Don't Blame me

September 27, 2015 Mark 9:38-50 Don’t Blame Me Year B 18th Sunday After Pentecost Have you ever tasted gravy with no salt in it. it is like eating a grey or brown blob of nothing. But put a little salt in it and it makes all the difference in the world. Salt can add flavor to a lot of things. Jesus calls us the salt of the earth – the world is the gravy and those who follow Jesus are the salt. The flavor of God. Today I want to start at the end of the scripture where Jesus tells us to maintain your salt and keep the peace. Paul says to use your salt and keep your faith. The world is changing – we don’t put salt on everything anymore. I don’t even use salt anymore. There was a time when I did not even have salt in the house, and as time went on, I do. Our bodies need salt – salt is a part of who we are – it is a part of our earth. It is no wonder Jesus would use salt as an image of who we should be to the world. Someone said that salt is sort of like the soul of dead meat. A piece of meat with no salt will rot and decay. Take that same piece of meat and rub it in salt – and it will maintain it freshness. When Jesus tells us to be the salt of the earth- that was his intention. – be the soul of dead meat. Last week I told you that the first time that I read the gospel – I was scared into being a Christian. Jesus threats scared me into wanting to be a good person. This is one of those scriptures that scared me. It was the threat of going to hell for doing the wrong thing. All throughout the gospels, Jesus has much more to say about going to hell then he does about heaven. He wants to make sure that hell is a place that you do not want to go. To sin is terrible but to teach another to sin is infinitely worse. O. Henry has a story in which he tells of a little girl whose mother was dead. Her father used to come home from work and sit down and take off his jacket and open his paper and light his pipe and put his feet on the mantelpiece. The little girl would come in and ask him to play with her for a little for she was lonely. He told her he was tired, to let him be at peace. He told her to go out to the street and play. She played on the streets. The inevitable happened—she took to the streets. The years passed on and she died. Her soul arrived in heaven. Peter saw her and said to Jesus, “Master, here’s a girl who was a bad lot. I suppose we send her straight to hell?” “No,” said Jesus gently, “let her in. Let her in.” And then his eyes grew stern, “But look for a man who refused to play with his little girl and sent her out to the streets—and send him to hell.” God is not hard on the sinner, but he will be stern to the person who makes it easier for another to sin, and whose conduct, either thoughtless or deliberate, puts a stumbling-block in the path of a weaker brother. Being the salt of the earth means being the one who makes a difference. A positive difference in someone elses life. Changing the Signs William Barclay, a British theologian, tells the following story in his commentary on this Biblical text. He told a story about someone changing signs. That is, at an intersection of the road, one sign would point to the city of Seattle and another sign would point to the city of Tacoma. And the boy wondered to himself: How many people could I send down the wrong road if I changed the signs? Your very life is a sign post with a sign on it. Are you sending people down the wrong road or the right road? Being salt of the earth means leading people to the ways of God. Jesus was that if you mislead another’s faith, it will be better to have a millstone wrapped around your neck and for you to be thrown into the sea. That was a common punishment in Jesus time. When someone was a threat to the community, they would be thrown into the sea. We don’t do that to people anymore. Not physically, but spiritually we do it all of the time. Everytime we gossip, we don’t hold people accountable. We see something going wrong and we don’t try to stop it. We are putting a milstone around the spirit of others. We are not being the salt of the earth. If it is not enough to be threatened with hell, Jesus says if your hands, your feet, your eyes cause you to sin, then you need to cut it off. Many in the present generation would not agree to have surgery for any reason. My uncle got gangrene in his leg, and refused to get help, because he felt that he would not be any good without it. My cousin needs a knee replacement and yet refuses to have surgery. I hope that I never have to make a decision like that about my body parts. But once again in Jesus day – he knew a lot of people who had lost a leg or a foot or even an eye to an accident or even due to a punishment. In those days, if you were a thief you would get your limbs cut off. Jesus knew that the greatest sins that we commit are either with our hands, our feet and our eyes. We work with our hands. But the hand also has another special purpose. When you meet someone – what is the first thing that you give them? You give them your hand as a sign of welcome. You can do things with your hands, but you can also not do things with your hands. You can work and make things happen, or you can fold your hands and refuse to do anything. You can extend your hand and welcome people, or you can refuse to extend your hand and make watch them fall We go places with our feet. We can either go to the right places or the wrong places. We can use our feet to walk into the church, or to walk into the club. We can use our feet to go to the produce section of the grocery store and get healthy vegetables, or we can use our feet to get pizza. You have heard the term vote with your feet – we make choices with our feet and where they take us. We sin with our feet and the places we go. And it has been said – that blind people do not commit crimes of passion. We react to what we see with our eyes. We develop our desires and passions based on what we see with our eyes. Back in the day, it was believed that the eyes were the keys to the heart. If you wanted to know how someone really felt, all you needed to do was look in their eyes. Jesus says if your hands and your feet and your eyes cause you to sin, then cut them off. And most of us would rather die then lose a limb. More importantly though I think that when we do sin – we blame the sin on our hands, our feet, our eyes, - and not the heart inside that controls them all. We continue to blame the outside forces – and not take responsibility for our feelings, our thoughts, our spirit. What Jesus is really saying to us – is that we need to get rid of anything in our lives that stand in the way of us worshipping God. Hell – true hell is living outside of the will of God. As long as we ignore God’s plan for our lives – then we are miserable in this life and the next. Faith in God is a total commitment – and it requires all of your spirit all of your soul. A fellow by the name of Ed Peterman tells a story from his childhood, when he grew up on a farm in Preble County Ohio. His family discovered they had some rats in the barn, so his parents got some traps. One night they baited them with cheese, and set them out around the barn. The next morning young Ed went out to see if they had caught anything. The first traps he examined were empty. When he came to the last trap, he saw something strange. The trap had been sprung, and while there was no rat in it, he noticed that it did hold the severed leg of a rat. He ran to tell his parents about this unexpected finding. They followed him back to the barn. When they got to the trap with the rat's leg in it, his parents just nodded and smiled knowingly. "What happened?" Ed asked them. "Tell me what happened!" So they told him. The trap had caught the rat by the leg. The rat knew that its life was at risk, so it chewed off its own leg to escape. "That's the way rats are," his father said. "Better to go on living with only three legs, than to die with all four." Ed just stood there for a while, marveling at the courage it took for the rat to choose to survive by chewing its leg off and leaving it behind. It makes one wonder whether we would have the courage to do what the rat did. If you were caught in a life-threatening situation one day, would you be able to cut part of yourself off and leave it behind in order to go on living? That's one of those things we never truly know, unless and until we actually faced that situation. Would I be able to surrender a hand or a leg, a memory or a grudge, an obsession or a long-held opinion, if my life were at stake? Or would I cling desperately to the futile memory of how things have always been before, and so bring about my own death? Jan Campbell “Cut It Out” The analogy of an operating room, where radical surgery must be performed, is a most useful way to understand this Scripture. Most of us today would accept the notion that the whole body is worth more than any of its individual parts, and when we develop a cancerous tumor on eye, hand, or foot, we cast aside “the offending member” — with regret, of course; but we operate on the assumption that it is better to enter life without the diseased organ than not to live at all. If a troublesome organ hampers our life or threatens our very existence we eliminate it. We recognize the principle involved. When a gall bladder or appendix is so badly diseased that it gives us no peace, we cut it out. When a hand or foot is diseased beyond help, we are not loathe to amputate in order to save everything else. When a tumor is malignant and threatens to take our entire life away, we are not hesitant to say to the surgeon, “Cut it out!” It is far better to leave behind the tumor than to threaten one’s whole existence. We understand the principle involved. And what is true in the physical realm, translates over into the spiritual realm. If there is something in our lives: some habit, some action, some attitude, that gets between us and God, we must “cut it out.” Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com God wants us to live our lives in freedom. He wants us to get out of the trap. He wants us to run free. Look at what is holding you down – and let it go – and go on with your life. With all of this talk about millstones around our necks, and losing limbs – what is the good news that Jesus is trying to tell us. Transform Your Heart Gregory of Nyssa, a fourth century church father said, “God never asks his servants to do what is impossible. The love and goodness of his Godhead is revealed as richly available. It is poured out like water upon all. God furnished to each person according to his will the ability to do something good. None of those seeking to be saved will be lacking in this ability, given by the one who said: ‘whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.’” Ask the Holy Spirit to transform your heart by the fire of his love that you may wholly desire what is good for your neighbor. Gregory of Nyssa, a fourth century church father's comments on this passage. Being the salt of the earth is not about the hard and difficult things – that we have to agonize over – it is about the things that are obvious and right in front of your face. Jesus also says that if you just give the person in front of you a cup of cold water when they are thirsty that you will be rewarded. Being a Christian is not about the hard things, it is about the easy things that you could do every day. It does not take a lot to say I love you. We use our hands, our feet, and our eyes everyday. We can do right just as easy as we can do wrong. We can help people or we can stand by and let the world run its course. Being the salt of the earth – means making a difference in the little things that God puts in front of you every day. Salt is sodium Chloride. Salt Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride. What is sodium Chloride? Salt. Common table salt. The substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. Be the salt of the earth – and make a difference. Amen. Object: tape player or radio that plugs in, tape of pleasing music, volunteer to hold the cord of tape player or radio CHILDREN'S SERMON by Angela Akers Good morning, boys and girls. I brought some music for you to listen to today. (Have volunteer start the tape player) Isn't that pretty? This tape player is very handy. I just plug it in, pop in a tape, push PLAY, and out comes the music. (Have volunteer pull plug on tape player) Hey! What happened to our music? Somebody unplugged the tape player. Well, we'll just plug it back in and listen some more. There, that's better. Oh, I love this part! Listen really carefully. (Volunteer pulls plug again) What in the world is happening to my music? Oh, the tape player is unplugged again. Boy, that's frustrating! This tape player is in perfect condition, it's all ready to play beautiful music, but if it's unplugged from the wall, it just won't play. That's because all the power for the tape player comes from the power source in the wall. Without its main source of power, the tape player won't work. If it's plugged in, then it has all the power it needs. But if it comes unplugged, then it loses all its power to play beautiful music. Have you ever thought of yourself as a tape player? Our power for living a good, happy life comes from God. But sometimes we can become disconnected from God, just like this tape player was unplugged from its power source. You know what "œunplugs" us from God? Sin. Sin is what separates us from God. Sin unplugs us from our true source of power, God. (Plug in tape player and start the music) Things like lying, stealing, being mean to other people, gossiping about other people all these things are sins. (Pull the plug) They "œunplug" us from God and keep us from living good, happy lives. Let's pray and ask God to take away our sins and keep us "œplugged in" to Him. ……Extra illustrations There is an old eastern fable. A man possessed a ring set with a wonderful opal. Whoever wore the ring became so sweet and true in character that all men loved him. The ring was a charm. Always it was passed down from father to son, and always it did its work. As time went on, it came to a father who had three sons whom he loved with an equal love. What was he to do when the time came to pass on the ring? The father got other two rings made precisely the same so that none could tell the difference. On his death-bed he called each of his sons in, spoke some words of love and to each, without telling the others, gave a ring. When the three sons discovered that each had a ring, a great dispute arose as to which was the true ring that could do so much for its owner. The case was taken to a wise judge. He examined the rings and then he spoke. “I cannot tell which is the magic ring,” he said, “but you yourselves can prove it.” “We?” asked the sons in astonishment. “Yes,” said the judge, “for if the true ring gives sweetness to the character of the man who wears it, then I and all the other people in the city will know the man who possesses the true ring by the goodness of his life. So, go your ways, and be kind, be truthful, be brave, be just in your dealings, and he who does these things will be the owner of the true ring.” A missionary tells a lovely story. She had been telling a class of African primary children about giving a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus. She was sitting on the verandah of her house. Into the village square came a company of native bearers. They had heavy packs. They were tired and thirsty, and they sat down to rest. Now they were men of another tribe, and had they asked the ordinary non-Christian native for water they would have been told to go and find it for themselves, because of the barrier between the tribes. But as the men sat wearily there, and as the missionary watched, from the school emerged a little line of tiny African girls. On their heads they had pitchers of water. Shyly and fearfully they approached the tired bearers, knelt and offered their pitchers of water. In surprise the bearers took them and drank and handed them back, and the girls took to their heels and ran to the missionary. “We have given a thirsty man a drink,” they said, “in the name of Jesus.” The little children took the story and the duty literally. Edward F. Markquart, Millstones All too often, gossip, silence, and exclusion serve just these purposes, cutting off the prophetic from the congregation. This is what the Apostles were doing to this one man “caught healing.” They were demanding that Jesus hobble his powerful works because he wasn’t one of them. We can stop our pettiness by taking four actions: 1. Get out in the harvest; Recognize the crisis in harvesters and the ripeness of the harvest. If you don’t bring the harvest in during its due season, it will not just sit out there and stay ripe. This is the harvest time and we need laborers. Let’s be one and pray for more! 2. Quit defending the faith and take the offense in outreach; Rest with Gamaliel, the wise Pharisee who trained Saul. In Acts 5:38 he said that God doesn’t need us to defend his name; he is quite capable of that himself. If someone’s work is of God, it will continue. If not, it will cease. 3. Recognize the signs of pettiness in our life and flee them; If we are surrounded by ducks and quack; it usually means we are a duck. If those around us are petty and small, guess what... We must flee such people! Instead, we should move in the company of giants, heading towards the outer boundaries of our “known world.” If we seek out people who don’t have time or use for gossip, then we will be forced to live at their level. They will hold our behavior and conversation to a higher standard and we will either grow to meet those standards or begin talking behind their backs as well. Let us hope it is the former. 4. Maintain the habits of faith. We must maintain the habits of faith; a. Pray constantly, b. Hunger for God’s Word, c. Maintain a small group of accountability, and d. Be in personal relationship with “least of these.” Attending to these habits keeps us from becoming small-minded and hard-hearted. Jerry Goebel, Stumble The Fellowship of the Bearers of Cold Water An old man named Calvin had lived a good life as a farmer for years. One day an evangelist came to the community, and, in the course of his stay, visited Calvin and asked him what denomination he was. Calvin answered the question like this: "When my grain gets ready for selling, after I've harvested it and packaged it, I can take it to town by any one of three roads ” the river road, the dirt road, or the highway. But when I get my grain to town and go to the buyer to sell him what I have, he never looks at me and asks, ˜Calvin, which road did you take to get your grain to town?' What he does do is ask me if my grain is any good." Friend, is your grain good - the grain of your discipleship? That's all that really matters. When we get to Heaven we will probably find some (Roman Catholics) and some (Baptists) and some (Presbyterians). And they'll be just as surprised to see us as we will to see them. But we will all belong to just one fellowship. Let's call it the Fellowship of the Bearers of Cold Water. We will all be people who have lived out our discipleship through acts of kindness to others. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Staff, www.sermons.com. Adapted from a sermon by David H. Johnson. Frederick Buechner defines the Kingdom of God in this way: “It’s like finding a million dollars in a field, or a jewel worth a king’s ransom. It’s like finding something you hated to lose and thought youUd never find again - an old keepsake, a stray sheep, a missing child. When the kingdom really comes, it’s as if the thing you lost and thought you’d never find again is you.” (Frederick Buechner, WISHFUL THINKING, New York: Harper and Row, 1973, p. 50) Escaping the Rat Traps

Aspiring to Serve God

September 20, 2015 Proverbs 31:10-31 Mark 9: 30-37 Aspiring to serve God Year B I have to admit that I cringe whenever I hear this scripture from proverbs. I don’t know what to do with it, and I ask what does it mean? I have heard some really good sermons on proverbs, and I have heard some really bad ones. As I was preparing this week, I thought at best I could use this text for a women’s day sermon to talk about what it means to be a godly woman. When I choose a scripture to preach on, I always ask, is it empowering. Is it going to give people hope and inspiration to be a better person? On the surface I just don’t see anything empowering about telling women to get up at 3am to start fixing breakfast for their family. And from there spend the rest of your day working and keeping everybody else happy, and doing nothing for yourself. The role of women is changing, we are discovering that we cant do it all. This poem reminds me of the time the trustees did an inspection of my parsonage, and gave me a list of things that needed to be clean – like the grout between the tile in the bathroom. I had to explain to this male trustee, that I was a single woman, with an apathetic teenage son. Who would rather die than help me – which meant everything was on me. I to the trustee, you pay my salary – you can either pay me to stay at home to clean the house, or to leave the mess and come to work and be your pastor. It is your choice, personally I don’t have a preference in how I spend my time – but I cant do both at the same time. And yet on the other hand, if you read this scripture of a woman’s work – it perfectly describes the work of our mothers and grandmothers. They did all of these things everyday – got them done and never complained. I would never preach on this scripture, and yet God works in mysterious ways. God has a way of turning our assumptions on their head. As I started my sermon prep, I learned to have a real appreciation for this scripture. And to rethink its meaning and message. First, let me give you a little background on proverbs. This is a mother’s advice to her teenage or young adult son. Lemuel is a young prince, who will one day become king. His mother wants him to be a good king, so she gives him advice on women, friends, and choosing the right path, instead of getting caught up on what it going on in the streets. Most of the advice that she gives him is about women. In this text she is telling him how to choose the right wife. She wants him to choose a good godly woman, and tells him the qualities of a good woman. Proverbs is the one place in the bible, where wisdom is described as a woman who stands out on the crossroads of life crying out to those nearby. Not everyone listens to her message. Lady wisdom, Sophia has been with God since the beginning of time. She stood by God’s side when he bought creation into being, she was a playmate with Jesus. She knows what she is talking about, but not everyone listens. Proverbs is important to us because as we look at the book of James, the words of Paul, and the rest of the new testament, it is all based on the wisdom books of the Hebrew bible. Unfortunately, in the church we misinterpret the message of being good with the message of being wise. Everything for us comes down to being a good person or a bad person. People outside of the church don’t want their actions to be judged as good or bad, so they think that church and the bible are irrelevant. In reality, there are a lot of good people, who are not wise. Or should I say there are people who look good, who talk good, who dress good, even act good – but in their hearts they are no good. I WANT TO BE PRETTY "I want to be pretty." This is the title of a popular tv program that was airing when we lived in Poland. It was a reality tv show in which in every episode you follow the changes of two women who are the heroes of the program. Each of these women work with a team of specialists for six weeks. During that time they are cut off from contact with their friends and relatives as they undergo major changes in their physical appearance and also their self-image. Finally friends and family are invited to the studio where they meet them face to face with great drama. An example was Gosia who said: "I was good looking all my life but I'm not able to accept how I look now....It's not about being older. But it's simply that I look different. Now I feel like an old used-up slipper. I'm ashamed of myself in front of my husband. This has gone on for nearly a year. How long can he stand it?" Does our life and happiness depend on our appearance? I'm sure Gosia was happier after her transformation but is she a better person? Is she a better wife and mother? Does the change of appearance change our character and make us better people? Right here in this country, I used to love to watch extreme makeover, but always wondered how much those cosmetic changes made in a persons life, when there was no change of heart on the inside. In the Christian bibles – the first words of this scripture say –who can find a good wife? He that does so finds a good thing. Interestingly enough, that is not what the Hebrew bible says. In the jewish religion there is no concept of being good or bad. The jewish religion is about being close to god, not about being good. In the Hebrew bible, the first words of this text actually say who can find a woman of valor. An eschet chayil. Eschet means woman, chayil means valor. A woman of valor is a big deal for them and there are many celebrations for the woman of valor in the jewish calendar. But what does valor mean – valor is one of those living words, which means more than it says. Logos means word, but it is a word that is always put into action. Shalom means peace, but you cant have peace without justice, wholeness and wellbeing. Valor means worth but you cant have value without having honor, dedication, kindness, and self worth. As a matter of fact, the word valor means strong and mighty in battle. Chayil – valor is used 250 times in the Hebrew bible (the old testament), and each time that it is used, it means something different. Most famously it is used in the story of the soldier Gideon. An Angel comes to him and calls him a man of valor. A man who fights on behalf of God and not himself. The angel is telling Gideon to see himself as God sees him – and to live into that vision. The problem is that we see ourselves and others through the lense of man. We strive for perfection based on our thoughts and not God’s thoughts. God did not create us to be perfect and to always do the right things. A lot of Christian men use this text as a checklist for choosing a good wife. There are 26 different qualities that the woman has to have if you are counting. The problem with trying to fit a real woman into this passage is like using the Barbie doll as a measure of beauty. Barbie is not a real person. Her measurements are ideal in man’s eyes – not what God intended. This scripture is an ideal personified, not an ideal person. As a matter of fact, a man is supposed to read those poem to his wife during Shabbat meal and to thank her for whatever she has done for him. The bible messages for both mean and women. And this poem applies to us all. In one way we can think of this poem as the human soul. God is the groom, and the people of God are his bride. Jesus is the groom and the church is the bride. A woman of valor is anyone who strives to have a relationship with God. One who bases their actions on their relationship with God and loves God in all things. A woman of valor is a woman who loves God, not a good wife. This poem is not so much about who I am, it is about who I strive to be in all things. It is an ideal that moves me forward in my relationship with God. not about being good. There are some good people, who don’t have a relationship with God. When you read James, Galations, Ephesians, and the rest of the new testament. The message is not to be a good person. Good and bad are just two different sides of the same coin. The message that we have to give to our young people today that the bible is trying to tell us is that wisdom is its own reward. When you choose wisdom, you choose wealth, health, honor, long life and family. Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave him all those things to go with it. Proverbs is a mother asking her son to choose wisdom – so that he could have the riches of life. When you do the right thing – God will reward you. SLEEPING WHEN THE WIND BLOWS A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him. A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The young man slept soundly. The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well. The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man's words, "I can sleep when the wind blows." Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm. Seek to serve God in all things – that is true wisdom. Amen. TRUST IN GOD "Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment Trust in money and you may have it taken from you; But trust in God, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity." --D.L. Moody (From a sermon by Jeff Strite, Trusting in Ravens, 8/8/2011)

Not everyone can be a teacher

September 13, 2015 James 3:1-12 Not Everyone Should be a Teacher Year B It seems that one day a kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots? He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked down and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. But she managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. And it was only then that he announced, "These aren’t my boots." She bit her tongue rather than scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off then he said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em today." Stifling a scream, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the ill-fitting boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" To which he replied, "I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots." The article ends by saying - Her trial starts next month. My point for today is that not everyone can be a teacher. Trying to teach others is a big responsibility. That is why in the early church – teachers were held in high esteem. A congregation felt truly blessed to have a teacher. A Christian teacher was put on the level of a rabbi in Judaism. Rabbi means my great one. And by tradition if there is a fire, and you have a choice between saving your teacher or your parents, the teacher comes first. Your parents gave you life, but it is your teacher that opened the doors to your destiny. Being a teacher is a great priviledge, because it is a great responsibility. The book of matthew says that there is a special place in hell for teachers who mislead there students. As I was looking for the exact scripture last night, I saw that Jesus had a lot to say about the role of a teacher. He reminds us that we lead and teach others by what we do. And that if we are responsible for the understanding of others, then it is important to we walk the walk. If we tell others that they should be doing something that we should be doing it too. When I read the book of Matthew in college as a young person, I was literally scared straight. Because there are several times when Jesus goes off – and tells everybody off. There are several chapters in the book when Jesus is mad at the Pharisees for taking the honor of being a teacher, but for not being honest in their teachers. I would think that James had those words in mind, when he tells us that not everyone can be a teacher. And he reminds us that teachers will be held to a higher standard. For James, the major tool of teaching is our tongue. People learn by what you have to say. Which is why James explains the power of the tongue. The power of our words. Did you know that you tongue is the second strongest muscle in your body. The strongest muscle is the one that opens and closes your mouth. James and Jesus both tell us that what comes out of our mouth, is actually more important then what we put in it. ABOUT THE TONGUE There's an old story that the Jewish rabbis tell. As the story goes, one day a rabbi asked his servant to go and buy some good food for him in the market. When the servant returned home, he presented the rabbi with a tongue. The next day, the rabbi told the servant to go the market and buy some bad food. Again, the servant returned with a tongue. The rabbi then asked the servant why he returned with a tongue on both occasions. The servant answered and said, "Good comes from it and bad comes from it. When the tongue is good there is nothing better, and when it is bad there is nothing worse." (From a sermon by T. Scott Womble, Careless Speech Sins, 7/27/2010) What we teach others can be beneficial, and it can be hurtful. It all depends on how we use our words. 6380 Power Of Words A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life, A bitter word may hate instill; A brutal word may smite and kill, A gracious word may smooth the way; A joyous word may light the day. A timely word may lessen stress; A loving word may heal and bless. —Author Unknown Our words come from an outflow of our heart. And we have to remember that your children and students can see the content of our heart, based on the words that we use. Life is a matter of building. Each of us has the opportunity to build something -- a secure family, a good reputation, a career, a relationship to God. But some of those things can disappear almost overnight due to financial losses, natural disasters and other unforeseen difficulties. What are we to do? Daniel Webster offered excellent advice, saying, "If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men's immortal minds, if we imbue them with high principles, with just fear of God and love of their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity. For all of you who are beginning a new year – this is for you…. Progress Magazine, December 23, 1992. An item in "The Report Card" told of a study done in Colorado in which 3000 high school seniors were asked about their best teachers. From their responses this composite was drawn. The ideal teacher (1) is genuinely concerned and interested in students as individuals; (2) requires students to work; (3) is impartial in dealing with students; and (4) is obviously enthusiastic about teaching. Today In The Word, Oct, 1989, p. 25. William A. Ward has said, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. Morning Glory, July 3, 1993. I have not been reading all of our lectionary text for the summer. But the old testament lesson for the summer has been the book of proverbs, the theme of the lectionary is wisdom. The question is asked where does wisdom come from? True wisdom comes from God. In order for us to be good teachers, we have to be good students. And the master teacher is God. Jesus is the spirit of God, sent on earth to teach us the way. Sowing the Seed Source unknown An angel paused in his onward flightWith a seed of love and truth and right,And said, "Oh, where can this seed be sownThat it yield more fruit when fully grown?" "To whom can this precious seed be givenThat it bear more fruit for earth and heaven?"The Saviour heard and said as He smiled"Place it at once in the heart of a child." The angel whispered the blessed truthTo a weary teacher of precious youth;Her face grew bright with heavenly lightAs she led their thought in the way of right. When we plant to seeds of God’s plan in the heads and hearts of others, we have an awesome responsibility. And as our children begin to grow, what will receive an awesome reward. From a speech by William Graves, editor of National Geographic magazine, Speaker's Idea File Years ago, after a celebrated international career on the stage, the world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz became a professor of music at UCLA. When someone asked him why he had left the glamour of performing to become a teacher, Heifetz answered, "Violin-playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on; otherwise it is lost." Then he went on to say, "I remember my old violin professor in Russia. He said that (if I worked hard enough) someday I would be good enough to teach." Not everyone can be a teacher. Only those who know the consequences of teaching, are willing to take the job anyway. Today we want to honor and pray for our teachers…… Children’s Sermon: Exegetical Aim: To show how God draws near when we draw near(4:8). Props: A pitcher of water, a large bowl, and a comb. Lesson: Would you like to see a neat trick? (yes!) Who believes that I can make pouring water move without even touching it? (response) This is something that's really neat. And it's so neat that you can even do it at home in your sink. Bring out your pitcher of water and the large bowl. What I'm going to do is pour a steady stream of water into the bowl, Begin to pour a small, steady stream and while the water is pouring I'll make the stream move to one side or the other. Stop pouring. There's only one more thing that I need. Do you know what it is? It's a really good friend of the water named static electricity. And whenever water knows that static electricity is near, it wants to get near it. So the nearer the static gets, the nearer the water gets. Would you like to see it now? The way I get static electricity is with this. Hold up the comb. Now I'll just comb my hair real good, and that will make static in the comb. Carefully begin to pour a small, steady stream into the bowl. Bring the comb close to the water, and the water’s stream will bend towards the comb. You will want to practice this a few times at home before doing it for the children. Wow! Look at that! I told you that water and static were friends. When one gets near, the other one gets near. Application: Did you know that the Bible says the same thing about God? It says "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." That means that God wants us to love him just as much as he loves us. And whenever we are near him, he wants to be just as near to us. So always remember to say your prayers and to love God. Because the nearer you are to him, the nearer he comes to you. Let's pray: Dear God, it is a wonderful thing that when we draw near to you, you draw near to us. Help us to always want to be near you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Does God take a Vacation

Does God Take a Vacation September 6, 2015 Mark 7:24-37 Year B It’s Labor Day weekend. The last holiday of the summer, time to get back to the routine. Labor day is one of our most misunderstood holidays of the year. No one knows really why we celebrate it, we just take it off, But know nothing about it. I am talking about it, but still don’t know why it is a holiday. My point is that it is a vacation. We all know that we love our holidays. As humans, we love our vacation days. We actually need them in order to keep functioning. But let me ask you this question – does God ever take a vacation? Does God ever just get tired of all of the prayer request and just stop answering us. In our greatest time of need, especially on the weekends or on a holiday – does God ever respond and say I am out of the office right now, I will return your call during normal business hours. Our response to that would be of course God does not take vacations. God is available always to answer our calls. But I would say that perhaps you have not really read the gospel for today – Mark 7. The scripture clearly says that Jesus got tired of healing and helping people and he needed a retreat. He needed a vacation so bad, that he was headed south to Jerusalem – cause that was where all of the action was, on his journey, and he decided to head North, far away from the action, far away from jews, far away from anyone that might want anything from him. He is on vacation, and a woman comes up to him asking for healing. When she asks him to heal her daughter, he very politely tries to explain to her that he is on vacation and not in the healing business today – and yet she persist. He came up north to get away from jews, and this lady is not even a jew. But did Jesus just call this lady a dog? Most modern day versions of the bible try to clean the story up and say the Jesus endearingly called her a puppy. But a puppy is still a dog. As a matter of fact, as the story goes on, she acknowledged being a dog – but even the dogs are able to eat the crumbs from the children’s table. Jesus grants her wish, and calls her persistence to ask faith. And it is her faith that makes her whole? Does God ever get tired of our prayers, apparently sometimes he does. But what I find interesting about the story of Jesus, is that the gospel is full of stories of Jesus getting tired and needing a break. Jesus getting worn out from helping people and needing a break. I can attest to that, because Sunday after church is always the lowest time of the week. Being in this position and bringing the word, and leading worship drains all of my human energy. Most Sundays I spend the rest of the day staring at the tv, or letting the tv stare at me, until Monday morning comes and I am in charge of my spirit again. But what I have noticed is that in each of these stories, where Jesus is tired and ready to rest – that seems to be the time when someone needs him the most. We gloss right over the parts of the story that say that Jesus is tired and taking a retreat, because in each instance – it leads to a story of how he helped someone in their greatest hour of need. In each story he tells the person that he is tired, but he gives them what they need anyway. In this story not only does he heal the woman’s daughter, but a deaf man is bought to him and he heals that man also. He makes him hear, but he also makes sure that he speaks. Being able to hear, and being able to speak is not just important for his physical health, but also for his spiritual health. If you read Isaiah chapter 6 it tells us all about why it is so important to hear and to speak. In Isaiah chapter 6 God touches the lips of Isaiah so that he can speak the word of God. In verse 9 God says be ever hearing, but never understanding, be ever seeing, but never perceiving, make the heart of this people calloused, make their ears dull, and close their eyes, otherwise, they might see with their eyes hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Let me ask you a second question. If we know that God never takes a vacation from us, do we take a vacation from God? Now we have heard the story of Jesus getting tired of being Jesus and needing to take a break. Do you ever get tired of being a Christian – and wake up and say I am going to go out in the world and be around people and deal with situations – and decided that you are going to let your Christianity sleep in? You are going to take a vacation from being a Christian and just be a normal person for the day? The reality is a lot of us do – we have to be in a really good mood to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. The Buzzard, the Bat, and the Bumblebee If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up. Source Unknown There are times in our lives when our souls are closed for business – for various reasons. If you read today’s scripture – Jesus has one word for us -Ephphatha. They did not even bother to translate the word into English – it is a direct quote from Jesus. Ephphatha is a aramic word which means open up. When Jesus sees that the man ears and mouth are closed up – he speaks directly to the ears and the mouth and tells them to open up. And it is time for our spirits to open up- and to be present in life. Have you ever noticed that using your Christianity is not about you, it is a reaction to the people around you. Sometimes you may truly wake up and not feel like being a Christian. But it is the people around you that force the Christianity out of you. People will try you and you have to be intentional that your response to them is a Christian response. Just like Jesus was ready for a retreat and the syrophenecian woman came up to him demanding healing. Do the next time someone gets on your nerves, you can respond to them – it is your faith that has made you whole. Because I am a Christian, I am going to respond to you in the right way – and not in the way that I really feel. But remember Jesus’ words to you – open up- open up your spirit to the spirit of God in that situation. Our minds and our bodies get to take a vacation. But our soul doesn’t. It is when we are the most tired that the world needs us the most. And when we give them our Christianity, we are giving them God not ourselves. I love the ending of this scripture. It says that people were overcome with wonder. Saying he does everything well. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak. Some years ago Winston Lloyd, who later became one of our top foreign policy experts, was an aide to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. One day he brought to Kissinger a longawaited report on conflicts in South America. Without even glancing at the report, Kissinger asked, "Is this the very best you can do?" Lloyd stammered for a few moments and said, "There were a few informational gaps." "Take it back," Kissinger said and dismissed him. Two weeks later, after working night and day, Lloyd again entered Kissinger's office and held out the report. "Is this the very best you can do?" Kissinger asked, without looking at the document. Lloyd hesitated and admitted that there were some parts of the report that were incomplete. Kissinger told him to take it back. Three weeks later Lloyd asked for another meeting. For the third time Kissinger asked, "Is this the very best you can do?" Lloyd replied, "Mr. Secretary, this is my very best effort." Kissinger smiled and said, "That's all I ever ask. I'll be happy to read your report." You and I are not saved by works, I want to make that clear. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Still I wonder if we will not someday stand before the throne of God and be asked that most terrifying of all questions, "Did you do your best?" I realize that we are only human. We are not Jesus. None of us are going to do "all things well." Having said that, though, I believe that it behooves us not to live as Tacitus once described Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Tacitus said about Tiberius, "He feared the best, was ashamed of the worst, and chose the innocuous middle." Do you live in the innocuous middle? The angel said to the church at Laodicea, "Would that you were hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm because you have chosen the innocuous middleI will spew you out of my mouth." That is all that Jesus asks of us to give our best. Even when we are tired and ready to take a vacation – we can still give our best to God. God does not take a break from you – so when you need to take a break from everything else – don’t take a break from God. Amen…. Children’s Sermon PREPARATION: None OR be prepared with the song and actions, "Deep and Wide." LESSON: Have you ever played the game, "I love you more?" I know some children who would say "I love you more" when their parents told them they loved them. Or sometimes they would say, "I love you double!" And the battle would be on as to who loved the other the most! It's hard to say how much we love, isn't it? One of the things that impresses me is how much Jesus loved people who had a disability-the blind people, the people who could not hear or who were sick. Jesus healed them every one. Jesus loves everybody, doesn't he? His love is wide (motion with your hands for each descriptive word), long, high and deep. We can experience God's love but we can never really understand it because God's love is so awesome. (Option: Sing the song Extra illustrations Setting Lofty Goals Richard Wilkie wrote a book on the Lord's Prayer. In it, he described how Dr. Albert Schweitzer loved to play Bach on the organ. In fact, even while he was serving as a surgeon in the steamy jungles of Africa, he was still known throughout the world for his musicianship. He loved music, but he loved people more. One evening, as one of the nurses was preparing to leave, he stood at the gang plank preparing to bid her goodbye. As he took her hand he said, "Before you go, I want to recall an incident that happened several months ago. One night, you took a sick baby into your own bedroom so that you could care for it even as you slept. All through the night I heard cries coming from your room. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, the tone in the baby's cry changed. Immediately I knew that the fever had broken and that the child would get better. I'm supposed to be something of a musician but I want you to know that was the most beautiful music I've ever heard." Schweitzer sought for excellence as a musician but he also sought for excellence in loving human beings. That would be a lofty goal, wouldn't it - to be the most loving human being in our community? To be the most trustworthy? To be the most generous? The call to follow Christ is the call to set lofty goals. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com She Could Not Speak Because She Could Not Hear There is a beautiful hearing-impaired actress named Marlee Matlin who won an Oscar for the poignant movie Children of a Lesser God. In the movie she consistently communicated via sign language, though her leading man knew she could speak. In a riveting scene near the film's conclusion, she finally verbalized in his presence. Her words were intelligible but not articulate, slowly formed just well enough to be understood, but not clearly. The character could not speak well because she could not hear. Apparently such was the case for the man in Mark's story. Before Jesus unlocked his tongue, first he had to open his ears. Only when he had heard a message did he have anything to say. So it is for most of us. We cannot share with others what we have not found ourselves. We cannot teach what we have not heard. We cannot articulate a truth to others that we have not appropriated in our own lives. Michael B. Brown, Be All That You Can Be, CSS Publishing. "Deep and Wide" and do the actions.) PRAYER: Thank you that you love us wide, high, long and deep. AMEN