July 19, 2026

CHIMING OF THE HOUR

WELCOME

PRAYER
God of all glory,
on this first day
you began creation,
bringing light out of darkness.
On this first day
you began your new creation,
raising Jesus Christ out of the darkness of death.
On this Lord’s Day
grant that we,
the people you create by water and the Spirit,
may be joined with all your works
in praising you for your great glory.
Through Jesus Christ,
in union with the Holy Spirit,
we praise you now and forever.
Amen.

PRELUDE

CALL TO WORSHIP
O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing, and give praise to God’s name;
tell the glad news of salvation from day to day.

*HYMN No. 634 “To God Be The Glory”
1 To God be the glory;
great things he has done!
So loved he the world
that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life
an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate
that all may go in.

Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord;
let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord;
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father
through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory:
great things he has done!

2 Great things he has taught us;
great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing
through Jesus the Son;
but purer and higher
and greater will be
our wonder, our transport,
when Jesus we see.

*CALL TO CONFESSION
Remember that our Lord Jesus can sympathize with us in our weaknesses,
since in every respect he was tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with boldness approach the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God. Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin.

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit. Amen.

Silence is observed

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. I declare to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. May the God of mercy, who forgives you all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

*RESPONSE NO. 581 “Glory Be to the Father”
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen, amen.

*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST
Like a tent in the wilderness the table of God stands open and ready as a place of sanctuary and safety, of hospitality and healing. So come, all you who are tired and travel-stained, footsore and famished; come with your fellow travelers and find companionship and comfort; for here, Jesus – who knows what it is to wander, watch and wrestle in desert places – waits to meet us and welcome us in, offering us rest and restoration, solace and strength, for the journey still to come.

May the peace of God, the comforting peace of familiar presence, the untamed peace of wilderness places, the challenging peace of watching and wrestling, surround and shape your journey onwards.

The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.

Worshippers are invited to briefly “pass the peace” of Christ to those directly seated around them thus keeping our worship time “decent and in order” with a focus upon being part of God’s community.

MUSIC

THE CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
O Lord our God,
your Word is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love,
that we may be obedient to your will
and live always for your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.

SCRIPTURE 2 Kings 2:23-25
23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” 24 When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel and then returned to Samaria.

Pause…

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!!

SERMON “42 Mauled Children”
This morning we continue with the second part of our sermon series on Strange Stories from Scripture. The drive for our sermon series comes from the wealth of scriptural treasure begging to be preached, in addition to my desire to not fall into a rut of preaching the same, favorite, and familiar texts over and over. Last week we talked about a woman, an Egyptian general and a tent peg. Today we are exploring the story of Elisha and the she-bears.

And while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!”

In my opinion, this is one of the most troubling passages in all of scripture. I can look into both the Old and New Testaments and find scriptures that challenge my faith, passages that require me to pray for understanding and discernment, there are even passages that I would rather ignore than affirm from a place such as this, but there are few stories as dramatic and frightening as the one we have read this morning.

While Elisha was on his way to Bethel, sweating under the heat of the sun, some young boys came out from the city ahead of him and began to make fun of him. “Get outta here baldy! We don’t want you and your shiny head around us!” Perhaps he tried to ignore them at first, but when the taunting became so distracting and loud, Elisha turned around to face the crowd of young boys and cursed them in the name of the Lord. As if on cue, two mama bears came barreling out of the woods and mauled 42 of the boys. From there Elisha continued on his journey to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria.
Before we can even begin to address what happened on the road we need to go back, we need to get a larger picture of the story.
Elisha followed the reign of the prophet Elijah. Elijah is remembered for bringing a widow’s son back to life, for finding God in the sheer silence, and for confronting idol worshippers. Elijah was a favorite prophet for the New Testament writers who often drew the connection between the prophetic life of Elijah and the messianic life of Christ.

At the end of Elijah’s time Elisha followed him to the Jordan and watched him ascend on a whirlwind into heaven after having received a share of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha took up Elijah’s ministry, he literally took Elijah’s mantle with him, and continued to be a messenger and example of God’s Word for the people.

The story of Elisha and the she bears is one of the first things that took place during Elisha’s time as a prophet. As a young and novice messenger, he is making his way to Bethel and other parts of the land to bring the people back to their Lord.

What do you make of this passage? Is it one that you, like me, would rather ignore and pass over? Does it challenge your understanding of God and the role of the prophets?
For centuries theologians, scholars, pastors, and Christian-disciples have attempted to make sense of this story; they have worked hard to explain what is really going on.
I could begin by telling you that there is more at work in this story than appears on the surface. In Hebrew, the designation for the “small boys” is more akin to “young men” and more particularly young men who do not want the prophet coming to their town to tell them what they have done wrong.

I could continue by showing you that, though Elisha was bald, he was in fact probably only 25 or 26 when this transpired; he was my age when he was taunted for being bald and cursed the young men!

Similarly, the point can be made that the harmless teasing was in fact very troubling. They were not merely making fun of his shiny head but were denying his prophetic ability. After taking up his former prophet’s mantle, Elisha was being accosted; in so doing the crowd of young men was not only attacking a young prophet but denouncing the Lord as well.

Moreover, I could share with you the simple fact that Elisha did not call out the she bears, he just pronounced judgment on the demonstrators and God decided the form of response. And even when the bears came out of the woods, they did not kill 42 of the young men, they simply mauled them. Perhaps God was using the bears in a way that none of the young men would perish, but so that they would all be punished.
Yet, even with all these new details, the story still troubles me.

As I prepared for the sermon this week, I consulted numerous commentaries on 2 Kings and I was shocked to discover some of the reflections regarding this passage.

One commentary claimed that Elisha was not the kind of man to summon bears from the woods. The “irreverence, lawlessness, and hoodlumism of youth are sure to result in moral disaster.” The bears function as symbols of the punishment that overtakes vicious behavior. It went on to state that the boys in the story are the prototype for thousands of youth today. Only if they are educated at home, in school, and in church will they be able to avoid the punishment of the Lord that will surely come in one form or another. (The Interpreters Bible, vol. 3)
Another commentary made the same point, but in a shorter and more direct way: Rich and poor, high and low, young and old, ALL must be punished for their transgressions… (Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 12)

I went on to consult numerous sermons on the passage and was frightened to discover that most of them, few that they are, articulate a theology that the kids got what they deserved. They might have all ended by saying, “our children, your children, will wind up like those boys because we have failed to train them as polite young people. We need to bring our children to church, and encourage them to bring their friends, so that we can shape their future to avoid the bears of God’s wrath.”

I am now going to do what many of my professors warned me about in seminary, I am going to preach against this text.

Whereas many scholars, pastors, and Christians believe that the children are at fault, (I agree, they are) I believe that Elisha is just as at fault for his quick curse of the bullying boys.

In 2007 Duke University did a study and found that 85% of seminary graduates leave the ministry within five years and 90% flee before retirement. Many of these pastors that run away from the ministry never return to church. (Read more here: Keeping Your Pastor)

With the rise in expectations of pastoral ministry, coupled with dying churches and lowered pay, its no wonder that many pastors leave pastoral ministry. When many churches are running on financial fumes, while also expecting their pastors to continually go above and beyond their call, the result is a collection of pastors who are burned out and have lost sight of the Lord and their calling.

I imagine the Elisha felt a lot like ministers in the first few years of their calls. After all, Elisha found himself following in the steps of the renown and powerful prophet Elijah who no doubt cast a great shadow for the young prophet. Most of the people would be evaluating this young man based on the actions of his predecessors.

This wasn’t something that Elisha inherited but was called into. He could have remained a farmer, tending to the plows with the oxen, but instead he was called out of his life into something new, strange, and at times, terrible.

As a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed prophet, Elisha had everything to prove. And here in 2 Kings 2 Elisha find himself at the beginning of his ministry filled with passion for the Lord when a crowd of youngsters attack him for that very call.

I think that Elisha’s pride got the better of him when he was walking to Bethel. Unlike the Son of Man who would one day tell his disciples to turn the other cheek and love those who persecute you, Elisha immediately cursed the youngsters and they were mauled.

If this story is about what it means to be a prophet who speaks the Word of the Lord, then I would argue that the biggest take away is that we must be very careful with our prayers. God listens to our prayers and He answers them, sometimes in ways that we do not want and sometimes in ways that we do not expect. Be careful what you pray for.

When I arrived at this church I felt very much like what I imagine Elisha felt like at the beginning of his prophetic ministry. I was following in the footsteps of countless pastors who have shaped and nurtured this congregation into what it is today. I recognize that I will always live in the shadow of the likes of Dick Craven and Andrew Barton.

I sat in my office the week before my first sermon and thought about everything I had to live up to. I stewed over what my reputation would be at this place. I over-analyzed every word and sentence for that sermon, fearing how I might be received.

I stood in this pulpit 16 years ago, afraid of how all of you would respond. And, if I’m being honest, I stand here this morning still consumed by thoughts of what you think about these words, my delivery, and the connections with scripture.

Being a pastor is, at times, terrifying. Many weeks pass when I feel like I did not get enough done. There have been a number of Saturday nights that I lay awake in bed rehearsing in my head what I will be saying on Sunday. I have had many tough conversations with families, couples, and individuals about the sins in their lives. There have been countless visits when I wonder if I have actually helped at all.

And it’s when I reflect on all of these elements of ministry, that I realize how difficult it must have been to be Elisha. I begin to understand why he was so quick to curse those young men who spoke against his calling.

And the more I think about it, the more I see connections not only between Elisha and pastors, but also between Elisha and all of us.

How quick are we to curse those who speak against us? How inclined are we to forget our discipleship the minute our calling is called into question?

I know of an older gentleman who had not exchanged a word with one of his sons in years because of a foolish argument they had in the past. I know a woman who refuses to shop at certain stores in our town because of the color of some of the employees. I know friends that never wave or acknowledge one another because one of them went to one southern college and the other went to a rival school.

In today’s world it is too easy to put a tremendous amount of pressure on ourselves to shine brightly in the darkness. We set goals for ourselves that are lofty and unreachable. We expect greatness from our lives and the lives around us on a daily basis.

When we get caught up in the expectations of the world that we place on ourselves, we fall into the trap of quickly cursing others around us. When we fail, we jump to blame someone else. When we miss the mark we can come up with a list of excuses faster than we can come up with better solutions.

Being a pastor is hard, but being a disciple is harder. We are called to walk in the world as prophets, seeing this created place through God’s eyes. We have the unenviable task of reaching out to the last and the least and the lost. We have been baptized into a new order where the world has been turned upside down.

When we are accosted for out faith, when we are judged for our Christian allegiance, it will manifest itself in different forms.

Elisha was made fun of for being bald.

You might be attacked for praying in public, for wearing a cross around your neck. You might be made fun of for offering up your gifts and tithes to a place like the church. You might be judged for praying to a God who often responds in silence.

But nevertheless, we are not called to respond to these threats by cursing on enemies. We have been commanded to love them.

What a crazy and wonderful thing it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Adapted from the French Confession of 1559
We believe and confess only one God, who can do all things, is all-wise, all-good, all-just, and all-merciful. We believe that everything required for our salvation has been offered and communicated to us in Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God and God’s eternal Son. Jesus Christ clothed himself in our flesh: God and human in one person. We believe that we are illuminated in faith by the unfathomable grace of the Holy Spirit. God imparts this gracious gift.

By faith we receive grace to live holy lives in awe and reverence for God, for we receive what the gospel promises when God gives us the Holy Spirit. Faith does not cool our desire for good and holy living, but rather engenders and excites it in us, leading naturally to good works.

We believe that the sacraments are joined to the Word in order that the Word may be more fully confirmed. Baptism is given to us as the pledge of our adoption, in which we are grafted into the body of Christ, and renewed in holiness of life by his Spirit. The holy Supper of our Lord is a testimony of our unity with Jesus Christ, who died only once and was raised for our sake. The body and blood of Jesus Christ are food and drink for the soul just as bread and wine are nourishment for the body.

As for the true Church we believe that it ought to be governed in accordance with the order established by our Lord Jesus Christ. In this way, pure doctrine can be maintained, the poor and afflicted can be helped in their need, assemblies can be gathered in the name of God, and both great and small can be edified. Amen.

*HYMN No. 707 – Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord”
1 Take thou our minds, dear Lord, we humbly pray;
give us the mind of Christ each passing day;
teach us to know the truth that sets us free;
grant us in all our thoughts to honor thee.

2 Take thou our hearts, O Christ; they are thine own;
come thou within our souls and claim thy throne;
help us to shed abroad thy deathless love;
use us to make the earth like heaven above.

3 Take thou our wills, Most High! Hold thou full sway;
have in our inmost souls thy perfect way;
guard thou each sacred hour from selfish ease;
guide thou our ordered lives as thou dost please.

4 Take thou ourselves, O Lord, heart, mind, and will;
through our surrendered souls thy plans fulfill.
We yield ourselves to thee: time, talents, all;
we hear, and henceforth heed, thy sovereign call.

THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER
Gracious and Glorious God, we give you thanks for the goodness of the world in which we live. We praise you for the lush beauty of summer and the joy of time spent with friends and family. We rejoice in those places where justice and kindness flourish — churches being faithful to your mission, and the places in public life where people are embracing the better angels of our nature.

Even so, O Lord, hear the cries of your people. Soothe and provoke us as we tend an earth straining under the weight of a changing climate. Send your Spirit into those places where fear, hatred and violence reign. Call your church to greater faithfulness and perseverance when we are discouraged. Be near to the downtrodden and lift up the lowly.

Teach us to reach out to the strangers among us, and to people whom we might otherwise write off. Help us to see the face of Christ in every person we meet. Encourage us and support us as we await your coming, praying the prayer that Jesus taught us: “Our Father…”.

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 debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

PASSING OF FELLOWSHIP PADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

TITHES & OFFERINGS
Giving is not a casual act—
it relates God’s work to our work.
Peter writes:
“as each has received a gift,
employ it for one another,
as good stewards of God’s varied grace,
that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

Let us give as people
whose work is inextricably linked to God’s great works
of creation, redemption and empowerment.

OFFERTORY ANTHEM

*RESPONSE N0. 606 “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Come”
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.

*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Almighty God,
giver of every good and perfect gift,
teach us to give to you all that we have and all that we are,
that we may praise you not with our words only,
but with our whole lives. Amen.

*HYMN No. 541 – God Be with You Till We Meet Again”
1 God be with you till we meet again;
loving counsels guide, uphold you,
with a shepherd’s care enfold you:
God be with you till we meet again.

2 God be with you till we meet again;
unseen wings protecting hide you,
daily manna still provide you:
God be with you till we meet again.

3 God be with you till we meet again;
when life’s perils thick confound you,
put unfailing arms around you:
God be with you till we meet again.

4 God be with you till we meet again;
keep love’s banner floating o’er you;
smite death’s threatening wave before you:
God be with you till we meet again.

*BENEDICTION
The cross, we will take it.
The bread, we will break it.
The pain, we will bear it.
The joy, we will share it.
The Gospel, we will live it.
The love, we will give it.
The light, we will cherish it.
The darkness, God shall perish it!
Amen.

*POSTLUDE