God is “almighty,” says the Confession, but also “completely good,” in fact “the overflowing source of all good.” In fact, all of God’s mighty acts double as demonstrations of God’s goodness. Jesus didn’t heal diseases to show off. He did it to show mercy to suffering human beings.
The following two sets of liturgical resources for Joshua 23:1-3, 14-25 and Judges 4:1-17 can be led by 1 or more voices, with congregational responses in bold. The selections are based on the assigned texts for the 24th and 25th Sundays after Pentecost for Year A of the RCL. These are difficult texts to preach, for help consider these commentaries on the Joshua and Judges passages from the Center for Excellence in Preaching or do a search on the texts at ZeteoSearch.org.
This blog includes service elements to be used in conjunction with Matthew 5:1-12 where Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount challenged the culture in presenting a new vision of what it means to be blessed. The message of the Great Reversal Kingdom is as relevant today as it was when Christ first preached it. (For those following the Revised Lectionary this text is the Gospel reading for Year A: All Saints Day, sometimes observed on the first Sunday of November.)
