Begin with Prayer:

 

If you are doing this alone, find a place to be comfortable and awake. If you are in a Zoom meeting, find your place before you start. Get centered, which means quiet yourself. Again, visually imagine placing your concerns in God’s hands. Let him hold them at least for this time of worship and hopefully beyond. Pray that God would encounter you in this time.

 

Continue with Praise:

 

Song Video: All Creatures of Our God and King

First Verse:
All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Last Verse:
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

Call to Worship:

 

From Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NRSV) The Shema (say this aloud)

 

 

Song Video: We Labor Unto Glory

My God my God wher’er I go, glory.
Where I reap and where I sow, glory.
When my hands, they grip the thorn, glory.
In the still and in the storm, glory.

O we labor unto glory, when heaven and earth are one.
O we labor unto glory, until God’s Kingdom comes.

 

Prayer for Church in The Home:

Modified from a prayer by Kate Bowler

 

 

Song Video: Restless by Audrey Assad

 

Scripture Reading:

 

Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV) Read this out loud

28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Context:

 

There were three groups that kept challenging Jesus – The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes. They formed the Sanhedrin, This, was a “buffer group” between Israel and Rome. It was comprised of 71 members from the three groups. They had almost complete freedom in religious matters and restricted power in political matters. Their goal was to ensnare Jesus in making a big mistake so they could accuse him and squash his movement, which was a threat to both religion and politics. This is the third encounter in the last week of Jesus’ life from members of this group, the Scribes.

 

For Discussion/Thought:

 

At this point, share with your family, maybe do a video chat with friends, or call a friend or fellow church goer and talk through this passage. You don’t have to go through all the questions or even finish this worship in one sitting. Let it extend through the week if you want.

 

The right answer to a children’s message is always the same: “Jesus!” The scribe knows that there is only one right answer to his question and it is “Love God”. There were some variations on this, but mostly there was a verb like love or obey or honor, and only one subject, God. In what ways have you tried to “corner Jesus” with a question you think you already know the answer to? Like, God if you are really loving you’ll ______(fill in the blank.)

 

Jesus quotes the expected answer, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, our call to worship. Do you agree that this is the most important answer? Would you choose something else? What do you think it means to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength?

 

Jesus doesn’t end with the obvious answer, he takes it further and adds “love your neighbor as yourself.” He is turning the table on the scribe. Neighbor was critical to calling yourself a child of God. Yet, in Jesus’ time and I believe in our time, the dispute about who is my neighbor continues so we can wriggle out of Jesus’ demands. What are ways in our social isolation that we can love our neighbors as ourselves? Share these with the congregation!

 

The tendency of Christians to try to avoid the hard demands of Jesus has been going on from the beginning. We want to say, “be willing to…” as a way of softening Jesus’ demands.

 

Activity:

 

The Shema was to be remembered “Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” If you think of Jesus’ answer to the scribe as a new Shema, how can you put them in front of you and your family to remember better each day?

 

Share your response by leaving a comment here or in our Facebook Group by clicking HERE.

 

Benediction:

 

Say this aloud to yourself or with those you are with.

 

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May He make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.
Now and forever, Amen.