God's Two-Edged Sword

God’s Two-Edged Sword is our worship theme for the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, October 14, 2012. Our focus scripture is Hebrews 4:12-16.

In chapters 3 and 4, the author of Hebrews presses his readers not to miss the opportunity that God is presenting to them to enter into God’s rest of eternal life. He believes that his ancestors missed this chance back in the days when they wandered in the wilderness and rebelled against God at Meribah. The author of Hebrews cites Psalm 95, saying that God was angered by their rebellion and vowed to give that generation no rest. Rather, they wandered until they died because not one of them was fit to enter the Promised Land. Yet the author does not believe that God’s promise of rest has ended. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, he believes that God is opening the door again and he wants to be sure that his readers keep their faith in Jesus until the end of the journey.

Coming to the end of the chapter, he then says that God’s Word is like a two-edged sword, laying open our lives so that nothing is hidden from God or from ourselves. Yet despite the threatening sound of this, he goes on to say that we have a sympathetic priest and teacher. For Jesus experienced all the difficulties that we experience, except that he resisted the temptation to sin. Yet he knows how we are tempted, and he is ready to come to our aid and give us the mercy we need. Indeed, in an essay on this passage Bryan Whitfield uses the ministry of Harriet Tubman, the famed “Black Moses”, to help us understand what the author of Hebrews wants us to know about Jesus. Tubman, a slave who had made it to freedom in the north, returned some 19 times to the south to lead other slaves to freedom at great risk to herself. She used the knowledge she gained on her own journey to help others. Jesus, who knew exactly the challenges of the lives we lead, has blazed a trail to the highest heaven and opened a path for us to follow.

Here are several Calls to Worship based on the passage from Hebrews and the two Psalms of the day. Please use or adapt anything helpful to you.

Call to Worship    From Hebrews 4:12-16

L:  Sisters and brothers, we gather this day to hear and learn

from God’s Living Word!

P: For God’s Word is alive and active,

sharper than any two-edged  sword.

L:  It cuts through our spirits and souls,

through our joints and marrow,

until it discovers the desires and intentions of our hearts.

P: Before God, none can hide.

All are naked and exposed to the eyes of the One

who requires us to tell the truth of our lives.

L:  Yet we have a great High Priest who has soared to the heights of heaven,

     and he is Jesus, the Son of God!

Let us therefore hold fast to our faith in him.

P: For he understands our weaknesses.

He faced all our temptations, yet without giving in to sin.

L: Let us go boldly to his throne of grace.

There we will receive mercy and grace to match our every need.

P: In the shelter of Christ’s mercy and grace,

let us dare to hear and explore

the truth of God’s Living Word for our lives.

All: Let us worship God!

Call to Worship (From a paraphrase of Psalm 90 by Basil E. Bridge)

          L: O Lord, you are the refuge of each generation,

               you reigned before the universe began.

          P: A thousand years in your sight are but a passing day,                                      our transient glory but the fading of a flower.

          L: O holy Lord, forgive our self-deceiving,                                                    

              our secret sins are clear before your face.

          P: Time rushes on. Teach us to count our days                                           

              that we may gain a wise heart.

          L: Satisfy us with your steadfast love                                                                         that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

       All: Look upon us with kindness and peace,                                                   

              work out your timeless purpose through our hands. Amen.

Call to Worship     From Psalm 22

L:  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

     Why are you so far from helping me?

P: My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer;

     and by night as well, but find no rest.

L: Yet you are holy, praised by the people of Israel. 

     Our ancestors put their trust in you, and you rescued them.            

P: But as for me, I am a worm and not human,

     scorned by others and despised by the people.

L: All who see me mock me;

     they wag their tongues at me and shake their heads.

P: They say, “Trust in the Lord; let the Lord deliver;

     let God rescue the one in whom God so delights."

L: You are the one who knew me from the womb;

     you kept me safe on my mother's breast.

P: From the day of my birth I have been in your care.

     Since my mother bore me you have been my God.

L: Do not be far from me, for trouble is near,

     and there is no one to help.

P: My enemies are all around me;

     they circle like wild bulls.

L: They are like lions, roaring and attacking.

     Their jaws are wide open.

P: I am poured out like water; my bones ache.

     my heart within my breast is like melting wax.

L: My mouth is dried up;

     my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

     you have left me to die in the dust.

P: They pierce my hands and feet.

     They divide my garments;

     they cast lots for my clothing.

L:  Be not far from me, O God;

     you are my strength; come quickly to my aid.

P: Save me from the lion's mouth,

     rescue me from the wild bulls.

L:  I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;

     in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.

P: Praise the Lord, all who fear God;

     stand in awe and give God glory.

L: For God does not despise those in need; neither does God hide from them;

     when they cry, God hears them.

All: All the ends of the earth

       shall remember and turn to God.

    All shall proclaim God’s salvation

    to people of future generations.