# St. John's United Church of Christ — August 16, 2026 **"Ten Commandments: Nineteen Comes Before Twenty"** *Bulletin cover: "Measure Yourself with God" (Edd Scheer)* *Please stand in body or in spirit (\*)* *Service video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI) — timestamps below link directly into the recording.* ## Liturgical Context ### Christian Liturgical Calendar - **Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost** (Proper 15 / Ordinary 20), Year A - Liturgical color: **Green** (Season after Pentecost, May 31 – Nov 26, 2026) - Roman Catholic calendar: optional memorials of **St. Stephen of Hungary** and **St. Roch (Rocco)** fall on August 16 this year but are superseded by the Sunday liturgy ### Jewish Calendar - **3 Elul 5786** - Elul is the month of *cheshbon hanefesh* — self-examination and preparation — leading toward Rosh Hashanah (which begins the evening of September 11, 2026). The bulletin cover's "measure yourself with God" image (a carpenter's square and ruler) lands right in the middle of this season of accounting, whether by design or by providence. - Shabbat August 15 was **Parashat Shoftim** (Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9) — "Justice, justice you shall pursue" (Deut. 16:20), on appointing judges and establishing courts. It falls the day before today's Exodus 19–20 reading on the giving of the law, a natural Torah companion to a Ten Commandments sermon. ### Ecumenical & Global Observances - No major UN or ecumenical observance falls on August 16, 2026. ### Lectionary Readings (Revised Common Lectionary) Today's service follows St. John's own Ten Commandments series rather than the RCL. For reference, RCL Year A, Proper 15 (August 16, 2026): - Semi-continuous: Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133 - Complementary: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Psalm 67 - Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 - Gospel: Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 The Narrative Lectionary Year 4 (John) cycle concluded at Pentecost (May 24, 2026); the 2026–27 fall cycle has not yet resumed, so there is no NL cross-reference this week. ### Connection to Today's Message The sermon title turns on chapter order: Exodus 19 — God's self-introduction ("I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself," 19:4) and the offer of covenant — comes *before* Exodus 20's Decalogue. Relationship precedes rule; identity precedes command. Matthew 22:34-40, read earlier in the service, makes the same move from the other direction, collapsing all the commandments back into two relational verbs: love God, love neighbor. The Prayer of Confession names this order explicitly — "God gave us the covenant of the law to guide us and help us live with our neighbors in love." Shoftim's "justice, justice you shall pursue," read the day before, and Elul's turn toward self-examination both reinforce the same thread: law in service of relationship, not the reverse. ## Order of Worship ### Gathering #### Gathering Song: "This is the Day" Traditional chorus drawn from ![[Psalm 118#24]]. #### Unison Welcome — [00:19:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1140s) > "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here" #### Announcements — [00:20:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1200s) *From the live recording — not in the printed bulletin:* - Reminder of Saturday's (Aug 22) prayer breakfast and prayer time on the labyrinth at St. John's Camp; rides available through Lloyd for anyone who needs one - Ice cream social framed as "dessert before lunch" — homemade French vanilla ice cream, cookies, and peach cobbler on offer - "This Is Us" pancake breakfast in two weeks (Gratitude Sunday, Aug 30) — congregation invited to bring or submit photos of the past year's church life (events, people, "pork and sauerkraut," craft nights) for a bulletin board; office has been collecting photos already - Annual book sale promotion kicked off ([00:22:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1320s)) — flyers requested for distribution around town (men's breakfast at Texas Lunch named specifically); collection begins August 31; past sales have topped 10,000 books #### Passing of the Peace > "The peace of Christ be with you" — "And also with you" #### Chiming of the Trinity #### Prelude #### \*Call to Worship — [00:27:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1620s) Adapted from Nancy C. Townley. All heaven and earth proclaim the majesty of God's creative power! **Praise God for the amazing and awesome beauty.** God has given us codes by which to live together in harmony and peace. **In these commandments, God has summed up the ways we must respect each other.** Rejoice in the goodness of God. **Praise God for God's complete and steadfast love for us.** May our worship reflect our love of God and neighbor! #### \*Hymn No. 27: "From All That Dwell below the Skies" — [00:28:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1680s) WORDS: Isaac Watts, 1719, alt. (Psalm 117) · MUSIC: LASST UNS ERFREUEN, *Geistliche Kirchengesäng*, Cologne, 1623; harm. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906 · Public domain 1. From all that dwell below the skies let the Creator's praise arise; Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Redeemer's name be sung through every land, by every tongue. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 2. Eternal are your mercies, God; your truth stands ever high and broad: Alleluia! Alleluia! Your praise shall sound from shore to shore till suns shall rise and set no more. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! #### Call to Confession — [00:30:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1800s) Let us confess our sins before God and one another, trusting in God's power to forgive. #### Prayer of Confession Written by Rev. Dr. Emily K. Bisset. > God gave us the covenant of the law to guide us and help us live with our neighbors in love. When we break God's law, we leave our neighbors hurt and bruised. God's law is a gift to us, showing us how to keep our part of the covenant. Even through old pain and wounds, may we embrace the new life that Christ can bring. #### Kyrie Hymnal Companion C-4. #### Words of Assurance — [00:31:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1860s) Written by Rev. Dr. Emily K. Bisset. May the God of the law guide us in living lives that keep the covenant of love. **May Christ's forgiveness grant us new life, even when we break God's law.** May the Holy Spirit of conviction lead us to confession and renewal. **May we respond in love to the God of covenant and change.** #### \*Glory Be to the Father No. 704, Hymnal Companion. ### Word #### Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:34-40 — [00:32:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1920s) The Great Commandment. Read live from the **NIV** (bulletin/vault default translation may differ — see embeds in [[#Scripture and Sermon]]). Introduced as "sometimes called the greatest commandment"; the reader noted Jesus had just silenced the Sadducees before the Pharisees' legal expert tested him with this question. #### Responsive Reading: Psalm 100 (The Inclusive Bible) — [00:34:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2040s) Full text below in [[#Scripture and Sermon]]. #### Special Music: "If You Say Go" — Diane Thiel #### Children's Message — Chani Wolfe — [00:39:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2340s) *Children's Corner will be offered following the Children's Message* Built around the Wolf Sanctuary of PA (Lititz), which Chani and Dan visited (appointment required). Myth-busting: a wolf pack is typically just a mated pair plus pups (not a large hierarchy, no "alpha male"); wolves avoid and rarely attack humans; they're a keystone species (Yellowstone reintroduction cited — controlling deer/elk populations reduced overgrazing and improved river/forest health); wolves don't make good pets (strong predatory drive, no vaccine for rabies, require massive buried-fence enclosures, destructive indoors). Biblical wolves (~14 references, OT and NT): consistently a symbol of danger/false teachers/threats to the flock, except in prophetic images of the coming peaceable kingdom where "the wolf and the lamb live together" (Isaiah). Closed with an "advice from a wolf" acrostic written by Chani's son David — trust your instincts, keep your den clean, stand for what you believe, stay on track, howl with your friends, be a leader, fill your pack's life with good memories — and a prayer of thanks for creation and for the day wolf and lamb live together in peace. #### Scripture Reading: Exodus 19:1-6, 20:1-12 — [00:47:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2820s) Sinai: the covenant offer, then the Decalogue. Full embeds below in [[#Scripture and Sermon]]. > **Note:** The live reading covered Exodus 19:1-6 in full but stopped at **Exodus 20:1-2** ("Then God spoke all these words: 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.'") rather than continuing through v. 12 as printed in the bulletin. Worth knowing if you're cross-checking the sermon against what the congregation actually heard read aloud — the full Decalogue (vv. 3-12) was not read live this week, only the covenant-formula opening. #### Sermon — Rev. Caroline E. Saxton — [00:49:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2940s) "Ten Commandments: Nineteen Comes Before Twenty" #### Apostles' Creed: An Affirmation of Faith Hymnal Companion C-10. ### Response #### Sharing of Joys and Concerns — [00:58:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3480s) *Recorded for personal prayer use — see [[#Applications]] below.* #### Prayers of the People and the Lord's Prayer (Debts) — [01:09:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=4140s) #### Invitation to Giving #### Offertory #### \*Offertory Response No. 706: "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" WORDS: Thomas Ken, 1674 · TUNE: OLD HUNDREDTH · Public domain Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise Him, all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. *(Note: the bulletin's title phrasing — "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" rather than "Praise Him" — may signal an inclusive-language variant sung live that differs slightly from this traditional Ken text; worth a listen-back if precision matters.)* #### \*Prayer of Dedication — [01:14:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=4440s) From *Feasting on the Word Worship Companion*, edited by Kimberly Bracken Long. > O Lord our God, we want to follow all your commandments – to love only you, not worshiping the things of this world; to love our neighbor freely, not desiring for ourselves something they possess. Accept these offerings, we pray, and teach us to be generous, giving fully of ourselves that we may truly be the body of Christ in this world. Amen. ### Sending #### \*Hymn No. 68: "He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought" — [01:15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=4500s) WORDS: Joseph H. Gilmore, 1862 (Psalm 23) · MUSIC: William B. Bradbury, 1864 · TUNE: HE LEADETH ME (LM with refrain) · Public domain 1. He leadeth me! O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught! What-e'er I do, wher-e'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me! *Refrain:* He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me: His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me. 2. Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine, content, whatever lot I see, since 'tis Thy hand that leadeth me! *Refrain* 3. And when my task on earth is done, when, by Thy grace, the victory's won, e'en death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me! *Refrain* #### \*Commission & Benediction — [01:18:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=4680s) > Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted. Support the weak. Help the afflicted. Honor all people. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. The love of God, with peace and joy, will each of us attend, and guide our ways through coming days until we meet again. *(Traditional benediction, drawing on 1 Thessalonians 5:14 — "encourage the fainthearted, help the weak" — public domain formulation used widely across denominations.)* #### Postlude (seated) ## Scripture and Sermon ### Scripture Reading Matthew 22:34-40 — [watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=1920s) ![[Matthew 22#34]] ![[Matthew 22#35]] ![[Matthew 22#36]] ![[Matthew 22#37]] ![[Matthew 22#38]] ![[Matthew 22#39]] ![[Matthew 22#40]] ### Additional Scripture Exodus 19:1-6, 20:1-12 — [watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2820s) *(live reading stopped at 20:2 — see note above)* ![[Exodus 19#1]] ![[Exodus 19#2]] ![[Exodus 19#3]] ![[Exodus 19#4]] ![[Exodus 19#5]] ![[Exodus 19#6]] ![[Exodus 20#1]] ![[Exodus 20#2]] ![[Exodus 20#3]] ![[Exodus 20#4]] ![[Exodus 20#5]] ![[Exodus 20#6]] ![[Exodus 20#7]] ![[Exodus 20#8]] ![[Exodus 20#9]] ![[Exodus 20#10]] ![[Exodus 20#11]] ![[Exodus 20#12]] ### Responsive Reading Psalm 100, printed in the bulletin from *The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation*. Embeds below render whichever translation is configured in this vault; verse 5 is split Leader/People in the bulletin and doesn't divide cleanly at the verse level, so it's embedded once. **Leader:** ![[Psalm 100#1]] **People:** ![[Psalm 100#2]] **Leader:** ![[Psalm 100#3]] **People:** ![[Psalm 100#4]] **Leader/People (v. 5):** ![[Psalm 100#5]] ### Sermon "Ten Commandments: Nineteen Comes Before Twenty" — Rev. Caroline E. Saxton — [full sermon: 00:49:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2940s) #### Sermon Notes ##### Introduction — [00:49:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2940s) Opens with the popular but complicated push to post the Ten Commandments in public spaces — "which version?" — since Reformed, Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, and Jewish tradition all number the commandments differently. Names her own story: raised UCC/Reformed, and didn't learn about the numbering discrepancy until seminary. Frames this as a useful reminder for ecumenical and interfaith work: shared sacred texts still carry real diversity. ##### Main Points ###### Point 1: Setting the series and the thesis — [00:50:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3000s) Announces a four-week series on the heart of the Ten Commandments, beginning with context rather than content: "19 comes before 20" — relationship comes before law. Retraces the Exodus arc — slavery in Egypt, God hearing the people's cries, the burning bush call to Moses, wilderness provision (water, quail, manna) — as evidence that God's care for the people precedes any demand made of them. ###### Point 2: Rolf Jacobson and the priority of relationship — [00:51:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3060s) Cites Rolf Jacobson (met at the Festival of Homiletics, Atlanta, May 2025, in a workshop on his then-forthcoming Ten Commandments book): "the relationship God establishes with the chosen people comes first. It is literally primary. The law...comes second." Reframes Exodus 19 as more than throat-clearing prologue — it's the reaffirmation of "I will be your God and you will be my people," and explicitly why Jewish tradition counts "I am the Lord your God" itself as the first commandment. ###### Point 3: The two tables, and who the law is for — [00:55:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3300s) Walks through the Reformed/Anglican/Protestant-non-Lutheran numbering: commandments 1-4 (no other gods, no graven images, do not misuse God's name, keep Sabbath) as love of God; 5-10 (honor parents, no murder, no adultery, no stealing, no false witness, no coveting) as love of neighbor. Notes — via Jacobson — that even Sabbath-keeping is neighbor-love, since neighbors also deserve rest, and that "father and mother" are themselves someone's neighbor. Lands the point ([00:56:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3360s)): "the law is not about us. It's about our neighbors... so that your neighbor can have her best life. In God's economy, everyone benefits and everyone wins." ##### Illustrations/Stories Thin on illustration by design — no personal anecdote or congregational story. The main illustrative device is the direct retelling of the Exodus 19 narrative itself, plus the single extended Jacobson citation. (The week's real storytelling energy went into the children's message on wolves, not the sermon.) ##### Scripture Connections - Exodus 19:1-6 (read live, full) - Exodus 20:1-2 (read live; sermon references through v. 2 only, though the printed reading was 20:1-12) - Matthew 22:34-40 (read earlier in the service; referenced implicitly — "the law can be summed up into two parts, to love God and to love our neighbor") - Unlabeled allusion to Matthew 5:17 — "Jesus says that I didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it" (not cited by chapter/verse in the sermon), around [00:54:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3240s) ##### Key Quotes - "19 comes before 20. Relationship comes before law." (refrain, repeated three times — first full statement around [00:53:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3180s)) - Jacobson: "The point is that the relationship God establishes with the chosen people comes first. It is literally primary. The law, with its ethical demands on our behavior, comes second." — [00:51:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3060s) - Jacobson: "We don't keep the commandments for our own pleasure or benefit. Rather, we keep them as a way to love God and our neighbor." — [00:54:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3240s) - "God gives you the law...not so that you can get more spiritual or have your best life now, but so that your neighbor can have her best life. In God's economy, everyone benefits and everyone wins." — [00:56:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3360s) #### Personal Reflections ##### What spoke to me: ##### Questions raised: ##### Challenges/Convictions: ##### Liturgical Context Reflections: *Nineteen-before-twenty against 3 Elul / Parashat Shoftim's "justice, justice you shall pursue."* #### Applications ##### This week I will: ##### People to pray for: *From live Joys & Concerns ([00:58:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=3480s)) — for personal prayer use, not for redistribution:* - **Jen** — wisdom and guidance navigating career/health/life decisions (requested by Diana) - **Nate**, Jen's son (Virginia's friend's son, roughly Virginia's own son's age) — newly diagnosed with a brain tumor; Virginia asked to be able to help the family navigate this - Those affected by the **Hawaii hurricane**, especially people living on the margins in substandard housing beyond the resort areas (requested by Sarah) - **Alan's three coworkers** — one recovering from a brain tumor (radiation and chemo complete; MRI this week), one unable to bear weight on an injured foot, one awaiting hernia surgery - **Kelly and Eric** (Shani's sister and brother-in-law) — still grieving; thanksgiving for recent time spent together - Thanksgiving for **Connie and her daughter**, reunited - **Sam and Denise Skipper** and their son Perry — Sam has fallen repeatedly, most recently taking Denise down with him; both need healing and stability - **Peg's nephew's family**, especially their granddaughter — hospitalized at CHOP (Philadelphia) roughly 10 days with severe, medication-resistant seizures, currently under observation - **Students, teachers, staff, and parents** starting the new school year (requested by Lisa) - The **First Fruits reentry offering** — for those securing housing and reconnecting with community (lifted up by Erin) - **Ki** — minor hand surgery (cyst removal) on August 20, with some needle-related anxiety (requested by Jen) ##### Follow-up study: - Exodus 19 (covenant offer) set against Exodus 20 (Decalogue) — relationship-before-rule as a hermeneutical lens - Matthew 22:34-40 as the Decalogue's own two-verb summary - Rolf Jacobson's recent Ten Commandments book (title not stated in the recording) and his Festival of Homiletics 2025 (Atlanta) workshop — worth tracking down given how load-bearing his framing is for this sermon and, likely, the rest of the series #### Connections - [[Ecclesiastes 4]] — tonight's 8:00 pm Bible study (Chapter 4) sits alongside this week's Elul turn toward self-examination - [[Ecclesiastes 5]] — next Sunday's Bible study (August 23) - [[Hermeneutical Genealogy]] — the sermon's opening move (commandment numbering as tradition-dependent) is a live example worth adding to that concept page - [[Lateral Transfer Risk]] — see audit below; no flags this week, but logged for the pattern record ## Sermon Analysis *Comprehensive Sermon Analysis Template — 13-category / 65-point rubric (Hermeneutical Awareness as the 13th category; church-notes SKILL.md has been updated to reflect this).* #### Sermon Summary **Central Message:** Relationship precedes law. Exodus 19 (covenant offer, identity — "I bore you on eagles' wings") comes before Exodus 20 (Decalogue); the commandments exist in service of neighbor-love, not the reverse. Both personal (reorienting how the hearer relates to "the law") and communal (the law's whole point is neighbor-benefit) — genuinely both, not a false choice. **Liturgical/Thematic Focus:** Opens a four-week Ten Commandments series; reinforced by the day's Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession, and Words of Assurance, all of which independently name covenant-before-law. **Score: 5/5** — tightly integrated across nearly every liturgical element of the service, not just the sermon itself. #### Preaching Style Assessment Primarily **Doctrinal/Textual**, thesis-first (deductive), with a light **Topical** framing device ("19 before 20") and a **Biographical/scholarly** citation (Jacobson) doing most of the interpretive lifting. Not narrative-driven, not inductive — the thesis is stated early and then supported. **Score: 4/5** — clear and well-suited to a series-opening, orienting sermon; more direct exegetical engagement with the specific verses (rather than paraphrase) would round it out. #### Storytelling and Illustration Thin: no personal anecdote, no congregational story, essentially one extended scholarly citation. Diversity of voice is limited to Jacobson (a named, but singular, contemporary Lutheran OT scholar). **Score: 2/5** — the citation used is apt, but there's minimal storytelling and no diverse voices within the sermon proper. #### Intonation and Delivery Best judged by ear now that the video link is available — [00:49:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAgLHwmGaI&t=2940s) forward covers the sermon. Structurally, the repeated "19 before 20" refrain functions as a clear rhetorical anchor (used three times), which suggests intentional pacing/emphasis. **Score: 3/5 (provisional)** — revise once you've watched/listened; the repetition device itself is sound regardless of vocal execution. #### Content Structure Clean intro → thesis → textual support → scholarly citation → theological payoff → series preview → closing refrain. Smooth transition from sermon into the offering ("through the relationship that we have with God and with one another, we pray together... may the gifts that we share demonstrate our love for God and our love for neighbor"). **Score: 5/5** — strong structure, retention-supporting repetition, clean transitions in and out. #### Engagement and Application Little explicit congregational call to action within the sermon itself — more a theological reorientation ("we may need to sit with that") than a concrete practice. The week's real interactive/participatory energy lived in the children's message, not the sermon. "Everyone is our neighbor" gestures toward inclusion but isn't developed. **Score: 2/5** — some connection, light on concrete or justice-specific application (plausibly deferred to weeks 2-4 as individual commandments get unpacked). #### Scripture Handling References: Exodus 19:1-6 and 20:1-2 (direct, read live); Matthew 22:34-40 (read earlier, referenced implicitly); an uncited allusion to Matthew 5:17. No original-language work (the "treasured possession" / "kingdom of priests" language of 19:5-6 goes unremarked). Genuinely strong cross-tradition awareness — the Reformed/Catholic/Lutheran/Orthodox/Jewish numbering comparison is a real comparative-hermeneutics move, unusual for a Sunday sermon. **Score: 4/5** — deep enough for a series-opener and unusually ecumenically aware, but no original-language work and one uncited allusion. #### Logical Reasoning Sound deductive chain: thesis → canonical-order evidence → scholarly authority → theological implication. One soft **appeal-to-authority** moment worth naming: the leap from "Exodus 19 precedes Exodus 20 in the text" to "therefore relationship is theologically primary" is asserted through Jacobson's framing rather than independently argued from the text itself. Not a fallacy exactly — canonical order is real evidence — but it's the sermon's single load-bearing interpretive move, and it rests on one scholar's authority rather than being demonstrated from multiple angles. **Score: 4/5** — strong overall, one identifiable soft appeal-to-authority moment worth naming. #### References Rolf Jacobson (Luther Seminary, Lutheran/ELCA Old Testament scholar) cited twice by name; no other named theologians, and no marginalized or liberationist voices (Black, feminist, womanist, LGBTQIA+, global South) — notable given how rich the liberationist reading tradition is specifically for Exodus. **Score: 2/5** — a well-chosen citation, but a single, non-diverse voice for a text with much wider available scholarship. #### Quotes and Illustrative Stories The memorable lines in this sermon are largely borrowed (Jacobson, twice) rather than Rev. Saxton's own original imagery — the repeated refrain is hers, but the theological payoff quotes are citations. **Score: 3/5** — a memorable central refrain, but original illustrative material is thin. #### Calls to Action Implicit rather than explicit: continue with the series; hold "law matters" and "law is not salvific" together; "sit with" the discomfort rather than resolve it quickly. No named systemic/justice action in the sermon itself — that content lived in the surrounding liturgy instead (First Fruits reentry offering, named in the live Joys & Concerns/announcements, not the sermon). **Score: 2/5** — vague/largely absent as concrete next steps; more a posture than an action. #### Style Effectiveness Analysis The deductive/doctrinal approach suits a framing sermon well — it had to establish terms (numbering traditions, canonical order, the two-table structure) before individual commandments get unpacked in weeks 2-4, and it did that cleanly. An inductive-contemplative opening — sitting longer in the discomfort of "why do our numbers differ?" before resolving it — might have served the relationship-before-rule thesis even more experientially. Serves auditory/intrapersonal learners well (dense propositional content, reflective pauses); a visual aid comparing the numbering traditions side by side, or the two "tables" of the law, would have reached visual learners in a sermon that's explicitly about competing lists. **Score: 4/5** — well-chosen and effective for its place in the series, with room to diversify learning-style engagement. #### Hermeneutical Awareness *(13th category)* This sermon scores unusually high here relative to a typical Sunday sermon: it opens by naming that commandment *numbering itself* is a contested, tradition-dependent choice — Reformed vs. Catholic vs. Lutheran vs. Orthodox vs. Jewish — and frames that plurality explicitly: "even when our sacred texts are shared, there is still much diversity." That's a direct, named acknowledgment of interpretive plurality and denominational genealogy stated *before* any substantive theological claim is made — closer to your own hermeneutical-genealogy practice than most sermons get. **Score: 5/5** — unusually explicit and sustained hermeneutical self-awareness for a 20-minute Sunday sermon; worth citing as a strong instance in your genealogy-tracing work. #### Scoring Summary 5 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 4 + 5 = **45/65** #### Side-by-Side Comparison: Narrative vs. Fully Exegetical | Aspect | This Sermon's Style | Fully Exegetical Version | |---|---|---| | Primary Style | Doctrinal/deductive framing sermon, thesis-first | Verse-by-verse through Exodus 19:1-6 and 20:1-2, with attention to Hebrew terms (*segullah* / "treasured possession," *mamlekhet kohanim* / "kingdom of priests") | | Stories | Single scholarly citation (Jacobson); no congregational or personal anecdote | Could draw on the wilderness/liberation narrative already in Exodus 19 itself — eagles'-wings imagery, camp logistics — as its own illustration | | Scripture Depth | Canonical-order argument plus a cross-tradition numbering survey; no original-language work | Word study on "treasured possession" and "kingdom of priests"; comparison with Deuteronomy's parallel giving-of-law passages | | Application | Reframes posture toward law generally; no specific action named | Could tie "kingdom of priests" directly to congregational vocation (ministry of all believers), with a concrete corporate practice named | #### Hermeneutical Genealogy *(non-scored)* The "relationship precedes law" reading isn't new with Jacobson — it echoes covenant theology running back through Reformed federal theology (grace precedes obligation) and, as the sermon itself names, rabbinic tradition's own counting of "I am the LORD your God" as the first commandment. Jacobson's specific framing (Luther Seminary, ELCA) sits inside a broader 20th-century biblical-theology movement — von Rad, Brueggemann — that emphasizes covenant/grace as prior to law, a lineage the sermon doesn't name but that's worth tracing if "relationship before rule" recurs across the rest of the series. #### Lateral Transfer Risk Audit *(non-scored)* No NAR-adjacent or high-control-framework markers this week — no in-group/out-group language, no claim to exclusive interpretive authority, nothing from your fallacy taxonomy. If anything, the sermon does the opposite: it explicitly relativizes a claim to textual certainty (commandment numbering) rather than asserting one true reading. **Low risk; no flags.** ## Worship Leadership | Role | Person | |---|---| | Pastor | Rev. Caroline E. Saxton | | Organist | Barbara Motichka | | Choir Director | Gary Crum | | Worship Team | Diana Kongkeattikul, Swann Kongkeattikul, Barb Motichka | | Deacon in Charge | Cathy Kinton | | Lector | Judy Hodges | | Children's Corner | Rebecca Pound | | Media Coordinators | Calvin Frantz and Neath Ham | | Bulletin cover | Edd Scheer | **Flowers at the Foot of the Cross** are given in loving memory of father Anthony "Mickey" Scubelek, by Wayne Scubelek and Sue McMurtray. **Worship Resources:** - Call to Worship written by Nancy C. Townley, posted on Ministry Matters (adapted) - Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance written by Rev. Dr. Emily K. Bisset for the Presbyterian World Service & Development - *The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation* - *Feasting on the Word Worship Companion*, edited by Kimberly Bracken Long ## Church News & Announcements **Staff contacts:** - The Rev. Caroline E. Saxton, [email protected], (641) 260-1868 (cell) - Tonya Schwartz, Office Administrator, [email protected], (717) 263-8593 (office) - Gary Crum, Music Director | Barbara Motichka, Organist - Roxanne Davenport, Director of Children & Youth - The Rev. Stephen W. Hoffman, Pastor Emeritus **Birthdays this week:** 08/17 Joyce Patterson and Eric Wadel; 08/18 Erin Wadel; 08/19 Jerry Thomason; 08/21 Sue McNew, Ann Osterman and Dwight Sollenberger; 08/23 Cooper Miller and Sarah Young. **Nursery Nook & Infant/Toddler Space:** The "Nursery Nook in the Narthex" quiet area and infant/toddler space in the Parlor are available for children and families during worship. Age-appropriate activity bags also available. **Wolf Sanctuary:** Today's Children's Message references the Wolf Sanctuary of PA (Lititz, PA), which reminds us that extinct is forever. More at www.wolfsanctuary.org; follow-up questions to Chani Wolfe, 717-372-4792. **Bible and a Beer:** Faith conversation in public, 3rd Monday of the month at the Trojan Diner, 6:30 pm. Next gathering August 17. **Camp Breakfast and Summer Prayer Gatherings:** Final summer prayer gathering at St. John's Camp, Saturday, August 22, 9:30 am. Sign-up sheet at the Welcome Center. **Youth Pickle Ball Clinic:** Sunday, August 23. Lunch in Fellowship Hall 11:30 am; clinic 12–1:30 pm. RSVP to Roxanne Davenport ([email protected]) or Diana Kongkeattikul ([email protected]). **Summer Special Music:** Sign-up posted on the choir room door for those who would like to help provide special music, singing or instrumental, this summer. Contact Gary Crum. **Monday Afternoon Book Study:** Chapter 2 of Barbara Brown Taylor, *Learning to Walk in the Dark* — Monday, August 17, 1:30 pm, Conference Room 111. **Franklin Together — Franklin County Reentry Coalition:** Collecting essential household, cleaning, and hygiene items for people securing safe housing and reconnecting with loved ones. Donation box at the Welcome Center; monetary gifts at http://franklintogether.org/donate. **Fall Quarter First Fruits** (August, September, October) supports Franklin Together-Franklin County Reentry Coalition, Homeless Matters of Franklin County, and the Fayetteville Fire Department. **Sunday Night Bible Study:** Ecclesiastes Chapter 4, Sunday, August 16, 8 pm via Zoom. Meeting ID 836 0593 5961, Passcode 277938; hyperlink in the weekly e-blast. **Gratitude Sunday:** Sunday, August 30 — a celebration of "This is Us": who we are and what we love about our church. Share photos in advance or bring them. Pancake breakfast 8:45 in Fellowship Hall; worship follows at 10 am. **Share The Harvest:** Donations of homegrown produce may be brought to the Welcome Center in the front lobby. **July/August Upper Room** devotionals available at the Welcome Center. Suggested donation $1 small print / $2 large print; contact the office for mailed copies. **Want to Stay in Touch?** Contact the Church Office to join the email list, receive Diana's Devotionals, and/or join the Prayer Chain. **Annual Book Sale:** Collection begins August 31; flyers available for distribution around town. Past sales have exceeded 10,000 books. ## Vision & Mission **St. John's Vision:** We are called to love, to learn, to worship and to witness in Christ as a congregation that welcomes everyone, and seeks service that will advance God's realm on earth. **St. John's Mission:** To grow in love of God and neighbor ## Calendar & Upcoming Events **Today (Sunday, August 16):** - 11:15 am — Ice Cream Social, Fellowship Hall - 8:00 pm — Bible Study on the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4, Zoom (link in Friday e-blast) **Monday, August 17:** - 1:30 pm — Book Study (*Learning to Walk in the Dark*, Chapter 2), Conference Room 111 - 6:30 pm — Bible and a Beer, Trojan Diner **Tuesday, August 18:** - 5:30 pm — Yoga, Room 202 **Friday, August 21:** - 6:00 pm — End of Summer Dance, Fellowship Hall **Saturday, August 22:** - 9:30 am — Brunch and Prayer Gathering, St. John's Camp **Sunday, August 23:** - 8:45 am — K-12 Faith and Fellowship, Youth Room 206 - 8:45 am — Wired Word Church School Class, Room 116 - 8:45 am — Upper Room Church School Class, Conference Room 111 - 10:00 am — Sunday Worship, Sanctuary - 11:30 am — Youth Pickle Ball Clinic (Lunch Provided), Fellowship Hall - 8:00 pm — Bible Study on the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5, Zoom