What Does the Lord Require

February 1, 2026 Micah 6:1-8 What does the Lord Require 4th Sunday after Epiphany Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship (Inspired by Psalm 15) One: Giving thanks to God, we’re eager to act out our faith. Many: We want to do what is right, and speak what is true. One: Today we choose to walk blamelessly and do what is right. Many: This day we will do no evil to our friends; One: this day we will not slander any person. Many: This day we join in all who want to abide in God. ALL: We stand by our confession of faith, even when that’s hard to do. Opening Prayer Oh God, Our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer- How do we thank you? How do we show our gratitude? Do you want signs and sacrifices? Do you want gold and cattle? Can we turn over our children to you? Would that repay our debt, make everything right? Tell us, what do you require in return for all your goodness? Oh God, Our teacher, example, companion— You have shown us what is good, and call us to remember that what you require is not repayment of debt or settling the score, but obedience. Show us, God, When to do justice, how to love kindness, and where to walk, humbly, with you. Amen. Written by Dana Cassell, a former BVS volunteer. Posted on the Church of the Brethren website, https://www.brethren.org/. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2014/01/prayer-micah-6-6-8.html. Song What does the Lord Require UMH 441 Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: “What Does God Want From Us?” (Bring a small backpack and a few stones or heavy objects.) Good morning, friends! I have something with me today. Do you know what this is? (Hold up backpack.) Yes—a backpack! What kinds of things do you put in a backpack? (Let kids answer: books, snacks, toys, water.) Backpacks are meant to carry things that help us, right? Now, imagine if every time you walked somewhere, you put a rock in your backpack. (Put one stone in.) And then another rock. (Add another.) And another. Now, imagine if every time you walked somewhere, you put a rock in your backpack. (Put one stone in.) And then another rock. (Add another.) And another. (Add another.) How would that feel after a while? Heavy? Hard to carry? Sometimes people think following God is like carrying a backpack full of heavy rocks—like we have to do so manythings to make God happy. In our Bible story today, the people were wondering, “What does God want us to do?” They thought God wanted big things—lots of gifts, lots of rules, lots of hard work. But God said something very simple. God said, “I don’t want heavy backpacks.” God wants three things. Let’s count them together—hold up three fingers. 1️⃣ Do what is fair That means being fair and standing up for others. 2️⃣ Be kind Not just once—but loving kindness every day. 3️⃣ Walk with God Like walking with a friend, talking and listening to God. That’s it. No heavy rocks. No giant backpack. Just fairness, kindness, and walking with God. So here’s the question for you this week: • How can you be kind at school? • How can you be fair with your friends? • How can you remember that God walks with you everywhere you go? Let’s say this together: “God doesn’t want heavy backpacks—God wants kind hearts.” Let’s pray. (Prayer) Dear God, Thank you for loving us. Help us to be fair, help us to be kind, and help us to walk with you every day. Amen. (ChaptGPT 5.2) Responsive Reading Psalm 15 UMH 747 New Member Ceremony It was in the latter part of the eighth century BC that Micah prophesied. He was a young contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea and Amos. He and Isaiah brought God's message to the people of Judah in the South while Hosea and Amos took it north to Israel. It was a period of turmoil and change. Assyria was fast becoming a world power to challenge the hegemony of Egypt. There was one battle after another with the little nations used only as pawns in the wider struggle. Israel and Judah were constantly threatened by one power or another. It was a difficult time. Like Amos, Micah was a product of the countryside...a farmer...and like farmers throughout the centuries, he had a certain mistrust of city slickers. In his case, he had good reason: it was the city slickers who were fleecing the folks of the countryside that Micah knew as friends and neighbors; it was city slicker judges who took bribes to render unfair judgments; city slicker priests who were immoral and corrupt; city slicker prophets who would prophesy anything you might want in exchange for a few shekels. No wonder Micah thought of the cities as cesspools of sin. To be sure, he had plenty to complain about concerning the nation's religious habits. It was bad enough that the prophets and priests were not living up to expectations, but the reason they were not was that the people did not want them to. The only preaching they wanted to hear was "God's in his heaven and all's right with the world." Micah even joked about it: "If a liar and deceiver comes and says `I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the preacher for this people."(1) They did not want to be embarrassed by anyone who would have called them to account for their behavior. It was time for them to hear a word from the Lord. So Micah came to them with a message that was not only valid for his own age, but for every age to come. Scripture Micah 6:1-8 Sermon What does the Lord Require Every since there has been television shows, I think we have been fascinated with court scenes. We want to watch the evidence presented, we want to be a part of the drama, we want to judge for ourselves if the person is innocent or not. As a child, I would watch television with my grandma. She looked forward to watching Perry Mason every time it came on. And more recently there was Judge Judy, who’s motto is Justice with an attitude. I think my favorite court show most recently was the Steve Harvey show – where family and friends could present a case against one another and Steve would determine how to resolve the issue. I enjoyed this show, because Steve Harvey would get involved in the issue, and it was a matter of money – a lot of times he would donate his own money to make things right. Not only was there justice, but there was mercy. Well actually, our fascination with court scenes goes all the way back to the bible. The bible is full of court drama. We love the drama until we are the person who is accused.’ Micah 6 is the story of when God sues us all for forgetting about our relationship. We think that life is all about us and what we have done for ourselves. We have forgotten about how God cares for us every day. God asks the jury the question – What have I done that people have forgotten all about me. Then he calls the mountains, the trees and all of nature as witnesses – they are consistent, they praise God every day, they have never strayed and then they point to us – who are inconsistent, if faithful at all. We realize that we cant fight the charges. And even though we have a lawyer always on call – Jesus. There is no need to call- we know that we are guilty as charged. This time is it not God who asks the question – it is us – what must we do to make things right. What do you want from us. God calmly comes to the front of the courtroom again – Do Justice, give kindness, and walk humbly with God. Be just, and not just fair. Not to worry about giving people what they deserve – which is fairness – but to make sure that conditions are fair, so that everyperson has the same chance. When we see that people don’t have a fair chance at life – change the conditions. Be kind, not just nice. Nice is when we are polite, nice is when we follow social protocal. Nice is how we treat people on the surface. Kindness is making sure that people are heard, and going out of our way to take care of them. Someone said that kindness always cost us something. Our society is no different. We think of ourselves as kind people: we are gentle with animals; we do not permit the mistreatment of prisoners of war; we give billions to charity...but the same indictments could be laid at our doorstep as those for ancient Israel. We think of our judicial system as fair, but we know it is much more "fair" with those who have money and power. There are laws on the books to protect people from the shady business practices that can bankrupt good families, but thousands lose millions every year because there are so many loopholes in the laws. Yes, we give money for the relief of suffering, but we give out of our abundance - what we do not really need - with the result that what is given is not nearly enough. In short, we are a kind nation...whenever it is convenient. Safe to say, Micah would object. A student told about a famous lecturer who came to the college he attended who spoke about feeding the people of India. He listed several good reasons for doing so - more people would be employed, friendlier relations with other countries would be established. In addition, we would continue to be in the good graces of the Indian people and of the government. During the informal discussion which followed, the oldest and most revered professor at the college asked, "But, Doctor, don't you think maybe we ought to feed them just because they're hungry?" That is the question that joins justice and kindness.(6) Justice and loving-kindness...critical to the living of lives that are pleasing to God. But one can be just without being religious. One can be kind without any religious inclination. That is why Micah says REAL religion requires one thing more: a humble walk with God. And finally we are told to walk humbly with God. “In his book, Faith That Endures, Ronald Boyd-MacMillan tells the story of a number of conversations he has had with Wang Mingdao, one of China's most famous church pastors of the last century. The first time he met this famous—and persecuted—Chinese pastor, they had the following interchange: ‘Young man, how do you walk with God?’ I listed off a set of disciplines such as Bible study and prayer, to which he mischievously retorted, ‘Wrong answer. To walk with God, you must go at walking pace.’ The words of Wang Mingdao touched me to the core. How can I talk about the Christian life as walking with God when I so often live it at a sprint? Of course, we ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us,’ but we may fail to run with ‘our eyes [fixed] on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith’ (Heb 12:1-2). Jesus is inviting me to walk with him. Too often, I find myself running for him. There's a difference! On another visit, Boyd-MacMillan asked Wang Mingdao about his twenty-year imprisonment for proclaiming Jesus in China. That cell became a place of unchosen unhurried time for Mingdao. There was nothing to do but to be in God's presence, which he discovered was actually everything. Boyd-MacMillan summarizes what he learned from Wang Mingdao: One of the keys to the faith of the suffering church: God does things slowly. He works with the heart. We are too quick. We have so much to do—so much in fact we never really commune with God as he intended when he created Eden, the perfect fellowship garden. For Wang Mingdao, persecution, or the cell in which he found himself, was the place where he returned to ‘walking pace,’ slowing down, stilling himself enough to commune properly with God.” Source: Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, Faith That Endures (Revell, 2006), p. 307; Allan Fadling, An Unhurried Life (IVP, 2013), pp. 13-14. Don’t get so caught up in life that you cant hear the voice of God speaking, that you cant take the time to speak to God before you speak to others, to make some time in each day to listen to God. So often, people think that "walking humbly" with God means doing a lot of things that appear to be religious, like preaching or becoming a missionary or teaching a Sunday school class. There is nothing wrong with any of these activities. However, "walking humbly with God" simply means living our lives so others can see something of God in us. "Walking humbly with God" simply means living in quiet fellowship with God. "Walking humbly with God" simply means that you seize those opportunities to do the things that God would be doing. There’s a story told about a man who went on a long hike. Before he started, he packed his backpack carefully—food, water, a jacket. But as he walked, every time he reached a crossroads, he picked up a stone and added it to his bag—just in case. One stone for safety. One stone for control. One stone for fear of making the wrong choice. At first, the stones didn’t feel heavy. But mile after mile, the pack grew heavier. Finally, exhausted, he sat down and said, “Why is this so hard?” A fellow hiker stopped and said, “You’re carrying more than you need.” The man replied, “But what if I need these later?” The other hiker said, “You can’t walk far if you insist on carrying everything.” So he began taking the stones out—one by one. And suddenly, the walk became possible again. That’s what the people are doing in Micah. They are piling stones into their spiritual backpacks: • More sacrifice. • More performance. • More religious weight. Not because God asked for it— but because they think faith must be heavy to be faithful. God doesn’t meet us in the courtroom with justice, he meets us with mercy and with grace. I am not suing you to punish you, but to give you an opportunity to think to repent. Everything that we do in life is a response to God’s grace. What would Jesus have us to do in this day- Do justice, act Kind and to walk humbly with our God. Let us pray…… Song Be Thou My Vision UMH 451 Prayer (Do not Print) Let us pray. Holy God, what a world you have made! Everywhere we look, we see evidence of your grace, we give thanks for friends and family, hearth and home, talents and treasures. What blessings you bestow upon us. Yet, amid the blessings, we see the hurt and pain of our world. We can’t turn away, for so many are hurting, so we turn to you. God of blessings, hear our prayer. We pray for the church, for this church, the pastor(s), leaders, and congregation, and the church universal, all those who hear and believe in a great diversity of voices the whole world round. Open our hearts and whisper words of your truth within us. Open our ears so we can hear even those truths that bewilder and challenge us. Strengthen our spirits to hear your call to stand up for justice and break open visions of the kindom among us here and now. God of blessings, hear our prayer. We pray for those who are suffering. Comfort those who mourn, who have lost the ones they love, who have been forced to give up on the future they hoped would be, who grieve frayed relationships. Clothe them with your love and fill them with your hope. Set your healing hand upon those whose bodies ache, whose minds cannot find peace, who are awaiting hard diagnoses. Wrap them in your strong arms and fill them with your shalom. God of blessings, hear our prayer. We pray for those who are hungry, in body and spirit. For those whose tables are bare, whose stomachs growl, and whose bodies hunger for warmth, give shelter. Lead them to places of plenty. Teach those who have much to share without fear until all are fed and nourished. For those who hunger for justice, send your spirit. Give us a holy imagination to dream about what could be and the courage to make this world more like you want it to be for us. God of blessings, hear our prayer. We pray for peace, in our homes, in our communities, in our country, and in our world. Wrest the weapons of war out of our hands and silence the words that cut and destroy. Fill our leaders with wisdom and mercy. Give them eyes to see each person in their care as you see them, beloved children of God. Make us peacemakers and community builders in every place we go. Fill us with grace and wonder that we might see the beauty of diversity and seek unity instead of uniformity. God of blessings, hear our prayer. Holy God, you are the giver of blessings. Give us eyes to see you at work among us. Move our hands and feet to be a blessing in our community. Open our hearts and mouths to hear your word and speak your truth so all can know of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray boldly, saying, “Our Father…” (Presbyterian Outlook, Rae Watson) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (Just print the prayer of Thanksgiving) When someone asks, “How are you?” many of us respond with a simple, “I’m doing well,” or “Good.” But others respond with, “I’m blessed.” Have you heard that? Or said it? In Matthew’s Gospel, the first part of Matthew 5 is known as “the Beatitudes.” Jesus is teaching his followers about what comes from the blessings enumerated in verses 3-12. When someone claims, “I’m blessed,” it’s a declaration and a confirmation of the ways God provides, even for those who are poor, in mourning, or hungering and thirsting for righteousness. When someone says, “I’m blessed,” the recognition holds that even amid persecution or ridicule for following Jesus, there is reason for JOY. Here’s the truth: When we recognize we’re blessed by God, our natural response is to pass along a blessing to others. One way to do that is to share from our financial resources, eagerly supporting the work of this congregation and our outreach ministries. Remember! (Highlight one of your ministries that benefits from strong giving by the congregation.) Each time you give to support this __________, we pass along a blessing for others to receive. Let’s share our gifts, demonstrating our gratitude! Prayer of Thanksgiving Generous God, thank you for the ways you pour out your blessings on each of us, and on your whole creation. Thank you for this opportunity for us to pour out a portion of what we’ve received. Help us find ways to multiply these gifts, that together we might demonstrate your love made visible. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Communion Invitation to Communion The earliest followers of Jesus experienced this master teacher in a variety of settings: on a hillside, in a boat, walking the dusty roads of Galilee. No wonder they continued to follow him! We, however, do not have the blessing of walking side by side with Jesus. We don’t see him coming in after a night of prayer, or sitting down for a meal with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. What we DO have is this table – and the remembrance of Jesus sharing a last supper with his followers. We can bring to mind what it is to see Jesus take bread, and pour out a cup of wine before offering these simple elements to all who were at that table. HERE, now, at this table, we do remember. Here, NOW, at this table, we claim Jesus as Savior, and share these symbols of his love with all who will come join the feast. Here, now, at THIS table, we learn once more how Jesus continues to teach in tiny chapels and huge cathedrals. We recognize how Jesus continues to remind us in this sanctuary of the blessings we receive even in the midst of persecution, even when being a peacemaker calls us into danger. So come to this table, all who are weary and heavy-laden, for here you will find strength, here you will find a blessing to carry with you. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube Friends, we cannot stay here. There is work to be done out there. Go, be the church in the world. Love boldly. Speak bravely. Build the kindom here and now. May the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit uplift and uphold you now and forever. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Rae Watson) Community Time Joys and Concerns Benediction The Good, as we depart this place but not Your Presence, help us to remember that your goodness is running after us. As it gains on us, may we run on and share it with others up ahead. Amen. (United Church of Christ, Tena T Nock) Additional Illustrations Do justice. Love kindness. A humble walk with God. Sounds very much like the answer to WWJD - What would Jesus do? In fact, it is in Jesus that we see what justice and loving-kindness look like in a walk with God. WWJD. Jesus is still looking for followers. Not admirers, followers. So the correct question for you and me is WWJHMD? What would Jesus have ME do? How is this for a summary? Enter Micah: "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." No, Micah's nation was not what it should have been in regard to chesed. How could one say that offenders were treated kindly when the judges had been bribed to render unfair verdicts? What kindness was displayed when shady deals deprived people of their houses and land? What kindness was evident when the people who were suffering the most - the poor - were systematically ignored?