Order, Words, & Voices
06.25.23, Micah 6:6-8, Real Good
Order
Pre Worship Music
Opening Song That’s Why We Praise Him Lynn
Call to Worship Response/Lord’s Prayer Rick
Reading Micah 6:6-8 Cricklins
Songs Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly Lynn
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Message Real Good Rick
Music Lord, I Need You Lynn
Community/Peace Rick
Benediction/Closing Peace Rick
Post Worship Music
Slides Note: There is a blank title slide between each Section – except for message/sermon slides.
Music (slides) – Lynn
He came to live live a perfect life
He came to be the living word our light
He came to die so we’d be reconciled
He came to rise to show His pow’r and might
That’s why we praise Him that’s why we sing
That’s why we offer Him our ev’rything
That’s why we bow down and worship this King
‘Cause He gave His ev’rything
He came to live live again in us
He came to be our conquering King and friend
He came to heal and show the lost ones His love
He came to go prepare a place for us
That’s why we praise Him that’s why we sing
That’s why we offer Him our ev’rything
That’s why we bow down and worship this King
‘Cause He gave His ev’rything
Halle hallelujah
Halle hallelujah
That’s why we praise Him that’s why we sing
That’s why we offer Him our ev’rything
That’s why we bow down and worship this King
‘Cause He gave His ev’rything
‘Cause He gave His ev’rything
Call to Worship (Slides) – Rick
Leader: Listen to what the Lord is saying
Response: God, may we know your thoughts towards us
Leader: Listen as God addresses the mountains and the foundations of the earth
Response: God tell us our offense, tell us the actions of our repentance
Leader: Listen as God asks how he has offended us
Response: God, such a question should be ours to ask of you
Leader: Listen as God reminds us of his deeds bringing the slaves out of Egypt, redeeming them from slavery
Response: God we remember your work though Miriam, Moses, and Aaron
Leader: Listen for the mighty works of God against the plans of Balaam, and all that was done from Shittim to Glial
Response: God, may we learn to recognize your righteous acts
Leader: Listen as God responds to our question asking ‘how should we approach the Lord, how do we bow down before God on high?’
Response: God, you respond, ‘do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God’
Lord’s Prayer (Slides) ‘Join me in the prayer of Jesus’ – Rick
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Reading (Slides) – Cricklins
With what should I approach the Lord and bow down before God on high? Should I come before him with entirely burned offerings, with year-old calves?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with many torrents of oil? Should I give my oldest child for my crime; the fruit of my body for the sin of my spirit?
He has told you, human one, what is good and what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God. (MIcah 6:6-8)
Music (Slides) Lynn
It all comes down to this
What you require of me
Love my neighbor as myself
And You above all things
Chorus
Act justly love mercy walk humbly
With You God
In all things in all ways walk humbly
With You God
Verse 2
It all comes down to this
To be Your hands and feet
Good news to all the world
The truth will set us free
Chorus
Act justly love mercy walk humbly
With You God
In all things in all ways walk humbly
With You God
Bridge
It’s beauty for ashes
It’s mourning to dancing
It’s closer and closer
The Kingdom of heaven
Years from now we’ll see
The fruit our hands have sown
Faith just like a seed
The only way it grows
Chorus
Act justly love mercy walk humbly
With You God
In all things in all ways walk humbly
With You God
Verse 1
I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk let me walk close to Thee
Chorus
Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be
Verse 3
When my feeble life is o’er
Time for me will be no more
Guide me gently safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore to Thy shore
Chorus
Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be
Message – Real Good (Slides)
In the spring of my first year of seminary as summer was about to hit I was working as a bank teller, a job I had also done while in college. Shortly after arriving for a shift I was summoned to go from the drive through bank to the main bank to see the supervisor of tellers. When I arrived I found that my supervisor was sitting in her office with two scary looking men, really scary looking. It was obvious that I was in trouble. I was told, in a very unfriendly tone, that I had cashed a bad check from a bad person. This bad person was not unknown to me, his picture, along with the bold printed message ‘DO NOT CASH A CHECK FOR THIS MAN’, had been taped onto my computer screen since I had been working at the bank nine months before. The scary looking men, as it turned out, were FBI agents with many questions for me about the bad man, and my choice to cash his check, none of which I was able to answer. The FBI guys finally realized I had no helpful information, they gave me their card in case I did remember any details, and left – at which time my supervisor slid a piece of paper for me to sign regarding my new probationary status which detailed my new training. This entire situation did not really surprise me, at my other banks I was known for speed and efficiency but not so much for my attention to details such as ‘DO NOT CASH A CHECK FOR THIS MAN’. I think at this point I arrived at a moment of truth – something clicked and I suddenly arrived at an understanding of the need for careful attention. I signed the paper and began to stand to leave when my supervisor told me she had one more thing to speak with me about. Then she began to explain to me that the bank would like for me to take on more hours, plus full time during the summer, and more pay. As an employee recently placed on probation and carrying a new found understanding of adulthood and responsibility, I was a bit confused. This confusion must have shown on my face as my supervisor said “I know, this is strange but your fellow employees like you, we have never received a customer complaint about you, and, we know we can trust you not to steal,” she continued, “none of these traits are always found in our other employees.” So, there I sat, I had just arrived at a turning point in the road after realizing that I needed to do my job better, not cashing checks for bad people, and now they were lowering the bar to just be nice and don’t steal the money.
It was a mixed message, we humans are not really built to operate on mixed messages from those over us. I am not built for mixed messages from those over me. It is our natural inclination to need to have an overriding expectation, a clear understanding of what is expected of us. When we have to choose we often go all or nothing – ‘Do I diligently adhere the expectation of not cashing checks for bad men’, or do I ‘Be nice to work with, not steal money that is not mine, and, at all the while, be the teller that every customer wants taking their deposits?’
Prophets Background Information
The Old Testament prophets had a tough, difficult, and often seemingly impossible job. They were sent to a people with a message that was not wanted. Either the people felt that they did not need the message or the people did not want to hear the message. Most of the times that we hear the journeys of the prophets they are proclaiming God’s warning of impending doom and disaster. A warning to turn back to God now before it is too late. The impending doom is, for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the invading army of Assyria and the ultimate destruction of Samaria, their holy city. For the Southern Kingdom, Judah, the doom would be from Babylon, with destruction of their holy city of Jerusalem. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many of the minor prophets were included in giving this warning to one or the other of these nations. Micah, a minor prophet, however, proclaimed a message to both Kingdoms
Possibly what made the message of the prophets most difficult for those receiving the message was that they felt they were already doing everything God expected of them. They were religious, they could talk holy, the did the things God’s law and ordinances said to do and did not do those things they were told not to do. The problem with the message of the prophets, however, was that their messages were seldom directed at actions, instead, their messages were directed at the hearts and minds of the listeners. It would then be from the hearts and minds of the listeners that actions would surface. It was an internal change, an internal state of being, an internal repentance and return to God, that God called for.
The message of the prophets often sounded like a contradiction to the previous messages from God. They were told to make literal sacrifices, now God called them to love others. Previously, they were told how to punish and discipline wrong doers, now they were told to love justice. To make provision for the poor and needy as they plowed their fields had been the standard, now they were called to kindness.
They had finally figured out how to obey God in the specifics and now they were being told to love God in the everything of life. In other words, they were told to be diligent in doing what they were told to do, and now, they were told to be nice and nice to be with.
God’s Call to Us All
God’s message through the prophet Micah begins with a message of the reality, the reality of their comfort and complacency. A message of the truth that their religion was not the truth of their faith. A message that they had turned away from God and were now just pretending to be followers of God. A message of the uncomfortable and unwanted truth, shining a revealing light on their hypocrisy and arrogance.
[Slide] Micah begins God’s message with blunt words,
‘Listen, all you peoples! Pay attention, earth, and all that fills it! May the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. Look! The Lord is coming out from his place; he will go down and tread on the shrines of the earth’. (Micah1:2-3 CEB)
Then, after Micah tells of what the anger of God is going to look like, he asks the question of blame, and, at the same time, he mimics the foolishness of the answers that he knows are in the minds of the people.
[Slide] ‘The Israelites of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, are thinking, “Isn’t it Samaria and Judah of the Northern Kingdom’s fault?” and “Isn’t the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom, thinking it is Israel and Jerusalem’s fault?’ (Micah 1:5b)
[Slide] These accusations against the others, as Micah has already explained, is a theory full of holes, for God has already said, ‘This is for the crimes against God carried out by the house of Jacob’ (Micah 1:5a) All are guilty of these sins.
[End Screen Share]
You may remember our look at another prophet, the prophet Isaiah, from last Sunday. Isaiah was about to be called to be a prophet, but before Isaiah was ready to hear God’s calling, Isaiah had to first recognize his participation, or complacency in the sins of this people. It wasn’t until he recognized and repented his own fault that he was then ready to hear and respond to God’s call. It is impossible to come to repentance when we are looking to cast blame on another.
The message of Micah is not a call of naming your sins and the sins of others, the message of Micah is much more invasive than just vowing to not do something ever again. God’s message calls us to a deeper calling than just to quit a destructive action, or to begin a productive step.
So, now as we continue in Micah’s message from God, we see that God has gotten the attention of the people, and he has crushed their false practice of blaming the other. Now, it is time for a concrete display of hearts and minds that are changed and lives that are authentic.
The response of the people is a cry of guilt and repentance along with a question asking what they need to do next.
[Slide] “With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take pleasure in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give Him my firstborn for my wrongdoings, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7)
[Slide] Notice the pronoun is not ‘WE’, but instead it is personal, first person, “What do I need to do?” Also note the offering of their own sons, taking us forward to when the sacrifice of a son can only be completed through God’s son. Basically, none of the actions are what God us calling for and expecting. God is calling for something else, something deep and personal, something that serves as the inner push to the external actions that please God. It is a call for an inner change within each person that changes the actions of that person.
Micah begins this calling with a reminder to the people that they already have heard this, this is not new.
[Slide] ‘He has told you, mortal one, what is good; so, what does the Lord require of you? Is it not to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’
Amy G. Oden of Paul School of Theology sums up God’s call to us through Micah’s words superbly, while also addressing the seemingly contradictions between the Law and Ordinances with this calling of God,
[Slide] “To enact justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God, are not single acts that can be checked off the list and left behind. On an individual and social scale, in ways large and small, this is a way of life. Periodic nods to equity do not constitute a faithful life, Micah tells us.
[Slide] We cannot only observe racial membership quotas on committees in place of seeking racial justice. We cannot send checks for disaster relief and avoid examining our lifestyles that contribute, at least in part, to some natural disasters.
[Slide] We cannot do hunger walks and refuse to change our consumerist lifestyles. We cannot confess with our lips on Sunday morning and hold grudges at work on Monday.
[Slide] Rather than offer God thousands of rams, Micah calls us to offer a thousand daily acts of love for each other and the world God loves. “Walking humbly with God” means knowing our bent to self-righteousness.
[Slide] We cannot ‘play church’ or frame our religious life as a game where we keep God in check by performing prescribed duties. The life of faith is indeed a walk that reorients heart and life. Nowhere does Micah tell people to stop observing ritual practices or to stop being religious.
[Slide] The problem is not religion in itself. The problem is using ritual practice to excuse ourselves from the divine demands of justice and mercy.”
(Amy G. Oden, Visiting Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality, Saint Paul School of Theology, Oklahoma City, Okla.).
[End Screen Share]
So the challenge of Micah’s words, ‘Do we throw out our religious/faith elements of our faith? Do we quit the DO things such as ‘DO not sin, DO follow Jesus?” No, we do not, but it is a call to understand that the DOs and the DON’T are all symptoms our our need to take Micah’s words to heart. Micah is not talking about actions, Mical is talking abut heart, having the heart of God and revealed in the person of Jesus. It is about having the “BEs’ that then produce the DOs and the DON’Ts.
Think for a moment of what the world thinks of when we, along with institutional religion, speak about God. Do they think of grace, do they think of justice and kindness, do they see humility, do they grasp love? – Or, do they think of judgment and condemnation, do they think of hatred and hostility, do they think of discrimination, dismissal, and rejection of certain people groups?
“God has already told me, God has already told us, what is good. So, what does the Lord require of you, and of us? Isn’t it to do justice, isn’t it to love kindness, and isn’t it to walk humbly with your God?”
Music (Slides) Lynn
Lord I come I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
And without You I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev’ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev’ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus You’re my hope and stay
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus You’re my hope and stay
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev’ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Community (Slides) Rick
- Next Sunday, July 2, Rick, ‘Good God’, Nahum 1:1-8
- Summer Bible Study – James, Wednesday Nights @ 6:30pm for 4 weeks. August 9-30.
- Armageddon Summer Book Discussion Dinner coming mid-late July, order and read your copy of the book soon. Amazon link on home page of gfnorman.com.
Benediction (Slides) Rick
As we leave this place we walk in a world that is not perfect but nonetheless a world that God has proclaimed is good. We continue because the breath of God still inflates our lungs and because God’s life sustaining gift continues to course through our veins.
Regardless of our gender, or any other label we wear, we are all called to serve as pastors in the midst of God’s creation just as Mary was called to pastor the men who would soon be the apostles with the good news of the resurrection.
May we continually choose to grow in our own understanding of that proven hope which carries us in peace, giving us the mercy, compassion, and grace, to live confidently in God who loves us and calls us to life which, in turn, allows love to pour out for all of creation.
Closing Peace Rick
Leader: May the Peace and Hope of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace and Hope of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 