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.

The consequences of stupidity

Jeremiah 4:11-28 September 11, 2016 Ordinary Time Remember the line from Forrest Gump movie, Forrest would always say- stupid is as stupid does? Well my sermon today is about being stupid. Maybe it is just me, but I think that stupidity has become a national epidemic. There are a lot of stupid things going on in the this world. I remember at the jurisdictional conference I was talking with someone about Trump winning the republican nomination. I told her that I can’t wait for the day when common sense comes back in style. Because it certainly is not the style of the day. Growing up I lived in the illusion that the world was getting better for black people. That the nation was moving forward in its tolerance of people with a darker skin color. But then I hear the story of so many people upset with the young football player because he refuses to stand for the national anthem. Really? My mother never said the pledge of allegiance, because she said that it was not true. Her brother who was 20 years older than her, and he didn’t say the pledge of allegiance either. And they are just now noticing this one black man who refuses to stand for the national anthem. And besides that, what ever happened to freedom of expression? Whatever happened to this being a diverse nation where the rights of all people are protected? If a white player had refused to stand for the anthem, would we be having all of this conversation about it? There is still a double standard in the land of opportunity. And as quiet as it has been kept, the world has not changed for the better for people of color, the same attitudes and stupidity are running rampamt. Speaking of stupid, in our scripture for today – God calls his own people stupid. It is one thing to be stupid in worldy matters. But God’s people are stupid in spiritual matters. As a matter of fact, the two go hand in hand. God speaks himself in Jeremiah 4 and he says – my people are stupid, they don’t know me. They are good at doing wrong, but they are incompetent is doing what is right. God is not talking to people of the world in general – God says my people are stupid. My people should know better, but they don’t act like it. So the message for us this morning – don’t be stupid. As I was reflecting on scriptures for this week – Jeremiah 4 stood out to me as a very powerful message. It is a message of anguish and pain. Jeremiah says that he speaks out of his anguish. The sentence literally means that she speaks out of his bowels, that his bowels are wreaked in anger. You see the Jews believed that the bowels were the seat of deep emotion. The bowels, the guts were the place that you felt anger, pain, sorrow and any other deep emotion. A prophet is one who speaks to God’s people with a message from God. The prophets always speak from the bowel. Isaiah speaks from the bowel and so does Paul. But Jeremiah’s message always hits me the most. You have to know about his life in order to know why he cared so much about his message to the people. God started messing with Jeremiah as a child. Jeremiah said that he was too young and that his family was not a wholesome family. His dad was a royal priest, a levite. They were a well off family. But in Jeremiah’s lifetime he watched the destruction of his nation. Eventually everything was torn down and he and all of the rich and important people were taken away to another country. There was utter chaos and destruction everywhere. Jeremiah felt that he needed to talk his people through what was going on. Many people think Jeremiah was a message of doom. But it was actually a story of hope after the destruction. He wanted people to realize that all was not lost, and that things would be rebuilt. Jeremiah built property in the midst of the destruction, so that his family would have a heritage after it was all over. He preached that a remnant of people would survive the destruction so that God’s name could continue. 1918 was a bad year for my family. We lost at least 5 people in our family. In doing research, I learned that there was a flu epidemic that year that affected the whole nation. It hit rural families harder than others, because they had less access to a doctor. I explained to one of my students, that the good news was that even though every one was sick and many died. The good news of my family is that some people survived. Some people had a natural immunity. If they didn’t, I wouldnt be here speaking to you. In the midst of even an epidemic, God makes sure that a remnant survives in order to carry on god’s work. So there is good news for the stupidity epidemic. That is the message that Jeremiah felt so strong in his bowels. God's’people may be lost, but we are not down. We are broken but not destroyed. The strength is in our spirit. We cannot afford to be stupid or disconnected from God. Jeremiah’s deep message is not just about God’s people. He is not talking about them, he is talking with them. Their fate is his fate, that is why he cares. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah dies in exile. He never sees the hope that he talked about. But Jeremiah’s salvation is tied up in our salvation. God’s judgement always turns into God’s salvation because God always loves us, even when we are sinners. Al Mohler, Words from the Fire (Moody Publishers, 2009), p. 38; submitted by Robert Dawson, Lake Park, Georgia God Loves Me There is a wonderful story about Maya Angelou. She is an active member now of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco. She wrote that years ago when she first came to San Francisco as a young woman she became sophisticated. She said that was what you were supposed to do when you go to San Francisco, you become sophisticated. And for that reason she said she became agnostic. She thought the two went together. She said that it wasn't that she stopped believing in God, just that God no longer frequented the neighborhoods that she frequented. She was taking voice lessons at the time. Her teacher gave her an exercise where she was to read out of some religious pamphlet. The reading ended with these words: "God loves me." She finished the reading, put the pamphlet down. The teacher said, "I want you to read that last sentence again." So she picked it up, read it again, this time somewhat sarcastically, then put it down again. The teacher said, "Read it again." She read it again. Then she described what happened. "After about the seventh repetition I began to sense there might be some truth in this statement. That there was a possibility that God really loves me, Maya Angelou. I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all. I knew if God loved me, I could do wonderful things. I could do great things. I could learn anything. I could achieve anything. For what could stand against me with God, since one person, any person, with God form a majority now." Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Jeremiah’s message to us, as stupid as we are, we are still God’s people and God still loves us. We can live with God’s hope. God is on your side. God loves you and wants you to win. I chose this very morbid text because of its powerful message. God loves you, God is all powerful. But one thing that God will not do – he will not take away the consequences of your actions. The wages of sin is death. If you are stupid, there are still consequences of your actions. And remember, there is a difference between stupidity and ignorance. Ignorance means that you do stupid things because you did not know any better. God intentionally uses the term stupid – meaning you knew better and did it anyway. Do stupid things, you will suffer the consequences of your actions. The jews were exiled as a result of their political policies. When they were doing well, they did not think they needed to help other people. But you always reap what you sow, God cannot will not stop the process, not even for the people he loves. We forget that God is omnipotent, the God of all things. God controls not just our angels, but also our demons. God is the God of good things, but also the God of bad things. In our stupidity, we tend to relegate God to a corner. God is the God ofgood, but also bad. God is the God of love but also the God of hatred, God is the creator, but God is also the destroyer. If Genesis is the story of God’s creation. Jeremiah is the story of God’s destruction. The lectionary cuts out half of this scripture as God talks about his destruction of the nation that he worked so hard to create. The good news for us – we are God’s people. For us hatred turns into love, destruction turns into recreation, consequences turns into forgiveness and a newlife. Things always turn around for us. Love prevails in the end. Jerimiah 4:11 starts out by saying that a hot wind blows in. the hot winds are called the Socorro. The wind is so hot that it is miserable. I have found that change always comes in the form of a wind. Whenever the weather is about to change, the wind starts to blow. This is the second week of September. I look forward to this weekend every year. When I was pastor in Oak Park, the church would take a retreat in Lake Geneva Wisconsin on this weekend every year. And every year we would get the same warning that it was going to be too cold to sleep in the cabins, because the frost was coming today. And like clockwork there were always right. I always look forward to this weekend, because no matter how hot the summer has been, the cold winds blow in on this weekend. Winds are a sign that things are about to change. Fall is coming. The winds of change are starting to blow. The wind is a sign of God’s presence blowing through the land. The winds of change blew across a group of people gathered together to pray, and the wind made them into the church. The winds of change are blowing now for our church, our community, our world. This is the presidential season. Will the day come where black, brown and red lives matter? While this epidemic of stupidity turn to faith? Will despair turn to hope? Sickness turn to health? Death turn to life? Let us all pray for god’s salvation. Amen. Additional illustrations…. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Thinking about the Unthinkable David Seamands tells the story of the alchemist who sold villagers a special powder that he claimed would turn water into gold provided that when they mixed it, they never thought of red monkeys. Well, of course, no one ever got the gold, because you can't tell yourself to stop thinking about red monkeys or you'll just keep thinking about red monkeys. It doesn't work to say, "Well, I'm just not going to think about those things. I'm going to put all of that out of my mind." So often I see Christian brothers and sisters trying to do that. "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart," Preaching Today, Tape No. 83. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Buried Alive We must be careful what we bury in our heart. To bury something does not mean it is dead. It may simply mean we have buried something alive that will devour and destroy us from within. Maxie Dunnam in Let Me Say That Again. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 5. [ read less ] SERMON ILLUSTRATION Research Points to Our Belief in an "Ordinary God" Several years ago in Britain, researchers went door-to-door asking persons about their belief in God. One of their questions: "Do you believe in a God who intervenes in human history, who changes the course of affairs, who performs miracles, etc.?" When published, their study took its title from the response of one man who was seen as rather typical of those who responded. He answered, "No, I don't believe in that God; I believe in the ordinary God." How many of our friends and neighbors believe in "just the ordinary God"? Create Him Not The love of God is indescribable but a old Jewish legend does a pretty good job. It describes what happened when God created man. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; 'Create him not … for if you do he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.' The Angel of Truth said, 'Create him not … for he will be false and deceitful to his brother and even to Thee.' The Angel of Holiness stood and said; 'Create him not … he will follow that which is impure in your sight, and dishonor you to your face.' Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God's most beloved, angel, and said; 'Create him, our Heavenly Father, for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him, and then lead him back to you.' Brett Blair, Sermons.com When I Say I Am a Christian In 1988, the poet Carol Wimmer, became concerned about the self-righteous, judgmental spirit she was seeing in some people because she felt strongly that being judgmental is a perversion of the Christian faith. So, she wrote a poem about this. It’s called “When I say I am a Christian” and it reads like this: “When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not shouting, ‘I’ve been saved!’ I’m whispering, ‘I get lost!’ That’s why I chose this way. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t speak with human pride. I’m confessing that I stumble – needing God to be my guide. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not trying to be strong. I’m professing that I’m weak and pray for strength to carry on. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not bragging of success. I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t think I know it all. I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I’m worth it. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I do not wish to judge. I have no authority – I only know I’m loved.” James W. Moore, quoting Carol Wimmer, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com _________________________________________ God Is Personal God loves you. So he tells you: don't be stupid! but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. Children’s sermon…… Object: A difficult puzzle or something that requires a lot of patience to figure out. Good morning, boys and girls. Today I want to teach you something that is almost the hardest thing to learn. I know that you will not learn it today, but it may be a start, and if it is, then this will be one of the best lessons you have ever learned. I brought along a puzzle with me this morning. How many of you like to work puzzles? (Let them answer.) This is not a regular kind of puzzle. I want you to know that this is one of the hardest puzzles I have ever seen. I may never be able to work this puzzle, but it teaches me something that I must really learn. Do you know what I am learning from this puzzle? (Let them answer.) You are pretty close, but I must tell you the answer. I am going to learn about patience. We all like puzzles that are easy to work, because finishing them quickly makes us feel smart. But hard puzzles that do not have easy answers make us nervous, and even unhappy. Those kinds of puzzles are like problems that we have in living. We don't like big problems because when we do not have easy answers, we become nervous and unhappy. A hard puzzle teaches us patience because we have to work at it for a long time. Some of us are very hard "puzzles" for God. He works with us for as long as we live and maybe even longer. God is very patient with us. He will work with us every day to help us find the answers to the big problems in our lives. We know that he does this because we know that no matter what we do, he is ready to forgive us and start all over again with us if we only ask him to help. God is always ready to "work us out" and help us solve our problems, problems that we think, are too hard for us. God could do it another way. He could keep us from having any problems, but then we would not be people. We would be like puppets. God lets us have our problems or puzzles, and then helps us to work them out. That is one of the reasons why we think that our God is such a great God. God is very patient with us. Lots of people have found that out, but Paul, who wrote the Bible book of 1 Timothy, remembered how patient God was with him and he told us about it. The next time you have a really hard problem or puzzle and you don't find the answer right away, remember that you are being taught to be patient, just as God is patient with us. Then you will be glad for the love that God shares with you.

Pottter's clay

September 4, 2016 The Potter’s clay Jeremiah 18:1-11 Psalm 139 A waterbearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. While the other pot was perfect, and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the mistress's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to her master's house. The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream: "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your mistress's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in her compassion she said, "As we return to the mistress's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. “For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my mistress's table. Without you being just the way you are, she would not have this beauty to grace her house." Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There's a lot of good out there. This story is a wonderful summary of both of our lessons for today. God’s word is amazing, because as I approach my 50th birthday, I felt that this was a wonderful reflection for today. If you didn’t know, the psalm lesson of the day is always a response to the Hebrew bible lesson. And today they fit the occasion perfectly. Jeremiah reminds us that God is the potter of our lives and we are the clay. As the creator of all things, God knows what the clay is capable of creating, because God created the clay. God shapes and molds our lives, God gives us a sense of purpose and God continues to lead us into that purpose. But the reality is that we are all cracked pots. No matter how hard we try, we are not perfect. Something in life has affected all of us. Ernest Hemingway said the world breaks everyone, but some of us are strong at the broken places. We are all broken pots, but some of us are strong at the broken places. In the times of Jeremiah, when a pot was broken, it was repaired with wax, and of course, when you put something hot in the pot, the wax would melt and leak. The definition of the word sincere, is without wax, solid. Sin means without, cere means wax. The Japanese would actually look forward to pots becoming cracked, they would fill the cracks with gold and call it a special pot. Some say that God fills the cracks of our lives with gold – that gold is called grace. We strive to be perfect, but the truth is, many of us would never know God if it was not for the cracks in our lives. It is our times of tribulation that God comes to us, ministers to us and shapes us into faithful people. And yet even though the cracked pot is the one that is much stronger and does the most good, we still strive to be the perfect pot. I think that is where we get into trouble and even get into a life of sin. We think that somewhere out there, there is the perfect life for us. One pastor puts it this way People sometimes ask me: "Bill, do you think that God has designed our lives so that there is only one right call for us to answer…..one right college for us to attend….one right career for us to choose….one right person for us to marry….one right home for the living, church for the going, and destiny for the finding?" And I say: "No." Because I think that such a philosophy limits both the potential in the clay and the imagination in the potter. Go back to the text. Even in the hand of God, stuff spoils…..life spoils….best laid plans spoil…..best made people spoil…. because in that wonderful dance between potter and clay that we call creation, stuff sometimes goes awry. We get into trouble because we don’t like change. No matter how much we know we are on a dead end street, we don’t want to move. We don’t want things to be different, we don’t want to change course unless we absolutely have to. And yet the scripture tells us that life is not intended to be permanent. Life is like clay, it should be pliable and willing to be molded, and shaped by God. If God does not like the way the pot is turning out, God can tear it down and reshape it all over again. God has reshaped and remolded my life so many times. I can truly understand God is the potter and I am the clay. We should be willing to ask God to shape us to remold us, to straighten our lives out again. If we are willing to be pliable, and shaped, the master creater will make us into a useful pot. The problem is some of us are silly putty. I never played with silly putty very much. But I do know that it is cool and very versatile. You can roll it into a ball, and even bounce the ball. You can roll it over the comics and it will pick up a copy of whatever is on the paper. It is very versatile, the problem is it is too versatile. You can shape it unto form. Make a bowl or a pot. The problem with silly putty is that minutes after you make your creation, it will melt into a blob of silly putty once again. It is able to shape a form, but it does not stay that way. Some people are like that with their faith. They listen to God, they are faithful, but only for the moment. Eventually they are back to the life that they started with. And then there is play doh. Play doh is a wonderful invention, of water, salt and flour. When I was a child there were only 4 colors of play doh- white, red,green and blue. Over the years there are many colors. Play doh is a great substitute for real clay. It is cheaper, easier to play with. The problem with clay do, is that unlike silly putty with is too pliable, after awhile, play do is too rigid. There is nothing more heart breaking then opening up a container of play doh and finding that it is as hard as a rock. And once it gets hard, there is nothing that you can do to soften it up. You can make wonderful pots with play doh, but eventually not only does it get too hard, it cracks. Some of us in the church are good for awhile, but after awhile we are so stuck in our ways, that you cant do anything with us. Now clay is a natural material. Clay is just a little dirt and water mixed together. Clay is soft enough to be shaped into something useful. But clay hard enough that it will stay into anything shape that you put it in. Potters have been using clay for years to make useful things, because it is so easy to work with. But the scripture says that clay has its problems. Sometimes it want to resist being shaped, sometimes it goes the wrong way. Sometimes it even has a mind of its own- sound like someone you know? When it gets out of hand, the potter has to ball it back up and start all over again. Reshaping, remolding, correcting, and making it anew. That’s our message for today. Allow god to mold our loves, let god mold us into what he wants us to be. There is God’s judgement for when we do wrong, but when we are forgiven- there is hope that we can begin again. We should welcome God’s guidance in our lives in order to be what God wants us to be. SERMON ILLUSTRATION God Won't Repent for You God will take nine steps toward us, but he will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but he cannot do our repenting for us. Thomas Edison was a great, great man. When he was 67 years of age, he had a horrendous fire that burned up everything he owned in New Jersey. Every asset he had which at that time in 1914 was worth about $2 million dollars was totally uninsured. All of his experiments, all of his records, all of his equipment, all of his work, and all of his labor had gone up in smoke. He had a 24 year old son that came out to where the fire was roaring and burning up his entire life's work. The two of them tried to stop the fire, but they couldn't do it. The son were going up in flames." He said, "My dad was out there. The wind was blowing in his hair. His face was all red from the flames. He was pouring sweat and I didn't know what he was going to say to me." I couldn't believe what I heard. He said, "Son, go get your mother quick. She has never seen anything like this!" He went to get his mother just so she could see the fire. Later on this son said, "My dad was out there the next morning kicking through the embers and he said to me, 'Son, there is something wonderful about a fire like this.'" The son looked at him in amazement and said, "Dad, what in the world could be so wonderful about a fire like this?" He said, "Son, it just kind of seems to burn up all of your mistakes and failures and give you a brand new fresh start." Three months later that company presented to the world the first phonograph, because here was a man who didn't see his problems as the end, but simply a new start and a fresh beginning. This potter has nailed scarred hands, who can turn your scars into stars, your tears into triumph, your midnights into mornings and your darkness into daybreak if you will just let Him. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. In all things he is the potter and I am the clay. My message on my 50th birthday is to bless god in all things. God knows me better than I know myself. God knows what lies ahead. God knows when I make a mistake, god knows best how to fix me and how to fix the situation. I am grateful for all that God has bought me through. I have learned to trust god totally with my life. Silly putty and play doh are fun to play with. But lord help me to be clay in your hands, shaped and formed to be useful to God. Amen. Children’s sermon – let the children play with play doh Other illustrations There is a Japanese word,kintsukuroi, that means "golden repair." It is the art of restoring broken pottery with gold so the fractures are literally illuminated—a kind of physical expression of its spirit. As a philosophy, kintsukuroicelebrates imperfection as an integral part of the story, not something to be disguised. The artists believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful. In kintsukuroi, the true life of an object (or a person) begins the moment it breaks and reveals that it is vulnerable. The gap between once pristine appearance and its visible imperfection deepens its appeal. Charlie Steinmetz had one of the greatest minds in the field of electricity that the world has ever known. In his day no one knew more than he. Steinmetz .. God, the Potter, Works in Mud In Nikos Kazantzakis's novel Christ Recrucified, there is a scene in which four village men confess their sins to one another in the presence of the Pope. One of the men, Michelis, cries out, "How can God let us live on the earth? Why doesn't he kill us to purify creation?" "Because, Michelis," the Pope answered, "God is a potter; he works in mud." Rick Ezell, The 7 Sins of Highly Defective People (Kregel, 2003) [ read less ] SERMON ILLUSTRATION Creator Makes and Fixes Creations When we were missionaries in the Philippines, we vacationed in Baguio City in the mountains of Northern Luzon. While there, we visited the St. Louis Silver School, where silversmiths are trained. We admired exquisite workmanship in the workshop and gift shop, and took home a souvenir—a pure silver money clip embellished with a distinctive design. I carried that clip for the next 24 years. One day it finally broke as I slipped a few bills into it. I then took the two pieces of the money clip back to the silver school in Baguio. One workman, about my age, asked if he could help me. I explained my predicament and laid the pieces in his outstretched hand. After examining the pieces for a minute or so, he looked up at me and said, "I designed this clip. I was the only one to make this design. I made all of these that were ever made." I asked, "Can you fix it?" He said, "I designed it. I made it. Of course I can fix it!" Allen Dale Golding, La Mirada, California SERMON ILLUSTRATION Genius Knew Where to Tinker Charlie Steinmetz had one of the greatest minds in the field of electricity that the world has ever known. In his day no one knew more than he. Steinmetz built the great generators for Henry Ford in his first plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Once everything was in place, the assembly line worked like clockwork. Thanks to the electrical genius, cars began to roll off the production line, and the profits began to pour into Ford's pockets. Things ran along smoothly for months. Suddenly, without warning, everything ground to a halt. Ford Motor Company went dark. One mechanic after another was unable to locate the problem, much to Ford's frustration. They were losing money. Finally, he contacted the brain behind the system. Steinmetz showed up and immediately went to work. He fiddled around with some switches and a gauge or two. He tinkered with this motor and that one, pushed a few buttons and messed with some wires. He then threw the master switch, and lights blinked on, engines began to whirl, and things were back to normal. A few days later Henry Ford received a bill from Steinmetz for $10,000. Although Ford was a rich man, he couldn't believe it. Paying such an exorbitant amount of money was out of the question, especially for what appeared to be such a small amount of work. He returned the bill with a note: "Charlie, isn't this bill just a little high for a few hours of tinkering around with a few wires and switches?" Steinmetz rewrote the bill and sent it back. It read: "For tinkering around on the motors: $10. For knowing where to tinker: $9,990. Total $10,000. Henry Ford paid the bill. As we open up our lives to God and allow him to minister to us, he knows where to "tinker," to put right what's gone wrong and repair what is broken. After all, he formed us and fashioned us in the first place. Jesus the great physician knows the right remedy because he is able to diagnose the exact problem. David A. Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions (Victor Books, 1981), p. 23; submitted by David Holdaway, South Wales, United Kingdom [ read less ] I read a story about a little boy whose hand got stuck in a very expensive vase that his mother owned. It was a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations. The mother tried in vain to pull his hand out, but she couldn't do it. Even though she hated to break that vase because it was so valuable, she realized it was the only way she could get her son's hand out, so she broke it, only to find out that her son had his fist all balled up and that is why she couldn't get his hand out. She said, "Son was your fist balled up like that all the time we were trying to get it out of that vase?" He said very sheepishly, "Yes Ma'am." She said, "Why didn't you let your hand open so it would have come out easily?" He said, "Mother, if I had opened my hand, I would have dropped my penny." Too many people are just like that - holding on to the dark side; holding on to that impurity and that sin in their life when God is simply trying to make out of them a beautiful, valuable vase. He can't do it, because they refuse to yield to His will. That is why you always need to remember that when God is working on you He is wanting what is best for you. To the Potter’s House I went down one day, And watched him while molding a vessel of clay, And many a wonderful lesson I drew As I noted the process the clay passed through. Trampled and broken, downtrodden and rolled, To render it plastic and fit for the mold. How like the clay that is human, I thought, Which in heavenly hands to God’s image is brought; For self must be cast as the dust at His feet, Ere man is renewed and for service made meet. And pride must be broken, and self-will lost - All laid on the altar, whatever the cost; And all that is boasted of human display Must yield to God’s hand and be taken away. (Anonymous) We are Christians under construction, seeking to build a life that really matters! What do you need from the Master Designer? And always remember: You are on God’s mind, in God’s plans, empowered by God’s grace, and headed safely home.