You of Little Faith

August 13, 2023 Matthew 14:22-33 You of Little Faith 11th Sunday After Pentecost Year A Prelude Welcome Call to Worship [Lyrics are from UMH #512 “Stand by Me”, Charles Albert Tindley, ca. 1906] L: “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me” P: Lord, hear my cry and rescue me! L: “When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea” P: God who rules wind and water, stand by me. L: God stands with you in bright sunshine and deepest storm. P: God gently guides us to safety and peace. Thanks be to God. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Song Here I am Lord UMH 593 Children’s Sermon Two eggs - ASK (a.k.a The On-Ramp) • Good morning! • I have a plastic egg here. Nothing is in it [crack it open and show everyone; then close it again] • And I have a container with water here. • I was thinking of putting this plastic egg in the water. If I put this egg in the water, do you think it will float or sink? [listen to their answers] • Thank you for sharing! Now, let's find out if the egg will float or sink! [put egg in water] • Well look at that – it floats! [leave the egg floating in the water, because you're going to come back to it] TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway) • In today's scripture story, we hear about two people staying above the water, just like this one egg is staying above the water. • Those two people were Jesus and Peter. • The story starts with Jesus praying by himself. And then, he goes out on the water and stays above it. • When Peter sees what Jesus is doing, Peter wants to do it, too. • So Jesus tells him to go ahead and do so. • At first, Peter is able to stay above the water just like Jesus did. • But then Peter looked at the waves and the storm and it made him afraid. • And, once he's afraid, that’s when Peter starts to sink into the water. • By looking at the storm and waves and being scared by it, Peter let the storm and the waves get inside of his heart and mind. • [point to the egg in the water] If we pretend this egg is like Peter, we can then see what happens when we let water inside of it. • [crack the egg open to let water in, and then close it back up] • What happens to the egg once it gets water inside of it? (it sinks into the water) • Which is exactly what happened to Peter, isn't it? Once the storm gets inside of him, it causes him to sink into the water. SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination) • But why didn't Jesus sink, too? • I think it was because he had been praying beforehand. • While praying, Jesus was filled with God's breath and God's Holy Spirit. • By being filled with God's Holy Spirit instead of fear of the wind and waves, Jesus was able to stay above the water [put second egg into the water so that you have one floating egg and one sinking egg], even when there were stormy seas and waves around him. • And, just like Jesus spent time in prayer to receive and be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, so can we. • When we spend time in prayer like Jesus did, we too can receive and be filled with God's spirit, love and peace. • And, when we are filled with God’s spirit, love, and peace, there’s a lot less room for the storms of life to get inside of us. • Which then allows us to help others during those stormy times, just like Jesus was able to help Peter in the storm in today’s scripture story. • And that's the good news for today. Let’s pray. CLOSING Prayer • This is a repeat-after-me prayer. Dear God, Thank you for Jesus… …who shows us… …how to receive and share… …your help during stormy times. Thank you and Amen Originally posted August 5, 2017Updated on July 13, 2023 Written and edited by Nathanael Vissia Prayer for Transformation and New Life God our gentle parent, bring calm to the storms that batter us and blow us off course. We do not need to walk on water; we need only walk through our lives as whole and holy children who recognize that your love unites us, buoys us, and carries us forward to face miraculous challenges in a complex world. Help us to see through the clutter of daily existence in order to focus on what is most important: love, compassion, faith, and connection. Amen. Words of Assurance Even when we doubt, God is with us. God walks beside us, through us, with us, in all that we do. Miracles are among us if we see ourselves with God’s loving gaze. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Scripture Matthew 14:22-33 Sermon You of Little Faith We all need a lot of things in order to live. We need food, we need community, we need to feel useful. We need to take care of ourselves. But most importantly, we need to feel safe and the assurance that things will be okay. No matter who we are, we all need salvation. It is Jesus who saves. Our scripture for today is a classic story of salvation. Salvation in the midst of the storm. As we have been reading through the book of Matthew, Jesus is teaching his disciples to go out on mission and to reach more people. Jesus is giving them lessons that they need in order to be prepared. Jesus reaches the point where he is tired, and dealing with the death of his cousin. Jesus gets his disciples away from the crowd and gets away so that he can take a break. Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him on a boat on the lake. In his absence, a storm appears – his disciples cry out to for Jesus to save them. Jesus comes – this time he does not calm the storm, he calms the disciples. When they calm down, they are able to continue the journey to reach the gentils on the other side. This story will always appear with the story of the feeding of the 5000. – perhaps as a way to renact the jews wondering in the desert and God providing for them in their time of need. The feeding of the 5000 appears in all four gospels. This story appears in Mark, Matthew and John, but not in Luke. In this story, it is Jesus who provides for the needs of the people. Matthew is the only story where Peter jumps in the water and attempts to walk on water also. Usually, Peter serves as an example of discipleship for the rest of us. I will talk about that a little later. Let us focus on Jesus for a minute. At the end of this story, the disciples declare that surely this must be the son of God. God is the one who provides for our needs. Jesus does whatever God does. The bible talks about God walking on water twice. Psalm 77 says that God walks on water without leavening a footprint. Job 9 speaks of God walking on water and controlling nature. The Miracle Dog As you know, there are probably hundreds of walking on water jokes around. My favorite is about a duck hunter who bought a new retriever. Besides being a beautiful dog, it was guaranteed to be the best retriever anyone had ever seen. He couldn't wait to show off his new dog to his buddies. And then he couldn't say enough about his dog. All through the trip down to the camp and all evening long, he talked nonstop about his dog and how good it was going to be. Opening day came. The hunters were all sitting in the duck blind early in the morning. The owner of the new dog was filled with excited anticipation. The dog sat next to him, ready. A flock of ducks flew over; the dog began to tremble in excitement and anticipation. A shotgun fired. At a signal from his owner, the dog took off after the duck like a streak of lightening. It jumped out of the blind, over the cover and onto the water. That's right, it didn't swim, it ran right across the water and retrieved the duck. They couldn't believe it. Everybody was flat out amazed. This went on a couple of more times. A duck would be shot and the dog would run across the water and retrieve the duck without ever getting its feet wet. The owner was beaming. If he had grinned anymore his face would have split in two. He couldn't stand it. "So what do y'all think? What do you think of my new dog?" One of the guys who was tired of hearing how wonderful this dog was, said, "Well, he's good looking all right. But I don't know if I'd want a dog like that or not. The dad gum thing can't swim." Billy D. Strayhorn, Great God I have preached this story numerous times, but this time I am taking a different approach. Usually, I focus on the miracles of the story and how Peter was brave and took a risk. Today I want to talk about miracles being a part of our every day life. Tourist Walk on Water Some years ago some enterprising capitalist was planning to build a bridge on the Sea of Galilee at the site of today's reading. What makes this project unique is that it is not being built OVER the water. It is being built UNDER the water. A 28th foot long floating bridge will be submerged 2 inches below the surface so that pilgrims and tourists will be able to "walk on the water" just as Jesus did. Perhaps their next project should be to build a hot air balloon on the Mount of Olives so that tourists will be able to imitate Jesus' ascension into heaven! What the bridge builders do not understand is that this gospel is not about Jesus trying to impress anyone with his ability to walk on water. It is about his willingness to overcome any obstacle to reach out to those in need of him. Jerry Gentile Everyday Miracles Kentucky farmer and philosopher Wendell Berry is a poet who consistently invites us to look again at the everyday, common things of life. He makes the case that turning water into wine is a relatively small miracle compared to turning water (and soil and sunlight) into grapes. Many times we are so transfixed by the humongous miracles God is capable of that we forget the humble, everyday miracles that go on all around us. Wendell Berry's way of putting this is: "We are alive within mystery, by miracle." (Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition [Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 2000], 45). Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Water Walkers I'll bet every one of us this morning can think of some remarkable water-walkers we have known. We all have watched simple, straight-forward, hard-working men and women, little toddlers and tormented teens, the shut-in elders and the shut-out homeless, perform acts in their lives that defy the limitations of the world in which they live. The chemotherapy patient who gets out of bed, puts on clean clothes, picks up the house, before going for treatment . . . What are they doing but walking on water? The homeless woman who sleeps in a box, gleans food from dumpsters, but still smiles a greeting and laughs at a joke . . . What is she doing but walking on water? The single parent, overworked, overwhelmed, over-extended in time, money, and energy, but makes it to soccer games and school plays and checks to see that homework is done . . . What is that harried parent doing but walking on water? The octogenarian who lives alone, whose family has forgotten him, who counts the postal carrier and the water-meter reader as "company," but still is up and dressed by 8am and sits at the table for all his meals . . . What is he doing but walking on water? Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Some of the best miracles in life aer those which happen to us every day. Every day in some way Jesus comes to alleviate our fears, help us to see the important things in life. Every day Jesus comes to help us to navigate through the storms and save us. Staring at the Cross Alexander Solzhenitsyn said that only once during his long imprisonment in a labor camp in the Soviet Union did he become so discouraged that he thought about suicide. He was outdoors, on a work detail, and he had reached a point where he no longer cared whether he lived or died. When he had a break, he sat down, and a stranger sat beside him, someone he had never seen before and would never see again. For no apparent reason, this stranger took a stick and drew a cross on the ground. Solzhenitsyn sat and stared at that cross for a long while. He later wrote, "Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies freedom." At that point – in the midst of a storm – he received new courage and the will to live. The storm didn’t end that day, but through Jesus, Solzhenitsyn found the strength to ride it out. I don’t know what storm of life will come your way this week, or what storm you may be enduring at this very moment. But I know this: even as the storm rages around you, if you will listen very carefully with your heart, you will hear a gentle voice calling to you, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." And in time the storm will pass. And Jesus will still be there. Johnny Dean, Oh Me of Little Faith, www.eSermons.com In the gospels, Peter represents us as a disciple. Even as a pastor, Peter us much mor our example than Jesus. None of us are intended to be Jesus in the story. Peter is faithful, but not perfect. Peter is trying but still has a lot to learn. In ths story it is Peter who takes a risk and attempts to step out on the water and walk just like Jesus. But I don’t think Peter was ever intended to walk on water. If I am not mistaken, when he falls in the water, Jesus saves him and puts him back into the boat. The boat is actually the hero in the story. In a Jewish story – water is never a good thing.It is necessary for life, but is it is dangerous and chaotic. It cannot be controlled. Jesus is able to overcome all of that – but not us. The boat is the tool for salvation. It transports them through the chaos safely. When you look up at the ceiling, it is made of small wooden planks in order to represent the floor of a boat. The planks are intended to remind us that we are inside of the boat right now. We All Need This Boat Our friend Will Willimon, former Dean of the Chapel at Duke, tells of a visit he made one afternoon to the office of a lawyer in his congregation. It was just a drop-in. Will says he did not know the man that well - his wife seemed to bear the church interest for the family. Listen to the story in Will's own words: "It was at the end of the day. I entered the outer office of his law firm. Everyone had left. All was dark, except for a light coming from the inner office. He called to me. Invited me to come back to his office. "'Didn't expect to see you here, preacher,' he said in a voice that sounded tired. 'Come on in, I was just about to fix myself a drink. Can I interest you in one?' "'Sure,' I said, 'if it's caffeine free, diet.' "He poured out the drinks, offered me a seat, reared himself back in his chair, feet on the disordered desk before him. "'What sort of day have you had?' I asked. "'A typical day,' he said, again sounding tired. 'Misery.' "'Oh, I'm sorry. What was miserable about it?' I asked. "'My day began with my assisting a couple evict their aging father from his house so they could take everything he has while he's in the nursing home. All legal. Not particularly moral, but legal. Then, by lunchtime I was helping a client evade his workers' insurance payments. It's legal! This afternoon, I have been enabling a woman to ruin her husband's life forever with the sweetest divorce you ever saw. That's my day.' "What could I say? "'Which,' he continued, 'helps explain why I'm in your church on a Sunday morning.' "'I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed,' I said, 'thinking what on earth I have to say in a sermon which might be helpful to you on a Sunday.' "'It's not the sermon that I come for, preacher,' he said, fixing his gaze upon me. 'It's the music. I go a whole week sometimes with nothing beautiful, little good, until Sunday. Sometimes, when that choir sings, it is for me the difference between life and death.'" Why are YOU here? You don't have to answer. The fact that you ARE here is enough. You NEED this ship. We all do. Stay in the boat. Because it is here we hear, "Take heart. It is I; don't be afraid." David E. Leininger, Stay in the Boat! ____________________________________ What brings you hear this morning? What is it that keeps you hear? Whatever it is that makes your boat float, its okay. We are all in need of some salvation. The miracle in this story in is the journey ahead. Jesus has already told them the he is sending them on a mission of a lifetime. And they will need lots of support in order to succeed. They are going to reach a whole new group of people and tell them the good news of Christ’s salvation. One of my favorite stories to read for my morning devotions comes from the book – His in a life of Prayer. George Muller was making a voyage to America from England in the 1800’s. He was a missionary and had made friends with the captain on the long journey. The captain came to his room one night to tell him that their journey would be delyed. They had run into some dense fog and it was impossible to move forward. The captain had been in deck for the last 24 hours and there was nothing that could be done. The passenger told the captain that was unacceptable. He had an appointment to next day and he has never in his life been late for an appointment. The captain apologized, there was nothing to be done. My Muleller said that he was going to his room to pray. The captain volunteered to come and pray with him. My mueller refused. First because the captain was not a Christian, and his efforts would be disingenuous, and second because he knew that God had already granted his prayer. After his session he went to the captain and told him that the fog had cleared. Sure enough it had, and Mr Mueller made it to his appointment. Prayer is talking to someone who can do something about the problem. The disciples has a mission. It was Jesus who called them to the mission. It was Jesus who would see them through to fulfill this mission. We are the church also have a mission to fulfill – make disciples of all nations. Peter’s lesson was to trust Jesus. The point of the story is not that Jesus walked on water, but that Jesus invites us to trust him as we too go on a mission. Some say that today the church faces one of the greatest challenges in 500 years. The world is changing, people are getting further and futher away from God. Most people are convinced that they don’t need a boat to navigate the turbulent waters of life. Our challenge is not to step out and walk to Jesus. It is to stay in the boat. So that we can get to our mission safely. God called us on this journey, God will see us through. Dancing in the Wind - Matthew 14:22-33 We live in an embattled time. Conflicts in politics, problems with economics, and a global pandemic have put the icing on the proverbial cake of usual issues. Most of us already feel we are up to our necks in alligators. Now we have entered hurricane season to boot. How much more can we take? How much longer can we fight? Let’s face it. We are a tired, fatigued, tense, and nervous bunch right now. Just when we think we’ve ridden the final wave another rises up and heads right toward us. What shall we do? When I think of prepping and preparing for adverse conditions, I think of athletes. Athletes train themselves not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, in order to accomplish ever more rigorous feats. Runners in particular have an entire body of literature on how to excel in this endorphin-boosting sport. I like to call their oeuvre “runners’ wisdom.” A lot of runners’ wisdom is simply common sense. Drink water before you run. Warm up and stretch. Push harder every day but don’t overdo it. Wear good shoes. Trust what your body is telling you. Let your instincts guide you. But one of the best articles I found written by Jonathan Beverly of “Runner’s World” is about how to run in a headwind. Beverly explains that most of us, when we are running against the wind, tend to work harder, push more, bear down, tense up. This causes tension, fatigue, and exasperation. Instead, he explains, we must do exactly the opposite: lean in, relax, and allow the wind to dictate the pace. We must “dance in the wind.” Beverly learned this lesson not from other runners but from hawks he saw flying above the fields. He noticed that the raptors did not struggle against the headwinds, but they used the wind to do a kind of mid-air dance. They circled, they swooped, they twirled, they dove. They relaxed and played in the wind. Their goal was not measured progress but play and enjoyment. They were masters at seizing the moment and “going with the flow.” Adapting to the wind. Adapting to life. Like Jonathan Beverly, we too could learn some lessons from the birds when it comes to dealing with the hurricanes and wind-gusts of life.... Swimming in the Deep End As a Boy Scout, I attended summer camp every year. And, as usual, the first day brought the required "swimming test." This requirement was necessary as it divided us into the appropriate sections of the pool. For the last 3 years I had tested into the shallow end, because I was too afraid of the test, which required jumping into the deep end of the pool. This year, however, I was resolved to pass the test. The hour of the test arrived and the lifeguard, who knew of my fear, agreed to jump into the pool with me. We agreed that on the count of three we would both jump into the pool together and together swim the entire length of the pool. We began . . . ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE . . . SPLASH . . . the lifeguard was in the pool and I was still standing on the side of the pool. He got out and encouraged me to jump in with him. ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE . . . SPLASH . . . there I was again on the side of the pool and he again was in the pool. Again, he got out and encouraged me and reiterated that he would be there along side me as I jumped into the pool, and swam to the other end. We began again . . . ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE . . . SPLASH . . . SPLASH . . . we were both in and swimming toward the other end. Half away across I realized what I was doing and became scared, but the lifeguard continued to reassure me as we swam across the last length of the pool. Like the lifeguard, Jesus goes before us encouraging us and companioning us even in the most difficult moments in life. Mike Bayard We don’t need to learn to walk on water, we are not Jesus. Jesus is with us every step of the way, encouraging us to stay in the boat so that we can safely reach our mission and bring others in. Amen. Song Stand By Me UMH 512 PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, if it’s you, we need to hear from you. When we are alone. When we go away to pray. When we have little faith. When we are battered by the waves. When the wind is against us. When we get in the boat. When we’re terrified by our ghosts. When we seek you on the mountain. When we cry out in fear. When we start walking on water. When we begin to sink. When we are far from land. Lord, if it’s you, speak to us, calm our fears, calm our storms. Strengthen our resolve. Remind us who you are. Walk to us, Call to us, Save us. Reach out your hand and catch us. Quiet the wind around us. Lord, if it’s you, we worship you for “Truly you are the Son of God.” Amen. Written by Tony Peterson, The Africana Worship Book, Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 91. Affirmation of faith (from A Declaration of Faith) We believe Christ gives us and demands of us lives in pilgrimage toward God’s kingdom. Like Christ we may enjoy on our journey all that sustains life and makes it pleasant and beautiful. No more than Christ are we spared the darkness, ambiguity, and threat of life in the world. We are in the world, but not of the world. Our confidence and hope for ourselves and other people do not rest in the powers and achievements of this world, but in the coming and hidden presence of God’s kingdom. Christ calls each of us to a life appropriate to that kingdom: to serve as he has served us; to take up our cross, risking the consequences of faithful discipleship; to walk by faith, not by sight, to hope for what we have not seen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Philip Gladden) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Most of us, if we’re honest, can name things which make us afraid. We may not sing out “lions and tigers and bears, oh, my!” but down deep, we might name fear, fire, storms, drugs, alcohol abuse… or think of sharks, spiders or separation from those we love. Matthew tells of the time Jesus’ disciples were in a boat on the sea, with the wind kicking up. Then, the disciples saw something, or some ONE, walking on the water. A ghost? FEAR! Jesus! Appearing out of the midst of the wind and the waves, inspiring Peter to call out “If it is you, command me to come to you”. Jesus responded. Peter stepped out onto the water, and began to move toward Jesus…until fear overtook him. Jesus’ gift to Peter was to go with him into the boat, with the other disciples. As we come to this time of offering, I wonder if you can name a time when you’ve experienced Jesus (or the Spirit/or God) at work in you in the midst of your fears? For me, I think of _____________________ (name your own specific time). In grateful response for the times we’ve known the assurance of the presence of the Holy, we bring our tithes, gifts and offerings. This is our opportunity to acknowledge the ways in which our lives are lifted from fear because of our faith. Let us joyfully share what we’ve brought, rejoicing as we’re set free from our fear. Prayer of Thanksgiving With deep gratitude, God of all life, we offer you these gifts. Accept these symbols of our lives, along with our praise, for we’re confident you desire us to move beyond our fears. Set us free to use these resources, overcoming the fears which hold back so many. Liberate us, that we might celebrate in your presence all the days of our lives. AMEN (Disciples of Faith, Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook As we go forth from this time of intentional community and ministry, let us practice replacing fear with faith and worry with a calm that is rooted in God’s grace. May we more deeply connect with the freedom that comes from trust in something larger than ourselves. Go in peace and do God’s work among all of God’s people. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Community Time Joys and Concerns Benediction You have been embraced by the love of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and blessed by Jesus to go into this world to offer healing and hope. Go in peace. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations

Dancing with Our Circumstances

August 16, 2020 Matthew 15:10-28 Year A 11th Sunday After Pentecost Dancing with our Circumstances Prelude Welcome Opening Prayer Merciful God, we boldly pray to you, confident that you will not reject us. In spite of our human failings, your love continues to draw us together. Be with us today, as we rejoice in the power of your love. Sing with us today, as we proclaim the good news of your grace. Dance with us today, as we celebrate the unity we share in Christ. How good it is to be together! Hallelujah! Amen! Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering (Psalm 133) Our hearts are overflowing with your love, O God: like precious oil that cascades down on the beards of old; like the rains that shower down upon your creation. Guide us now, as we share with others the abundance of our joy. We pray that you will give us the vision to use our blessings to offer hope to others. In Christ's name we pray and act. Amen. Offertory As God has so richly blessed us, let us return a portion of these blessings to God, asking that these gifts may be used in service to others through the ministries and mission of this church. Let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Dedication God of abundance and joy, we thank you for the many blessings you have poured on our lives. Receive these gifts, lovingly given, and bless them in your service. AMEN. Invitation to the Word (Genesis 45, Psalm 133) Seeking unity, we come to the scriptures. Open our hearts to hear and live your word. Acknowledging our discord, we come to the scriptures. Open our hearts to hear and live your word. Realigning our lives with God, we come to the scriptures. Open our hearts to hear and live your word. Scripture Matthew 15:10-28 Common English Bible 10 Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?” 13 Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be pulled up. 14 Leave the Pharisees alone. They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.” 15 Then Peter spoke up, “Explain this riddle to us.” 16 Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? 17 Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. 19 Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. 20 These contaminate a person in God’s sight. But eating without washing hands doesn’t contaminate in God’s sight.” Canaanite woman 21 From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from those territories came out and shouted, “Show me mercy, Son of David. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.” 23 But he didn’t respond to her at all. His disciples came and urged him, “Send her away; she keeps shouting out after us.” 24 Jesus replied, “I’ve been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.” 25 But she knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.” 26 He replied, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.” 28 Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith. It will be just as you wish.” And right then her daughter was healed. Sermon A story came across the wires from the Reuters news service about a family of ducklings that fell down a sewer grate in Vancouver. Their mother did what any parent would do. She got help from a passing police officer. The mother duck grabbed the policeman by the pant leg while he was on foot patrol. The policeman shoved what he thought was just a goofy duck away, but she persisted, grabbing his leg again when he tried to leave, and then waddling to a nearby sewer grate where she sat down and waited for him to follow and investigate. The policeman came to where she sat and saw eight little baby ducklings in the water below. Police removed the heavy metal grate with the help of a tow truck and used a vegetable strainer to lift the ducklings to safety. Mother and offspring then departed for a nearby pond. That mother duck did what the Canaanite woman did. She persisted in seeking help until she got it. And that is just what Jesus wants us to do. Be persistent in getting the help you need. Do not be intimidated by authority figures. And remember, we have a Friend who can help us even when human endeavors fail. Christ is waiting to help you today. King Duncan, Worried About Her Child, www.Sermons.com A Mother’s Faith Augustine's mother, Monica, was a fervent believer who prayed constantly for her son's salvation. She devoted her whole life to praying for Augustine's conversion. At one point, when Augustine was becoming devoted to the Manichaean philosophy, Monica begged a holy man to speak to Augustine, and show him why their beliefs were not true. The holy man refused because Augustine was known to have a great intellect, and would likely try to savage the holy man's arguments. The holy man assured Monica that he, too, had once been a Manichaean, and that Augustine was too smart to deceive himself much longer. At this, Monica began to cry. The holy man sent her away, saying, "Go, go! Leave me alone. Live on as you are living. It is not possible that the son of such tears should be lost." The holy man was right. After many years and a fierce inner struggle, Augustine was touched by a revelation in Scripture, and became a Christian. When Monica learned of her son's salvation, she remarked that she had nothing left to live for, for the greatest desire of her heart had been fulfilled. Nine days later, Monica died. And the son she had spent her life praying for, went on to affect the whole world. Monica never quit asking. "Live on as you are living," said the holy man. "It is not possible that the son of such tears should be lost." You are concerned about someone you love? Keep on asking God for help. Don't let your tears quench the flame of your faith in God. It may seem like God is ignoring you, but I assure you that is not the case. Don't give up. Keep asking. And keep on trusting. King Duncan, When You Need Help, adapted from Ruth Bell Graham, Prodigals and Those Who Love Them. These are two stories of mothers who would do anything for their children. In our lesson for today, we hear of another mother who set out to help her daughter, who was having some emotional disturbance. She is so excited when the only person who she could think of to help, comes to her community. This man is Jesus, her only help in a situation like this. In Matthew 15 she remains nameless. But a sermon in the middle ages tells us that the women’s name was Justa. Her daughter was named Bereniece. They were called Canaanites. They would not have called themselves cannaanites. But for the Hebrew society, these were people who were displaced when the Hebrews claimed the land and the property. They people of Tyre and Sidon would have hated thing that was not their unique household. Interestingly enough, this was the only time in Matthew that jesus travels outside Isreal in gentile company. It had gotten to the point in his ministry there was no place that he could go to get some peace and quiet. Everywhere he went the crowd gathered for healing. Things are no different here in Tyre and Sidon. This woman sees him and calls out Lord, Son of David. So she too has heard of his reputation as a healer. When she calls him Lord, it is hard to tell if she was serious, or if she was just being condescending or if she really has faith in him. Jesus was good at joking and throwing jokes himself. But apparently, neither of them are joking now, because he calls her a little dog. Jews has strong opinions about dogs. For them dogs were not friendly house pets. You would never have a dog in your house, they were filthy, nasty pest that ran wild and were always begging for food. Jesus didn’t like dogs, he didn’t like her and he really did not appreciate her request for help. Jesus explains that his ministry is only for Jews, not her or her daughter. This is a story of Jesus being human. As a matter of fact, Jesus contradicts his own teaching. He is just telling a story of how we have to be careful about our words and how they can hurt people. And here Jesus is calling this woman a dog for asking for help. You Have Judged Yourself A story related to this text [summarized from Sunday and Holyday Liturgies, Cycle A, by Flor McCarthy] has a group of the very pious waiting in heaven for the judgment. As they are waiting and complaining about the wait, they begin to see some of the "sinners" they knew on earth coming into the waiting room: a corrupt politician, an itinerant woman who had been convicted of shoplifting numerous times, a prostitute, a drug addict, a man who spent most of his life in prison, etc. With each of these arrivals, the feeling of hostility increased in the first group. They glare at the others. They talk among themselves. Within a short time, words were spoken to those others, "What makes you think you're going to get in with that evil, sinful life you lived on earth?" "We’re relying on the mercy and grace of God. What makes you so sure you're going to get in?" "Our good lives, of course." They turned their backs to the others. Time began to drag on for the first group. They began to complain to one another. "If those other people get in, there's no justice. After all the sacrifices we've made. It's not fair." The Lord arrived. He turned towards the first group, "I understand you've been wondering why there has been no judgment." "Yes!" they cried out. "We want a judgment. We want justice." "The judgment has already taken place. You've judged yourselves. By judging these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you have judged yourselves. In rejecting them you have rejected me. You have shown yourselves unworthy of the kingdom of God." [pp. 151-3] Hare says something similar in his conclusion to this section: "We are defiled, Jesus tells us, by the unloving words that spring so readily from our mouths." [p. 176] Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes ________________________________ This is the only woman who is ever able to outsmart Jesus with his own words. She takes the insult and and says even the dogs eat crumbs from the children’s table. She is motivated to persist with her request by her love, her faith, her cheerfulness and her persistence. Faith is sometimes a persistent creativity to bring about good. Her persistence ministers to Jesus. And of course Jesus ministers to her – her daughter is healed immediately. Jesus then gives her an honor that he didn’t even give to his own disciples. He says that she is a woman of great faith. Jesus only gives that honor to one other person. As a matter of fact, remember last week Jesus said that Peter was a man of little faith. Jesus is trying to help those in his inner circle, but they still have no faith. And here this woman literally off of the street, believes in him so much that she demands healing. Pray for Yourself In 1989, former President George Bush, our current president's father, was entering St. John's Episcopal Church to attend a worship service. A homeless man, William Wallace Brown Jr., stopped him and asked for prayer. The President's answer must have shocked onlookers. He replied, "No. Come inside with us--and pray for yourself." From that day forward, William Wallace Brown Jr. regularly attended St. John's Episcopal Church. This man in ragged, smelly clothes sat in the pews alongside the rich and the powerful. At offering time, he put a dollar in the collection plate. One usher reports that many of the rich members also gave only a dollar to the offering. These people were humbled by Mr. Brown's examplSe of generosity. King Duncan, The Gates of Hell Someone looking for crumbs of love becomes a special guest at the table. This story is a wonderful example for us of discipleship. Jesus has been teaching his followers about discipleship. He is teaching them to be obedient, to care for others, but this lesson is about acceptance of others not like us. The disciples tell Jesus to get rid of the woman. But once Jesus learns the lesson to accept others, he teaches that to the disciples and to us. But finally there is one more important lesson that this story teaches us – we have a God who listens to our lives and responds. We have heard of a God who is unchanging, unmoving, removed from our lives. But that is actually not the God of the bible. The people of God constantly questioned and challenged God. They constantly argues with God, they constantly plead their case. They constantly begged God for mercy and understanding. And God would listen and respond accordingly. If you read the stories in the bible, God constantly decides, acts, listens, and has a change of heart and mind. Just like Jesus in this story. God is flexible, understanding and forgiving. God is always dancing with the situations of life and the prayers of the people. Dancing in the Wind - Matthew 14:22-33 We live in an embattled time. Conflicts in politics, problems with economics, and a global pandemic have put the icing on the proverbial cake of usual issues. Most of us already feel we are up to our necks in alligators. Now we have entered hurricane season to boot. How much more can we take? How much longer can we fight? Let’s face it. We are a tired, fatigued, tense, and nervous bunch right now. Just when we think we’ve ridden the final wave another rises up and heads right toward us. What shall we do? When I think of prepping and preparing for adverse conditions, I think of athletes. Athletes train themselves not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, in order to accomplish ever more rigorous feats. Runners in particular have an entire body of literature on how to excel in this endorphin-boosting sport. I like to call their oeuvre “runners’ wisdom.” A lot of runners’ wisdom is simply common sense. Drink water before you run. Warm up and stretch. Push harder every day but don’t overdo it. Wear good shoes. Trust what your body is telling you. Let your instincts guide you. But one of the best articles I found written by Jonathan Beverly of “Runner’s World” is about how to run in a headwind. Beverly explains that most of us, when we are running against the wind, tend to work harder, push more, bear down, tense up. This causes tension, fatigue, and exasperation. Instead, he explains, we must do exactly the opposite: lean in, relax, and allow the wind to dictate the pace. We must “dance in the wind.” Beverly learned this lesson not from other runners but from hawks he saw flying above the fields. He noticed that the raptors did not struggle against the headwinds, but they used the wind to do a kind of mid-air dance. They circled, they swooped, they twirled, they dove. They relaxed and played in the wind. Their goal was not measured progress but play and enjoyment. They were masters at seizing the moment and “going with the flow.” Adapting to the wind. Adapting to life. Like Jonathan Beverly, we too could learn some lessons from the birds when it comes to dealing with the hurricanes and wind-gusts of life... If Jesus can be open to the moment, willing to change, willing to adjust to new conditions, willing to transform and to be transformed, then so can I learn to dance with the conditions of life and learn and be willing to learn a new lesson and accept a new person. Only four words but they are enough to make her immortal. We can trust these words as being true because the expert on faith spoke them. Jesus searched for faith, as a gem collector would fine jewels. He did not always find it in his disciples. On no occasion that we know did he ever say of Peter, James, and John: Great is your faith. More often the words he spoke to them: You of little faith. On only one other occasion did Jesus praise a person for their faith. Interestingly, that was a Roman soldier stationed in Capernaum. We regard this Canaanite woman with more than just an academic interest. She awakens in us a feeling of admiration, perhaps even envy, because she stands where most of us would like to stand… Those 4 words – Great is your faith. In these trying words let us carry those 4 words with is. Let us pray…… Prayer Morning Prayer Lord, what a blessing it is to come together in this community of faith. We travel here from all walks of life, from different ages and stages, and are welcomed in your love and your presence! Today we bring before you the names of loved ones who are struggling with loss, with illness, with depression, with addiction, with alienation from those that they love. Be with each of them. Lay your hand of healing gently over their lives and pour out your balm of peace on them. Help us to reach out to be of service to each other in Jesus’ name. Lord, we also bring to you situations of celebration: birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, family gatherings, special occasions which lift us up and remind us of the goodness that there is in life. Breathe your spirit into these wonderful events that all who gather may rejoice and celebrate the blessings you have given each of us. Keep our hearts and minds open for your reconciling word for us; for we ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN. Opening Prayer As summer draws to a close, we begin to focus our attention to the activities of autumn. For some it will mean preparing children for school; for others youth will be preparing to enter college or the work force or perhaps military service. Be with these precious ones as they embark on life’s journeys. Be with each one of us as we encounter life’s challenges. Open our hearts to receive your healing mercy and your transforming love. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN. Let us say the Lords Prayer together Moment of Reflection – My Hope is Built – UMH 368 Announcement If your family or someone you know is in need of school supplies, the Nazarene is supplying them again this year. You can call them and they will arrange a curbside pickup. Blessing to all of our children and teachers preparing for this new year. The health team has been monitoring the situation, and have decided that we will wait a few weeks before opening. We will not open on the 13th – but a little later in September. They want to make sure that we can be together in a safe way. Once again, this is one of those situations where you have to dance with the circumstances of life. We will also not host and rental events until at least January of 2021. Scripture for next week is August 23rd – Matthew 16:13-20 Benediction Benediction (Genesis 45, Psalm 133) It is time to take the party to the streets! Go out to celebrate our common kinship as children of God. Go out to tell the good news of Christ to every sister and brother. Go out to let the power of the Holy Spirit unite us around the world. Go out to continue this family reunion with all those who are longing to join the party. Go out and rejoice! Children’s Sermon Object: A saltine cracker in a plastic bag. Lesson: Helping others; sharing. This is a difficult text even for adults. In order to help the children make some sense out of it, I have brought a saltine cracker in a baggie. I begin by asking the kids, "Do you know what a crumb is?" No one is sure enough to describe a crumb to me, so I take the baggie with the cracker out of my pocket, hold it up and ask, "Is this a crumb?" "No!" I am told, "It's a cracker!" "That's right. It's a cracker. But what if I do this...?" With those words I crush the cracker (still in the baggie to contain the crumbs). "Now," I continue, holding up the crunched pieces, "do I still have a cracker?" "No, you have a bag of crumbs." "Aha!" I respond. "So, now we know what a crumb is. It's a piece of something -- a very small piece. Crumbs are what is left on your plate when you finish eating a piece of cake. Crumbs are what fall off the loaf when the bread is broken during communion. Crumbs are the little parts no one really misses or cares about, except ... I wonder, do any of you have a pet?" Many of the children indicate with nods that they do, so I begin asking what these pets might be. As luck would have it, every single one of the children present has a cat. Being particularly fond of cats myself, this would normally not be a problem. But this morning, in view of the lectionary text, we obviously needed to talk about dogs. "Do any of you have a friend who has a dog?" Several children indicate they do. "Are these dogs allowed to come in the house?" Again, the response is affirmative. "Well, if one of these dogs was in the house while the family was eating dinner and if a crumb of food dropped off the table to the floor, what do you suppose would happen to the crumb?" "The dog would eat it!" comes the instant reply. "Yes," I agree, "that's what I think would happen too. Now, we've already seen that a crumb is a very small piece of something, so small that usually no one wants it. But we weren't thinking about dogs. Sometimes dogs are very happy to have the crumbs from our tables -- the scraps no one else wants. "We're talking about this today because of a conversation Jesus had with a woman who asked him for some help. Jesus told her, 'It's not right for me to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.' Then the woman replied, 'Even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.' "What she meant by saying that to him was that she didn't need very much. All she was asking for was what no one else would want or miss -- just a crumb. So Jesus gave her what she needed. "You know, sometimes we have things in our lives we don't want -- not crumbs exactly, but toys we don't play with anymore, clothes we've grown out of and don't wear anymore, things we might throw away that someone else might use. Things that seem like trash to us may be a real treasure to someone else. This story about Jesus and the woman tells us we need to be aware of how little it takes sometimes to fill another's need; sometimes just a few crumbs are enough." CSS Publishing Company, Inc, Cows In Church, by B. Kathleen Fannin Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener – Great Is Your Faith – Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph--an enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert pianist the four words: "He was a failure," you could always say: That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, “He was a genius,” then you are apt to take the remark more seriously. There was a character in the Gospel who Jesus once described with four immortal words: Great is your faith. She was a Canaanite woman who came from the country to the north of Palestine, a country hostile to the Jews. She was presumably married, she had at least one child; but that’s all we know about her. We don't know whether she was a good woman or a bad woman. We don’t know her name. All we know of her is that in this single encounter with Jesus he spoke to her this four-word epitaph: Great is your faith. ________________________ The Rabbi's Apprentice - Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 In 1797, prominent German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a poem called “Der Zauberlehrling,” in which an apprentice of a master sorcerer is left alone with chores to do. Invoking magic that he was not yet properly trained to use, the apprentice commanded a bucket and broom to do his work. Because he could not properly control them, everything got quickly out of hand, and chaos ensued. Finally, the master returned and restored order to the mess. Walt Disney famously employed the plot of the poem in his musical “Fantasia,” starring Mickey Mouse as the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” While we laugh at the apprentice’s antics and enjoy the presentation, this fantasized idea of the role of “apprentice” may affect our idea of discipleship more than we realize. In our faith journey, we often think of ourselves as out there on our own doing our best to deal with situations out of our control. But this is not the kind of “discipleship” or “apprenticeship” relationship that Jesus expected from his disciples in his lifetime, nor is it the one He expects from us in ours. In Jesus’ time, a disciple or apprentice to the faith was much like an apprentice in any other kind of learned skilled labor. You didn’t learn and then quickly strike out on your own. But a discipleship relationship was a years long endeavor, which involved literally following the rabbis every move, listening to him talk, watching him interact with others, listening and asking questions as he taught, sleeping, eating, and learning every hour of every day by his side. If you were a carpenter’s apprentice, you ate, slept, and worked side by side with the master carpenter. If you were a builder’s apprentice, you ate, slept, and worked side by side with the master builder. If you were an apprentice of the faith, you ate, slept, and learned/interacted side by side with the master rabbi.... _________________________________ Breaking down Barriers C.S. Lewis once wrote an essay entitled The Inner Ring. He says in the article that in any playground or office or church there are little groups or rings of people who are on the “inside”. And those who aren’t: those who don’t get picked at playtime, those who stand on their own in the lunchroom. Lewis says that the existence of such rings is not necessarily bad. We’re finite beings, and we can only have deeply intimate friendships with a limited number of people. But he says that the desire to gain status or self-worth by being part of an “inner ring” is deeply destructive. It causes you to constantly compare yourself with others, to feel anguish when you’re left out, and deeper anguish when someone close to you gets let in. Worst of all, once you’re in, you want to keep others out, because it’s the exclusive nature of the group that makes you feel good. Jesus’ disciples wrestled often with that desire to be part of the inner ring. They argued over who should have the seats closest to Jesus. They asked Jesus to bring down fire on pagan villages. They rebuked little children for coming in too close and wasting Jesus’ time. Jesus must have often shaken his head because he was constantly teaching about who was in and who was out, about God’s desire to bring into the inner ring of his love anyone who will come. One of the most intriguing stories about status is this one in Matthew 15:21-28. John Tucker, Breaking Down Barriers: Inclusion Don’t Take No for an Answer

Picking up the Crumbs

Matthew 15:10-28 11th Sunday after Pentecost August 20, 2017 You Have Judged Yourself A story related to this text [summarized from Sunday and Holyday Liturgies, Cycle A, by Flor McCarthy] has a group of the very pious waiting in heaven for the judgment. As they are waiting and complaining about the wait, they begin to see some of the "sinners" they knew on earth coming into the waiting room: a corrupt politician, an itinerant woman who had been convicted of shoplifting numerous times, a prostitute, a drug addict, a man who spent most of his life in prison, etc. With each of these arrivals, the feeling of hostility increased in the first group. They glare at the others. They talk among themselves. Within a short time, words were spoken to those others, "What makes you think you're going to get in with that evil, sinful life you lived on earth?" "We’re relying on the mercy and grace of God. What makes you so sure you're going to get in?" "Our good lives, of course." They turned their backs to the others. Time began to drag on for the first group. They began to complain to one another. "If those other people get in, there's no justice. After all the sacrifices we've made. It's not fair." The Lord arrived. He turned towards the first group, "I understand you've been wondering why there has been no judgment." "The judgment has already taken place. You've judged yourselves. By judging these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you have judged yourselves. In rejecting them you have rejected me. You have shown yourselves unworthy of the kingdom of God." [pp. 151-3] Hare says something similar in his conclusion to this section: "We are defiled, Jesus tells us, by the unloving words that spring so readily from our mouths." [p. 176] Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes It is so easy for us to see the actions of other people. But how many times do we look at ourselves, our thoughts our actions. I told you that I always preach from the lectionary, and I have found that any issue that needs to be addressed, can naturally be addressed in the scripture - and today that is more than so. It seems that our nation is more fractured and divided today than ever. I think more accurately, our nation has always been fractured – there has just been time when we could buy into the illusion that our differences didn’t matter. And now it is in our face, and we are forced to deal with the fact that they do matter. Whenever a major crisis comes up, the pastor grapevine blows up and we are told that we have to stop the sermon presses and address the issue at hand. I don’t always agree with the notion. And last week, I intentionally decided that I was not going to address the present reality of our nation with a ten foot pole. But as luck would have it, Jesus hits the nail on the head. He is an Isrealite (There was no such thing as Jews until after he died). And he has an encounter with a Canaanite. Jesus himself says that Canaanites hate Isrealites, so they do not even talk with one another. But once Jesus starts bringing healing to the people, he simultaneously starts to make enemies and friends at the same time. The religious leaders want to kill him, and the masses can’t get enough of him. So in order to be able to travel with a little peace, Jesus heads out of his way North in order to get to Jerusalem which is south. On a years journey to get to Jerusalem, this detour takes him six months. Now in Matthew’s gospel this is actually the only encounter that Jesus has with foreigners. But it has life changing consequences for himself, the lady he encounters, the disciples and even us. If Jesus had not talked with that woman, none of us would be in church today. Matthew calls her the Canaanite woman, Luke calls her the Syrophonecian woman. It’s the same woman, it is just that Matthew is Hebrew and Luke is Greek. This encounter with this woman creates one of the most controversial parts of the bible. Is Jesus really so prejudice that when a foreigner asks him for help, he refuses based on her nationality? Would Jesus really do that? I cant speak for Jesus’ true intentions, but I do think we need a little background on the subject. First I want to say that Matthew may have been a little prejudice. Matthew was very proud of his Hebrew heritage. The whole point of his writing his gospel was because in the second generation of Christianity, there were a lot of people who were born of Jewish heritage, but because they were Christian they did not have to perform Jewish rituals. Matthew was appealing to these people not to forget their Hebrew heritage just because they were Christian. Matthew was speaking just to Hebrews, in order to reclaim the Hebrew heritage in a changing world. So a lot of the references that he makes would only be of interest to a Hebrew. The other thing that we have to keep in mind is that prejudice for Jesus was a little different then the racism of today. The whole premise of the Jewish religion is the difference between sacred and profane, holy and unholy, clean and dirty and pure and unpure. So the cleaner you were the better access you had to God. So in the good Samaritan story, the priest bypassed the person in the street without helping because he was on his way to the temple to work. Touching blood would have made him unclean and unfit to serve in the temple. So he needed to keep himself clean. Just by virtue of being a Hebrew and honoring Jewish laws and practices, you were so much more pure and holy then the rest of the world. Everyone who was not a jew was a nasty dog in relation to God. Men were more purer and cleaner then women. Priest were purer and holier then lay people, those who worked in the inner temple near God were purer and holier than everyone else. So when Matthew’s Jesus tells the Canaanite woman that he only comes to save the Jews, he is telling her that she is dirty, unclean, unholy and not worthy to have access to God. As a matter of fact, if you think that this scripture is difficult for us modern day Christians, it was double hard for the Jews who would have heard it. First of all Jesus says not to worry about the things that come in your mouth and come out as poop on the other side. Worry about the poop that comes out of our mouth as a reflection of your heart. Talking about bodily functions to a crowd of people obsessed with being clean would have automatically offended them. But he goes on to attack the whole jewish religion by saying that it is not rituals that make you clean, it is your where your heart and soul is. He tells the disciple if you really want to get close to God, don’t worry if you took a shower this morning, but did you pray and prepare your spirit. Access to God is not about what you have on, it is about your intention. God does not look at the skin color but at the heart. As a matter of fact, when this Canaanite woman approaches him, he does not even see her. He is not concerned about her or her needs. Even when she starts babbling like a dog he ignores her. Jews and Canaanites does talk to one another. Canaanites have no access to God. But she continue to plead. And it makes all of the difference in the world. I do think that Jesus was changed by the conversation. Because he came to realize the power of God. He came to realize that the only way that anybody was going to be saved was if God showed grace. And people don’t have to perform rituals in order to be saved. God gives grace to all people freely. It does make me sad to see the tension in the nation today. And it seems that things are getting worse and not better, we are more divided than ever. I feel that I have to measure every word that I say- because I realize that I come from a very different social location than most of you. When the district superintendent appointed me here, he made the comment that he felt that now at least I would be safe. I looked at him and scratched me head, and I thought to myself, how is putting a single black woman in an isolated white community safe. I have lived in predominantly white communities before, but I must admit that walking around town and knowing that there is no black community in the area is a very bizarre feeling. But for the last two Sunday I have intentionally worn my favorite stole – with hands of all colors joined together, as a reminder of why I am in ministry. As a child of the sixties and the civil rights movement, I work to create a world in which we can hold hands inspite of our cultural differences. That we can look beyond our difference and see that we are all children of God. I truly believe that at the end of the day beyond race, beyond culture, beyond politics, we have the same needs, desires, and need to be close to God. So I strive to live in the world that I strive to create and not the world as it is today. And that is not a safe place to live. The good news is that with this encounter – Jesus opens up the door to a world where all of God’s children can live in harmony. Jesus may have only wanted to save the Hebrew people. But as he say the love and faith of this woman – he realized that God’s grace covers all people. Jesus tells her that her faith has made her whole. The fact that she loved her child enough to step out of her world and ask for help, the fact that she truly believed that even though she was a nastier that a jewish dog, that she still has access to God’s healing grace. Made all of the difference in the world. Turn to God’s Church John M. Buchanan, Pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago tells a wonderful story about Elaine Pagels. Pagels is a distinguished professor at Princeton University. She is not a seminary professor. She is a humanities scholar who studies and knows a lot about the human phenomenon of religion. Her specialty is early Christianity, and she is widely respected for her scholarly research and books. She is not particularly a church person. In fact, she had pretty much given up on the church as an institution worthy of her time and attention, not unlike a lot of thoughtful people. But she begins her book, Beyond Belief, with an unusual anecdote and a very powerful witness. On a bright, cold Sunday morning in New York, she interrupted her daily run by stopping in the vestibule of a church to get warm. Two days earlier, her two-and-a-half-year-old son had been diagnosed with an invariably fatal lung disease. Two-and-a-half years' old. Barely born and already dying. Imagine the pain in her heart, if you can. But here is how she describes that scene in the church that day: "Since I had not been in church for a long time, I was startled by my response to the worship in progress--the soaring harmonies of the choir singing with the congregation; and the priest, a woman in bright gold and white vestments, proclaiming the prayers in a clear resonant voice. As I stood watching, a thought came to me: Here is a family that knows how to face death . . . "The day after we heard Mark's diagnosis--and that he had a few months to live, maybe a few years--a team of doctors urged us to authorize a lung biopsy, a painful and invasive procedure. How could this help? It couldn't, they explained; but the procedure would let them see how far the disease had progressed. Mark was already exhausted by the previous day's ordeal. Holding him, I felt that if more masked strangers poked needles into him in an operating room, he might lose heart--literally--and die. We refused the biopsy, gathered Mark's blanket, clothes, and Peter Rabbit, and carried him home. "Standing in the back of that church, I recognized, uncomfortably, that I needed to be there. Here was a place to weep without imposing tears upon a child; and here was a heterogeneous community that had gathered to sing, to celebrate, to acknowledge common needs, and to deal with what we cannot control or imagine." Can there be a worse hell than to know that your own small child is dying? Where does a person turn in such times? We turn to God. We turn to God's church. King Duncan, The Gates of Hell I really don’t know what to say to address the current unrest in our nation. What I would say in Englewood is definitely different than what I would say here. I really don’t feel that I am the right person to say anything. But for us to trust in God. I have found that even in the most tense of situations, the light of God has a way of shining through. And sometimes it takes going through those time for us like Jesus to realize God’s true intentions. Even a crumb of God’s grace is sufficient for us all. Let us pray….. Other illustrations…… Belief in Hell According to a Harris Poll taken a few years back, more than one-third of adults worry "a lot" about not having enough money and health insurance. However, fewer than 10 percent worry that they will go to hell. In fact, while the majority of Americans believe in heaven and eventually expect to end up there, studies show most people today do not believe in hell. It reminds me of a P. D. James' story. A young woman discovers that she was adopted. Almost immediately, she begins looking for her biological mother and father. She is stunned to discover that as a baby she had been taken from her parents when they were sent to prison for the murder of a ten-year-old girl. Although the father subsequently died in prison, the mother was soon to be released on parole. After getting acquainted with her mother, the young woman arranges for her mother to move into an apartment with her. Interestingly enough, the mother wants to attend church services, something the daughter was not accustomed to doing. But out of friendship she accompanies her mother to services. One Sunday the minister says something in his message about Hell. Later, as the mother and daughter talk, the daughter says with exasperation, "But you can't believe in Hell." The mother responds gravely, "You can once you've been in it." She spoke from experience. There are people who know what it is to live in hell, for they have been there. King Duncan, The Gates of Hell A Mother’s Faith Augustine's mother, Monica, was a fervent believer who prayed constantly for her son's salvation. She devoted her whole life to praying for Augustine's conversion. At one point, when Augustine was becoming devoted to the Manichaean philosophy, Monica begged a holy man to speak to Augustine, and show him why their beliefs were not true. The holy man refused because Augustine was known to have a great intellect, and would likely try to savage the holy man's arguments. The holy man assured Monica that he, too, had once been a Manichaean, and that Augustine was too smart to deceive himself much longer. At this, Monica began to cry. The holy man sent her away, saying, "Go, go! Leave me alone. Live on as you are living. It is not possible that the son of such tears should be lost." The holy man was right. After many years and a fierce inner struggle, Augustine was touched by a revelation in Scripture, and became a Christian. When Monica learned of her son's salvation, she remarked that she had nothing left to live for, for the greatest desire of her heart had been fulfilled. Nine days later, Monica died. And the son she had spent her life praying for, went on to affect the whole world. Monica never quit asking. "Live on as you are living," said the holy man. "It is not possible that the son of such tears should be lost." You are concerned about someone you love? Keep on asking God for help. Don't let your tears quench the flame of your faith in God. It may seem like God is ignoring you, but I assure you that is not the case. Don't give up. Keep asking. And keep on trusting. King Duncan, When You Need Help, adapted from Ruth Bell Graham, Prodigals and Those Who Love Them. Learning to Be Like Christ A householder keeps faith, keeps care, of all those in his household. This is what the Canaanite woman learns from Jesus' example. And this is what she reveals back to him. In other words, Jesus "learns" to hear his own words through the ears of her faith. That's why ultimately Jesus declares, "Woman, great is your faith" - not, "You are very clever." This is how philosopher Dallas Willard puts it, as he defines exactly what is a disciple: "One of those who have trusted Jesus with their whole life, so far as they understand it. Because they've done so, they want to learn everything he has to teach them about life in the kingdom of God now and forever, and they're constantly with him to learn this. Disciples of Jesus are those learning to be like him" (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ, 241). Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com A Strong Woman A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape, but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape. A strong woman isn’t afraid of anything, but a woman of strength shows her courage in the midst of fear. A strong woman won’t let anyone get the best of her, but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone. A strong woman walks sure-footedly, but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls. A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face, but a woman of strength wears grace. A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey, but a woman of strength has faith that in the journey she will become strong. Author unknown Sermon Opener - Live and Learn - Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 by Leonard Sweet Is anyone's memory of study hall a fun one? Either you were the studious type, who really wanted to use that hour of enforced peace and quiet to get some work done, or you were the kid that was bored, trying to think of ways to sneak out, send notes, shoot spit-wads, or otherwise somehow liven up that deadly hour. But the shushings of study hall monitors and librarians aren't common to all cultures. At traditional Orthodox yeshivas, the bais midrash, the study hall, is filled with noise. Not just noise, but debates and sweat, as matched chavrusas - learning partners - verbally battle it out over how best to interpret the texts and traditions of the Jewish faith. The "bais midrash," the study hall or library that holds all the necessary reference books for the yeshiva students, was NEVER quiet. The traditional study of Talmud is with a partner, your "chavrusas," with whom head-to-head, nose-to-nose debate, dialogue, even shouting-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, is part of the learning process. These face-to-face exercises, testing the depth and breadth of the students' knowledge, is what the yeshiva call learning. In fact, a yeshiva student won't ask, "What are you studying?" Rather, the appropriate question is "What are you learning?" Studying infers a solitary, sedentary ingestion of information. Learning is a social, active, expectorating exercise - a dialogue that must necessarily engage two or more individuals in order for true learning to be accomplished. In the Jewish tradition, "learning" is a verb, a never-finished action. The apostle Paul, a learned Pharisee, well-schooled in the Torah, in the learning traditions of the rabbis, bolding preached Christ's imminent return throughout his early letters. Yet as time went by, as the Christian message began to spread, as Christian churches were planted and began to grow, and Jesus still did not return, Paul's learning curve began to deepen. The communities he was now addressing had second, even third generation Christians in their midst. The first believers began to pass away. Somewhere between Paul's writing of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy, a span of about fourteen years or so, the apostle gradually came to a new understanding. In short, Paul changed his mind. Christ's return may NOT be imminent, and Christians should be prepared to live and die as a faith community without ever experiencing that event. Yet changing one's mind has gotten nothing but bad press. In the feeding-frenzy of political campaigns, any evidence that any candidate re-positioned, re-thought, or simply re-considered their original views on any given issue is lambasted as flip-flopping or wishy-washy. In the Main Stream Media's (MSM) judgment, any adjustment of one's stand, or one's understanding, over the course of twenty or thirty years is deemed a sign of weakness and used as evidence of a morally and/or intellectually deficient mind. Learning, continually interacting with and challenging the experiences and informational input that surrounds us, is a life-long process. Gerontologists are now recommending that as we age we intentionally set up new, unexpected circumstances or encounters for ourselves every single day, in order to keep our brains fit and flexible. Such simple learning exercises as taking a different route to the store, doing a crossword puzzle, planning and executing a sewing, building, or other creative project, all help contribute to keeping our neurons firing, our brains healthy, and strengthening our mind's ability to learn. In fact, there are really only two questions to ask yourself. 1. Am I learning something? 2. Am I contributing something? If the answer to either is no, then get out of there. If the answer to both is yes, you're right where God wants you to be… _______________________ Don’t Take No for an Answer A story came across the wires from the Reuters news service about a family of ducklings that fell down a sewer grate in Vancouver. Their mother did what any parent would do. She got help from a passing police officer. The mother duck grabbed the policeman by the pant leg while he was on foot patrol. The policeman shoved what he thought was just a goofy duck away, but she persisted, grabbing his leg again when he tried to leave, and then waddling to a nearby sewer grate where she sat down and waited for him to follow and investigate. The policeman came to where she sat and saw eight little baby ducklings in the water below. Police removed the heavy metal grate with the help of a tow truck and used a vegetable strainer to lift the ducklings to safety. Mother and offspring then departed for a nearby pond. That mother duck did what the Canaanite woman did. She persisted in seeking help until she got it. And that is just what Jesus wants us to do. Be persistent in getting the help you need. Do not be intimidated by authority figures. And remember, we have a Friend who can help us even when human endeavors fail. Christ is waiting to help you today. King Duncan, Worried About Her Child, www.Sermons.com Savior of All People Jesus is not a generic savior, an anonymous Superman from a distant planet somewhere in space. Jesus is a Jew; indeed, he is the Jew who stands as the culmination of all of Israel’s history . . . Jesus can be the savior of all people only by remaining faithful to God’s chosen people Israel, even in the face of their rejection of him. Thomas G. Long, Matthew: The Westminster Bible Companion With a Grateful Heart Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. If they don’t talk, he doesn’t talk. It is as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them, communicates something that they haven’t experienced in years—somebody understands. But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them. He holds these unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply, "Thank you." In this gospel story we are invited to place ourselves in the role of the "other", of this "outsider" woman. We are invited to struggle with Jesus. We are invited to struggle with our own perceptions of all who are labeled "other." Our faith, your faith and mine, is not based on how we feel. It is founded on the facts of history, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the faith into which all are invited. This is the faith possible for so-called "outsiders." This is the faith made real for people like you and me. For the promise of the gospel is that it doesn’t matter where we are on the journey of life. We can be loved back into full and complete life. And we can say with a grateful heart, "Thank you, God." David Beckett Sometimes You Need to Grab Their Attention It seems a man was headed up to bed one night, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in their shed. She told him she could see it from the bedroom window. He told her he hadn't been in the shed that day. When he looked out the window, he saw that there were people in the shed, stealing things. So, he phoned the police. The police told him that there was no one was in his area and consequently, there was no one available to catch the thieves. He said "OK," hung up, counted to 30 and called the police again. And he said, "Hello. I just called a few seconds ago, because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now. I've just shot them all." Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit. They caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to the man, "I thought you said you'd shot them!" And he replied, "I thought you said there was no one available." Sometimes you just feel like you need to get somebody's attention any way you can. There are times when you feel like you want to grab somebody by the collar and shake them until they wake up and notice what's really happening. Billy D. Strayhorn, From the Heart ___________________________________ Pray for Yourself In 1989, former President George Bush, our current president's father, was entering St. John's Episcopal Church to attend a worship service. A homeless man, William Wallace Brown Jr., stopped him and asked for prayer. The President's answer must have shocked onlookers. He replied, "No. Come inside with us--and pray for yourself." From that day forward, William Wallace Brown Jr. regularly attended St. John's Episcopal Church. This man in ragged, smelly clothes sat in the pews alongside the rich and the powerful. At offering time, he put a dollar in the collection plate. One usher reports that many of the rich members also gave only a dollar to the offering. These people were humbled by Mr. Brown's example of generosity. King Duncan, The Gates of Hell Keep on Asking. Keep on Trusting. A young pastor sat beside a hospital bed in which his wife lay. It was nearing the time for them to become parents. Soon this young couple would bask together in the glow of the announcement: "It's a boy." Later, however, they would begin a desperate search for some specialist who could help the child. They were unsuccessful - little Ronnie was born mentally impaired. The entrance of this father into the school of suffering taught him many things. Recalling that first grief-fraught summer, Ronald Meredith wrote, "Grief teaches lessons that joy can never know. We discovered that there is a comradeship in pain." Unlike the Canaanite woman, Ronald Meredith did not see his son healed. But he has not quit trusting. He now looks forward to that great day when God's plan for us will be perfected. He believes that one day he will look at Ronnie and say, "Hi, Son," and for the first time Ronnie will respond, "Hi, Dad." They will need a lot of time to talk, for Ronnie has never been able to speak a word. The Canaanite woman saw Jesus heal her daughter immediately. It may be that Ron Meredith will have to wait until that day he and his son are united on that distant shore, beyond this world of limitations and adversity, when he will see his son fully healed - but he has not quit trusting....and neither should we. Keep on asking. Keep on trusting. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Divisions in the Church As a seminary intern in St. Louis, Missouri, I was part of a Jewish-Christian Dialogue group. We were seeking to understand one another's traditions, work together for the good of our neighborhoods, and promote tolerance and respect in society. I had been invited into the group by a member of the church at which I was serving. She grew up Jewish, and in recent years had, in her words, "completed my faith" by gaining an understanding that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the prophets of Israel. One of the dimensions of religious life that we all found we had in common across faith traditions and denominational lines was the incessant divisiveness that split our seemingly monolithic communities into dozens of similar yet tenaciously varied subgroups. A Jewish professor of psychology said of his tradition, "If there are ten Jewish males in a city, we create a synagogue. If there are eleven Jewish males, we start thinking about creating a competing synagogue." A Baptist police officer had a similar tale. He said, "One Baptist family in a neighborhood witnesses until they bring another family to Christ. Then they form a church, and start witnessing to the rest of the community. When another family joins, they have a schism and form a rival church." According to a Presbyterian homemaker, her communion was a little like vegetable soup. "We have," she said, "the OPs, RPs, BPs, and Split Peas!" And a Methodist businessman complemented these tales with an apocryphal tale of a man from his faith community who had been shipwrecked for years on a small island. When found by a passing ship, rescuers asked him why he had constructed three huts, since he was there by himself. "Well," he replied, "that one is my home, that one is my church, and that one is my former church." Wayne Brouwer, Political Religion, CSS Publishing Company Children’s sermon….. Theme: Helping others; sharing. Visual Aid: A saltine cracker in a plastic bag. Lesson: This is a difficult text even for adults. In order to help the children make some sense out of it, I have brought a saltine cracker in a baggie. I begin by asking the kids, "Do you know what a crumb is?" No one is sure enough to describe a crumb to me, so I take the baggie with the cracker out of my pocket, hold it up and ask, "Is this a crumb?" "No!" I am told, "It's a cracker!" "That's right. It's a cracker. But what if I do this...?" With those words I crush the cracker (still in the baggie to contain the crumbs). "Now," I continue, holding up the crunched pieces, "do I still have a cracker?" "No, you have a bag of crumbs." "Aha!" I respond. "So, now we know what a crumb is. It's a piece of something -- a very small piece. Crumbs are what is left on your plate when you finish eating a piece of cake. Crumbs are what fall off the loaf when the bread is broken during communion. Crumbs are the little parts no one really misses or cares about, except ... I wonder, do any of you have a pet?" Many of the children indicate with nods that they do, so I begin asking what these pets might be. As luck would have it, every single one of the children present has a cat. Being particularly fond of cats myself, this would normally not be a problem. But this morning, in view of the lectionary text, we obviously needed to talk about dogs. "Do any of you have a friend who has a dog?" Several children indicate they do. "Are these dogs allowed to come in the house?" Again, the response is affirmative. "Well, if one of these dogs was in the house while the family was eating dinner and if a crumb of food dropped off the table to the floor, what do you suppose would happen to the crumb?" "The dog would eat it!" comes the instant reply. "Yes," I agree, "that's what I think would happen too. Now, we've already seen that a crumb is a very small piece of something, so small that usually no one wants it. But we weren't thinking about dogs. Sometimes dogs are very happy to have the crumbs from our tables -- the scraps no one else wants. "We're talking about this today because of a conversation Jesus had with a woman who asked him for some help. Jesus told her, 'It's not right for me to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.' Then the woman replied, 'Even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.' "What she meant by saying that to him was that she didn't need very much. All she was asking for was what no one else would want or miss -- just a crumb. So Jesus gave her what she needed. "You know, sometimes we have things in our lives we don't want -- not crumbs exactly, but toys we don't play with anymore, clothes we've grown out of and don't wear anymore, things we might throw away that someone else might use. Things that seem like trash to us may be a real treasure to someone else. This story about Jesus and the woman tells us we need to be aware of how little it takes sometimes to fill another's need; sometimes just a few crumbs are enough." CSS Publishing Company, Inc, Cows In Church, by B. Kathleen Fannin

Transformed Relationships

August 24, 2014 Romans 12:1-8 Year A 11th Sunday After Pentecost “Transformed Relationships” Romans first sinful, now what it means to live in Christ Today I thought that we needed to hang out in Romans for one more Sunday. We have been dealing with chapters 9-11 as Paul talks about what it means be sinful. No matter how good we may think our relationship with God is, we are still sinful. As a matter of fact believing that you are a child of God, but that nothing is required of you, is a sin. Paul says that God brought sin upon all humans. We are all sinners,we are all in need of God’s grace in our lives. No matter who we are, we all are capable of being saved. We all need to accept Christ, we all need to live inside of Christ. We should be dead to our sinful nature and alive in Christ. The first words of chapter 12 – I appeal to you brothers and sisters, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Being born dead I went to see Get on Up, the James Brown movie. It really was a powerful movie. One scene that stood out to me, James Brown was a little boy, sick in bed very discouraged. His aunt tells him that he was born dead. Literally when he was born he would not take a breath. The midwife spanked and spanked him but he would not take a breath. He started to turn blue and they started to give up on him. And then suddenly he let out a scream that could be heard in the next county. The aunt said that she knew then that he would be special. Being born dead is an oxymoran – you cant be alive and dead at the same time. Presenting yourself as a living sacrifice is also an oxymoron. Remember, a sacrifice is something that you kill as a gift to God. A sacrifice was put on an altar to God, they are born to die. If you sinned, you gave God a sacrifice, if you are thankful you give God the sacrifice. Your life should be a sacrifice to God. God is no longer interested in cows, goats or chickens, God wants you – your life. Being a living sacrifice means that you are dead to sin and alive to Christ. You are dead to what got you in trouble, but alive to salvation of Christ. Transform your mind Paul says to transform your mind. The head is the head of the body. The body does not think for itself, it does what the head tells it. If you transform your thoughts, then the body follows. Forgiveness requires repentance, repentance requires transformation. Then Paul tells us to learn to discern the will of God. Then Live according to God’s will. In order to live God’s will, you have to know it and then live it. Verses 9-21 is God’s will for us. It says…. Marks of the True Christian 9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[b] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;[c] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Living God’s will We have to remember that God’s will for our lives is a commandement not a suggestions. God knows what is best for us better than we do. If you know God’s will you have to live God’s will. We can only know what God reveals to us. God is incomprehensible. There is no way that we can know everything about God’s will. But God did reveal the important stuff to us in the life of Jesus Christ. In order to know what we need about God, we have to read the word to see what Jesus reveals about God and God’s will for us. The rest of Romans teaches us how to live in God’s will. How to live inside of Christ. What to do and how to think. In Christ there are sinners and there are saints. A saint is a sinner who gave their life to Christ. We are all sinnners. As a matter of fact, it is the ones who brag about being a saint who are the biggest sinners. Paul says that we should never think of ourselves higher then we really are. Our biggest sin is our pride. Screwtape letters That reminds me of a book that I read in seminary – the Screwtape letters. C.S. Lewis wrote this book in the 40’s. It is a series of letters written by a senior devil to a junior devil. Screwtape is a devil who is in the hierarchy of hell. He writes letters to his nephew on earth, who is a young devil trying to tempt his first Christian. The patient has just become a Christian, and wormwood has the task of tempting him to become a sinner. Sin is an slow slope Screwtape’s most important advice is not to spend time on the big temptations, but to concentrate on the little things. He says not to lead the patient into evil places, but to stand along side of him in ordinary life. Our descent into sin is not an obvious turn, but a slow, gradual desent into sin. Screwtape says the best way to get a Christian is not so much to put evil thoughts into his head - but to keep him away from the things that keep him grounded. Give him excuses not to come to church, not to read the bible, not to do the right thing. And eventually you will find that person as a perfect vessel for the devil. “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters Romans says that faith that is not lived in your life is not faith. In order to live it, you have to believe it, in order to believe it you have to hear it. Romans very clearly spells out what it means to live in God’s will. If you make a point to live it you will be okay. Muddy the truth Screwtape tells wormwood not to spend so much time telling a Christian lies. The truth is very clear. And if we know that truth we are good at following the truth. Screwtape says not to lie, just muddy the waters. Tell the Christian that there are alternative truths. There is more than one way to getto heaven. Just because we read it in scripture, there are other waysto understand God. The devil does not have to confuse us, because we are Christians can confuse ourselves, Romans says that God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect. If we live and Christ and we read the word- then we have all that we need to live in God’s will. Distract from prayer and church The Screwtape letters are considered to be fiction, but they give truths about human nature. For instance in letter 4 Wormwood asks his uncle how to stop a Christians from praying – Screwtape tells him that if keeping a Christian from praying does not work, then lure them into thinking that they are an expert on prayer, so God always gives them what they want, just because they prayed- they wont know what to do when God challenges them. In the second letter wormwood asks about how to keep them from attending church, screwtape encourages him to get the Christian to see everyone and everything through there eyes and not God’s eyes. They will get so caught up in judging people, that they forget how to forgive and trust in others. War a spiritual matter on love can win Eventually the patient falls in love, he joins the army and he is killed in war. At the end of his life, he never gave up faith. Wormwood has failed at his task. Screwtape reminds him war is not about the body, it is about the spirit. The war is about who holds the heart of man. God always wins the war. Perhaps that is why Paul says to present your body as a living sacrifice to God. The body is the temple of God. If you are dead to sin, and alive to Christ, you can overcome the temptations of the devil. What you do in bodily form, directly affects what you do in the spirit. Wormwood learns the hard way- that love is the key to the heart of man. And temptation is not match for true love. As long as love is present in the heart ofman, in the heart of God in the heart ofChrist,all that the devil can do is stand with you and watch. Love one another, forgive one another, do not repay evil for God. Shame the devil, and serve God in all places, in all times for all people. Let us pray… Amen. Children’s Sermon SUCH A WASTE! Passage: Romans 12:1-8 • Lectionary: Proper 16 Item 1 of 8 | Back to Results Object: a drinking glass, a pitcher of water, and a pan to set it into. Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you this morning? It is certainly a pleasant day in God's House. How I love to come to the church on Sunday morning and know that I am going to greet you in the name of Jesus. It must be fun to get up and think about being with your friends on the Lord's Day. On the other hand, it is good to get up any morning and think about friends. When we think about each other, we don't think so much about ourselves, and that is good. Did you know that St. Paul wrote to the people in Rome and told them not to think too much about themselves and especially not to think too highly about themselves. It's easy to think about yourself. If we don't watch out, the first thing that we know we are saying to ourselves, "I sure am pretty," or "I sure am smarter than anybody else." That is what Paul means about thinking too highly about ourselves. There is another way, of course, to show you what I mean. Suppose, for instance, that my good friend Glenda Glass came to my house and asked for a glass of water. Now, I know that you may not know my friend Glenda, but she is one of those people who think a lot of themselves. Oh, my, when you start talking to Glenda, the only thing that she really ever seems to think about is herself. Let me tell you what I mean. Glenda came over to my house and she asked for a drink of water. Well, there isn't anything wrong with that, so I went into the kitchen to get her filled up, but she said to me, "Get a big pitcher full of water." I started to pour a little bit into her. "Pour it all in," she said. Glenda thought so much of herself that she believed she could take the whole big pitcher of water into herself. I tried to talk her out of it, but it just wouldn't work. She wanted it all. [Take the pitcher and pour it all out into the glass.] Well, as you might have guessed, the pitcher of water was just too much for Glenda. Now that is what I mean about somebody thinking too much of herself. It is such a waste. God doesn't want us to think too much about ourselves because, if we do, then we not only cause a lot of waste, but there is so little time left over for others. From now on I don't want anybody spending his time thinking about himself when he could be helping others. Just remember Glenda and you know what I mean. She was just another glass, she was never a big pitther. You are one of God's people, but you are not all of God's people. Don't think too highly There is another way, of course, to show you what I mean. Suppose, for instance, that my good friend Glenda Glass came to my house and asked for a glass of water. Now, I know that you may not know my friend Glenda, but she is one of those people who think a lot of themselves. Oh, my, when you start talking to Glenda, the only thing that she really ever seems to think about is herself. Let me tell you what I mean. Glenda came over to my house and she asked for a drink of water. Well, there isn't anything wrong with that, so I went into the kitchen to get her filled up, but she said to me, "Get a big pitcher full of water." I started to pour a little bit into her. "Pour it all in," she said. Glenda thought so much of herself that she believed she could take the whole big pitcher of water into herself. I tried to talk her out of it, but it just wouldn't work. She wanted it all. [Take the pitcher and pour it all out into the glass.] Well, as you might have guessed, the pitcher of water was just too much for Glenda. Now that is what I mean about somebody thinking too much of herself. It is such a waste. God doesn't want us to think too much about ourselves because, if we do, then we not only cause a lot of waste, but there is so little time left over for others. From now on I don't want anybody spending his time thinking about himself when he could be helping others. Just remember Glenda and you know what I mean. She was just another glass, she was never a big pitther. You are one of God's people, but you are not all of God's people. Don't think too highly of yourself and God will be pleased with you. 0-89536-053-5 Back to Results | Item 1 of 8