What are you Waiting for?

December 11, 2016 Third Sunday of Advent What are you waiting for? Matthew 11:2-11 I was hoping to take this week and next week off, but then I realized that if I didn’t preach today, then I would miss my only time this year to wear my pink dress. So here I am. And as you know we are having a little problem with the heat, so make point and move on, so that we don’t have to be here too long in the cold. And today to the point is that we are here to celebrate joy. The four lessons of advent are hope, peace, joy and love. Today we remember joy. I don’t know about you, but I am having a little trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year. The commercials are going full blast, and everyone has their lights up, and the Christmas trees are up, but for some reason, I am just not feeling it. I guess the good news is that joy and Christmas spirit are two different things. When we sing Joy to the world – that is not an invitation to have fun at a party, it is a call to new life. A life that only comes from Christ. Joy only comes when you have been in the midst of your darkest hour, and you realize that things are getting better, not because anything that you did, but because of God’s grace. We lite the pink candle today – to symbolize that we can see the lite at the end of the tunnel, we have been dark for two Sundays,andtoday weget a little bit lighter. But then next Sunday – we are back where we started from in the darkness. It Doesn’t Get Any Better In 1964 my boyhood home burned. We were on our way to spend Christmas with my mother and father, and the word reached us that the flames had engulfed most of the home, although the structure was standing. When we arrived at Texarkana, it was late in the afternoon, and the December sun was already toward the horizon. I entered the house with a cousin to inspect the damage and became aware of the fact that it was difficult to see. I said to her, "I think I shall wait and come back in the morning, when the light will be better." I shall never forget her reply: "Bill," she said, "it doesn't get any better!" At first I did not know what she meant; only later I realized that the fire had brought to the inside panes of the windows a kind of smoke and resin film which very effectively shut out most of the light, even when the sun was shining brightly. Those words have been burned into my consciousness ever since: "Bill, it doesn't get any better." I have thought of the times in my life when circumstances would not and did not get any better, at least on their own terms, and I have thought of the times in the lives of friends and loved ones where this was true. How is it possible to have faith when things do not get better? Blessed is he that taketh no offense when things do not get better. John dies in the prison, and we can understand his struggle. William B. Oglesby, Jr., Pastoral Care Issues In The Pulpit, Anthology - edited by Gregory J. Johanson, CSS Publishing Co., Inc. That musthave been how John the Baptist felt when he was in prison locked up for speaking the truth. Last week I didn’t preach from the gospel story. But in the story –John the Baptist was running around the wilderness in his loincloth telling everyone to repent for the Lord is near. Even all of the politicians came to him to be saved, and John says who invited you brood of vipers. He spoke of another coming after him that would do greater things. Well this week, John the Baptist is sitting in prison. He talked to much truth, and the king put him in jail, and is about to kill him. John is starting to wonder if all of his talk wasworth it. Was speaking to truth really worth going to jail for? So he sends one of his disciples to speak with his cousin. And he asks a question that is still relavant to us today. Are you the one,the messiah or should I be waiting for someone else. Are you the messiah or should I be looking for someone else. We still ask that question a lot. We asked that question of Obama, we asked that question of Hillary Clinton, we asked that question of Donald Trump. Are you the one that is gonna save us, or should we be waiting for someone else. We keep asking the question and no matter what they do or don’t do- we feel that they have failed. They did not make a difference in our lives at all. And we like John sit in our prison feeling despondent and discouraged. When the Real World Rears Its Head Why in the world did John the Baptist question if Jesus was the one? Maybe he forgot. Maybe he did recognize Jesus at his baptism, and now, a few months later, he just forgot. You have to wonder, however, what could make a man forget that Jesus was the Christ. That seems pretty unforgettable. The best way to answer that may be to look at what makes us forget who he is. Maybe that will help. Shelly was a new Christian. She had just gone through a religious experience that totally changed her life, and as a part of her new life she wanted to become a part of the church. She was running on high speed, and had high hopes. She was going to save the world, or at least the part of it she could reach. She watched her language. She pronounced Jesus with seven syllables, and made sure to use the word "blessed" at least once in every sentence. She started attending Bible studies and promptly made everyone there uncomfortable. But she meant well. No one could blame her for her enthusiasm, because she had just recognized who Jesus was, and we could all remember how that felt. Then Shelly came to a church board meeting. She bowed her head during the opening prayer, and then studied the minutes of the previous meeting like they were Holy Scripture. She listened intently to the various committee reports, and nodded as though she understood it all. Then came Phil. Everyone knew what happened when Phil opened his mouth, you just never knew what the topic would be. Everyone knew except Shelly. Tonight the topic was the new church budget. Phil started out on the money being wasted on those expensive children's bulletins "that don't do anything anyway!" and ended up reminding everyone of how different it was back when Pastor Ludlan was there. Everyone grinned at each other. "There goes Phil again. He'll get tired in a minute and wind down." Everyone but Shelly that is. She was amazed. This was the "church." The bubble had been burst, and the air fizzled out all over the room. That was the night Shelly began to wonder.... John B. Jamison, Time's Up!, CSS Publishing Company. Jesus handles the situation in a great way. He doesn’t really answerJohn – he tells his disciples to report what they saw. They saw lives changed. They saw blind people able to see, deaf people here,dead people rise and poor people get some good news. Barbara Brown Taylor says "People who were blind to the love loose in the world have received their sight; people who were paralyzed with fear are limber with hope; people who were deaf from want of good news are singing hymns. In other words the proof is not in who Jesus says he is, it is in what he is able to do for others. But I think Jesus teaches another important lesson. He says Happy are those who don’t stumble and fall because of me. In other words – don’t put your trust in any man, not even me. But trust in God. No man is going to save you, not even Jesus. We tend to get discouraged, even by Jesus. We get upset when Jesus does not save that loved one, or pay that bill, or prevent that circumstance. We all have asked Jesus are you the one, or should I be waiting for another. We have to remember that Jesus does not come to save us from circumstances,Jesus came to being us salvation for our soul. And sometimes it is our circumstances that help us to appreciate our salvation. A Place of Dreams There was once a woman who was disappointed, who was disillusioned, who was depressed. She wanted a good world, a peaceful world, and she wanted to be a good person. But the newspaper and television showed her how far we were from such a reality. So she decided to go shopping. She went to the mall and wandered into a new store - where the person behind the counter looked strangely like Jesus. Gathering up her courage she went up to the counter and asked, "Are you Jesus?" "Well, yes, I am," the man answered. "Do you work here?" "Actually," Jesus responded, "I own the store. You are free to wander up and down the aisles, see what it is I sell, and then make a list of what you want. When you are finished, come back here, and we'll see what we can do for you." So, the woman did just that. And what she saw thrilled her. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air. She wrote furiously and finally approached the counter, handing a long list to Jesus. He skimmed the paper, and then smiling at her said, "No problem." Reaching under the counter, he grabbed some packets and laid them out on the counter. Confused, she asked, "What are these?" Jesus replied: "These are seed packets. You see, this is a catalogue store." Surprised the woman blurted out, "You mean I don't get the finished product?" "No," Jesus gently responded. "This is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. Then you plant the seeds. You go home and nurture them and help them to grow and someone else reaps the benefits." "Oh," she said, deeply disappointed in Jesus. Then she turned around and left the store without buying anything. Adapted by Susan R. Andrews, as told in Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, F. and M. Brussat, editors (New York: Scribner, 1996), p. 359. The joy that we remember today is the joy of salvation. The joy of transformation. When we are able to change ourselves – we have the power to change the world. This Christmas season, be the one someone else is waiting for. Serve others,give them hope, show them peace,be the joy that you are seeking. Are you the one for which we are waiting, or should we wait for another? Amen. Extra illustrations……. It Takes Time for Truth to be Accepted On December 6, 1865, just months after the Civil War ended, the 13th amendment outlawing slavery was ratified and became of the law of the land. But that didn't mean every state approved the ratification of the amendment. Mississippi's state legislature, for example, was dominated by whites bitter over the defeat of the Confederacy, and they rejected the measure. 130 years passed before Mississippi took action. By 1995 Mississippi was the only state in the Union that had not approved the ratification of the 13th amendment. Finally, on Thursday, February 16, 1995, the Mississippi Senate voted unanimously to outlaw slavery by approving the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. Senator Hillman Frazier, a member of the Mississippi's Legislature's Black Caucus, said, "I think it's very important for us to show the world that we have finally put the past behind us." Just as there was a delay in some states ratifying an end to slavery in the United States, so there is often a delay accepting the presence God's kingdom coming ever new here and now. Advent is a reminder we must never stop trying, never stop hoping, never stop preparing for the in-breaking of God's kingdom either into our own hearts or in our community. God's kingdom will one day hold sway over the entire world. When that day comes, my prayer is we will be prepared for its glory. Author unknown. Source: Faith Lutheran in Akron Ohio. Advent III To review the Ratification of Constitutional Amendments http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html#Am13Full of Fear The world is full of fears, and most of us, if we are honest about it, are forced to admit that there have been times in our lives when we were afraid - I don't mean a little bit scared. No, I'm talking about those times when we were truly, knee-knocking, scared spitless. We may or may not have been in a life-threatening situation, but we can all remember a moment frozen in time when we were gripped by an all-encompassing fear, a fear that blinded us to everything else around us. I bring all this up because I have heard other pastors preach on this text from the Gospel of Matthew before. And in some of those sermons, John the Baptist took a lot of heat from the preacher for his "lack of vision." I think a terrible injustice has been done here. You see, it is my belief that John the Baptist was in the grip of the kind of fear we've been talking about. Wouldn't you be afraid if you were alone in a cold, dark, damp prison cell, not knowing what's going to happen next, but keenly aware of the animosity your captor feels for you? Johnny Dean, Are You the One? When the Real World Rears Its Head Why in the world did John the Baptist question if Jesus was the one? Maybe he forgot. Maybe he did recognize Jesus at his baptism, and now, a few months later, he just forgot. You have to wonder, however, what could make a man forget that Jesus was the Christ. That seems pretty unforgettable. The best way to answer that may be to look at what makes us forget who he is. Maybe that will help. Shelly was a new Christian. She had just gone through a religious experience that totally changed her life, and as a part of her new life she wanted to become a part of the church. She was running on high speed, and had high hopes. She was going to save the world, or at least the part of it she could reach. She watched her language. She pronounced Jesus with seven syllables, and made sure to use the word "blessed" at least once in every sentence. She started attending Bible studies and promptly made everyone there uncomfortable. But she meant well. No one could blame her for her enthusiasm, because she had just recognized who Jesus was, and we could all remember how that felt. Then Shelly came to a church board meeting. She bowed her head during the opening prayer, and then studied the minutes of the previous meeting like they were Holy Scripture. She listened intently to the various committee reports, and nodded as though she understood it all. Then came Phil. Everyone knew what happened when Phil opened his mouth, you just never knew what the topic would be. Everyone knew except Shelly. Tonight the topic was the new church budget. Phil started out on the money being wasted on those expensive children's bulletins "that don't do anything anyway!" and ended up reminding everyone of how different it was back when Pastor Ludlan was there. Everyone grinned at each other. "There goes Phil again. He'll get tired in a minute and wind down." Everyone but Shelly that is. She was amazed. This was the "church." The bubble had been burst, and the air fizzled out all over the room. That was the night Shelly began to wonder.... John B. Jamison, Time's Up!, CSS Publishing Company. And best and most miraculous of all, tell John that this is not the work of one lonely Messiah but the work of God, carried out by all who believe, and there is no end in sight. Tell him I am the one, if you must, but tell him also that yes, he should look for another, and another, and another. Tell him to search every face for the face of God and not get tripped up on me, because what is happening here is bigger than any of us. What is coming to pass is as big as the Kingdom of God."(4) One Hasidic story tells of a pious Jew who asked his rabbi, "For about forty years I have opened the door for Elijah every Seder night, waiting for him to come, but he never does. What is the reason?" The rabbi answered, "In your neighborhood there lives a very poor family with many children. Call on the man and propose to him that you and your family celebrate the next Passover at his house, and for this purpose provide him and his whole family with everything necessary for the eight days of Passover. Then on the Seder night Elijah will certainly come." The man did as the rabbi told him, but after Passover he came back and claimed that again he had waited in vain to see Elijah. The rabbi answered, "I know very well that Elijah came on the Seder night to the house of your poor neighbor. But of course you could not see him." And the rabbi held a mirror before the face of the man and said, "Look, this was Elijah's face that night."(6) Which leads me to one last question: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? Are you the one? Are you the one? Amen! Children’s sermon…… Exegetical Aim: Knowing Jesus is God's promised one who was to come. Props: I do not use any props in the text but a letter with your name on it or other items that identify you may be used. Work them in at the appropriate time. This Children's Sermon must be adapted to fit each person’s family name and vocation if someone other than the minister is giving it. If you are a teacher by vocation bring something that identifies you as a teacher and tie it in to the story. Lesson: Good Morning! I have a question for you this morning. And I am not sure you are going to know the answer to this one. Are you ready? (response)Ok, here goes. Who am I? (the preacher) Yes that's what I do; I am a preacher. How do you know that I am preacher? (response) What does a preacher do? (response) Ok, that's a pretty good answer. But, let me ask my question again, who am I? I mean besides a preacher, Who am I? (Brother Brett) Yes, my name is Brett. Does anyone know my last name or first depending how they know you? (response) My last name is Blair. Brett Blair is my name. How do you know that I am Brett Blair? (response) 'Cause I hang around a bunch of other Blairs. A lady named Cyndi Blair--she's my wife by the way--and a little girl named Hannah Blair--she's my daughter. We are all Blairs. What name do you think is written on our mailbox? (Blair) When I get the mail out of he mailbox who do you think the mail is addressed to? (Blair) Ok, I am a preacher and I am Brett Blair. That much we know. Let me ask you the question one more time, Who am I? Besides a preacher and guy that goes by the name Brett Blair. Who am I? (response) Let me give you a hint: You are one too. (response) You may need to guide them here. We all believe in Jesus Christ. So, Who am I? (a Christian) They may give various synonyms--work them toward the proper title. That's right. I am a Christian. Now comes the real question. How do you know that I am a Christian? (response) Let them work on this for a minute and don't let yourself off the hook too quick What does a Christian do? (response) Application: Who is Jesus? (God's Son) How do you know that he is God's Son? (response) There is this fellow in the Bible who asked that very question. His name was John the Baptist. And he believed in Jesus Christ too. But he didn't get a chance to spend very much time with Jesus. So, he wasn't sure he was God's Son. So he ask a couple of his friends to go talk with him and ask him, "Are you the one, are you God's Son, or should I look for someone else?" Lean forward and whisper loudly with surprise: You know what Jesus said to John? (response) He said, "You go tell John what you have seen and heard me do. When I touch the blind cover your eyes? they can see again uncover your eyes. When I touch the crippled continue touching the appropriate body parts they can walk again. When I touch the sick they are well again. When I touch the deaf they can hear again. The good news of God is being preached to the poor! You go tell John that.How do we know that this little Christmas baby is God's Son? (response) Because when he grew up to be a man he did all these wonderful things. Let’s Pray: Lord, we see all the wonderful things that you did and we know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Amen. Christian Globe, , by Brett Blair

Have Hope

December 4, 2016 Romans 14 Second Sunday of Advent Have Hope One brief, sunny morning a woman looked out her living room window and was amazed to discover a dead mule on her lawn. Immediately she called the sanitation department and asked them to remove the carcass. But by the time the work-crew arrived, she had changed her mind. She gave the men $100.00 each, instructing them to carry the mule upstairs and to deposit it in the bathtub. After they had dutifully followed her instructions, one of the workers asked why she wanted the dead mule in her bathtub. She said, “Well, for 35 years my husband has been coming home at night, throwing his coat on the rack, grabbing the newspaper, plopping into the easy chair and asking, ‘What’s new?’ Tonight, I’m going to tell him.” What’s new this Christmas? Every year we plop ourselves down in the Christmas calendar and ask: What’s “hottest?” Who’s got the most popular gift? What’s the best of the best? What toy/gizmo requires a five-hour wait in line? Every Christmas season there is some new sound, or flavor, or decoration, or game, or cell-phone “app” that defines the cutting edge of “cool.” And probably the memory of waiting in line, clawing through a crowd, falling into debt, will linger longer than the “new,” “cool,” “hot” thing you suffered for. But wait a minute? Isn’t the exact opposite equally true? It’s the “old” stuff that we hanker after and hunger for. We hang the ratty old homemade ornaments on the tree. We crave the same old cookie recipes. We want to hear the old arrangements of the familiar carols we heard as kids. The candlewax spotted tablecloth is reinstated. That strange cheeseball thing reappears. So much of the joy of Christmas Is the sameness of it all — Always the wreath upon the door, The festoons in the hall; The mistletoe hung overhead, The squeals at getting captured: The sparkling tree that holds its viewers Silently enraptured. The same beloved ornaments, The candles and the bells; The same old Christmas stories That Grandpa always tells The same old battered angel Once again adds to the joy — It’s stood atop the tree each year Since Grandpa was a boy. The merry family gatherings — The old, the very young: The strangely lovely way they Harmonize in carols sung. For Christmas is tradition time — Traditions that recall The precious memories down the years, The sameness of them all. Helen Lowrie Marshall (1904-1975) So which is it? Sameness or Newness? The Christmas spirit tells us that we need to stick to tradition, but the bible reminds us that Christmas is not about staying the same, it is about doing things differently. It is not about putting out the same old Christmas decorations, it is about the world being shaken upside down and us having to put it back together again. Perhaps Donald Trump’s winning is a part of God’s plan to shake the whole world apart, and for the faithful people to put it back together again. But I don’t want to talk about politics this morning, I want to talk about out faith. About our faith. About our preparations for the Christmas to come. In the midst of tradition, what will we do next. Usually on the second Sunday of Advent, I always stick to the gospel lesson of John the Baptist telling us that that kingdom of heaven is near, or the old testament lesson of Isaiah telling us of a new world with Emmanuel – God present. But this year I want to reflect on Romans. It has a powerful lesson for us today. An Advent message. A message guaranteed to shake up our Christmas preparation. Paul encourages us to have hope. But not just any hope, but hope through endurance and encouragement. And that encouragement can only come through reading the scriptures. Not just reading them, but thinking about them and applying them to our lives. More importantly applying the bible to the way we treat one another. Paul says to welcome one another the way Christ welcomed you. Imagine hope like one artist does, as a woman sitting on a rock, battered a nd bruised holding a harp and all of the strings are broken except one. The strings represent the elements of our lives, like our family, our job, our friends, our resources. Even though all of the strings are broken, there is one that is not, and that is the one that she plays constantly. That one string represents Jesus Christ. When everything else in life is meant to be broken, Jesus is our hope, our strength, our endurance, our encouragement. The message of Romans however, is that hope is not just the foundation of our individual lives, but it is the foundation of our fellowship as Christians. And it is our fellowship that draws and attracts others to Christ. That is why he reminds us to welcome one another, the way Christ welcomed us. Our strength relies on the way we treat one another. Paul spells out the marks of fellowship what should be present in the way we treat one another. The marks of fellowship are consideration of one another, a place where scripture is studied and we are able to draw our encouragement from what we read, We should have fortitude, hope, harmony and praise. Where do we stand in the marks of fellowship? What do we do well, what do we need to work on, what needs to change? Christmas and advent is a time for us to examine ourselves and to walk a better way to Jesus. But in order for us to change, we have to be able to have hope. I think it was Winston Churchill who said that there are no hopeless situations, on hopeless people in those situations. Anything can change, if we just trust in God. If we remember that is why Christ came into the world, to remind us that anything can change in the presence of God. A miracle is just around the corner. We just have to believe, and live in that belief. I want to share with you stories about the power of hope and living hopeful life. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. What words of encouragement has the living Christ offered in your life? How has your heavenly father encouraged you in your life. What obstacles do you need to overcome with Hope, endurance and encouragement. Another story… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Cook Offers Encouragement and Prayer at Children's Hospital A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune told the story of Bettye Tucker, a Christian cook who works the night shift at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She has been doing her job for 43 years—28 of them on the night shift. She sees a steady stream of parents in her job, many of them frightened and weary. On one particular night around the time the article was written, Miss Bettye (as she is referred to by all who know her) served food to a mother whose three-year-old fell out of a second story window that morning, another mother whose seventeen-year-old was battling a rare form of leukemia, and a third mother whose eighteen-year-old had endured seven hours of brain surgery. Their stories break the heart of Miss Bettye, and—as one coworker interviewed for the article says—"that's why she feeds every last one of them as if they had walked right into the 'too-small' kitchen of [the] South Side brick bungalow [where she lives]." A member of the hospital's housekeeping crew adds this about Miss Bettye: "You need someone to bring you life, and she brings it in the middle of the night." A picture of Miss Bettye that accompanied the article shows a woman with a beautiful smile. It's hard to imagine how much that smile would mean to a suffering parent or child. She says, "When I ask, 'How you doin' today?' and they say it's not a good day, I say, 'Don't lose hope.' When the nurses tell me it's a bad night, I say, 'I understand it's a bad night. But guess what? I am here for you. I'm going to get you through the night.'" Another picture shows Bettye sitting down, head bowed, over a meal. "I'm a praying lady," she says in the article. "I pray every night, for every room and every person in the hospital. I start with the basement, and I go up, floor by floor, room by room. I pray for the children, I pray for the families, I pray for the nurses and the doctors. … I say, every night while I'm driving in on the expressway, 'Oh, Lord, I don't know what I'll face tonight, but I pray you'll guide me through.'" The reporter behind the article, Barbara Mahany, offers these words about Miss Bettye: "Just might be, that divine helping on the side is the most essential item on Miss Bettye's menu. The one she stirs in every broth, and every whisper. The ingredient that makes her the perpetual light shining in the all-night kitchen." (5 reviews) This is the Christmas where everything will change. Because this is the Christmas where hope will be apart of everything that you do and every interaction that you do. Amen. Other illustrations…… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. Children’s Sermon…… Object: the heartbeat of each child. Good morning, children. This is the first Sunday of the most exciting month. How many of you know what month this is? That's right, December. It seems that all of the other months, like January and July and October, are in the calendar so that they will get us to December. I know that you like December because of a very special day. What day do you like so much that comes in the month of December? That's right, Christmas. There is something else that gets us to December every year that is even more important than the dates or months on a calendar. I want you all to choose a partner and be very quiet so that you can listen for a steady sound. [Let them all select some partner.] Now, I want you to take turns and listen for a sound that you can hear in each other's chest. [Show them by letting someone listen to your chest and vice versa.] Do you hear that beat? What is that sound that you hear? The heart, that's right, and your heart sounds exactly like your partner's heart. Did you notice how steady it is? Thump, thump, thump, over and over again your heart beats out the same rhythm. We could call your heart "steadfast." Can you say that word with me? "Steadfast." We must be steadfast, too. Day after day, year after year, the Bible tells the same story of the wonderful things that God did and still continues to do. When we are sad, joyful, afraid, excited, or however we feel, we should read the Bible and listen to God's teaching. Even now while we are waiting for Jesus to come and be born in our world again, the place that we go to look for him is the Bible. The Bible gives us hope. So remember this: The Bible teaches us to be as steady and dependable as our heart is. God wants us to be in rhythm with him. The next time you listen to a heart beat, remember how good it is for us to be steadfast in God.

Watch, Turn, See, Dream

November 26, 2016 Romans First Sunday of Advent Advent is upon us once again, it always seems to hide right behind Thanksgiving, so as soon as I cook my turkey, and put up my fall decorations, I have to rush to take them down and put up the winter decorations. I was determined that I would be prepared this year. So on my porch right now are some mums that are dead and need to be thrown out, and evergreens and wreaths that are waiting in the corner. I think that it is important for us to remember advent. Advent is like entering into God’s time. The Board of Discipleship set these themes for the four Sunday’s of advent this year are watch, turn, see, dream and on Christmas eve have peace. Today our instructions are to watch. Watch what is going on in the world, watch what is happening in our spiritual life, watchhow we treat one another, more important watch what God will do in the world. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Coach Bear Bryant Urges His Players to Stay Alert Paul "Bear" Bryant is widely considered to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. Bryant's record in 38 years at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Alabama included 323 wins. He also took 29 teams to bowl games and led 15 of his teams to conference championships. In the 1960s and 1970s, no school won more games than Alabama (193-32-5). As one of his colleagues said, "He wasn't just a coach; he was the coach." John Croyle, an All-American defensive end on the 1973 national championship team, played for the Bear, and was deeply impacted by the man. John recently told me about one of Coach Bryant's pregame speeches. Coach Bryant paced in front of his assembled team as the band played for the capacity crowd waiting outside in the stadium. He made eye contact with each player as he spoke the following words: In this game, there are going to be four or five plays that will determine the outcome of this contest. Four or five plays that will swing the momentum toward us, or away from us. I don't know which plays these will be. You don't know which plays these will be. All you can do is go out there and give all that you have on each and every play. If you are doing that on one of those crucial plays, and you catch your opponent giving less, that play will swing things in our direction. And if we rise to the occasion like that, on those four or five plays, we are gonna leave here today a winner. Possible Preaching Angle: Prayer, Attentiveness, Obedience—Our life is made up of a series of moments. A few of those moments will be absolutely transformative—they will change our life and the lives of others forever. But since we usually don't know which moments will be the "game-changers," the Bible repeatedly urges us to "stay awake," "walk in the light," and "redeem the time." Dave Bolin, Gadsden, Alabama The first sentence of our scripture in Romans 13 – As you do all this, you knowwhat time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. In order for you to be able to watch what God is going to do in your life, you have to wake up. How much of our life is spent on automatic pilot, where we do things without thinking. Or really paying attention to what we are doing. We know that we have to wake up in the morning, we get ready for work or school, we memorize our schedule, look at the clock to see how long before lunch, eat, return to what we are doing, get ready for dinner, watch tv, go to bed, and start all over again the next day. As long as we know our schedule, we don’t have to think about it. How many of us talk with people and already anticipate in ourheads what theyare going to say. We don’t listen to them, because we have already had theconversation in our heads. Paul is telling us that we are about to enter into God time, and that we have to change our ways. Live life a new way, be prepared to do a new thing. But before God can come into our lives, we have to wake up and watch what is happening. The word that Paul uses for time is Kairos. Which literally means God’s time. Chronos is the time on the clock, Kairos is the spiritual time, the timing of life, when we just know it is time for things to occur. After thanksgiving dinner is over, you just know that it is time to put up the Christmas tree. Before thanksgiving, no one wants to hear Christmas music, or see Christmas decorations, because it is not time yet. Yet as soon as dinner is over – you know it is time. That is Kairos time. The apostle Paul asks us if we know what time it is. Our response is that today and every day is God’s time — it is the time for us to get our act together, living in the light, transcending the darkness all around us to celebrate a Savior who can and does change lives. Amen. But advent is time for something much deeper. Leonard Sweet says that there are three advents that we have to prepare for. First we prepare for the coming of Christ as Christmas as baby Jesus, second we prepare for Christ to come again, and third we prepare to live our lives in Christ as faithful Christians. You celebrate the first coming, you pray for the second coming, but you live in the second coming. Romans encourages us in our third task- living as faithful Christians. Paul says that oursalvation is closer than we think it is. The night is almost over andthat day is about to arrive. So Paul says that if wearefollowersofChrist,then we should stop acting like it is still night time. He says that there are certainbehaviors that people only do at night. (Paul didn’t live in Chicago, where people sin in broad day light). But he says that when we live in Christ. We should always live as if it is daylight, and other people can seewho we are and what we are doing. We have to make sure that we are always being the light on Christ in any situation. In order for us to do that. Paul says that dress yourself with Christ. When you go outside and it is cold, what do you do? You put on a coat in order to keep warm. When you go out into theworld, and you seepeople who are comfortablewith sin and wrongdoing, what should you do? Put on Christ Jesus. On Sundays, I make sure that I get dressed for church. But when I get ready togo into the pulpit. I put on a robe. To be clothed in Christ for the task ahead. As we enter into Advent 2016, there seem to be a lot of uncertainties ahead. There are a lot of things going on in our world that have never happen before, and we don’t know what the outcome of these changes will be. But we know who holds the future. We will have to watch, turn to God, see God’s miracles, and live God’s dream for the world, and pass the peace of Christ to all that we know and do. In Western Colorado there is a road called the Million Dollar Highway. My guess is that both tourists and even most of the people who live on the western slope don't know how this road got its name. They probably assume it got its name because it was expensive to build. That's not correct—although it probably was expensive to build because it runs through very difficult terrain and at a high altitude. The real reason it's called the Million Dollar Highway is because waste material from the ore in gold mines was used as the bed for that highway, and not all the gold dust and nuggets were removed by the mining processes available at the time. As a result, there is a partial roadbed of gold that is probably worth a lot more than a million dollars. It isn't the cost that gave it its name, but rather what is inside it. The same is true for the royal law of love ("Love your neighbor as yourself"). Sure it's costly, but what gives it the name is what it is made of: it is made up of God, the God who is love." Leith Anderson, in the sermon How to Treat People, PreachingToday.com Loving God in every situation, that is whyChrist came to this earth, that is what weare waiting and watching for. That ishow we must live in the advent season. You are about to enter into God’s time – What blessings will God bring to you this year? You will just have to watch, turn, see, dream and have peace. Amen. Children’s sermon……. Scripture: Romans 15:7 Concept: People should be able to expect the church to be a place that is warm, kind, accepting, and fair. Preparation: None. Lesson: How many of you love to go to school? Raise your hands. Suppose you loved to go school. You loved to read and write, do math problems and science experiments. School was your all-time favorite place to be. Let's suppose summer was about to end and it was time to go back to school. You couldn't wait to do all those neat "school" things that you enjoyed doing. But when you got to school you found there would be no reading and writing, no math and no science. Instead you were simply going to sit at your desk all day and listen to music. That would be a letdown. That's not what school was meant to be and it would not be what you had expected. Suppose you wanted to be on the football team. You liked wearing the uniform and tackling other people. You liked running and throwing and catching the ball. But when you got to football practice, the coach said there would be no uniforms or running or catching or tackling. You were not actually going to play football. Instead you were going to listen to other people tell you about playing football for the whole season! That would be disappointing, wouldn't it? It would not be what you had expected. Imagine you went to the toy store and only found books. Don't we have the right to expect a toy store to have toys? If it says it's a toy store, shouldn't it be like a toy store? How about a church? People who have never been to church do not always know what to expect. Most of them expect that if they come to a church, the church people will be nice, friendly, and accepting. They expect that they can come to worship God even if they do not look like everyone else or dress like everyone else. They should be able to expect these things. You would be disappointed if you went to school and it was not what you expected school to be, or if you went to football practice and there was something else in its place, or if you went to the toy store and there were no toys. People coming to church hoping to find God's loving, kind, and fair people will be terribly disappointed if they get to church and find people who are unkind and cruel. Let's make sure that people looking to find God and God's people always find exactly what they are looking for at our church. God bless you. CSS Publishing Company, A TIME TO PLANT, by Teresa L. Major Extra illustrations……… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Many Cultures Still Don't Have a Word for Boredom Science writer Winifred Gallagher argues that what we call boredom (which she defines as "the unpleasant sense that there is nothing that interests you"), is largely a recent problem that still doesn't exist in many places around the globe. She writes: Situations that would strike us as unbearably dull, say, waiting for hours or even days for a bus, are considered just the way life is in many developing countries. Anthropologist Henry Harpending has done extensive fieldwork in the back country of [Africa], where in most ways, he says, "folks are just like you and me. But one thing that the Westerners that go there just can't understand and are open-mouthed about is the people's tolerance for tedium. They can just sit all day under the trees …." [Harpending] is fluent in Bushman and he has tried for twenty years to elicit a word for boredom, but the closest he has gotten is the unsatisfactory [word for] tired. Gallagher also adds, "[In the English language] boredom has no derivation: That is, it doesn't come from any other word but was specially created. Moreover, the word didn't appear in English until the later eighteenth century." Winifred Gallagher, New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change (Penguin, 2011), p. 126. Bible scholar N.T. Wright uses the analogy of waking up in the morning for how some people come to Christ through a dramatic, instant conversion and others come to Christ through a gradual conversion: Waking up offers one of the most basic pictures of what can happen when God takes a hand in someone's life. There are classic alarm-clock stories, Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, blinded by a sudden light, stunned and speechless, discovered that the God he had worshipped had revealed himself in the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth. John Wesley found his heart becoming strangely warm and he never looked back. They and a few others are the famous ones, but there are millions more. And there are many stories, thought they don't hit the headlines in the same way, of the half-awake and half-asleep variety. Some people take months, years, maybe even decades, during which they aren't sure whether they're on the outside of Christian faith looking in, or on the inside looking around to see if it's real. As with ordinary waking up, there are many people who are somewhere in between. But the point is that there's such a thing as being asleep, and there's such a thing as being awake. And it's important to tell the difference, and to be sure you're awake by the time you have to be up and ready for action, whatever that action may be. N.T Wright, Simply Christian (HarperOne, 2010), page 205 [ read less ]

So that I can live

November 6, 2016 Daniel 7:1-3,15-18 All Saints Day I want to put you all on the spot. We read the vision and mission statement earlier in the service. How many of you can say it again right now? What is a mission statement? What is a vision statement. Our mission is who we are and what we value, the vision statement is how we live that out. We say it every sunday to remind us that we should be living out our vision statement in everything that we do. When visitors and others come in contact with us, and then hear our vision statement, they should immediately say- yes I can see that in them. Where did we get that vision and mission statement? By looking around our community and seeing what is possible for God to do in this community. But we also got it from those who came before us, what they saw to be possible in this world if God were fully present. A vision statement is not just about who we are, but who we aspire to be. If we lived in a perfect world, what would it look like? How would we treat everyone? We would we be doing for one another. We get our vision from those who came before us. It is our job to live out their hopes and dreams. There is a shirt going around the internet that says “ I am my ancestors wildest dream”. Everything that they hoped for us comes true in us, and we pass it on to our children. So that they can live in the world that we envisioned. On this day, we want to honor the visions of those who came before us. We honor family and church members who are no longer a part of the struggle. We honor those who have gone on before us. They were a part of the vision of God, but now they have gone on to perfection. We want to honor them for all they have given to us and to the world on this all Saint’s Day. We don’t deal with the book of Daniel very often, as a matter of fact, this is the only time the book of Daniel is in our readings. Many people are afraid of the Book of Daniel, because it talks about dreams and visions. It talks of Daniel’s vision of the endtimes and God’s final judgement. The judgement is only scary if you are on the wrong side. If you know God and you know that we you have not made God the center of your daily vision, they you should be afraid. It was Daniel’s intention not to scare people but to give them hope. He wanted to encourage the saints – to continue to live holy. It is not the end that we should be afraid of-life gets better. He wrote his visions and dreams down- to show people that the tough times we are going through only came to pass, not to last. Daniel has a vision of 4 beast that have come to destroy the world, and the ancient one of days sits on the throne watching it all and eventually ending it all. He comes to judge all that has happened to his people. But He saves those whose names are written in the books of life. One book for those who are faithful and one book for those who are not. Those who are faithful will be saved from tribulation. Those who are in the book of life are not those who have done everything right, but those who in the midst of their sinning, still called on the of God as their savior. If you read through the new testament and the words of Jesus, there are two terms used for the faithful in the bible. There is the word disciple and the word saint. The mission statement of the United Methodist Church comes from the last words of Matthew – go therefore and make disciples of all nations. And today we honor the saints of our church. A disciple is one who is a student, who aspires to be just like his teacher. In this case we are disciples of Jesus Christ. A saint is one who has been sanctified, made holy in the presence of God. A disciple is one who is walking toward the future, a saint is one inherits the future. A disciple works toward the vision, a saint lives in the vision. And interestingly enough, the book of Matthew uses these two terms interchangeably. We are both disciples and saints at the same time. When we have a vision, we live in the now and what is to come at the same time. Our victory is that the race has already been won, the work has been done by Jesus Christ. But he still left some work for us to do. When we look at the world, the community, we don’t have to be discouraged by what we see, because we know that Christ has already declared victory over despair. The real winner of next week’s election is Jesus Christ. But how Christ will work in this world is still being determined. When I was ordained, one of the questions that the bishop asked us was are you going on to perfection? Do you strive to be a perfect person. We all know that as long as I am alive- I will never be perfect. Well the reality, I have already been made perfect in God’s eyes through the blood of Jesus. And yet when I stand before God – thejudge- I will be deamed perfect through my faith, and God’s grace. The only way I can achieve perfection is to do all that I can here, and to stand before God and say I did all that I could do. Today we honor those who have been made perfect in God. Who have fought the faithful fight and now stand at their eternal rest. We worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, and Jesus. In our world of good and evil, there are times when we clearly are not in control of what is going on around us. But we are in control of what is going on inside of us. On days like this, we need to be able to ask ourselves what areas of our lives appear out of our control. Whatever they are, All Saints reminds us that we need to look toward the one who gives us life so that we can live our life as God would have us live it. Our God is the same God who acted in the past, in the present, and will act in the future to protect that which was so carefully created. Our faith needs to mirror that of those who have come before as we struggle today to become the saints God would have us be. The biggest lesson of today, is that everything is going to be okay. Today we may be in pain, we may be going through hardship, we as a church are a little far off from living out our vision. But that is okay – it just means that we have something to strive for. As the faithful ones we are both disciples and saints at the same time. But we take this time to honor those who have gone on to perfection, so that we can have the strength to move forward, to live out the vision, and to face the problems of this world. We take the time to remember, so that we can live another day. Amen. Children’s Sermon…… PREPARATION: None or bring a picture of a family tree LESSON: How many of you know what a family tree is? (Let the children respond) (If you have a family tree, show it at this time.) A family tree is very special because it lists everyone in your family from several generations back up to the present--grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. It is always fun to look and see how we are all related to each other, isn't it? Has anyone in your family been adopted? (children respond) If you have an adopted brother, sister or cousin, they have just as important a place on the tree as you do. That is what adoption means. Adoption means to take for your own. When someone adopts a child, they have all of the legal rights as a child born into a family. They are treated as their own. Did you know that all of us are adopted into God's family? That's right. God chose us and adopted us into his family through Jesus. That means if we love Jesus and ask him into our hearts, we have all of the same rights before God as His Son, Jesus. That is pretty awesome! Another amazing part of this is the last part of the verse. It says that adopting us gave God great pleasure. God is happy to have us in his family. PRAYER: Thank you for loving each of us enough to invite us to be members of your family. AMEN Collected Sermons by King Duncan

Run the Race that You are in

October 23, 2016 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Luke 18:9-14 There is a story about a world-class woman runner who was invited to compete in a road race in Connecticut. On the morning of the race, she drove from New York City, following the directions--or so she thought--given her over the telephone. She got lost, stopped at a gas station, and asked for help. She knew that the race started in the parking lot of a shopping mall. The station attendant also knew of such a race scheduled just up the road and directed her there. When she arrived she was relieved to see in the parking lot a modest number of runners preparing to compete. Not as many as she'd anticipated; an easier race than she'd been led to expect. She hurried to the registration desk, announced herself, and was surprised by the race officials' excitement at having so renowned an athlete show up for their race. No, they had no record of her entry, but if she'd hurry and put on this number, she could just make it before the gun goes off. She ran and, naturally, she won easily, some four minutes ahead of the first male runner in second place. Only after the race--when there was no envelope containing her sizable prize and performance money--did she confirm that the event she'd run was not the race to which she'd been invited. That race was being held several miles farther up the road in another town. She'd gone to the wrong starting line, run the wrong course, and missed her chance to win a valuable prize. (7) I wonder if that's not the story of many people. They are chasing after prizes that are piddling or illusionary. Meanwhile they are missing out on the most important race of all. I wonder if that is not the story of many people that we know, who are winning the wrong race in life. They are running the life in the world, and forgetting to get right with God. All of us are running a race. But how many of us are getting aprize. The Englewood 5K is today, and people from all over Chicago will be there. Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot of interest in church people attending. Most races start at 8am, so that I can race, and get back to church just as it is getting started. This race is in my neighborhood, but it does not start until 10 am, which means that there is no guarantee that I will be done and back in church even by the time my sermon is supposed to start. But Paul’s scripture in Timothy is about running another race. The race of life. The kool thing about Paul’s race is that it is only for the righteous – for church folk. And we can run it, even if we have not trained for the Englewood 5K. Paul is talking to his student Timothy. He says that he is about to finish this race. He has been working hard to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Presently he is in jail, and he realizes that the end of the race is coming to an end. He realizes that he will die soon. Those who are trying to stop him, are gonna win, and they are going to kill him. So he tells Timothy to keep running the race, but to run in order to get the crown. The Greek word for “crown”--stephanos--refers to a wreath that was usually woven like a garland and placed on the winner’s head at the end of the race. But, in St. Paul’s case this is not just any crown. It is the crown of righteousness. We need to talk about this for a moment. Paul was not receiving the crown because he had been righteous, that is, because he kept all the rules and didn’t offend anyone. Some of us hear the word righteousness and we are turned off by it. In the New Testament, a righteous person is one who lives in a right relationship with God and his or her neighbor. It does not mean we are perfect. As long as we are clothed in flesh we will be imperfect. But we know that Christ died for us. We know that God is the Lord of our lives and that all God’s children are our brothers and sisters. And we know that at the end of our lives all imperfection will be removed from us and we will live forever in perfect harmony with God and with all God’s creatures. This we call heaven. This is what happens when we receive the crown of righteousness. It is not something we merit. It is the culmination of everything God has done in Jesus Christ to make us His own. We are all encouraged to finish the race. To win the game. What is involved in this admonition to "finish the race?" What does it mean for a Christian or a congregation to take this text seriously and train for a race where one runs for the duration? What does it take to complete the course? During broadcasts of various world series, super bowls and playoffs, four words, representing important sports concepts keep cropping up: Groove, Ambition, Momentum and Enthusiasm. They are easy to remember, for they shamelessly form the acronym GAME. You will notice that Paul did not say that we have to win the race, but we all have to run the race. Winning the race is up to God. Our job is tobefaithful, do whatweare supposed to do andto wait forGodto give theincrease, and to make the difference. The gospel lesson talks about us coming before God in prayer. One person was able to admit his faults and came before God as a sinner and asked for God’s help. A Pharisee came before God and bragged about who he was and thanked God for being better than the others. It is sort like a famous author who went to a restaurant and had to wait awhile for service. His companion told him to tell the waiter who he was so that he could get better service. The author said, if I have to tell him who I really am, I must not be that important. That is how it is with our relationship with God. If God does not already know that you are good, and you have to tell God who you are, you might not be that person. No matter how much we do here on earth- we are still sinners in God’s eyes. We give God the glory because all that we have and all that we are isa gift from God. The good news is that we don’t have to be great- we just have to be faithful. Some of those who have accomplished the least, have done the most in God’s eyes. Some clever person has written a fictitious letter from a pastor to a church search committee. The letter reads as follows: "I understand your church is looking for a pastor. I should like to submit my application. I am generally considered to be a good preacher. I have been a leader in most of the places I have served. I have also found time to do some writing on the side. I am over fifty years of age (no children), and while my health is not the best, I still manage to get enough work done to please my congregation. As for a reference, I am somewhat handicapped. I have never served in any place more than three years, and the churches where I have preached have generally been pretty small, even though they were located in rather large cities. Some places I had to leave because my ministry caused riots and disturbances. When I stayed, I did not get along too well with other religious leaders in town, which may influence the kind of references these places will send you. I have also been threatened several times and been physically attacked. I have gone to jail three or four times for expressing my thoughts. You will need to know that there are some men who follow me around undermining my work. Still, I feel sure I can bring vitality to your church. If you can use me, I should be pleased to be considered." The committee was dismayed that anyone would think that their church could use such a man. A trouble making, absent-minded, ex-jailbird could not possible be an effective pastor let alone be accepted by the community. "What was his name?" they asked. The chairman of the committee said, I do not know. The letter is simply signed, 'Paul'. Most leadership of the early church wouldn’t make it through the church interview process today. Theirs was a rough and dangerous world, turmoil on every side, both in the Jewish nation and the Roman. Think of the pictures we have seen from Afghanistan these past few weeks and you get an idea of the kind of hardships the Apostle Paul faced as he traveled for 20 years and thousands of miles all over the Roman world. There is power in purpose. In one of his novels, George Moore tells of Irish peasants at the period of the Great Depression. In order to meet the starvation crisis, the government put them to work building roads. For a time, the men worked well, sang their Irish songs, happy to be at work; but little by little they discovered that the roads they were building went nowhere. There was no real destination. They ran out into the dreary bogs and stopped. As the truth gradually dawned on them, that they had been put to work by the government simply as an excuse for feeding them, the men grew listless and stopped singing. And the author made this perceptive comment, the roads to nowhere are difficult to build. For a man to work well and sing, there must be an end in view. We know that, don’t we? Life hangs heavy on our hands. Our days drag drearily on if some purpose doesn’t pervade our lives. We have to be reminded that the crown is given to those who are righteous. Who live their lives according to what they know about the bible. Who order our steps according to doing what Jesus would want us to do in every situation. We want God to acknowledge our actions not man. In man’s race, there are always winners and losers. If you win, somebody else has got to lose. If you get the prize, there is not enough for others to get the same prize. When we are committed to righteousness, we understand that our winning does not preclude others from winning also. In God’s economy there is enough for everyone to get a prize, and God is not going to close the shop once so many people win. As a matter of fact, God is prolonging the race, he does not want just the first ten to get in to win, he wants everyone to win. And He will wait at the finish line until all of his children come home and achieve righteousness. That is just how Good God is. The Race We Are In Several years ago, I told you a story about one of my all-time favorite people. Not that I know her, or have even met her. But I admire her. Because one day, at age 42, in beautiful downtown Cleveland, she ran a marathon by accident (all 26 miles, 385 yards of it). Her name was Georgene Johnson. Still is. As you will recall, she lined up with the wrong group at the starting line. Not the 10K group, where she belonged. But the 26 mile group, where she didn't. It wasn't until the four mile mark that she realized her mistake. So she just kept going, finishing the race in four hours and four minutes. But it's what she said later (by way of explanation) that has stayed with me since. Said Georgene: "This isn't the race I trained for. This isn't the race I entered. But, for better or worse, this is the race I'm in." Which is true more often than you might think. Relatively few of us are exactly where we figured we'd be....doing exactly what we figured we'd be doing. But we are where we are, and (for better or worse) we're keeping our feet moving. William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com I want to share with you one more story, It is not so much about running the race, but it is about Paul’s reason for writing the story. Paul knew that it was time to encourage others to step up to the plate and let others run the race of faith. How Is John Quincy Adams? On his eightieth birthday, John Quincy Adams was walking slowly along a Boston street. A friend asked him "How is John Quincy Adams today?" The former president replied graciously, "Thank you, John Quincy Adams is well, sir, quite well, I thank you. But the house in which he lives at present is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering upon the foundations. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it. Its roof is pretty well worn out, its walls are shattered, and it trembles with every wind. The old tenement is becoming almost uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out of it soon; but he himself is quite well, sir, quite well." In other words, John Quincy Adams was telling others, that his body was not doing so well, he was struggling with a lot of physical ailments that slowed him down. But in the midst of it all, his spirit was well. It was well with his soul. That is the attitude we need to cultivate so that when the call home comes we may say with Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith Unknown Amen. Additional illustrations…… The famous actor Gregory Peck was once standing in line with a friend, waiting for a table in a crowded Los Angeles restaurant. They had been waiting for some time, the diners seemed to be taking their time eating and new tables weren't opening up very fast. They weren't even that close to the front of the line. Peck's friend became impatient, and he said to Gregory Peck, "Why don't you tell the maitre d' who you are?" Gregory Peck responded with great wisdom. "No," he said, "if you have to tell them who you are, then you aren't." Watching Life Pass By A little boy was asked what his father did by an older man. The boy answered, "He watches." "You mean he is a night watchman?" "Oh no", the little boy exclaimed, "He just watches." "Well, what does he watch?" "I don't know if I can tell you everything, but I can name a few things." "Well, tell me," the curious man replied. "He watches TV, he watches Mom do the housework, he watches for the mail man, he watches the weather, he watches the computer, and I think he watches girls, too" he said with an impish grin on his face. "He watches the stock market, football games. He watches Mom spank us, and he watches us do our homework. He watches us leave to go to Church and PTA and shopping. He watches Mom write letters and me play with my dog. He watches Mom pay the bills. But mainly, he just watches." There are many who idly sit and watch life pass them by. They live lives for which there is no meaning, no significance. If this is characteristic of your life, the Apostle Paul offers a challenge to fight the good fight, to finish the race, to keep the faith. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com. Adapted from Williams, H. Page: Do Yourself a Favor: Love Your Wife. Children’s Sermon…… Lesson: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Object: A crown, a vase of flowers, a gold cup, a pile of money, candy, and a small prize for each child (lollypop, balloon, tootsie roll, etc.) Good morning, boys and girls. Look at all of these good things I have with me today. A crown, money, flowers, candy -- what do you suppose all of these things are for? (Let them answer.) Well, these are all prizes. What is a prize? Can anyone tell me? (Let them answer.) Yes. A prize is something you win. Can you think of anyone who would ever win a crown for a prize? (Let them answer.) That's right. The young lady who wins the title of "Miss America" receives a crown for her head. That means that she was the best person of all the women who tried out. She could sing or dance better, talk better, and she probably looked very pretty, too. Who would win all this money? (Let them guess.) A person who had the fastest horse or car in a race would probably get a lot of money like this. I wonder what kind of a person would get flowers for a prize? (Let them guess.) Sometimes a person -- especially a woman -- who sings very well in a big concert or stage show will get flowers when she comes out to take her bow. A gold cup is given to the best tennis player, and if you won a spelling contest at school, you might get this candy. Did any of you ever win a prize? (Let them answer.) That's very good! How many people usually win a prize in a race? (Let them answer.) That's right. Usually only one person wins the prize in a contest or a race. But you know what, boys and girls? Paul tells us today that when it comes to being a Christian, everyone wins the prize! There isn't just one person who gets the flowers or money or gold cup; all of us who have believed in Jesus will win the prize. Do you all know what the prize is, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Right. The prize is heaven. We will all share it with one another. Isn't that a better prize than money or flowers or crowns, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) It sure is! Today I want to give you this small prize to help you remember the big prize of heaven. (Pass out small prizes.) Amen.

God's Investment Plan

September 25, 2016 I Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31 God’s Investment Plan 19th Sunday after Pentecost Chicago has the reputation of being one of the most segregated cities in the nation. And there are many unspoken rules to keep that segregation in place. I cant speak for what it is like to live on the south side, but I can speak for the west side and the north side. My first apartment, my first several apartments where on the northside. My boyfriend and I lived on the 7600 block of Sheridan Road. Right on the block just past Evanston on the lake. I chose that location because the rent was reasonable, but I was fairly sure that it was a very safe block. There were many young middle class families on the block, even though then it was apartments and not condo’s. But on the northside we lived on blocks, not neighborhoods. Because right across the street was Juneway Terrace, which was one of the most dangerous blocks in the neighborhood. But I was never concerned, because those people didn’t come on my side of the street, and I didn’t come on theirs. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even look over in the direction. When It walked to the el, I made sure that I walked on the safe side. Even though it was the same street, the same neighborhood, it was a totally different world that I had no reason to interact with. On the west side there is a six block neighborhood called the Island. On the west side of the street is Oak Park, on the south side of the street is Cicero, and the island is on the Chicago side on the East. It is called the Island because for most of its history it is the one section of the neighborhood that remained all white, while everything around it changed. There are other ethnic people that live there now, so the Island is not so isolated, but it still retains its character, afterall, who wants to live in an area where they know that they are not wanted. When I hear the story of heaven and hell in Luke 16- I think of Chicago. Luke speaks of a great chasm between heaven and hell that one cannot cross. In this story, you can look and see what is going on in the other place, but you cant do anything about it. It is sort of like living in one of the neighborhoods in Chicago. I think that the boundaries that separate heaven and hell are invisible. I think that the dividing lines between the living and the dead are invisible. We live in the same neighborhood, but not on the same block, and it is possible to communicate, but we live in two different worlds. So we stay in our world and they stay in theirs. This is more of a Hebrew understanding of life, where they believe that the past, the present and the future are all happening at the same time on different planes. And when you died, heaven and hell was in the same place, it was just a separate block. Which block you lived on in eternity was determined by how you lived your life. I think that in life, there is not that much difference between the person who goes to hell, and the person who goes to heaven. One just made different decisions and lived life a little differently. This story about the rich man and Lazurus would have been a folktale that the audience heard many times before. The difference is that in the original story, when the rich man asks if Lazurus can go to warn his brothers about the misery of hell, permission is granted, and someone comes back from the dead to warn the others. Jesus uses this parable to remind us that we have already been warned. And if we are not willing to listen to someone who is alive, then certainly there is no point in sending someone who back from the dead. This story reminds us that we are the brothers, the ones who have a chance to change their ugly ways and to do something different before it is too late. Once we die, it is too late to change and do something different. Once we are dead, we cant claim that Jesus Christ is our savior and think that we are going to be saved. The only ones who can be saved from judgement are the living. And the only way to be saved, is to make acommitment to listen to the ways of God while you can. Luke gives us a powerful understanding of what it means to be saved. God always gives us a second chance, but in order to use that second chance, you have to use it while you can. I have always appreciated Luke’s insight into heaven and hell. But I love this story because it is Jesus way of signifying to us Christians. A man was raised from the dead, and he did warn you about the horrors of hell, so you have absolutely no reason to say you didn’t know. Because you did But I think the message for me important message for me in this text, is that the chasm starts right here, in our lives. A lot of my colleagues today are going to talk about the great chasm in this world between the rich and the poor, or blacks and whites, or between the haves and the have nots. But I want to talk about the chasm between the saved and the saved not. That is the message that connects the text in Luke and the text in Timothy. We, the five brothers at home are being reminded to always live on both sides of the street. Our salvation is dependent on helping others who live on the other side of the street. To make sure that they too know the pathway to salvation. In Timothy we are given two concepts to live by. First, be content with what you have. And second to give what you have been given to someone less fortunate that you. And to understand that no matter how poor you think you are – there is always someone worst off then you. In Timothy – Paul says that there are two ways to get rich in this world. You have continue to get more. Or you can learn to live with less. This world teaches us to want more and more. And time and time again, people don’t have to read the bible to realize that the more you get, the less you think you have. Getting more, leads to the feeling of needing more. Some people call it the Eve factor. What was it that lead Eve to eating from the tree of life? She lived in the garden of eden, she had everything that she could imagine, she was living the perfect life. And yet satan convinced her to want more. With one bite of an apple, she gave into the temptation, and never lost her appetite for more and more. It is in our spiritual DNA. And yet the first words of our scripture today teach us – that the secret to a spiritual life is to learn to be content with what you have. The word used as contentment actually means being self contained. Realizing that happiness does not come from what is out there, it comes from what’s inside. 1. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), February 2001 Contentment comes from an inward attitude to life. In the Third part of Henry the Sixth, Shakespeare draws a picture of the king wandering in the country places unknown. He meets two gamekeepers and tells them that he is a king. One of them asks him: “But, if thou be a king, where is thy crown?” And the king gives a great answer: “My crown is in my heart, not on my head; Not deck’d with diamonds and Indians stones, Nor to be seen; my crown is call’d content— A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.” Sadly, in many cases it is. We can see a dangerous parallel to our lifestyle in the true story of what happened to the citizens on the island of Nauru, a tiny island in the Western Pacific Ocean. With abundant natural resources and rich fishing waters, Nauru provided its citizens with a comfortable, peaceful life. But one day, a chemist, studying a piece of wood from the island, discovered it to be from an area very rich in phosphates. It turns out the island of Nauru was a rich source of phosphate rock, which is used extensively in fertilizers. The government set about mining the phosphate rock and soon became exceedingly rich from its export. Because the government of Nauru subsidizes the lifestyles of its inhabitants, the people of Nauru also became quite rich in the process. The newly rich Nauruans became conspicuous consumers, stocking their houses with every kind of high-tech household gadget. Though their little island has only one road, most Nauruan families bought two or more cars. The government began importing large amounts of food from other countries, and made it available to the people at very low prices. Today, 90% of Nauruan inhabitants are obese, and diabetes and heart disease rates have skyrocketed. The government badly mismanaged its wealth, and now the island of Nauru is in serious debt. Irresponsible mining practices have devastated the island's habitat and natural beauty. And the phosphate stores are running out. The island of Nauru, once a place of beauty and comfortable living, has been ravaged by greed, and is a little speck of heaven no longer. (4) The same thing is happening to us, but we rarely ever see it. But Paul, like Luke, like Jesus, reminds us that we should know better than that. He starts out in Timothy by saying godliness is a great source of profit when you combine it with happiness, which you should already have. The love of money is the root all evil, but he says you man of God should run away from all of these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance and gentleness. Grab hold of the eternal. In other words, let your contentment come from inside, not from what you don’t have. Luke’s message to us is in God’s investment plan, we should invest in relationships with people and with God, not in our bank account. It is nothing wrong with money, or having money. But when it drives you down a road of achieving more – that is when the trouble begins. One day, the young son of humor writer Erma Bombeck surprised her with this question: "Mommy, are we rich?" This was Bombeck's answer: "You're rich when you can have eight people to dinner and don't have to wash forks between the main course and dessert." "You're rich when your television set has all the knobs on it." "You're rich when you can throw away a pair of pantyhose just because it has a large hole in it." "You're rich when your dog is wet and it smells good." The truth is, you are really rich, when you can have a relationship with God, you listen to God. You are not only aware of those around you, but you do what you can to help them. You realize that the resources that you have been given, (and everything that you have is a gift), are given to make a difference in this world. Your true reward comes from God, not from man. Invest in people, not in material possession. A man went to a monastery on vacation for a week. As the priest led him to his room, he said, you are welcome here. And if you find that you need something during you stay here, we will teach you how to live without it. Father Leaves Legacy Through Giving When I was a kid, my dad told me two stories all the time. In the first one, a couple goes to Harvard University and asks to see the president, because they want to give a donation to the university. The president agrees to see them, but he doesn't know them, and because they're from somewhere way out west, he treats them curtly. After a few moments, the woman finally turns to her husband and says, "Come, Leland; I think there are better things we can do with our money." The man was Leland Stanford, founder (with his wife) of Stanford University. Even as a child, I understood that the moral of this story was not, "Be nice to strangers." Instead, this story was about who has real power. The moral is, "If you have money, you can tell anyone—even the most established, respected, or powerful person in the world—to go take a flying leap." The second story my father used to tell me went like this: One day a minister was invited to John D. Rockefeller's mansion. As he drove up the winding drive lined with tall trees, he said, "My, my! This is what the Lord might have done—if he'd had the money." As a child, I understood the moral of this story, too. The minister, who represents belief in God, is overwhelmed by Rockefeller's wealth. Not only that, he says God himself doesn't have as much money as Rockefeller. Implicit in this claim is that he doesn't have as much power, either. Rockefeller is more powerful than God, because money is more powerful than God. As you might guess from the stories my dad told me growing up, he spent most of his life working really hard to make money. But then he made a tactical error. My mom and I were going to an Episcopal Church service, and he decided to come along. The priest was full of old-time religion, and he gave an altar call. Something connected with my dad that day, and he went forward and began to follow Jesus. He was 60-years-old. He began to read a small, blue King James Bible, and for the first time in his life, he began giving with real interest. He told me, in what was a rare sharing of his personal life, "Kevin, I've started to tithe, and it's been a great adventure." My dad suffered a heart attack at age 70. He lay in a hospital bed for 5 days, and then he died. At the funeral home, they laid him in a casket with his navy blazer and a Lands' End tie. A woman I'd never seen came up to me and said, "You don't know me, but I was in a bad marriage; my husband was beating me, and I needed to get out to save my life. But I didn't know what I would do to support myself. Your dad paid for me to go to junior college and get a degree, so I could be a dental hygienist. He paid for the whole thing, and nobody else knew about it. Now I have a job, and I'm making it. Your dad literally saved my life." I wonder what would have been my dad's legacy if he had kept loving money and trying to be like Leland Stanford and John D. Rockefeller. He would have died with a lot of money, but not a lot of love. Instead, he took a risk. He tried to learn how to "keep his life free from the love of money." And when he died, he left behind a woman who knows every day when she cleans people's teeth that it's a miracle she's still alive. Kevin Miller, in his sermon "Financial Contentment," PreachingToday.com [ read less ] When you die, how many of your things are going to come to you funeral. How many of your things are gonna honor you when you die. But the people that you invested in, that you took time with will carry on your name forever. Fellow Christians, we know better, therefore we need to do better. Pursue eternal life, not the rat race. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Amen. Children’s sermon…. Object: A target. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever used a bow and arrow? (Let them answer.) A lot of you have shot an arrow with a bow. How many of you have ever played the game of darts? (Let them answer.) Some of you have done this also. Now, when you use a bow or throw some darts, what do you aim at? (Let them answer.) That's right, a target. You need a target if you are going to shoot an arrow or throw a dart. Otherwise there would be no fun to it. What do you try to hit on the target? (Let them answer.) That's right. The bull's-eye. That is the most important point on the target. If you hit the bull's-eye then you have really done the job. That is the center of our target, and it means you have very good aim. The Bible tells us we should be aiming at some things also. The Bible teaches us that we should be aiming at the good things in life and not just at anything. If you are not aiming, then your shot might end up anywhere. For instance, the Bible tells us that we should try to aim at being gentle. How many of you know what being gentle means? (Let them answer.) What would the opposite of gentle be? (Let them answer.) I think that "rough" is probably the opposite of gentle. Would you like your mother to be rough with you or gentle? (Let them answer.) You want her to be gentle. We would like everyone to be gentle with us. And, of course, other people would like you and me to be gentle with them. Being gentle is in the target's bull's-eye. Another quality we find there is love. What is the opposite of love? (Let them answer.) The Bible says that we should aim at love and never hate. Loving other people and being loved is one of the very best things about life. These are just a couple things the Bible teaches us we should aim for in our lives. In the bull's-eye of the target is gentleness and love. We have to aim at the target. We may not always hit the bull's-eye, but if we are aiming at our target we will come much closer than if we forget to aim. The Apostle Paul gave this kind of advice to his young pastor friend, Timothy, and today I can pass it on to you. Try to think about doing right all day long. Think about it a lot and you will do what is right most of the time. That is what we call taking aim at the good things and having a good life. other illustrations….. ILLUSTRATION Frugal Trustee Removes Church Sign After a friend of ours took his first rural pastorate, we made plans to visit him. We wrote down careful directions on how to get to his country church. He said there would be a welcome sign at a crossroads that would indicate to us where to turn. But traveling back and forth on the road, we couldn't find the sign. Finally, by accident we located the church. When we told our pastor friend about our trouble, he was confused. He asked the church trustee what happened to the sign. The trustee explained, "I took it down for the winter, so it wouldn't become weathered." JoHannah Reardon, Sycamore, Illinois SERMON ILLUSTRATION Philip Yancey on Living Without Possessions I've become more convinced than ever that God finds ways to communicate with those who truly seek him, especially when we lower the volume of the surrounding static. I remember reading the account of a spiritual seeker who interrupted a busy life to spend a few days in a monastery. "I hope your stay is a blessed one," said the monk who showed the visitor to his cell. "If you need anything, let us know, and we'll teach you how to live without it." Philip Yancey, "What 147 Elk Taught Me About Prayer," Christianity Today (March 2006) SERMON ILLUSTRATION SERMON ILLUSTRATION Importing the Idol of Consumerism My friend Ashish came from Northern India to visit me in Chicago. We were eating at Gino's Pizzeria one day and ran into a youth pastor I know, along with his youth group. Just returned from Central America, they were debriefing. "So what did you learn from your trip?" Ashish asked. Student after student obsessed about the poverty of "those poor people." After they left, Ashish said, "Why do they think we're so poor?" "Ashish," I retorted, "you are poor compared to any of those kids. It's hard to get their minds off their consumerist passions. I'm glad they experienced some dissonance." "I'm sick of sympathy from Westerners who think we need more stuff," Ashish rebutted. "What does that have to do with our happiness? Please don't help import the consumerism idol into India." He then told about the American group that was just with him in Delhi. "They were concerned about the bicycle I use to get back and forth to church. They told me they'd all chipped in to get me a car! That was the last thing I wanted. I think I 'rained on their parade,' as you say, when I told them that members in my church could use those same dollars to help start a micro-enterprise. They thought I was just being supersacrificial." David Livermore, Serving with Eyes Wide Open (Baker Books, 2006) SERMON ILLUSTRATION St. Francis's Extreme Embrace of Poverty Among his many virtues, [St. Francis of Assisi] is known for his passionate embrace of poverty. Not only did he forbid his emerging Order to own property, he added this discipline for each of the brothers: "Let none of the brothers … wherever he may be or go, carry, receive, or have received in any way coin or money, whether for clothing, books, or payment for work." There were few exceptions. If a brother was sick or if someone needed medical attention, the brothers could beg for money to pay for a doctor or medicine. But other than that, they were never to touch money. In fact, they were forbidden from even being seen with a beggar who asked for money. Francis was passionate about this rule, jealous for obedience to it: "If by chance, God forbid, it happens that some brother is collecting or holding coin or money," he wrote in his earlier rule, "let all the brothers consider him a deceptive brother, an apostate, a thief, a robber." It was a passion without patience. According to an early collection of Francis stories, a layman entered the headquarters of the Order, Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, to pray. He also left an offering, laying some coins near the cross. Later that day, a brother saw the coins and unthinkingly picked them up and placed them on a window ledge. Later, the brother realized what he had done. He also heard that Francis had found out. He was horrified, so he immediately rushed to Francis and implored forgiveness. He told Francis to whip him for penance. Francis was not so easily placated. Instead, after rebuking the brother, he told him to go to the windowsill, pick up a coin with his mouth, and carry it outside. Then, with the coin still in his mouth, he was to deposit it in a heap of ass's dung. The brother obeyed gladly. This is extreme discipleship, to say the least. But Francis knew that money was like a drug, as addictive and destructive to the soul as cocaine is to the body. Francis did not believe money could be used moderately or "recreationally" without it eventually enslaving. He believed Jesus literally: one cannot serve God and mammon (see Matt. 6:24). In short, he was so jealous for God, so passionate about a fully realized relationship with him, that he acted in ways we consider "over the top." Mark Galli, A Great and Terrible Love (Baker Books, 2009), pp. 118-119 [ read less ] Save "St. Francis's Extreme Embrace of Poverty " Related Topics: Appetites; Asceticism; Commitment; Dedication; Desire; Devotion;Discipleship; Discipline; Extremes; Flesh; Focus; Gluttony; Law; Legalism;Materialism; Money; Money, love of; Moralism; Passion; Possessions;Poverty; Riches; Rules; Spiritual Disciplines; Temptation; Temptation, resisting;Wealth; World; Worldliness; Zeal Filters: Church History; Everyday Disciples; History; Money; Stories References: Joshua 7:21 ; Luke 8:14 ; Luke 12:13-21 ; Ephesians 5:3 ;Colossians 3:5 ; 1 Timothy 6:6-11 ; 1 Timothy 6:17-19 ; Hebrews 13:5 SERMON ILLUSTRATION "Confessions of a Shopaholic": Materialism and Its Consequences Editor's Note: This is a great scene that shows the mindset of someone consumed by materialism. A word of caution is in order, however: Toward the end ... [ read more ] Save ""Confessions of a Shopaholic": Materialism and Its Consequences " SERMON ILLUSTRATION Changes in Giving in Economic Crisis Change in giving to religious organizations and churches in 2008: +5.5 percent (a total of $106.89 billion) Change in overall charitable giving in 2008: ... [ read more ] Save "Changes in Giving in Economic Crisis" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Top Priorities of Parents in an Economic Crisis In light of the economic crisis of 2009, researchers asked 695 U.S. parents to identify their top priorities: • Fifty-four percent said their children's health care [ read more ] Save "Top Priorities of Parents in an Economic Crisis" Not rated SERMON ILLUSTRATION Man Desires the Trust of His Homeless Friend A little while ago I wandered into the wrong hospital room at Stony Brook University Hospital (New York). A middle-aged man with only a few teeth and ... [ read more ] Save "Man Desires the Trust of His Homeless Friend" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Doing Battle with the "Eve Factor" Several years ago, [my wife] and I moved out of Chicago to the western suburbs to be near our grandkids. We got this little piece of land and built what we thought was our dream house. It was not over the top by any means, but it was nice. We liked how it looked from the curb. We liked how it lived on the inside. It was far more than we deserved, but we really liked our house. I hate to admit this … but about six months after we built our house, I was driving through a beautiful neighborhood and saw a house that caught my attention. The colors, the architecture, the lot, the location all had a big wow factor for me. And my first thought was, Boy, do I wish I had that house! Have you ever wondered, What is wrong with us? It's the Eve factor in our lives. We were born with it, and it's deeply embedded in our spiritual DNA. Just one more proof of our sinfulness, in case we had forgotten. What was it that drew Eve's heart away from God in Genesis 3? What was it that seduced her into the material world, into Satan's clutches? She wanted more. What she had, although awesome and satisfying, wasn't enough. In fact, for her, God wasn't enough. She was willing to do anything for more, even if it meant turning her back on God. At its core, greed is a lack of contentment with God and with what he has provided for us. Joe Stowell, Jesus Nation (Tyndale, 2009), pp. 131-132 [ read less ] The Torment of the Mature "The torment of the dead is that they cannot warn the living, just as it is the torment of the mature that the erring young will not listen to them." Dr. Helmut Thielicke The Only Thing You Have Dr. Leo Buscalgia told of an experience he had in Cambodia many years ago. He noticed that during monsoon season the people's way of life changed. The great rains washed away their houses, so the people lived on great communal rafts, several families together. Dr. Buscalgia wrote: "I went down there on a bicycle and there they were. I thought I'd help these people move and become part of their community. The Frenchwoman whom I was talking with just laughed. `What do they have to move?' she asked. `Nature has taught them the only thing they have is from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. Themselves, not things. They can't collect things because every year the monsoon comes.'" Dr. Buscalgia reflected upon what he saw: "I couldn't help thinking to myself, what would you do, Buscalgia, if the monsoon came to Los Angeles next week? What would you take? Your color TV set? Your automobile? The only thing you have to take is you." Timothy J. Smith, What Goes Around Comes Around Have you all heard about the Preacher who stood up one morning and told his congregation. "This morning we'll have an interactive service. I've prepared 3 different sermons for today. First I've prepared a fifty dollar fire and brimstone sermon which is about two hours long." "Second I've prepared a hundred dollar sermon on the evils of sin that should take about an hour to deliver. And finally I have a $500 fifty dollar sermon on love and generosity, it will only take about 10 or fifteen minutes. We'll take the offering and afterwards, I will let you know which message I'm going to be preaching this morning." (1) "With money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well too."

This is the season of salvation

September 18, 2016 Jeremiah 8-9:1 This week once again, we light our candles. Once again, not a week goes by that someone has been killed. That we are not mourning a tradjedy in our nation or in our community. We honor those who lost their lives in the bombing in New York and lift them up in prayer. And not a week goes by that someone is killed in our community. We may not hear about it on the news, it may not be newsworthy to others, but to the families and those who knew the person, every life is important and their lives are changed forever. This has been a horrendous weekend for me. As a student pastor at South Shore UMC, one of the things the most important things that my senior pastor told me – was to never go out on Saturday night. As a matter of fact, she said that Saturday should always be a nice easy day, with not a lot of excitement. Because when you do things on satuday night, it makes Sunday morning too stressful. Well I went out last night. As a matter of fact, there is absolutely no rest for the weary – community meal during the day yesterday, the St Bernard Gala last night, sermon this morning, and concert this afternoon. My pastor, Rev. Pleas also told me that I had to wear a dress whenever I came to church, but she was wrong about that one. The good news was that I knew that this would be a long weekend, so I knew that I needed to be prepared. I actually have two other sermons for this week in the lectionary, but they are both on 1 Timothy. I even have an old sermon on Jeremiah, but God told me that I needed to write a new sermon on Jeremiah, with a new message for today. It has been a battle all weekend, because I kept telling God that I did not have time – and God said I needed to continue my story of Jeremiah. The good news is that I might not have that much to say on Jeremiah, but everytime I say that, my message is longer than I expected not shorter. Remember from last week, that Jeremiah is the weeping prophet. He weeps for the condition of his people. God tells him that his people will suffer. God tells them that it is their own fault, it is a result of their sin. And Yet Jeremiah weeps because these are his people. Their fate is his fate. Their suffering is his suffering and his families suffering. Jeremiah has a deep and dark and heavy message for the people. It is easy to wonder what was so good and prophetic about the message that you are going to suffer, suffer some more, never see the light of day, and then die. Not everyone can appreciate Jeremiah’s message. In the midst of everything else going on this week, I really did take the time to do my sermon prep. I found that most of the commentators favored the message of Timothy. His message to pray for everyone, including our leaders, is a timely message considering there are only 51 more days until the presidential election. Both of our candidate need a lot of prayer. Our nation needs even more prayer. Rev. Albert Shears said something important, that this is the last presidential election where there will be a dominant culture. So many people are acting as if this is the endtimes, because it is the end of an era for them. One newsperson said that he has never seen such a crazy election season, and he hopes he never sees another one like this one. Our country is indeed in need of prayer during these dark days. That is all the more reason, why God said I needed to preach on Jeremiah today. My point is that I could not find a lot of information on Jeremiah, because his message is so dark. His message on the surface. There is no hope, you cant stop the circumstances of our nations. It is what it is. There is nothing that you can do abo ut it. The circumstances that led up today started years ago, so you cant change the course of history today. I have preached on this text before, because it has the famous line, is there no balm in gilead? Is there no hope, no silver lining, no salve to make things better. We as Christian give an answer to that question and say that there is a balm in Gilead, and that balm is Jesus. Jesus makes everything better, he can heal us, he can touch the sin sick soul. There is peace. Jesus is indeed our balm in gilead. Jesus is the answer to our questions and longing. We know that. But I want us to stick with Jeremiah’s words for a minute. Jeremiah’s question, of where is the hope in the midst of the darkness. I have preached on a Balm in Gilead before. But God led me to anther sentence in the text for us to think about. As we light our candles of remembrance for the 5th time in 8 weeks. Jeremiah says, the Harvest has come, the summer is over and we are still not saved. Summer is over, the holidays are over, the 90 degree weather is over, school is back in session, and people are still being killed in our streets everyday. When does it end? What will it take for it to stop? Jeremiah’s words are short, let me read them again for you. Jeremiah 8:18-9:1Common English Bible (CEB) 18 No healing, only grief; my heart is broken.[a] 19 Listen to the weeping of my people all across the land: “Isn’t the LORD in Zion? Is her king no longer there?” Why then did they anger me with their images, with pointless foreign gods? 20 “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, yet we aren’t saved.” 21 Because my people are crushed, I am crushed; darkness and despair overwhelm me. What to do with God’s people 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then have my people not been restored to health? 9 [b] If only my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the wounds of my people. Jeremiah was in despair because the harvest for his people was the end of the summer, about now. His people had planted their crops, they did all they could. But it was a hot summer, and no rain came, just hot wind. So when harvest came around there were not crops to harvest. In the midst of everything else going on in their world, there was nothing to eat. The people were really hurting. Our people are hurting too. There is problem upon problem in many of our lives. And we are looking for a balm in Gilead. Those inside the church and outside of the church. It is so important for us to tell others that Jesus is the balm in gilead. There is an answer, and in god’s time the violence will stop. We will stop needing to kill one another. But we have to be faithful. I felt that Jeremiah’s message was important today, because we need to be reminded to be faithful even in dark times. There is never any reason to just give up and to stop caring about being human and about reaching out to help someone else. Even in our darkest hour when there is no hope, God is present. Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, because he had feelings. God weeps to. God is not an unfeeling God who stands by and watches us. In the old testament, God gets jealous, God gets mad, God is vulnerable, Good weeps for our situation as much as we do. Even in the new testament it says that Jesus wept, for the same city that Jeremiah weeps for now. When we cry, God cries too. He cries because he lives life along with us. He sees what we see and he understands. No other religion has a God that cries and is vulnerable and needs us to love him. His tears are a strength not a weakness. I would say that Jeremiah 8 is one of the saddest chapters in the whole bible, God cries, Jeremiah cries, the people cry. And God is still at work. Why then have my people not been restored to health? The good news is that there is a balm in gilead, there is hope, things will get better. The summer is over and this is the time for salvation. I want to thank those who helped in the community meal yesterday, I felt that we worked together as a church to make it work. Thank you to those who were willing to pray yesterday and tell others about the church and about the salvation of Jesus Christ. That is an important ministry. This is the time for salvation. The summer is over, it is harvest time here in the Midwest – time for us to reap a spiritual harvest. Many spiritual seeds have been planted into the hearts of many. Many are looking for salvation, and it is time for us to be faithful. To tell them that in good times and bad God is with us. God does not interfere with the consequences of sin, But God always shows us a better way. This is the time for us to reach out to others and tell them the good news. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved (Jeremiah 8:20). Friends and Family, Family and Friends, the Lord sent me to ask you this question: "Is this the season to seek salvation?" A single mother had to ask this question concerning her teenage daughter. At age eleven, her daughter began to ask questions about God. She told her mother she wanted to go to church. But her mother wasn't religious and did not see any reason why her teenage daughter should be so religious. So she kept her out of church, but she couldn't keep her from the parties. Two years later at age thirteen, her young daughter had a baby. As she looked at her teenage daughter, the mother had to ask herself this question, "Did I miss the season to seek salvation?" A young man had to ask this question concerning his family. The young man was 25, raising a good family. The woman was a good wife for a good husband. He had no faults, except that he worked all the time. He was trying to excel in his job so that he could build up his home and take care of his family. He never had time for church. He believed in God, but he also believed that he would have time for God after a while -- after he got his promotions, after he built his new home, after his family was settled. But one day before he got his life together, time and circumstances tore his life apart. A driver missed a brake pedal, and his car went out of control. The car struck the young man, paralyzing his body from the waist down. As he was lying in the hospital bed, he had this thought: "Is this the season to seek salvation?" PEOPLE WITHOUT CHRIST One of the saddest verses in the Bible is Jer 8:20 KJV. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Question? What is 750,000 miles long, reaches around the earth 30 times, and grows 20 miles longer each day? Answer: The line of people who are without Christ. As long as there are people who don’t know Christ, there is work for us to do and it is the season for salvation. One last story, I don’t know if it is true or not, but it makes a point. The gala that I attended was to raise money for St Bernard Hospital to buy equipment to detect breast cancer. I am sure the raised a lot lasat night. They even auctioned off Hamilton tickets for $2000. Henry Ford was in Ireland, attending a gala for a hospital. And two adminstrators approached him and asked him to give $5000. It was interesting last night to see this auctioneer going through the crowd, and as the price went up, everyone held onto their hands. No one wanted to be drawn into the auction and play with money they knew they didn’t have. $2000 was an awful lot to pledge. So you can imagine how Henry Ford felt in the 20s giving away $5000. When he opened the newspaper the next day, the headline says US millionaire pledges $50,000 to the hospital. He immediately called the administrators and and demanded a retraction. They promised that they would tell the newspaper to correct the story and to say that Henry Ford did not promise $50,000 but only $5000. He realized how that would look in the media, so he promised to give them the other $45,000 under one condition. They had to build an arch over the entranceway saying I walked among you and you took me in. In honor of the fact that the administrators had taken him in on their scheme. The message for us – who are we taking in during this season of salvation? Let us pray for others and pray for the mission of our church. Amen. Text Illustration: OWNERSHIP OF THE GIFT A humanitarian group in Africa, noticing the filthy water, sewage, and disease, built clean water and sewage system for a village. Months later, they visited the village, but it was back to square one with filthy water, sewage and disease. [from Pickthebrain.com] The chief told the humanitarian workers: "And what did you expect? These people had been many years without clean water. Then you gave it to them for free in abundance. They took all they could use and more. The people did not work for those water stations. They do not own them, and they could not be persuaded to maintain them." The humanitarians were silent. The chief had spoken truth. The great gift alone had not been enough and the reasons could be clearly observed. Perhaps it is human nature to abuse a gift. The humanitarians returned to their camp and thought long and hard about how they could help the villagers. The next day the humanitarians returned, determined to rebuild the water and sanitation systems with the following conditions. 1. The villagers would have to pay for water and sanitation. Not more than they could afford, but there would be no gift giving this time. 2. A group of villagers would work with the contractors to build the system and would be taught how to repair every aspect of it. These villagers would in turn train others so the system would never fall into disrepair. With these new conditions in place, the water and sanitation systems were restored. This time the people had respect for the systems because they owned them. This time they were able to repair the system when it broke down. To this day the villagers have plenty of clean water and live free of filth and disease.