Love in Action

February 15, 2017 Matthew 5:38-48 Love in Action The Sixth Sunday of Epiphany The headlines from just this weekend in Chicago have been …appalling. An 11 year old shot in the head, minutes later a 12 year old shot. I saw a frantic plea on facebook to find a young activist before he committed suicide on facebook live. The 11 year old declared brain dead and taken off of life support. A two year old killed in gang retaliation. Just this morning lake shore drive was shut down for the second time in 3 days because of a fatal drive by shooting. As you listen to this every day you cant help but to ask what is going on. In 2016 there were 324 shootings involving children under 16, 36 of those were killed. In 2017 43 young people under 16 have been shot, 7 of those have been killed. In the 7 years that I have served as a pastor in Englewood, it seems that the problem is getting worse not better. It seems that the young men behind many of these shootings are being encouraged by the reporting of the statistics. It seems that they have less respect for human life, and that reporting these killings in the headlines makes the problem worse not better. As we sit in the pews of our churches, as we watch the news – Christians are asking when does it end. What can be done to stop this madness? What is the solution. When will people finally learn that violence is not the answer. When does peace prevail, and hatred cease? As Christians, many of us are searching, praying, working for peace. We look to scripture for an answer and a solution to the problems of today. On this day after Valentine’s Day during black history month- I was struck in how I found a message of radical love relevant for today. God always provides a word for every situation. For the last 3 weeks, the gospel lesson in the lectionary has been Jesus sermon on the mount. Jesus starts out his message by reminding the people that even in the midst of suffering they are blessed – loved people of God. Jesus knows that being a person of faith is not an easy task. Jesus understands the world that we live in. He understands the culture of retaliation very well. Retaliation is a form of justice. Of making things right in an unfair world. Even today, if you find the story behind each of these shootings, it is a response to something else that has happened. Jesus understood that the rule of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth was actually a law of mercy. When you retaliate, you repay someone for the act that has been committed and nothing else. Today it seems that we are all a part of this culture of relatiation – even faithful Christians. And yet in Matthew 5 Jesus gives us 6 rules of engagement for us to follow in this culture of retaliation. And with each one, he makes it harder and harder to be a Christian. The world has an understanding of doing things one way and Jesus tells us to do the exact opposite. To be Christian is to be counter cultural in a world of madness. I think puts his rules in a very effective way – you have heard it said, do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not take divorce lightly, watch out for your promises. But I say to you that as a Christian – you should take it one step further and do more not less. Our text for today deals with the last two of Jesus counter cultural moves. Go beyond the law of retaliation and do good those who oppress and victimize you and go beyond loving your neighbor and love all people, even those who don’t love us. Jesus makes it even harder to be a Christian in a crazy world. Many today find the message of turning the other cheek difficult. In the movie "Ghandi", the great Indian leader is walking one day with a Presbyterian missionary, Charlie Andrews. The two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. The Reverend Andrews takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decides to run for it. Gandhi stops him and asks, "Doesn't the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?" Andrews mumbles something about Jesus speaking metaphorically. Gandhi replies, "I'm not so sure. I suspect he meant you must show courage--be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside." Yesterday on my facebook page, I shared a memory from 7 years ago… Nonviolent communication is not about winning, but about transforming a relationship. There are no winners and losers. - Andrew Young I wrote that post after visiting the civil rights exhibit at the field museum that year. I was struck with a video that showed the nonviolent training video for the Southern Christian Leadership conference. Where students were trained to respond to hatred by appealing to the humanity of the oppressor. By returning disrespect with respect. By showing radical love when it was not asked for. That concept of love in action has inspired me to not only strive to be in ministry to make the world a better place, but to be a better person in all circumstances. Andrew Young worked closely with martin Luther King during the civil rights movement. He says that his work for peace actually comes from the work of his wife. In the midst of negotiations with the klu Klux klan, he asked her to make sure that she pointed a gun at the head of the leader while they talked and she refused. She said that she would not threaten the life of another person. That she was a Christian and she lived a life of peace. Her attitude transformed his attitude. And he started to teach others to live according to the principles of the bible. the six rules of counter cultural engagement in a culture of relaliation. George Washington and Peter Miller were very close friends. Miller had done a great many favors for the army; he had given them spiritual nourishment and emotional strength during difficult times. When he came in to see George Washington he said, "General, I have a favor to ask of you." Washington said, "What is it?" He said, "I have come to ask you to pardon Michael Whitman." George Washington was stunned. He said, "Pastor Miller, that's impossible. Whitman has done everything in his power to betray us, even offering to join the British and help destroy us. I cannot be lenient with traitors, and for that reason I cannot pardon your friend." Peter Miller said, "Friend! He's no friend of mine. He's the most bitter enemy I've ever had in my life. For years he persecuted me and harassed me. He did everything he could to hurt my church and to hinder the preaching of the gospel. He even waited for me one time after church and beat me almost senseless, spitting in my face, knowing full well I would not strike him back." He said, "General, let's get this straight—Michael Whitman is no friend of mine." George Washington was puzzled. He said, "But you asked me to pardon him." He said, "I have, and I ask you to do it to me as a personal favor." He said, "Why?" He said, "Because that's exactly what Jesus has done for you and for me." With tears in his eyes, George Washington walked into the next room and soon returned with a paper on which was written the pardon of Michael Whitman. Peter Miller went personally with him to the stockade, saved Michael Whitman from the hangman's noose, personally took him back to his own home where he led him to faith in Jesus Christ. Peter Miller was right. What he did for Michael Whitman Jesus Christ has done for us, and on the cross said to us what we should say to others: "With malice toward none; with charity toward all." Showing radical love to those who show us hate, and retaliation. It worked for Jesus, it worked for the civil rights movement for a time, but will it work today? Will it work in Englewood, in Chicago? The theologican William Barclay says the key to the counter cultural resistance is the focus on personal relationships. I would tend to agree with him. The first 4 of the six countercultural rules apply to the way we treat our family, our friends that people that we meet everyday. The last two rules of engagement apply to those who are outside our circles of influence, but it is still about personal relationships. Barclay says that only a true Christian can fulfill all six of these rules of engagement. He says that the rules are not about what we do, but about what Christ can do. And only Christ can give the grace to have unconquerable benevolence and invincible good will in all of our relationships. It is only when we are solid in our relationship with Christ, that we can deal with the bitterness in the heart of people and still remain positive. Barclay goes on the say that these commandments are not about what other people do to us, it is in how we choose to respond to them. It is tuff being a Christian in such a cruel world. But he reminds us to pray in all circumstances, for all people. And it is pretty hard to hate someone and lift them up to God at the same time. A Christian response transforms the situation. (iv) It must be noted that Jesus laid this love down as a basis for personal relationships. People use this passage as a basis for pacifism and as a text on which to speak about international relationships. Of course, it includes that, but first and foremost it deals with our personal relationships with our family and our neighbors and the people we meet with every day in life. It is very much easier to go about declaring that there should be no such thing as war between nation and nation, than to live a life in which we personally never allow any such thing as bitterness to invade our relationships with those we meet with every day. First and foremost, this commandment of Jesus deals with personal relationship. It is a commandment of which we should say first and foremost; “This means me.” (v) We must note that this commandment is possible only for a Christian. Only the grace of Jesus Christ can enable a man to have this unconquerable benevolence and this invincible goodwill in his personal relationships with other people. It is only when Christ lives in our hearts that bitterness will die and this love spring to life. It is often said that this world would be perfect if only people would live according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount; but the plain fact is that no one can even begin to live according to these principles without the help of Jesus Christ. We need Christ to enable us to obey Christ’s command. (vi) Lastly—and it may be most important of all—we must note that this commandment does not only involve allowing people to do as they like to us; it also involves that we should do something for them. We are bidden to pray for them. No man can pray for another man whom he is tempted to hate to God, something happens. We cannot go on hating another man in the presence of God. The surest way of killing bitterness is to pray for the man we are tempted to hate. Just ask…. Christ Makes the Impossible Possible A minister, Woody Garvin, spent his first years in ministry working among the Native Americans on the Hoopa Reservation in northern California. He tells the story of two young men who grew up in his congregation. Gerald Marshall was reared by his mother, Marie, a single parent. Gerald was somewhat retarded mentally, but he did all right. He worked at the post office as the night custodian, and served as a leader in the little reservation church. Pliny Doud was the other young man. His father, George, was also a single parent, and had raised Pliny. Pliny drifted away from the church. He started drinking heavily, and fell in with a rough crowd. One night, he and his friends decided to have some fun. They went to the post office to harass Gerald Marshall, the night custodian. But things did not go well. Gerald became confused, and began to resist. One thing led to another. Pushing turned to hitting. When it was all over, Gerald was lying on the floor. He didn't move. The other boys ran. When someone finally found Gerald lying on the floor, he was dead. Both the Marshall family and the Doud family had been members of the little reservation church. Both families left the church after the murder. Sometime later, Marie Marshall, Gerald's mother, began to attend church again. So did George Doud, the father of the boy who had killed Marie's son. One day, George came late to church and searched for a place to sit. The little church was nearly full. There was only one seat available. It was right next to Marie Marshall. So George sat down. It was Communion Sunday. Woody Garvin, the pastor, wondered what would happen when the communion elements were passed. What he saw was this: When the bread was passed, George Doud handed Marie Marshall the bread and said, "The love of Christ be with you!" And Marie responded, "And also with you!" When he handed her the cup, he said, "The peace of Christ be with you!" And she replied, "And also with you!" Christ always challenges us. He always calls us to be better than we are. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Sometimes he asks the impossible. But then he makes it possible. Richard Niell Donovan, Peacemaking As we continue to read the headlines of the day – we will continue to ask when does it stop. What is the solution, what is the answer. Well at this moment, we don’t have an answer, there seems to be no solution. But I don’t think that it is our job as Christians to find solutions, but to develop personal relationships. To love and understand those who don’t understand and love us. TO appeal to the humanity in all situations. And to follow Christ 6 rules of engagement : control your anger, watch your thoughts, take responsibility for your own actions, watch your words, have not need of retaliation, and love those who consider themselves your enemies. The "peacemakers," therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated. Robert A. Guelich, Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding (W Publishing Group, 1991) SERMON ILLUSTRATION Martin Luther King's Greatest Achievement Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002), p. 53; submitted by David Slagle, Wilmore, Kentucky [ read less ] Let us pray….. Amen. Extra illustrations…….. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Many Think Jesus Overstated Commands "Most people really believe that the Christian commandments (for example, to love one's neighbor as oneself) are intentionally a little too severe—like ... [ read more ] Save "Many Think Jesus Overstated Commands" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Freed from Greed When a fourth-century desert Egyptian monk named Macarius returned to his monastic cell one day, he found a thief stealing the few possessions he owned. ... [ read more ] Save "Freed from Greed" Not rated SERMON ILLUSTRATION Painful Revenge The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released ... [ read more ] Save "Painful Revenge" SERMON ILLUSTRATION "The Jackie Robinson Story": Turning the Other Cheek The Jackie Robinson Story is the 1950 movie about the life, challenges, and achievements of baseball star Jackie Robinson. With the help and vision of ... [ read more ] Save ""The Jackie Robinson Story": Turning the Other Cheek" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Students Battle Over Who Jesus Would Vote For In the 2004 presidential election, partisan fervor visited the University of North Carolina. Two students—one supporting George Bush, the other supporting ... [ read more ] Save "Students Battle Over Who Jesus Would Vote For" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Pastor Punched, Continues Sermon A pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently had an opportunity to practice what he preaches regarding turning the other cheek and showing forgiveness. The pastor ... [ read more ] Save "Pastor Punched, Continues Sermon" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Author Anne Lamott on Forgiveness Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. [ read more ] Save "Author Anne Lamott on Forgiveness" SERMON ILLUSTRATION The Bloodiest Century The 20th century was the bloodiest in human history. In Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century, Jonathan Glover estimates that 86,000,000 people ... [ read more ] Not rated Save "The Bloodiest Century" Not rated SERMON ILLUSTRATION Our Role as Peacemakers In his book Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding, author and professor Robert A. Guelich writes of the role Christ-followers play as peacemakers: The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well-being… When Martin Luther King, Jr. began to stand up for the civil rights of black Americans, many who were full of prejudice subjected him to incredible injustice. His home was bombed. For thirteen years everyday of his life he lived under constant threats of death. He was accused of being a Communist. He was stabbed by a member of his own race. He was jailed more than twenty times. Most of his sermons were written in jail cells. Yet, Martin Luther King said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. I would add only one word to Dr. King's words, and that is the word-divine. Divine love can indeed turn an enemy into a friend. The only way we can even begin to have that kind of love is to look to the Father. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964. Later Martin Luther King, Jr. would take this principle from the Sermon on the Mount and use it to revolutionize America. King used to say, "No man can pull me down so low as to make me hate him." The real goal, said King, was not to defeat the white man, but to awaken a sense of shame within the oppressor and to challenge his false sense of superiority. "The goal is reconciliation, redemption, the creation of the beloved community." These words of Jesus are totally out of step with the world. The real world believes in retaliation. 75 percent of Christians believe in capital punishment because they think we can stop the killing by killing the killers. That's retaliation. CHRISTIAN LOVE 2. The Reason for it Matthew 5:43–48 (continued) WE have seen what Jesus meant when he commanded us to have this Christian love; and now we must go on to see why he demanded that we should have it. Why, then, does Jesus demand that a man should have this love, this unconquerable benevolence, this invincible goodwill? The reason is very simple and tremendous—It is that such a love makes a man like God. Hebrew is not rich in adjectives; and for that reason Hebrew often uses son of … with an abstract noun, where we would use an adjective. For instance a son of peace is a peaceful man; a son of consolation is a consoling man. So, then, a son of God, is a godlike man. The reason why we must have this unconquerable benevolence and goodwill is that God has it; and, if we have it, we become nothing less than sons of God, godlike men. Childrens sermon…… Object: A bandage. Good morning, everyone. I hope this is a good day for you. Things are almost always good for you, aren't they? I suppose that the only really bad times you have are when you get hurt while playing. Is that right? Has anyone been hurt this summer? [Let them respond ... look for leg or arm cuts.] Boy, that must have really hurt! Did you cry? I suppose if it was that serious you had to quit playing. [Now work for the answer that they had to stop what they were doing and go home to be fixed up.] If you had to quit playing because of the cut, I suppose you went home to be helped. What kind of help do you get for a cut like that? Do you ever have to use a bandage? I thought so. By putting some medicine and a bandage on it we know that it soon will be better and then we can start playing again. Right? Well, God said that sometimes we need to use another kind of medicine that will help fix us up just like the bandage we use when we are hurt. Let me tell you what I mean. Sometimes we think about going to church on Sunday, but we remember that we have had a bad fight with one of our friends. It may even have been his fault because he started it. Still, we really hurt because we are not friends anymore. God says we need a bandage -- a special kind of bandage that will help us to stop hurting. This bandage is called "forgiving love." When we go to our friend and tell him that we are sorry and that we don't want to fight anymore, then our hurt begins to feel a lot better. God then says when we have used that kind of a bandage on ourselves we should come to church and he will make us completely healthy again. Do you know what I am talking about? You remember when you had a fight or an argument with your friend and how badly you felt. Just think how good it would have been if you had gone and told him that you forgave him and that you were sorry that it ever happened. That's called reconciling. That's a big word, but that's God's medicine for making peace here on earth. Now the next time you see a bandage, remember that God wants you to make peace with all who are not happy with you.

Salt and Light

February 4, 2017 Matthew 5:13-20 Salt and Light I have been participating in Whole Food health challenges for the last few weeks. Dr. Ian Smith promised that we would lose at least 10 pounds if we did his detox diet. I learned a lot about myself, but let’s just say I have not lost any weight. I am still going to the classes, with the hope that once I have built up my nutritional strength, and learned to control my reactions and triggers to stress that I will have better success. Rev. ---------- has been in the program and he loves it. One of the nutritionist recommended that we read the book, Salt Sugar and Fat. The book talks about how the entertainment and food industries have intentionally added those ingredients to everything. For instance, I bet you did not know that vanilla extract even has added sugar in it. Yogurt has lots of added sugar in it. Today we see lots of things that say sugar free, or fat free and even sugar free. And most of the time when they have taken out the salt, that means that they have put in extra fat. Or when they say that it is fat free that means that it has extra sugar. Why does everything that we eat have the three ingredients in them? Because those are the three things that we have been trained to crave these things. So we expect to taste these things in everything. And the more sugar, salt or fat something has, the more likely we are to buy it. The problem with that is that those three ingredients that we love so much, are killing us at an alarming rate. Diabetes and heart disease is killing us at an alarming rate. Food addictions are destroying our bodies just as much as drug addictions now. And we have to recognize what they are doing to us and learn to eat healthier. Why do they sell popcorn at the movie theater and put all that amazing fake smelling fake butter on it? Because they also put salt on popcorn. And what does salt do? It makes you thirsty. Thirsty enough to be willing to pay $3 for a medium soda. And they make their profit off of the soda. Neither of those product are healthy for you. Our gospel lesson today in Matthew. Also talks about ingrediants that are important for the Christian soul to prosper – salt and light. One of those ingrediants is the same as the three things that the devil is using to kill us. Salt. But when Jesus is talking about salt in a different context and in a different context. We are so addicted to salt, sugar and fat because those are the ingredients that our parents put on our food. I was a very picky eater as a child, so on order to get me to eat anything, my grandmother used to put sugar on everything. The thing is, back them our ancestors used these type of things in moderation. As a matter of fact, one of the first things that my diabetic counselor told me to do is to stop eating out. Because I would put much less sugar, salt and fat on my food then the restaurants would. I am amazed at my relatives who faithfully take insulin and other diabetic medicine and yet still faithfully eat things high in sugar, salt and fat. As if taking the medicine counteract the effects of eating this stuff – that’s not how it works – but I need to get off of that soap box. My point is salt has always been a very valued mineral in our lives. That is why Jesus encourages us all to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. For centuries salt was used as a purifier – I have salt lamps in every room because it purifies the air. It literally takes away the effects of all of the junk in the air. It is a preserver, it keeps things fresh, and it enhances the flavor of anything. And as Jesus points out the thing about salt – it never loses it sense of salt. Salt will always be salt, will always be salt. It doesn’t wear out, or lose its flavor, or transform into anything else. Jesus is telling us that in a world where things are always changing – that our faith should remain the same. If we are truly a follower of Jesus – then we follow Jesus in every circumstance. We don’t hide our faith we show it. If salt makes you thirsty, then you should make people thirsty for the word of God. When they see what God has done for you – they want God to do the same for them. The most important lesson of this text is about being useful vs. being useless. His point is that salt never becomes useless – or insipid as one writer put it. From the beginning of time to the end of time salt will remain that same. And yet what about our faith? When does Christianity become useless? When people stop coming to church, when people stop living according to the bible, when people have conversations on facebook about all of the church in the black neighborhood that aren’t doing anything to help make things better. If this church were to close – who would really care? And that is the question that we all have to ask ourselves. Am I being relevant, am I living out my faith? Does the world really care that I am a Christian. Does it even make a difference in my life? For the last two days, Garrett Seminary has held a class in our church, so that the students could learn about the significance of connecting with a community. I have been excited that some of our church leaders are a part of the class. I wont put them on the spot today – but I hope that they are taking the class, not for their personal training, but to make a difference in this church and this community. Humor: Do You Sell Salt? In his book Led by the Carpenter, D. James Kennedy writes: “A man walked into a little mom-and-pop grocery store and asked, ‘Do you sell salt?’ ‘Ha!’ said Pop the proprietor. ‘Do we sell salt? Just look!’ And Pop showed the customer one entire wall stocked with nothing but salt. Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Epsom salts, every kind imaginable. ‘Wow!’ said the customer. You think that's something?’ said Pop with a wave of his hand. ‘That's nothing! Come look.’ Pop led the customer to a back room filled with shelves and bins and cartons and barrels and boxes of salt. ‘Do we sell salt?’ he said. ‘Unbelievable!’ said the customer. ‘You think that's something?’ said Pop. ‘Come! I'll show you salt!’ Pop led the customer down some steps into a huge basement, five times as large as the previous room, filled floor to ceiling, with every imaginable form and size and shape of salt, even huge ten-pound salt licks for the cow pasture. ‘Incredible!’ said the customer. ‘You really do sell salt!’ ‘No!’ said Pop. ‘That's just the problem! We never sell salt! But that salt salesman? Hoo-boy! Does he sell salt!’" Phil Thrailkill, The Privilege and the Price Jesus is telling us that salt that stays in the shaker is useless, in order to be effective it has to be used. If you call yourself a Christian, but cant nobody tell it from your actions, then what it the point? If you leave meat out on the counter – with no preservatives then it naturally decays, if you let children watch tv and you never discuss what they are watching then they form their own opinions about things and they never learn values. If you come up with a mission and vision statement and you never think about it and you don’t put it into action it disappears. The world if left to its own devices – will fall apart into chaos and confusion. When Jesus says that you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world he is saying that the world needs you to be you. That Christians purify, preserve and flavor the world. Iive your faith and show your light – make a difference in every circumstance. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You are not just the salt of the church, or your family, or your neighborhood. Jesus says you are the salt of what?......... the whole earth. Everything that you do has consequences that go far beyond you. You are the light of what?.......not the room , not the block, not the people around you – you are the light of the world. Be salt and light for God. Let us pray….amen. Other illustrations Parable of the Three Candles Three children carried their candles home from church. Each thought of it preciously in relationship to the commitment made in the beautiful Candle Light Service. One had not even lit the candle in order to keep it good as new. The other had let the candle burn during the service and carried it forth still lit from the church, but it blew out at the doorway. The third blew out his candle and took it home and lit it a number of times during the year until it was burned down into the dish. "Look," said Mary. "after ten months have passed, I still have my candle as good as new. I was smarter than the others. John's is all burned up and Eddie's just lays in the drawer half used up. Who's the smartest, mother?" "I don't know," replied the mother. "Candles are made to be used. They give forth their light for whatever the user decides. Who can say what John was thinking, as he did his work with the lighted candle, and who knows how Eddie feels, when he opens his drawer and sees the candle. We are meant to use our lives being helpful to others and; whether you light a candle or don't use candles, there is a spiritual light that should be in you and which should shine out to make others happy. It is not how big your candle is, but how you use the light that it gives." Read St Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Illustration, www.Sermons.com Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride--common table salt--the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, some times even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. David H. Johnson, Faribault, Minnesota. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2. You ought to live your life in such a way and reflect the Lord Jesus Christ in such a way, that it not only brings glory to God, but it causes other people to want to glorify God. A Sunday School teacher was talking to his class one time, and he said, "Boys, here's a watch. What is it for?" They said, "To tell the time." He said, "Well, suppose the watch doesn't keep time. What is it good for?" They said, "Good for nothing." He then took out a pencil and said, "What is this pencil for?" They said, "It's to write with." He said, "Suppose the pencil won't make a mark. What is it good for?" They said, "Good for nothing." Then he took out a knife, and he said, "Boys, what is this for?" They said, "To cut things with." He said, "But suppose it won't cut anything. What is it good for?" They said, "Good for nothing." The teacher then looked at the class and said, "Boys, whatever else you do, if you do not glorify God by the way you live, and bring others to glorify God, then what are you good for?" They all said, "Good for nothing." I want to close with this last thought. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth….you are the light of world." Not just salt for your neighborhood or for the city where you live, but there's enough salt and enough light for all of the earth and the entire world. I heard a story one time about a duck who broke his wing during the flight home for the winter. A sympathetic farmer retrieved the fallen duck and took him home. The farmer's children adopted the duck as their pet and began to feed him from the table and take him along as they performed their daily chores. By next fall the children were heartbroken as they watched the duck look at the other ducks who were flying south for the winter, but his wing still wasn't strong enough for the flight. Every time a flock flew south, the duck would look longingly into the sky and then return to play with the children. Well, the second year the duck's wing had grown much stronger, but the children had fed the duck so well that when he attempted to take off he was too fat to get off the ground. After one or two attempts he gave up and returned to play with the children. The third year the duck was completely healed. But as the other ducks quacked their call to go south, the duck never even looked up as they flew over. He had become so accustomed to the comfort of his new existence he had lost his focus on the true calling and meaning of his life. God has not called us to be fat ducks, satisfied with a world that is going to go up in smoke. God has called us to be eagles soaring through the clouds of holiness; shaking out the salt of a godly life; shining out the light of the truth of Jesus Christ, and bringing as many men as we can to glorify our Father in heaven. Do you know why they sell peanuts and popcorn at the pyramid and at movies? So you'll buy more soda. You've heard the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." True, but you can feed him some salt and help the process along. We salty Christians ought to make folks thirsty for that living water which is Jesus Christ. Are you the only Christian in your office? If so, don't moan and feel sorry for yourself. Instead say, "Hot dog, I've got the exclusive salt franchise in my office. Jesus has trusted me to represent him to all these lost folks. What a privilege! I'm going to pass the salt." Children’s sermon…….. Scripture: Matthew 5:13 Concept: As salt makes a difference in food, we, as Christian people, are called to make a difference in the world. Preparation: A salt shaker. Lesson: What kinds of foods do you like to put salt on? (Children respond. Acknowledge each response.) We really like to put salt on scrambled eggs and french fries and popcorn. Anything else? French fries without salt taste kind of different, don't they? They taste kind of plain, like something is missing. The same with popcorn. It needs something to spice it up a little. And scrambled eggs, they're just no good without a little salt. Salt spices things up. It adds flavor and taste to foods. It makes a difference to our taste buds. Certain foods just aren't the same without salt. Popcorn without salt; yuck, how boring. The Bible tells us that we are the salt of the earth. That means that those of us who love God are here to make a difference in our world. We are here to add spice to life so that things don't seem so plain or boring. God wants us to spice things up, just by being around other people. Salt is strong. It only takes a little to make a big difference. God wants us to make a difference by sharing our strength. How can we be like salt? We can tell others about Jesus and how much he loves us. We can do nice things for people and we can help those who need us. We can be like salt by standing up for what is right even when everyone else chooses to do wrong. We can share how happy we are that we have Jesus in our lives. We can be like salt in the world by living lives that please God. French fries, eggs, and popcorn just aren't the same without salt, and the world just wouldn't be the same without Christian people to spice it up! Go out and spice up your world this week. God bless you. CSS Publishing Company, A TIME TO PLANT, by Teresa L. Major