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Not every gift is experienced as a gift. Gifts are generally seen as positive things, the result of thoughtfulness and generosity. But not always…It is better to give than to receive, as we’ve all been told. But when it comes to this Gift, it is necessary to receive. And how we receive this Gift is everything. What kind of gift-receiver are you?

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.