain of what is actually happening? For many, God is the last resort – after we have tried all sorts of other “painkillers.” Those painkillers may be an extramarital affair, alcohol, excessive work, pornography, drugs (prescribed or illegal) or gambling. Any one of those things is enough to make our journey to hope difficult. If you were climbing a mountain on improper painkillers, how far would you actually get before you were hurt?
People in your congregation may experience these problems in their lives. How does your congregation deal with these difficult topics? Do you avoid difficult subjects? Do you address them through counseling and support groups? Consider compiling a list of resources to help those who may feel the need to get help.
Express prayer as a means of refueling – connecting journeyers with their life source – the One who knows us from the inside out and can help in a way no other can. Personal and corporate prayer is vital for the journey – forming a deeper bond connecting us with the help of God and the needs of one another.
Consider filling the backpack with typical “vices” on which people depend when they encounter problems. Consider credit cards; how many people count on shopping therapy? Or restaurant gift cards. Many turn to food as a comfort. Consider your audience and determine which to include. What does the congregation need to leave at the altar?
Alternatively, you could share an emergency contact card as a visual representation of whom to call in times of trouble. Faith friends, pastors and God should be there. God’s “calling” plan has unlimited minutes, so encourage your congregation to increase its prayer life in number of minutes and depth of conversation.
Response
Are the relationships matched at the beginning of this series growing? How do people support one another? On this day, invite your congregation to bring people into the prayer life of the church. Have people turn on their cell phones, call someone and invite them to pray. Allow quiet time for callers and the congregation to list prayer requests. At the end of the prayer, people may disconnect.
NOTE: Does your congregation record its services? Perhaps today would be a good day to do so, because callers could see the whole service they have sampled. Use YouTube or another video Web site to share the video. Ask your members to text the Web address to those they have called.
Touch Points
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What hardships did your congregation faced in the past year? How did they respond? Did faith and community grow stronger? Did people turn to God more or less? How might you and your congregation pull together in times of hardship?
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How has the recession affected your community? Might people be more open to developing meaningful relationships? How can your congregation reach out to those who are struggling?
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Consider offering a workshop on marriage enrichment to help those whose families are suffering. Share information on addiction counseling within your church, and consider placing it on your church’s sign for the community.
Social Media
Interact with others through social media. Through texting, e-mail, Facebook or Twitter, pose a question you will address in the sermon. Following worship, send a message that summarizes the sermon (in 140 characters or less) to share with others. Examples for this week follow:
Pre-Sermon Message: When you are tired or discouraged, how do you refuel?
Post-Sermon Message: “The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." Charles du Bos
Follow the message by encouraging people to visit your church Web site. Perhaps offer the sermon online as a podcast or simply as text. Since you will be limited in the number of characters posted, use www.tinyurl.com to shorten the length of the Web address.
Multimedia Resources
Elderly Gambling Addicts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZG16QccmM
Pornography to Plagiarism: http://umtv.org/archives/porntoplagiarism.htm
Recovery Church: http://umtv.org/archives/recovery_church.htm
How are your congregational “letters” going? Consider conducting a short interview with a church member or someone in the community about the words “temptation” and “prayer.” If these are created digitally, use Windows Movie Maker to edit (this comes free with Windows software). Show the video during worship. If your congregation does not have a multimedia system, ask someone to bring a projector, screen and speakers to share the video in worship.
Encourage your congregation to post prayers for the church online through Facebook and other social media. Individual encouragement should come through shared e-mail or phone prayers. Encourage the congregation to write letters to one another, sharing prayers and hopes.
--adapted from the RETHINKCHURCH website
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