[Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for August 16

Sat Aug 15 15:09:39 EDT 2009

Subject: Sermon Resources for August 16

Sermon Resources for Proper 15:

    Ephesians 5:15-20  -  Be Careful How You Live
    Ephesians 5:15-20  -  Wise, Worshipful, and Wonderfully Wayward

                                       by Leonard Sweet

Ephesians 5, the sermon titled "Be Careful How You Live" 

There are two birds that fly over our nation's deserts: One is the hummingbird and the other is the vulture. The vultures find the rotting meat of the desert, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do.

That is the essence of Paul's teaching: In life, there are two birds. The one bird looks for foolishness and stupidity, the other looks for wisdom. The vultures seek to fill themselves with the rotting flesh of drunkenness and debauchery, the hummingbird sobriety, freshness, and the Spirit. In the desert of this world you have your scavengers who are angry and ungrateful, but you also have those who hum a grateful hymn of thanksgiving. The irony is that you find what you are looking for.

In the fifth chapter of Ephesians Paul outlines proper behavior for good living. In our short passage he admonishes his readers to be careful how they live. He is brief and to the point. Three things we must do: Be wise, be sober, and be thankful. It's a short list but if we can orient our daily lives around these three-be wise, be sober, be thankful-we will transform not only our lives but also the lives of our family, friends, church, and neighbors. Paul then offers these admonitions:

1. Be Careful How You Live: Be Wise
2. Be Careful How You Live: Be Sober
3. Be Careful How You Live: Be Thankful

The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.

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Second Sermon by Len Sweet

Ephesians 5, the sermon entitled "Wise, Worshipful and Wonderfully Wayward" 

We used to tell these people, "Get off your high horse." I never knew what that meant literally, for they weren't on any horse, high or low. But we all knew what the expression meant. 

Is there anyone more annoying, more off-putting, more "fur-rubbed-the-wrong-way," than someone who is convinced they are "better" than you? Whether they are richer, or smarter, or prettier, or stronger, there are those who love going around "on their high horse."

In junior highs and high schools "cliques" rule the world. Every possible grouping of people gets its own label. Every pack has its own indelible identity. There are "jocks" and "cheerleaders." There are "Goths" and "Geeks." There are "Nerds" and "Freaks." How ironic that it is in school - the place we are primed and prepared for the expansive possibilities of the future that everyone is so tightly pigeon-holed and securely marked. 

Jesus failed to fit into any of the preconceived plans people had for a Messiah, for a Leader, for a Savior. And so did the first generations of Jesus' disciples fail to fit into any of the cultural conceptions of what was a "religion" or a "community." These "Christians" weren't Jews. These "Christians" weren't Gentiles. These Christians performed rites and rituals that sounded salacious and suspicious - what about all this drinking the blood and eating the body of a dead guy? Isn't that cannibalism? And this rhetoric about everyone loving one another? Isn't that the codeword for orgies? And these Christians kiss one another whenever they get together, regardless of social rank or color or economic status. 

The truth was these Christians came together to sing and pray and talk and give thanks. When Christians "celebrated" the wine did not flow and the moral boundaries did not disappear. In a world where religious ecstasy, mysterious secret rites, and  sexual excess were the "norms," these new "kids on the block," these "Christians" weren't "worse," they weren't "better." They were just really, really "different." So "different" that it was hard finding any category to place them in. 

If you've survived grades 1-12, and it looks like many of you have, you know that being tagged as "different" is never a good thing. Even though Jesus tried to keep a low profile, being "different" got Jesus in big trouble with the Jewish religious hierarchy, who then quickly passed him on to the Roman political hierarchy, where he got in more trouble. 

Being "different" paved Jesus' path to the cross.

Embodying Jesus' "differentness" got the first Christians in trouble too. They didn't fit within Judaism. Yet they stood completely outside the pagan, cultic traditions. The first century religious world didn't know what to do with these disciples of a crucified criminal. Eventually Judaism, which was already on the "suspect" list of the Roman Empire, chose to put its head down, "hunker-in-the-bunker" and distance itself from these Christians. Eventually Rome found Christians made excellent fall-guys and fodder for the Coliseum carnage. Christians vs. Lions was a game with a predictable out-come. But many found it fun to watch, and cities competed with one another as to who could build the biggest and best stadium where these games could take place. 

How did it happen that Christians now have a "holier-than-thou," "better-than-you" reputation? Being "Christian" has never been about being "better" than others. Being "Christian" has always been about being "different." Living "differently" than the world. Seeing different solutions to the problems of humanity. Celebrating a very "different" kind of victory - a victory that starts with a death on a cross and whose end was not yet come. The gospel is less about "better" than "different." Disciples of Jesus are not just called to be "better" but to be "different." A Christian's motto might be "I beg to differ." 

Being different, living different - that is the life-blood which keeps the circulation of the body alive and separated from the rest of the world, even while living in its midst. The Ephesians writer in today's text looked at three ways these Christians were "different."  

First, they were wise.

Second, they were worshipful.

Third, they were wondrously wayward.

The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.

Click here:  http://www.esermons.com/signup or call 1-800-777-7731 to join.

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Abiding with Christ

Eat this Bread and you will live, he promises. But even more than that, eat this Bread and I will abide with you, and you will abide with me. I like that word abide. I have pictures again: look, can you see them? They are images of home, of dwelling, of staying with, of living in and with, of trusting and being there. To abide is to know that no matter what comes our way, we will not be deserted nor left to face whatever the matter is on our own. Christ comes to live within us, to take up residence in our spirits, and promises not to leave. 

Over the years I have witnessed many scenes of this abiding presence played out in the lives of persons I have known. None are more powerful, more moving, more meaningful than the images which walk across my mind of faithful spouses who care for each other to the very end. Let me draw them for you. There is one now, walking his wife, a victim of Alzheimer's disease, down the streets in front of the nursing home. She in a wheelchair, not knowing a thing. He pushing her faithfully day after day. Their love of more than 60 years abides in his heart. Here is another: the picture of a woman standing beside the bed of her husband, holding a hand, offering a calm, reassuring voice to this one who has only moments before been thrown into convulsions. "I will not leave you." Finally, here is the unspoken presence of a Loving Friend who calms my own grieving spirit in the dark hospital room where my father lays dying. "Those who eat my flesh? abide in me, and I in them (John 6:56, NRSV)." 

In a world of fast food chains in every village, of drive-through windows, of buffet lines and all-you-can-eat salad bars, we are today offered a different food, the Bread of Life. It is food for a hungry soul. It is eternal food which, when you eat it, satisfies the craving of your heart and opens your eyes to see that all else is imitation and second rate.

Larry M. Goodpaster, Like a Breath of Fresh Air, CSS Publishing Company  
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O, Lord Give Me a Penny

A man asked God, "What does a billion dollars mean to you who are all powerful?"

"Hardly a penny." God said.

Then the man asked God , "And what are a thousand centuries to you?" God answered "Hardly a second!!"

Thinking he had God backed into a corner, the man then said, "Then if that's the case, O, Lord give me a penny !!"

"Sure," God replied. "In just a minute."

Wisdom isn't outsmarting God, wisdom is living in and with God. Wisdom is being in Christ and surrounded by Christ. Wisdom is eating and drinking from the feast which God has prepared for us.

Traditional

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Bread Is Not a Mere Commodity

The theologian John Macquarrie relates that the Scottish churchman, George Macleod, used to watch grain ships from Canada and the United States bringing their cargoes of wheat into Liverpool harbor, and he reflected that the wheat has the potentiality of becoming the body of Christ. This is the point at which sacramental theology spills over into the market place. Bread is not a mere commodity; things are not mere bits of matter. We can learn something of this from natural theology, but we learn it above all from Jesus Christ, the bread of God which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

John Macquarrie, A Guide to the Sacraments, p,156 

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The Truth

There is an Irish saying, "the person who speaks the truth should have one foot in the stirrup." He should be ready to ride off at once. People do not like the truth, especially when it challenges their attitudes; and the reaction is often to try to destroy the evidence of the truth or the one who witnesses to it. 

Father Gerry Pierse, The Dangerous Memory of Jesus

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Dining with God

When Seymour passed away, God greeted him at the Pearly Gates. "Thou be hungry, Seymour?" said God.

"I could eat," Seymour replied.

So God opened a can of tuna and reached for a chunk of rye bread and they shared it. While eating this humble meal, Seymour glanced down into Hell and saw the inhabitants devouring huge steaks, lobsters, pheasants, pastries, and fine wines. Curious, but deeply trusting, Seymour remained quiet.

The next day God again invited Seymour for another meal. Again, it was tuna and rye bread. Once again looking down, Seymour could see the denizens of Hell enjoying caviar, champagne, lamb, truffles, and chocolates. Still Seymour said nothing.

The following day, mealtime arrived and God opened another can of tuna. Seymour could contain himself no longer. Meekly, he said: "God, I am grateful to be in heaven with you as a reward for the pious, obedient life I led. But here in heaven all I get to eat is tuna and a piece of rye bread and in the Other Place they eat like emperors and kings! Forgive me, O God, but I just don't understand."

God sighed: "Let's be honest, Seymour. For just two people does it pay to cook?"

Donel McClellan, The Imaginary God

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Meeting God

Barbara Brokhoff says in her book, Faith Alive, "The Happy Hour for the Christian should be the hour of worship on Sunday morning, but how do you honestly feel when you are awakened by the alarm on the Lord's Day and you realize it is another "Church Day"? Can you hardly wait for the service time to roll around or do you roll over in bed, moan and groan and cover your head, and wish that once, once again maybe once more like last Sunday the one before, you would, or could sleep in and forget the whole boring, time consuming thing?? Is the thought of worship agony or ecstasy? I think we are coming to meet God--not just any body, but God!! Shouldn't the delightful suspense of worship make our breath short and our hearts beat faster?" 

Barbara Brokhoff, Faith Alive, quoted by Tim Zingale, Wisdom = Being in Christ

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Bread from Home

I'm reminded of a true story of a soldier who was severely wounded. When he was out of surgery, the doctors said that there was a good chance for recovery, except that the soldier wouldn't eat anything. The nurses and nuns tried everything, but he refused all food-drinking only water and juice.

One of his buddies knew why the soldier wouldn't eat-he was homesick. So, his friend, since the hospital wasn't too far from the soldier's home, offered to bring the young man's father to visit him. The commanding officer approved and the friend went to the parents' home. As the father was about to leave for the hospital, the mother wrapped up a loaf of fresh bread for her son.

Well, the patient was very happy to see his father but he still wouldn't eat-that is, until the father said; "Son, this bread was made by your mother, especially for you". The boy brightened and began to eat.

I think that you can guess where I'm going with that story. You and I are that boy. We are the ones who have been wounded in the battle of life. We are the ones who've been wounded by sin, by trials and pains, by loss and by our forgetfulness of God.

We lose our taste for the food that will strengthen our souls. Holy Communion gives us life, spiritual life, God's life. It gives us spiritual healing and spiritual strength.

There was nothing 'magic' about the mother's bread unless, that is, one feels that 'love' is magic--which, of course, it is.

Author unknown

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 The Communion of Empty Hands

There's a beautiful incident recorded by Thomas Pettepiece, a Methodist pastor, who was a political prisoner, a prisoner of conscience. Pettepiece writes of his first Easter Sunday spent in prison. He was among 10,000 prisoners. Most of the men had lost everything: their homes, their jobs, their furniture, their contact with their families. It was Easter Sunday, and they wanted to celebrate Communion. But, they had no cup for Communion. They had no wine for Communion. They didn't even have water for Communion. Nor did they have any bread for the Sacrament.

So, they practiced the Communion of Empty Hands. "This meal in which we take part," Pettepeice said, "reminds us of the imprisonment, the torture, the death and final victory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bread is the body which he gave for humanity. The fact that we have none represents very well the lack of bread in the hunger of so many millions of human beings. The wine, which we don't have today, is his blood, and represents our dream of a united humanity, of a just society, without difference of race or class."

Then Pettepiece, the pastor, held out his empty hand to the next person on his right, and passed on the imaginary loaf. Each one took a piece and passed it on. Then he said, "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And together they ate the imaginary bread, trying to imagine tasting it.

After a moment they passed around the non-existent chalice, each imagining he was drinking from it. "Take, drink, this is the blood of Christ which was shed for you ... Let us give thanks, sure that Christ is here with us, strengthening us."

They gave thanks to God and then stood up and embraced each other. And a while later, one of the non-Christian prisoners came up to them and said, "You people have something special, which I would like to have." And the father of a girl who had died came up to Pettepiece and said, "Pastor, this was a real experience. I believe that today I discovered what faith is ..." (from Visions of a World Hungry, quoted in A Guide To Prayer, Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck, editors, The Upper Room, p. 143).

Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company.

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Togetherness in the Eucharist

Bread suggests togetherness, care and love, hopes and dreams, fun and adventure.  

Let's say some new friends invite you to their house for a meal. When you are a guest in their home, they are sharing their intimacy with you. They are sharing with you some of the privacy of that place where they live every day, eat every day, love every day, work on their problems, argue from time to time, sleep and depart for work and pleasure and return for rest, every day.   

After graciously receiving you, they show you around their home in which they take deep pride. Then you go to the dining room for the meal. You find the table set with care, the food exceptionally delicious, and the conversation flows easily. Simply put, it becomes a lovely evening and you leave feeling full in every way. You enjoy bread from the kitchen, but much more. You enjoy the bread of being graciously received, the bread of informed and lively conversation, and the bread of being in beautiful surroundings..  

Magnify that thousands of times and you begin to have a glimmer of what the church perceives the Holy Eucharist to be. In the Eucharist Jesus and "Bread of Life" are one. In the Eucharist bread and wine are the elements that nurture faith in God.

Charles R. Leary, Mission Ready!, CSS Publishing Company 

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Full Devotion

Several years ago a couple of reporters conducted an experiment on the streets of Miami, Florida. They printed up a copy of the Bill of Rights in the form of a petition, put it on a clipboard, and then stopped people on the sidewalk and asked them to sign it. As you know, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are the Bill of Rights, and they were adopted and put into effect in December of 1791. The reporters were surprised at people's reaction when asked to add their names to the so-called petition. Most people glanced at the document, shook their heads, and walked on by without signing. Several people became angry with the reporters and accused them of being radical enemies of the American way of life. In fact, the experiment ended when the reporters found themselves surrounded by a dozen or so passers-by who were shaking their fists at them and calling them subversive Communists who ought to be thrown in jail.

What the experiment demonstrated is what we already know. Many citizens of the United States pay lip service to their country and its heritage. They claim to be loyal and patriotic in every way. They say they are proud to belong to a country as great as ours. And yet at the same time they haven't the vaguest notion what the United States Constitution actually says, and they consider the Bill of Rights to be a radical, anti-American document. In other words, these people claim citizenship, but they have not internalized the basic meaning of being a citizen. They claim the privilege, but they will not eat and drink the ethos of United States of America.

The same sort of thing is described in today's Gospel. Jesus says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Most people probably think Jesus is talking about communion. He isn't. He's talking about the difference between external lip service and internal embodiment. He's talking about the difference between admiring him and actually taking up one's cross and following him. He's talking about the difference between acting like a Christian on the outside and being a Christian on the inside.

Edwin D. Peterman

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Christ in Me and I in Him

There is an story about minister walking along the ocean with his small son. The boy questioned his father about Sunday's sermon. The boy said, "Dad, I cannot understand how Christ can live in us and we live in him at the same time." Further down the beach, the father noticed an empty bottle with a cork in it. Taking the bottle, he half filled it with water, re-corked it and flung it out into the ocean.

As they watched the bottle bob up and down he said, "Son, the sea is in the bottle and the bottle is in the sea. It is a picture of life in Christ. You live under the Lordship of Christ and He lives in you."

Traditional

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ILLUSTRATIONS FOR EPHESIANS 5:15-20

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Unwise and Wise Living

Jewish rabbis tell a poignant story that drives home the point of Proverbs 18:21. As the story goes (and five versions of this appear in Greek literature), Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel one day asked his servant to go to buy some good food for him in the market. When the servant returned home, he presented the rabbi with a tongue.

The next day, the rabbi told the servant to go to the market to buy some bad food. Again, the servant returned with a tongue.

When the rabbi asked the servant why he returned with a tongue both times, the servant made this astute observation: "Good comes from it and bad comes from it. When the tongue is good, there is nothing better, and when it is bad, there is nothing worse."

William R. Baker, Sticks & Stones: The Discipleship of Our Speech, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996), p. 17.

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Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done badly.

Theodore Levitt, Harvard Business School

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Wisdom

An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.

"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."

The dean looks intently at his colleagues gathered around him and says.

The conclusion to this illustration and many additional illustrations and sermons for Proper 15 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.

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