Wisdom and Compassion (repreach of 2/9/14)

February 5, 2023 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 Wisdom and Compassion 5th Sunday after Epiphany Year A Prelude Welcome Call to Worship One: Welcome to worship! Here we seek to let our light break forth like the dawn. Many: Here we come to call, trusting the Lord will answer. One: Here we’re welcome to cry for help, believing the Lord will respond “Here I am!” Many: We’re gathered, eager to gain courage to do as God directs: to share our bread with the hungry, One: to bring the homeless poor into our homes, to provide clothing for those who are uncovered. Many: As God’s own beloved children, let us worship God in this time, and in our actions toward “the least” of our sisters and brothers. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer God of Community, we rejoice in this time to worship you in this holy place, and through the wonder of technology which gathers us from many places. Help us reach out beyond the walls of this building, eager to see LIGHT emerging as we share bread and clothes, and welcome others to safe spaces. Inspire us always to open our hands, our hearts, our minds, that we might truly be followers of Jesus, the Christ, who shows us “the Way”. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song Gather Us In TFWS 2236 Children’s Sermon Lesson: But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. Object: A box full of play money (or real money) Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. I'll bet you can't guess what I have in this box! (Let them try.) No, it's even better than all of that. Here, let me show you. (Take lid off of box and show them the money.) That is really a lot of money, isn't it, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) What could we do with this much money? (Let them answer.) Yes, we could take wonderful vacations, buy new clothes and toys and other good things. We could really have a good time, couldn't we? What would you think if I were to give all of this money away? (Let them respond.) Some people might think I was a little bit crazy or dumb if I gave all my money away. Well, one day a very rich young man came to see Jesus. He probably had even more money than this. Anyway, he asked Jesus what he had to do to get to heaven. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. But the young man said that he had already been keeping the commandments for a long time. So Jesus told him that he should give all of his money away to the poor and come, follow him. Would that have been a hard thing to do, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) I guess the young man thought it was too hard to do because he went away very sad. But there are many Christians who have given away all of their money and other good things just so they could follow Jesus. The Apostles and other disciples did that. Many people probably thought that they were pretty dumb for giving up their homes and other belongings, but sometimes that is what it means to be a Christian. Paul tells us today that Christians don't always seem too smart (wise) to other people because they do strange things like sharing their money with the poor, loving their enemies, and staying close to Jesus. But Paul says that real Christians are the smart people because they are following God's word. They are living the way God has asked them to live. So, boys and girls, if your friends ever think you are a little stupid for coming to church or for being nice to people who need your help, just remember what Paul tells us today. You are being a smart Christian. You are being wise -- just like God. God bless you all. Amen. British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once had a discussion with a man who firmly believed that children should not be given formal religious instruction, but should be free to choose their own religious faith when they reached maturity. Coleridge did not disagree, but later invited the man into his somewhat neglected garden. "Do you call this a garden?" the visitor exclaimed. "There are nothing but weeds here!" "Well, you see," Coleridge replied, "I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was just giving the garden a chance to express itself." Daily Walk, March 28, 1992 Prayer for Transformation and New Life Righteous One, it is not easy to follow your path. Your way requires sacrifice and intention–resisting cultural norms and societal pressures and abandoning our need to control and to function from our own power. Sometimes, we add complexity in order to assure ourselves it is not possible to be faithful. Yet, your way is simple. Soften our hearts and encourage us to return to the journey with you. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay) Words of Grace God, who is faithful, can redeem our detours and misdirections on the journey for our good and the good of others. God’s invitation to covenantal life has no expiration date, and the Holy One receives us with joy and grace when we take even a step toward the kindom. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay) Scripture 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 Sermon Wisdom and Compassion What is the meaning of truth? I have been dealing with the question for a few weeks. How do we come to know the truth? What is the ultimate truth? and where can I find the real truth. I bet you know where I am going with this. God is the one true truth. and the one way to find the truth is to read the bible. Truth: The Most Powerful Idea Marilyn vos Savant, the brilliant woman who reportedly has the highest I.Q. ever recorded, writes a syndicated column in which she answers tricky questions from people who want the benefit of her intelligence. Someone wrote to ask what she thought is the most powerful idea. Marilyn vos Savant replied that "truth" was the most powerful idea she knew of, because it is not affected by how we relate to it. Whether or not we know it, or whether or not we agree with it, doesn't matter, because truth is still true. Ms. vos Savant is right on target. Truth is powerful. You and I believe that truth is from God. What is the Gospel the Good News anyway? I believe it can be summed up in three verses: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1); "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16), and "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). You and I may believe this thing and that about Scripture and about life in general, but these three statements are incontrovertible! They are true. They don't need to be defended; they only need to be lived. There are people in our society who spend too much of their energy and time defending God as if God needed it. Adapted from Max Anders, God The Good News Never Conflicts with Truth The esteemed space scientist Dr. Werner von Braun received many cards and letters over the years from people who believe that space exploration is against the Creator's wishes. "Scripture mail," NASA calls it. These correspondents warned the scientist to cease this dangerous godless folly. "One lady wrote that God doesn't want man to leave Earth and she was willing to bet me $10 that we wouldn't make it," said Episcopalian von Braun. "I answered that, as far as I knew, the Bible said nothing about space flight but it was clearly against gambling." Why are some people so threatened by scientific discoveries? Don't they know that truth is from God wherever it may be found? The notable church father Justin Martyr settled the matter once and for all when he wrote, "Whatever has been uttered aright by any [person] in any place belongs to us Christians." Christian faith does not need defenders, for it is never in conflict with truth. Adapted from Bob Ward, The Light Stuff Today I want to deal with the lesson of 1 Corinthians. Paul has come to Corinth in order to correct the teachings of other preachers. Paul’s message in both books of Corinthians and in everything that he teaches is our salvation is in the cross of Christ. And since Christ died for our sins, we don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to comprehend what that means. But we do have to believe it. Paul’s point is that who we are as Christians, should be based on what Christ has done for us. It is time for us to give up our own reasoning to get through life, but to trust the reasoning of Christ in everything that we do. But today, I wanted to talk about Corinthians, because Paul wants us to understand that you put on the mind of Christ, you have the thoughts of Christ – not through anything that you do but through the spirit of Christ. We have been reading Corinthans for a few weeks now, and if you have noticed Paul speaks a lot about the spirit. The spirit that gives us the mind of Christ. We have to be conscious of the spirit, the holy spirit and what it is teaches us. People who know too much Interestingly enough – the problem that Paul was trying to address in Corinth – was not the people who were ignorant and needed to be taught. He was talking about the people who were too smart for their own good. They couldn’t listen to what the spirit was trying to teach them – because they had their own wisdom. They had read all of the books, they knew all of the techniques, and yet they knew nothing about the spirit. And without the spirit, they knew nothing. Going against the spirit I went to do some evaluation of a teacher of kindergarten kids—at the teacher’s request. For the fifty minutes I was there this teacher tried to lecture. Finally, the bell rang, and she cranked out the memory verse. Afterwards she sighed, “Boy, I got over the lesson.” When she came to see me, I said to her, “Did it ever occur to you that you’re really competing against the Holy Spirit?” “I certainly don’t intend to do that.” “But did it ever occur to you that God made this child with an attention span of about four to five minutes? And all the time you kept saying to the child, “keep quiet,” “sit still” and God kept saying, “Wiggle.” And what did he do? He listened to God every time.” About 85% of the discipline problems in school, in church, in home come because we do not understand the pupil with whom we are working. —Howard Hendricks Two types of people – spiritual and worldy Greeks believed that there are two types of people in the world – there are people who only see things at face value, everything in life is what it is, and there are those who have to ability to see beyond outward appearances and who can see the spirit, and who have a sensitivity to the spiritual world. An Empty shell I remember when I saw a program showing how they used to film Gunsmoke, one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. I learned that Dodge City was really just a place in the middle of nowhere not even close to the real one. There was no Longbranch Saloon, no stores or jail, it was all front with nothing behind it — a facade, a wooden structure that only made it look like a city on television. If you looked through the door you would only see more of the prairie. Kittie, Doc Adams, Chester, Festus and Marshal Dillon were sitting on a set somewhere, not the Longbranch where you thought they were. The Gunsmoke set is like many people. They only have a front with nothing behind it. They are all facade. That is why they cannot afford to be transparent — people would see right through them. But an important part of the Christian life is the development of something behind the facade. It is the growth of character, and a spiritual life that supports who we are. Only when we really come to Christ and have a relationship with God do we begin to have substance. We are not just keeping up appearances, we are developing a quality of character. Being a Christian means being real. We never know enough There are two type of people in the world, those who are spiritual and those who only see things at face value. And if we have been in the church for a little while, we have heard all of the biblical stories, we have heard all of the sermons – it is easy for us to think that if there are two type of people – then we must the right kind of people right? The people that Paul wants us to be right? If we are here then we must be spiritual. And I think I want to challenge that belief. If we spend too much time in church, then we start to think that we know everything that there is to know about Christ. A group of Christians gathered in a church auditorium for an evening Bible Study. Some were talking while waiting for the study to begin. One man began to share with the leader about a church breakfast he’d attended. A well known Bible scholar had been invited to speak at the breakfast. During the course of his remarks the scholar stated that he had recently gained new insight into a verse of Scripture that had puzzled him for years. “When I heard this,” the man said to the Bible Study leader, “I thought to myself, ‘If this scholar who has written commentaries and books and who has studied the Bible for years is just now understanding a verse of Scripture, how can I, an ordinary church member, understand the truth?”’ “You know,” replied the leader, “rather than being discouraged by the scholar’s remarks, I’m encouraged. It just goes to show that understanding God’s truth doesn’t depend on our intellectual ability or number of theological degrees earned. Rather, God’s truth is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. My message for the day however, is that the more we learn – it is important to realize the less that we know when it comes to the spirit. We never stop learning about God. And no matter how much we have studied, we still need to know more. Because the spirit is alive and always moving us forward. If we hear something one thing about Christ, when we hear it again, it teaches us something new. If we have read the bible once, then we need to read it again. If we gave one sermon, then we need to give another. Whereever you may be in your knowledge of God – commit to go forward – to know more, to serve more, to be challenged more. I think that sometimes we are just like those building facades for a movie scene. We may have the foundation, but we never bother to fill in the rest. – Paul is challenging us not to be satisfied with the basics, but to go further, go deeper into the mind of Christ. As a matter of fact, I don’t think it is about there being either spiritual or worldly, but that we have to have both. There has to be combination. We have to study to show ourselves approved, and we have to trust the working of the spirit. The spirit is alive and well. And if we have the knowledge, the spirit will help us to use it. Paul says that there are two types of people, but there are two types of learning – there is kerygma and didache. Those are good seminary words, but to break it down, didache means bible study – we need to know what the bible actually says. Kerygma – is spiritual learning – what is God really trying to teach us in our lives with these stories? There is no substitute for studying the word of God. but we have to realize that if we have never studied – then there is no opening for the spirit to teach us the true meaning of the words for our lives, and for our spiritual journey. We will never truly understand resurrection and how God bought Jesus back to life. All of the study in the world will not explain that mystery. But if we know the basic facts, and leave the door open – we come to believe in the power of Christ and what he can continue to do for our lives. Paul says – those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s spirit, for they are foolishness to them and they are unable to understand them because they only come from the spirit. Changing the World It was during the early days of television. A workman was placing television transmitters at the very top of the Empire State building in New York City. Seeing him at work up there, so far off the ground, a reporter thought this would make a fascinating human interest story. So, when the workman had completed his task and had returned to the ground, the reporter approached him and asked, “Aren’t you frightened to work under conditions like that that? Isn’t it dangerous to work so high off the ground?” The workman replied, “Yes sir, it is dangerous.” Then he added, “But then, how many people can say that they have changed the skyline of a city like New York!” God offers us the privilege of changing the skyline not of a city, but of the world. We can help make this world healthier, more humane, more harmonious, and more blessed. God made a good world. Now He wants us to help Him make it good again. We can do that. By God’s grace, we really can do that. If we can, surely we must. James McCormick, Selected Sermons, www.Sermons.com We change to world, by changing ourselves. By understanding the spirit and not so much how it fits into the world – but how we fit into what it is already doing. The spirit is alive and well – the spirit is moving in the world as we speak. Let us move along with it. – Paul’s last word to us in this passage is But we have the mind of Christ – we have all that we need! God’s wisdom is not about what we know about God, it is about how we love God. Amen. ________________________ Song I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light UMH 206 Pastoral Prayer Lords Prayer Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship (inspired by Matthew 5:14-16) (consider singing “This Little Light of Mine” before or after this stewardship invitation) In a world in which we can so easily turn on a light, it may be challenging to remember Jesus was speaking to his disciples out on the mountain side, with no electric lights, no lighted pathways, no flashlights. When the sun went down, everyone knew it would be DARK! So describing the disciples “light of the world” would have had a deep significance. What about for you? If you can, imagine how YOU are “the light of the world”. How do you let your light shine? What good works can be seen when you’re around? What happens because of you that allows others to give glory to God? Each week, we provide an opportunity for each one of us to shine some light as we share our financial offerings. With our gifts, this congregation is better equipped to _________________________ (provide food for the food bank? Bring children and youth into community through youth groups? Help people claim their identity as followers of Jesus? Imagine how bright the light shines when we all provide resources! Let your light so shine so we are not hidden or under a bushel basket, but so others from all around can see and rejoice in the Light! Prayer of Thanksgiving Illuminating God, thank you for the ways you encourage us to let our light shine. Please accept these gifts, multiply them, and make possible the vision for us to use them wisely, that we might let our good works be seen and celebrated, day by day. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Communion Invitation to Communion (consider providing communion cups with a taste of salt in each one, passed along or made available with your regular communion elements) Jesus often used familiar items to help connect people to new understanding of life, faith, and God. Today, I invite you to taste the salt as you remember Jesus telling his disciples “you are the salt of the earth”. Remember, salt, among other things, preserves, heals, provides enhanced taste. As followers of Jesus, how are we, how are YOU, salt? At this Table, may we chase the salt with bread and this cup. These simple elements become weekly “vitamins” to build us up, providing the capacity for us to fully engage — to be SALTY Christians — in a world yearning for preservation, for healing, for enhanced life. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Beloveds, you are the salt of the earth. Go, today, with the Spirit and bring out the best of the world — the goodness that God has already created. Purify. Cleanse. Bind. And remember that this imperative from God is to the church. Let us spread God’s love in the world as a community because we cannot do it alone. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Rose Schrott Taylor) Community Time Benediction Break forth in the world secure in the love of God. Break forth into the kindom for love of God and neighbor. Trust. the good news. Proclaim the good news. Be the good news. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsey) Additional Illustrations

Sign of the Times

August 18, 2019 Luke 12:49-56 Sign of the Times Pentecost 15 Year C Exegetical Aim: Winter and cold as symbols and signs of the world's darkness and the need for God's intervention. (This Children's Sermon is a bit more symbolic than usual, but so is the scriptural text.) Props: A branch with enough green leaves for each child to tear one off. Lesson: As you were coming to church this morning perhaps you noticed the weather. What was the weather like? (response) What kind of things did you see? What kind of sky was there? (response) What was the temperature like? Was it hot, cold, or nice outside? (response) Summarize the weather conditions and then add to the end of your description: But weather can change quickly, can't it? (response) How do you know when it's going to rain? (response) That is right. It can be sunny outside, the sky nice and blue, and the sun shining brightly, and then you see some dark clouds coming, and you hear the thunder in the distance, and that means it's going to rain. Hold up the branch. What do I have this morning? (response) What color are the leaves? (response) They are green because it's still summer. What is going to happen to the leaves in a few weeks? (response) If they don't know: Are the leaves going to change? (response) What colors? (response) All those colors are a sign that something is on the way. What is on the way? How is the weather going to change? (cold, winter) And when it gets cold what happens? (response) It snows. Hold up the branch. And how do we know that winter is on the way? (response) Application: I want everyone to come up and take a leaf. Take one leaf. Take them off at the branch slowly so you don't tear the leaves. Okay, sit back down. When they are seated: Take a look at your leaf. Soon millions and millions of leaves like the one you're holding will change color, turn brown, die, and fall to the ground. And then the cold will come. And when it gets cold in the world we need God very much to warm our hearts and make us feel love again. You see, the cold not only kills the leaves, but it deadens our hearts, and God wants very much to come into our hearts and warm them with his love so they don't die and fall to the ground. Let's Pray: Lord, keep our hearts warm. Keep us from being cold-hearted. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, Children's Sermons A to Z, by Brett Blair Luke 12:49-56 Common English Bible (CEB) Conflicts brought by Jesus 49 “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. 52 From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. 53 Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Learning and practicing good judgment 54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. 55 And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does.56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time? Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible The old weather adage often stated is: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning." Therefore, a red sunset is supposed to result in dry, sunny weather the next day. This saying has been in existence for over 2000 years. The saying is based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:1-4 Demand for a sign 16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. In order to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But he replied, “At evening you say, ‘It will be nice weather because the sky is bright red.’ 3 And in the morning you say, ‘There will be bad weather today because the sky is cloudy.’ You know how to make sense of the sky’s appearance. But you are unable to recognize the signs that point to what the time is. 4 An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign. But it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign.” Then he left them and went away. All of this time, people have thought that saying was true. But in reality, it is only true in parts of the world. For much of the world, weather travels from west to east. For instance, the rain that we are getting today, was 400 miles west just yesterday. Wind and clouds tend to travel with a storm, so if the wind comes out of the west, you know the storm is on its way. If the wind comes out of the east, then most likely the storm has already passed. Red sky in the morning or night are a reflection on the clouds in the sky. But there are many other ways to predict the coming of a storm. The direction of smoke – up everything okay, swirls down a storm is coming. If you feel a calmness in the air, calm before the storm. Smell dampness, feel the humidity, many people can feel it in their body. Once again Jesus mentions these signs of a coming storm in Luke 12. This scripture caught my attention – living out here in open space, much more concerned about weather then in the city. Think about Jesus words – can see the signs of the times, just like you can see the coming of a storm. What does that mean? I think that all of us would agree that these are interesting times that we are living in. This is a time of tension in our world. There is a lot of bickering and finger pointing. This is a time of polarization. In our society in general, but also in our community, in our church and even in our families. And right here in the book of Luke – Jesus says that he is the reason for that tension and for the divisions that are so prevalent in our world. This scripture is considered one of the tuff sayings of Jesus. One of the teachings that challenges us to our core. I first read through the gospels as a new Christian as a freshman in college. Christian Navigaters had sponsored bible studies on campus. Through a bible study on our dorm floor, I became intrigued with Christianity, and wanted to read more about the teachings of Jesus. The first time that I read Matthew – I was actually scared by most of what I read. I thought Jesus was very mean and that it was impossible to really be a true Christian. That verse about the red morning sky as a sign of a storm always stood out to me. Here that concept is again in Luke of predicting weather based on the clouds and the wind. But then Jesus goes on to say that he is not here to bring peace, but division. That he is here to turn families against one another, - father against son and mother in law against daughter in law. What kind of gospel is that? How is that good news. What kind of Jesus does that? Everything that we hear about Jesus is that Jesus brings peace. He is called the Prince of Peace. The messiah is predicted to be one who brings peace, Jesus even says my peace I give to you not as the world gives you. And here in this scripture he says that he brings division. We don’t need anymore division. Somone asked a rabbi, why Jews don’t believe in Jesus. He said because the messiah is supposed to bring peace to a hurting world – where is this peace that Jesus supposedly brought into the world. 2000 years later we are still at each other’s throats. What’s interesting is Jesus case in point is in that saying. Many of us are asking the same question why is there so much tension in our world today? Where is the peace? Jesus came into the world, into the jewish community because there were a society that have gotten comfortable with the status quo – with tradition and the way things were. The message of all of the prophets was that the status quo tends to hide a lot of sins. Jesus brought the presence of God into a world that needed to change. The problem is that the presence of God brings honesty and truth. And when the truth gets told – people get uncomfortable. The presence of God being clarity – when you get clear about your feelings and your actions, someone is always going to disagree with your position. The presence of the messiah being commitment – commitment to one thing means a lack of commitment to everything else. All of these things together – truth, clarity and commitment – create tension, disagreement, polarization and division. Following Jesus always means having to take a stand for what you believe in – Making Decisions A teenage girl at summer camp was torn between two sets of friends. Some of them were sunbathing on the dock, saying to her “stay with us.” But her other friends were in a rowboat saying “no, come with us.” There she stood, one foot on the dock, the other foot on the edge of the boat, and the boat was moving. Trying to appease everyone, trying to not decide, she ended up falling into the water; and worse, her hair got wet! But I think this is exactly what Jesus is addressing in the gospel lesson today. He is warning us that there will be times when following him will require us to turn away from something else. There will be times in this life when we will be required to say “yes” to one thing, and therefore “no” to the other. And of course, the action we most often take is the same one that girl did on the swimming dock. We try to go in both directions. We try to say “yes” to it all, and we end up falling in between the seams, and being miserable. Steven Molin, Flashing Yellow Lights The problem is that we don’t like to live in tension. We would prefer to live in silence. And yet Jesus challenges each of us that only in that tension can there be real peace. Only when we deal with the underlying issues in our world, our community, our church, our families – will we truly understand the meaning of peace beyond understanding. The tensions that we are struggling with today concerning racism, sexuality, generational difference. Have been a part of our life for years. The problem is that we have never truly faced those issues, because we didn’t want to deal with the tension. The sign of the times is not that a storm is on its way – the storm is already here – and it has battered us for years. The tension is not new – the tension and our uncomfortableness tells us that we do indeed have a savior who is alive and well. The Holy spirit is out there working to create a new world – a new understanding of peace. There is nothing wrong – everything is going just as it should be. A world where truth, clarity and commitment have a place at the table – is the world that Jesus came to create. Jesus is not asking us to have peace amongst our sisters and brothers, but to have peace within ourselves. To stay focused on our commitment, to be challenged to follow Christ into this brave new world. A Weird New Religious Cult A sociology professor every year begins his course on "The Family" by reading to his class a letter, from a parent, written to a government official. In the letter the parent complains that his son, once obedient and well-motivated, has become involved with some weird new religious cult. The father complains that the cult has taken over the boy's life, has forced him to forsake all of his old friends, and has turned him against his family. After reading the letter, the professor asks the class to speculate what the father is talking about. Almost without exception, the class immediately assumes that the subject of the letter is a child mixed up with the "Moonies," or some other controversial group. After the class puts out all of the possible conclusions they can think of, the professor surprises them by revealing that the letter, was written by a third century father in Rome, the governor of his province, complaining about this weird religious group called "The Christians." William H. Beljean, Jr., An Interesting Letter Let us pray…… Amen. Additional illustrations…….. Not Well Received A Baptist pastor fresh out of seminary was assigned to a small church in the hills of Kentucky. In his first sermon, he condemned gambling, especially betting on the horses. The sermon was not well received. "You see, Reverend," a parishioner explained, "this whole area is known for its fine horses. Lots of our members make their living breeding race horses." The next Sunday the pastor spoke on the evils of smoking, and again, his sermon was not well received – for many of his members also grew tobacco. The third week the pastor preached on the evils of drinking, only to discover after that a major distillery was one of the town's largest employers. Chastised for his choice of sermon topics, the frustrated pastor exclaimed, "Well, then, what can I preach about?" A kindly, older woman spoke up and said, "Pastor, preach against those godless Chinese communists. Why, there isn’t a Chinese communist within 4,000 miles of here!" There are some sermons people do not want to hear because they contradict their dearly held values or their comfortable life styles. Jesus earned a reputation for preaching these kinds of sermons – sermons that were challenging and demanding, radical and divisive. In our Gospel lesson for today we have just such a sermon – one that challenges our commitment to family values. Frank Rothfuss, Jesus’ Focus on the Family __________________________ Parable of a Good Climate "How are you feeling today, Joe?" "This lousy climate gets me down," said Joe. "I'm used to a warm climate that is dry and clear all the year around." "Well," said Bill, "I like the four seasons and the unpleasant days make the bright days better." It is true that climate conditions have some influence on health, but happiness depends more on the spiritual climate. Home is the place where your loved ones are and where the people you live with bring the most contentment and satisfaction. There can be real cause to smile in sunshine and in rain, if love and friendship bring the right spiritual climate. Some people seem able to laugh and face adversity with cheerful faith and courage. Some are busy in service of others and difficult times bring greater opportunities to be useful. "It makes me feel good," said Bill, "to note something special in each season and to look forward to those events, which are associated with the season. I like it here. I like the people here. It is the best location in the nation for me." Now is always the time for serving Christ! And Jesus said, "When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?" St. Luke 12:54, 55, 56 One day I asked a rabbi friend of mine why Jews didn't be¬lieve that Jesus was the Messiah. Without going into a long expla¬nation that the question undoubtedly required he replied, "Where is the peace? The Messiah is supposed to usher in peace and we didn't and still don't see evidence of that." Good answer, I thought. How do we reconcile that expectation with the reality we face? And while we're at it, how do we reconcile it with Jesus proclaim¬ing that he came as a fire starter, a division bringer?