Call to Action

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants answer, “Is fasting among the spiritual disciplines you practice? Why or why not?”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12).

What is Isaiah to announce to the people? [Their rebellion and sins (Isaiah 58:1).]

What is God’s complaint against Israel? Their worship was false. Through their religious practices, they sought the Lord’s will and favor, yet in their daily lives, they had abandoned God’s ways (Isaiah 58:2).]

What is Israel’s complaint against God? [God doesn’t seem to respond to their spiritual practice of fasting (Isaiah 58:3).]

• Have you ever questioned God when your spiritual practices seemed fruitless?

What do you learn about God’s priorities when you contrast Israel’s way of fasting (Isaiah 58:3b-5) with the fast that God chooses (Isaiah 58:6-7)?

Isaiah 58:8-9a describes the impact of worship that will “make your voice heard on high” (Isaiah 58:4 b). What difference could such a fast make in your life or community?

The Preaching Notes for February 8 say: “Thus, the call to action. It is for our own good as well as for the good of society. It is for living out our faith in real-world ways. Faith is not simply a set of beliefs, but a pattern of behavior. Faith is about worship. How do we worship, not just for an hour once a week, but for our whole lives, every day, every moment we are living our worship to God.” 

• In what practical ways will you respond to this call to action?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer: God of justice and freedom, keep us mindful of your call to make our worship as real in the street as it is in the sanctuary. Amen.
 

Rev. Sherry Bryant-Johnson, a United Methodist deacon, served extension ministries in the Mississippi Annual Conference for nearly three decades. Now retired, she teaches “Abiding in Christ Together: Creating Gospel-Centric Retreats” as well as Lay Servant Ministries courses online at www.BeaDisciple.com. An author and a spiritual director, she is an editor and essayist for the anthology, Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Morehouse, 2014).