From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  1 00:08:38 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:08:38 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermons for Maundy Thursday,
	Good Friday and Easter
In-Reply-To: 101603
References: 101603
Message-ID: <8CC9F6823FCF220-124C-107F@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Subject: Sermons for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter


Holy Week and Easter: 
   John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-10 - The Good News of Easter
   John 13:1-17, 31-35 - Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples
   Luke 23:33-43 - Good Friday: The Three Crosses
 
==================================
 
Suggested Text: John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-10
Lectionary Week: Easter
 
Easter Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Easter Day or John 20 the sermon titled "The Good News of Easter" 
 
 As I look around, I see great events playing out on the world stage: 
 
Democracy is being brought to regions of the world that never really understood the dignity of individual citizens or the joy of liberty.
 
HIV/AIDS continues to take its toll around the globe. Countries face off in tense negotiations over trade, border disputes, and ancient grievances.
 
An unprecedented ability to communicate ideas and beliefs to any part of the planet and to any person is quickly becoming commonplace. And the ability to move produce and goods around the world makes it possible as never before to bring significant relief to regions that suffer. These world-shaping events are so important. They are literally changing the course of history. And as I watch, I wonder. I wonder what I am doing here in this pulpit. If the real action isn't out there doing the world shaping. And then I am reminded of two things.
 
First, I am reminded that no event in history has shaped the world like the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
And Second I am reminded of this simple fact about life. Life does not go on forever. There is death. Every one of us must face our mortality. There is no military victory, no medical cure, no global village that can prepare any individual to answer the ultimate questions in life. And this morning I stand to proclaim Hope, the hope of His Resurrection. There is death. Yes. But life is in Jesus Christ, the hope of our resurrection.
 
Friends, you have come here this morning with a sense of anticipation and longing. There are sobering questions on your mind and much hangs in the balance. Is there hope? Is there new life? Is there reason for joy? The answer to your questions has arrived this day. It is here waiting for you.
 
It is a three-word message: Christ Is Risen! Good news for the depressed. Good news for those who have lost loved ones. Good news. Good news to those who have lost their joy, Christ is risen.
 
Consider with me this morning the implications of Easter.
 
1. First, because of the Resurrection the disciples were changed.
2. Secondly, because of the Resurrection our view of death has changed.
3. Because of the resurrection, our view of Jesus has changed.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by
joining www.eSermons.com. 
=================================
 
Suggested Text: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
 Holy Week: Maundy Thursday
 
Maundy Thursday Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Maundy Thursday or John 13 the sermon titled "Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves In The Disciples" 
 
We come together this evening to recall in our hearts and minds the events that occurred on Thursday of what the church calls Holy Week, the last week in the life of our Lord. One-third of all the events that we have about Jesus' life occurred during this week: Reminding us of the great significance of these last days. The disciples have gathered in a home, whose we are not sure, but we do know that it had a furnished second floor.
 
As they gather they participate in what is called a Seder meal, one of the highlights of the Passover week. The Passover festival, of course, had been done for centuries before Jesus came on the scene. It commemorated that time when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt. Moses warned Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh hardened his heart. So God sent a death over the land of Egypt, but miraculously this death passed over the homes of the Jews. Thus, the season of Passover was given birth.
 
The meal itself was a symbolic one reminding the Jews of the sufferings of their forefathers and the power of God's deliverance. The foods that were eaten were symbols to remind the Jews of their captivity in Egypt. Apple sauce was eaten to remind them of brick mortar and the fact that they were forced to make bricks with no straw. A bitter herb is eaten to remind them of the bitterness of their captivity. It was this symbolic Seder Meal that the disciples were partaking of that night in the upper room.
 
It was at the conclusion of that meal that Jesus himself added two more symbols. He took a loaf and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying:
 
Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me. Then he took a cup with wine. He drank from it and gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin." Thus was born our sacrament of the Lord's Supper, out of the experience of an ancient Jewish custom.
 
Leonardo da Vinci by his famous painting has forever impressed upon on our minds the last supper of our Lord. The scene that he depicts is that moment when Jesus announces his impending betrayal. The disciples look at one another with great shock, all, that is, except Judas, who refuses to look Jesus in the face and clutches his money to his breast. I wonder as we look at those disciples around the table if we can see ourselves. For me they represent all that is good and bad about our humanity.
 
Maybe we can see ourselves in Matthew...
 
The rest of this brief 10 minute sermon looks at 10 of the disciples sitting around the Passover Meal and how we can see our own frailties and sinfulness reflected in them.
 
 This sermon can be used by joining www.Sermons.com. 
==================================
 
Suggested Text: Luke 23:33-43
Holy Week: Good Friday
 
Good Friday Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Good Friday or Luke 23 the sermon titled "Good Friday: The Three Crosses" 
 
The Cross. It struck fear in the hearts of the world. It was Rome's means of controlling the people. According to Roman custom, the penalty of crucifixion was always preceded by scourging; after this preliminary punishment, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution, exposed to the jibes and insults of the people. On arrival at the place of execution the cross was uplifted. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords.
 
He was then, fastened with four nails to the wood of the cross. Finally, a placard called the titulus bearing the name of the condemned man and his sentence, was placed at the top of the cross. Slaves were crucified outside of Rome in a place called Sessorium, beyond the Esquiline Gate; their execution was entrusted to the carnifex servorum (the place of the hangman).
 
Eventually this wretched locality became a forest of crosses, while the bodies of the victims were the pray of vultures and other rapacious birds.
 
It often happened that the condemned man did not die of hunger or thirst, but lingered on the cross for several days. To shorten his punishment therefore, and lessen his terrible sufferings, his legs were sometimes broken. This custom, exceptional among the Romans, was common with the Jews.
 
In this way it was possible to take down the corpse on the very evening of the execution. Among the Romans, though, the corpse could not be taken down, unless such removal had been specially authorized in the sentence of death.
 
The corpse might also be buried if the sentence permitted. It is remarkable that all of this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24).
 
It is interesting that Jesus is responsible for the abolishment of the cross as a means of capital punishment. In the early part of the fourth century Constantine continued to inflict the penalty of the cross on slaves guilty of, in the old Latin, delatio domini, i.e. of denouncing their masters. But later on he abolished this infamous punishment, in memory and in honor of the Passion of the Christ. From then on, this punishment was very rarely inflicted and finally the practice faded into history. But, oh, how history has remembered.
 
As the week of Jesus' Passion now closes, it is well for us to reflect upon the cross. Martin Luther said, "Man must always have a cross." Jesus said:
 
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Every one of us does have a cross to bear, but which one? Is ours the cross on the right, the left, or the center? Let us review for a moment this scene on Calvary.
 
1. The first cross represents the cross of rebellion.
2. The second cross represents the cross of repentance.
3. The third cross, that of Jesus, represents the cross of redemption.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by
joining http://www.Sermons.com. 
<>


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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  1 01:15:00 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 01:15:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] "Struggling with the future" - Fourth Word for Good
 Friday, based on Mark 15:27-34
Message-ID: <8CC9F71699D4FA9-124C-1094@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


http://tiny.cc/kp2lx is our Fourth Word for an ecumenical Good Friday service, based on Mark 15:27-34, "Struggling with the future."
Peace and blessings,
Joe 
St. John's Episcopal, Elizabeth, NJ




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Thu Apr  1 18:04:52 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 14:04:52 -0800
Subject: [Propertalk] Great Vigil homily
Message-ID: <1524870251.1270159492387.JavaMail.root@mp10>

Here's what I've set down, and will look at closer to Saturday!

One more to write!

Peace for maundy Thursday.

Bob

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY              GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER
9 O.T. READINGS		                     3rd APRIL, 2010	
LUKE 24:1-12 

	We ALL dream. Only some of us remember our dreams. But we DO all dream. Somehow, it?s necessary for our mental health. I?d guess it?s good for our spiritual health too, depending on whether one dreams about Brad Pitt, or Liam Neeson, or Angelina Jolie, or Sigourney Weaver. But dreaming IS necessary for all of us. So if I?ve lost you for the rest of the sermon, I guess I?ll just have to live with it.
	Seriously, dreaming is one of the major gifts God gives us. Not only do dreams expand our imaginations and help us to consider things we may be too timid to consider in our more rational, waking hours, but God can and does speak to us when our guard is down and when we?re more open to suggestion. More?s the pity, then, when we may not remember our dreams. Possibly this is a skill which we may wish to try to brush up. Look through the Bible and you?ll find God helping individuals and societies discovering and growing their faith through the way they think about their dreams.
	Here?s what someone wrote me last week.
	?Things I wanted to do when I was ten.
	1. Make a wagon into a restaurant & travel around the world having adventures with my invisible pet dinosaur. Most of the adventures would start with people buying food from us.
	2. Light things on fire to see how they would burn. 
	3. Dig an underground fort & live there except at mealtime & at night because I hate dirt in my food & my pajamas.
	4. Discover a continent or an island & not tell my parents where it was because they'd just make me clean it.? 1
	These sound pretty reasonable to me, actually. We all like to eat, and most of us enjoy company, especially at meal times. And if we can provide for someone else?s comfort, if we can travel at the same time and discover new recipes, well that?s just icing on the cake.
	Lighting things just to see if they?ll burn ? well maybe that?s pushing the limits of acceptable behavior a little far. But controlled fires ? seeing flames leap up into the dark sky as if to touch the stars ? there?s a primitive pleasure in that, something which speaks to us about our ability to communicate, to send and receive messages, as well as to warm ourselves and to cook up the food we may have considered in the first part of our dream.
	I have mixed emotions about the third one also ? digging and underground fort and living in it. I?m with the person who says she doesn?t like dirt in her pyjamas. That?s worse than cookie crumbs in bed! But think about what may be behind that suggestion about living underground, for however long or short a time. For so much of our lives and activities we?ve distanced ourselves far too much from Mother Earth. We cut down trees because they block views, forgetting that trees are an integral; part of the view itself; we pave over the earth so that we don?t have to weed or track parts of creation all through the house on our shoes. Then we discover the most simple weeds, plants and trees can push their way through the toughest blacktop or cement. We put in four or five lane highways ? well, you don?t need me to overdo this image!
	Digging out some place to live where we actually touch this created world with our bare hands gives us a point of contact with the Creator. It might remind us of relationships, as we share our secret places, the places where we find spiritual nourishment and respite from the noise up above. This part of our dream may bring us closer to God as we remember where it is we are and who we have the potential to be.
	That last segment, though ? well, it DOES sound appealing to find some unexplored territory where we can get in touch with everything that?s important to us. We ALL need to be able to have someplace into which we can invite those who nourish us spiritually as well as emotionally, then, if need be, we can ask them to give us some space and let us think about what we?ve been talking and doing. But NOT telling our parents ? I know there have been some terrible parent-child relationships; I know there ARE times when you?d rather talk about something with a best friend. But translate this dream-segment into the religious sphere and think about not telling God where you are and what you?re doing. Well, it?s not possible, for one thing, but God wants us to tell us where we are in life, what?s going on in life, what?s too scary to talk about to another human being, no matter how close or compassionate. 
	It seems like only yesterday ? it WAS just yesterday, that we heard Jesus say ?It is accomplished?. I give Myself into Your care. 
	Eating and sharing food; watching fire be kindled again; establishing contact with creation; finding a safe space ? perhaps not quite in that sequence, but these Dream Pictures are EXACTLY what we?re about this night. These describe the Love of God which simply won?t allow something like torture and death to be or have the last word. These are the elements on which our faith is built. We can ALWAYS find Light for our darkness, whatever it may be, and that Light shows us how we are to relate to Creation and all within it. Perhaps in the silence before this liturgy began, as we struggled to face the dark we also found a safe place ? possibly a space next to Jesus in His tomb, where we can reveal to one another what frightens us, what diminishes our humanity.
	Then, together, we find ourselves drawn out of the darkness, away from loneliness and uncertainty. We live out an echo of George Herbert?s wonderful mystical poem as we see that we now have ?such a light as shows a feast; such a feast as mends in length;? such a feast that awaits us in a few moments, a Feast that will not end but will be consummated in Jesus? nearer Presence. 
	I feel I have a personal need to respond to that dream-desire not to clean my island, though.
	The other day I heard an interview with one of my favourite radio and classical music commentators. He was discussing his special room ? actually an insulated and well-designed shed at the foot of his garden. It was filled with books and CDs, from which he drew inspiration and with which he designed his radio programmes. He said, though, that he never used a filing system. He never fully shelved his books or CDs, just stacked them up wherever he could ? on shelves, on chairs, on the floor, wherever. He said he never failed to find incredible delight in coming across a book or a CD which he knew he had, but hadn?t seen for a while. His face lit up when it became apparent how recently he?d had such a discovery of God?s enlightening. 2
	God IS present, God IS revealed, even in the most messy, uncoordinated, unpromising-looking situation imaginable. From the most unbelievable of conditions ? the rubble of Haiti, the disorganization of Chile, the inhumanity of the most corrupt political authority ? even the room of a parent?s worst nightmare ? from ANY situation God can and will being new life, and hope, and love. This night promises that we can depend on that.
	OK, all of you who?re still picturing Brad, or Liam, or Angelie, or Sigourney ? you can come back to earth now. Maybe find an image of Jesus, at least for a few minutes, and see how we can picture Him at Heritage Mall, or Costco, or Little Caesar?s across the street. Dream on THAT, ACT on that, and you may discover the effects of Jesus? resurrection are already working in your lives.

NOTES:
1 	StoryPeople 30th March, 2010. Annette at storypeople.com
2	Rob Cowan, BBC Radio 3 producer, commentator and musicologist.



--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 19:10:06 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 19:10:06 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 1
Message-ID: <E2426913FFE84C6A946AD1D73A42C64F@YOUR264F1833C5>

...Theodore Wardlaw has noticed the many times Luke uses the word "but" in his telling of the Easter story. ...("Living by the Word: Unnatural Event," The Christian Century, March 20, 2007). This "defiant conjunction" gets in the face of every cynical, hopeless, harsh evaluation of the state of the things and the meaning beneath them. It says that God isn't through with things yet. God hasn't spoken the last word, not yet, not in our situation.

This has to mean something to each one of us, then, when we face the "empty tombs" of our lives: the losses and disappointments, heartbreaks and failures, tragic deaths and prolonged illnesses, loneliness and despair. Those tombs are our "Friday" lives, and Jesus shares them with us.  But (there's that word again, and again) Jesus also shares Sunday, and resurrection, new life and new hope, with us. It wasn't a one-time thing, the resurrection of Jesus. It was, instead, the dawning of a new day, and new life as well.
- - -
...a little poem called "Anyway": a man named Kent Keith wrote it, but they say that Mother Teresa had it framed on her wall, and she certainly was someone who knew something about suffering and faithfulness (and doubt, we have later come to understand) and, I suspect, resurrection and new life, too. Like Mother Teresa (probably the only way I resemble her!), I too have this poem framed on my office wall, and I really should get up out of my chair and read it more often. It says, for example, "People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway! The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway! Honesty makes you vulnerable. Be honest anyway! What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway! People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway! If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!"

http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html

Kathryn Matthews Huey, 2010
- - - - -

Luke goes on to tell us the response of the apostles when they heard the women's Easter Sermon. Here's how Luke describes their doubt and skepticism: "But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." A couple of other translations employ the word "nonsense," instead of "an idle tale." According to Dr Wm. Barclay: The word used is one employed by Greek medical writers to describe the babbling of a fevered and insane mind.

http://dimlamp.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/sermon-easter-day-yr-c-2/

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson, 2010
- - - - -

Your loved one dies and you're cast into the journey of grief, and you ask, "Why did this happen? Where is God in all of this? How does my faith help? What do I do now?" Well, as a pastor, I can provide the major theme. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Neither life nor death nor grief nor loss nor anything else. But I can't provide the score. "What do I do now?" The answer is, "Improvise. Do the next thing there is to do and trust God's love." Patrick Henry, author and former professor of religion at Swarthmore College, has a wonderful phrase in his recent book The Ironic Christian's Companion. He says, "I can't tell you what the grace of God is. The most I can do is tell you what trusting it is like." 
- - -
Let us pray. 
Surprise us, O Living God, as you surprised the women on that first Easter morning. ... Roll away every stone threatening to entomb us in a rigid and timid faith. 

http://day1.org/468-sunday_morning_at_the_improv

Homer Henderson, 2004
- - - - -

The oldest book in the Bible - the book of Job - asks a question which applies to everyone.  "IF A MAN DIES, SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN?"
It is this one question which separates us from all the rest of God's creatures.  Made in the image of God, our hearts turn to the heavens and ask the question of Job, "When I die.shall I live again?"  The animals don't do that.  (Wondered about my German Shepherd one morning, but he was just looking at a squirrel.)

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/april_20=03.htm 

John Jewell, 2003
- - - - -

A Benediction

O people of the Lord, you have been raised with Christ!  Go from
this place with joy and rejoicing in your hearts, for Christ is your
life and his glory is your hope!  Amen!

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/april_1501.htm

John Jewell, 2001
- - - - -
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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Sat Apr  3 19:21:05 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 15:21:05 -0800
Subject: [Propertalk] Easter Day sermon
Message-ID: <1840168026.1270336865423.JavaMail.root@mp09>

This will have to be checked out after the Vigil tonight. I don't trust myself to any more with it this afternoon!

We're welcoming a 7-year-old girl through Baptism tomorrow - her grandparents can't come tonight.

Peace and empty tombs all round!

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY    THE SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION: EASTER DAY
ACTS 10:34-43			         4th APRIL, 2010	
1 CORINTHIANS 15:19-26		              PSALM 118:1-2, 14-24
JOHN 20:1-18

	In a matter of minutes, Maya will lean her head over a wooden pedestal into which a bowl has been inserted, and I will pour water on her. What is it that will make her do that? What will she be thinking and feeling? Does she trust me not to soak her dress, or even drown her?
	Trust is something with which each of us has to deal on our own.
	Does Maya know what?s happening every second of the time here? Will she be able to answer in a skilful way what?s going on here? Does Maya ? do YOU ? NEED to know all that?s going on in order to be a part of this?
	You can answer that for yourself, but if you need a hint, it?s ?No ? but Yes!? The fact is that it?s the same inside this building as it is anywhere else on earth. There will always be questions ? so we DON?T need to know everything about the hows or even the whys. We?re asked to hope and to trust.
	But what we do this morning, and what Maya will be committing herself to doing from now on, is a sign that we live in hope, hope that the promise of God is far bigger than we can ever imagine, bigger than any of us can ever comprehend, no matter how old we are.
	Last Friday night, after the service, after leaving a very dark building, with shadows, and remnants of celebrations lying here and there on the floor, and on shelves and on tables, after leaving a building that was strangely quiet ? as if it were holding its breath ? from that atmosphere I arrived home and found that one of the parts of ?The Lord of the Rings? was on TV.
Both the books and the movies are wonderful pieces of work. There?s so much going on. In fact, no matter how often I pick up the books, or watch bits and pieces of the movies, I always find something else to intrigue me. There?s so much to grip the imagination because there?s so much that?s actually left to the imagination. We see the outline of the story, we read about the characters, and we pick up on many of the implications of situations and relationships. However, we have to dig deep sometimes to begin to catch all the different layers of the action. We DO become drawn in and when danger threatens we cringe, although it IS just a book or a film. I don?t know if this is something Maya would watch, but I know adults who find their emotions tested by Tolkien.
	I remember a scene in which the heroes are in underground caverns when they?re attacked by all sorts of creatures. They flee, but just as they?re about to escape, Gandalf, the wise old guide, can?t make the last jump over a chasm. His grip on the edge of the rock finally gives way, and he plunges down into the abyss ? seemingly lost for ever.
	A similar scene comes in ?The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?, when Aslan, the Lion, seems to be killed by Jadis, the White Witch.
	In both stories, the friends are devastated. They don?t know if they?ll survive. They stumble around. But both Tolkien and Lewis, who read their stories to one another as they were writing them, had a strong Christian faith on which their fantasies were built, and they based their treatment of the deaths of Gandalf and Aslan on the disarray of the disciples after the death of Jesus.
	There was Mary, lost, weeping at the tomb, thinking that she?d never be able to hope again, she?d never again establish a friendship which healed and renewed her as did her one with Jesus.
	It was like leaving this space on Thursday night, with the light lost, or the even darker Friday night, with the bare cross the only thing to see ? not even Jesus? body was there.
	But despite that, we?ve come to this room, somehow drawn to ask questions ? about hope, and about meaning. And Maya, she?s come too.
	Maya?s been waiting for this moment eagerly for a long time, mostly because what she?ll be doing is the ultimate symbol of ?belonging?.  She may not express herself precisely in terms of darkness, or loneliness, or weakness, but even at her age she knows that to experience life in its fullness, she has to seek strength to overcome them. And she senses that Jesus can do that for her.
Mary had the same need. She knew she needed strength from outside herself in order to cope. She simply didn?t know from where her help would come, however, yet she was drawn to the tomb, to the scene of the disaster, hoping to pick up a few of the pieces to which she could cling. She?d found the one Person who really believed in her, only to have Him ripped from her life just the day before.
What she found in the early hours of that Sunday morning, though, was completely beyond her expectations. She?d underestimated the power of the Love of God.
Mary heard someone call her name. THAT?S when she knew that she?d found what, or rather, whom she needed. Jesus not only was alive. He remembered her; He loved her; He was both able and willing to do anything for her so that she could find who she was and what she could do. 
That?s how WE learn who WE are. From the moment of our birth, people call our names, they encourage us, they correct us, they try to educate us, they socialise us; they LOVE us by calling our name ? sometimes a very special name. That?s the way it?s been for all of us.
Jesus still speaks our names ? Mary ? Maya ? Dan ? Pat ? Janet ? Rick ? Elisabeth ? ?I am here,? He says. I am alive.  As the water is poured over Maya, and then as she holds the Bread in her hands and tastes the wine, Jesus is saying her name, over and over, and over again ? ?I am here. Now you should go and tell everyone, ?I have seen the Lord.?? No matter how strange things may be at school, or wherever, each of these events can be seen in a new light now.  So we?re invited to share our new hope with everyone.
Yesterday I noticed several different people?s blogs all talking about a book written by Nora Gallagher. It?s called ?Practicing Resurrection? ? helping us to understand, firstly, that resurrection isn?t a one-time event for only one person. It?s for everyone. But, secondly, it?s to become our way of living. 	We?re to be bold, fearless in face of frustration, exuberant in the eyes of exasperation, daring in the  of disease . You can go on to finish these statements! Nothing is to stop us.
This won?t make problems go away. Sorry, Maya, you?ll still have homework. There?ll be some classes you may never like. That?s why Nora Gallagher talked about ?PRACTICING resurrection?.
Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, wrote that, ?We are not born with the ability to insist on resurrection everywhere we turn. It takes the discipline and repetition that forms an athlete ? in this case, a spiritually fit Christian. We practice our faith because we must ? it withers and atrophies unless it's stretched. We must continue to give evidence of the faith that is within us.
	?Easter,? Bishop Katharine went on, ?(Easter) prods and provokes us with an immense stretching exercise. God has renewed a life given to the evil of this world on behalf of those with no other helper. That earth-shattering and tomb-shattering rebirth has planted the seeds of hope in each one of us. Yet those seeds do not produce fruit without struggle.?
	We can all relate to that. If we want to do something and get as much pleasure out of it as we can, we HAVE to practice. And we practice by keeping in touch with Jesus so that we will be able to put up with all the things and people who annoy us.
	On NPR yesterday I heard an interview with an author of a book with an intriguing title. It is - ?The Lunatic Express: Discovering the World ? Via its most dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes?. Here?s what Carl Hoffman said in his preface:
Setting out across Afghanistan I was thoroughly frightened. I was accompanied by Khalid, who said, ?This is bad. It is a dangerous place. It is the home of ? the most dangerous man in Afghanistan. ? (Carl said he) suddenly had a terrible feeling. A feeling of dread ? I was crazy for trying to ride a bus across Afghanistan in the middle of a war; idiotic. What had I been thinking? I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, to think about nothing.
?Khalid prayed.? 1
	I wonder who had the better idea! So, Maya, AND all the rest of us ? if you and we want to practice living the resurrection life, then I suggest that we all try at least these three things:
1)	Listen for Jesus speaking our name. He WILL be saying it. It?s just that sometimes we aren?t hearing Him, or don?t recognise His voice.
2)	Talk to Jesus ? ALL THE TIME. Some people may think us a bit strange, but that?s O.K. It didn?t seem to bother Mary at the tomb. She prayed. Khalid prayed on that bus. You and I can, and must, pray ? talk to Jesus ? so we remember HIS Name. And ? 
3)	Be daring! Be willing to take risks. DO remember what our parents have said about getting into strange cars, or busses, but practise resurrection by reminding ourselves that there IS nothing which God can?t help us all overcome.
?Acts of faith,? reminded Scott Simon on NPR, talking of composer Marcos Galvany?s Opera ?Oh My Son?, about
Jesus, His mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene,  ?(Acts of faith) aren?t just for Bible figures, but any man or woman who offers their hopes and gifts. ?If you do something out of love, amazing things can happen.?? 2
	Come to the water, then, come to the tomb ? then go, spread the Good News about Jesus and Life.

NOTES:
1 	?The Lunatic Express: Discovering the World ? Via its most dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes? by Carl Hoffman ? Broadway Books ? 2010. Prologue.
2		?An Operatic Act Of Faith? Story by Scott Simon about Marcos Galvany?s Opera ?Oh My Son? NPhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125532205R: Weekend Edition, Saturday 3rd April, 2010





--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 20:34:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:34:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 2
Message-ID: <CF07A19F0CD14D0E949B6375DE47D77F@YOUR264F1833C5>

Whether or not you believe Christ rose from the dead makes all the difference in the world.
Interest, but skepticism: that's the way people have reacted to the Easter story since the very first time it was told. 
- - -
Jesus' resurrection was not a reprieve, a temporary delay of the physical death that comes to every human being. It was the fulfillment of everything the Master had said and done. 
- - -
...several years ago a friend of mine was facing open heart surgery and I was very concerned about him, and in praying about it, I felt the spirit of God saying to me, "Don't you know how much I love him and that whatever happens he will never be out of my care?" That opened me to a new dimension of God's love that is made most visible and dramatic in the resurrection.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/noren_3926.htm

Carol Noren, 1996
- - - - -

Easter Sunday is not an isolated event. It is unique in its climactic nature, but we had glimpses of it over and over again as God repeatedly responded to people faced with the power of death and led them forward to freedom and fullness of life. Easter is everywhere, wherever the Spirit of God comes back in the hearts of downtrodden people and they begin the dance of life, with futures resurrected as they follow the resurrected Lord of life and become part of God's great movement of raising life from the midst of death when all hope seems gone. 

http://www.laughingbird.net/ComingWeeks.html

Easter Sermon #2, Nathan Nettleton, 1996
- - - - -

We are not unlike those first followers. Though we know well the Easter story, we never seem fully to grasp its meaning. Like them, we so often continue to live burdened with our dashed hopes and with our misunderstanding of God's mysterious power. Like them, we come to the tomb and expect to find death, but instead we find signs of a new life that we cannot even begin to comprehend. Like them, we do not realize that our history has been broken open and is now filled with the resurrected presence of Christ.

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2910

Dianne Bergant, 2003
- - - - -

One Easter the children's liturgy featured different classes presenting their gifts to the risen Jesus. A class of fourth graders lumbered up the aisle with a stuffed teddy bear twice the size of the gift-bearers. The bear then reclined serenely against the altar, facing the congregation. After the liturgy an irate parishioner phoned, appalled at the liturgy and especially the smiling teddy bear, and kept repeating, "It was a total surprise" that "simply did not fit in." After a few forays on my part into the themes of God's love for all creation and gratitude over the enthusiasm of children, the teddy bear remained insurmountable. Finally, with some resignation, I said, "You are absolutely right, it was a total surprise and simply did not fit in; but neither does resurrection from the dead."

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2378

John R. Donahue, 2000
- - - - -

CHILDREN'S TIME: "Easter Eggs and Easter Victory"

An egg looks quite dead and lifeless.
But - given the warm love of the mother hen
it produces a new and wonderful life.

http://spirit-net.ca/sermons/b-ea01se.php

Richard  Fairchild
- - - - -

Resurrection Rolls, Crescent rolls, Melted Butter, Large Marshmallows, Cinnamon, Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in. 
Give each child a marshmallow, this represents Jesus.
Have him dip the marshmallow in melted butter, which represents the oils of embalming.
Then dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up...but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside. This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes (The oven 
represents the tomb--pretend like it was three days!). 
When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their
rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS
RISEN! 
(The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but
empty).

http://talks2children.itsforministry.org/t2c/view.asp?ID=73

G. Utz
[Just checking to see if you read this!  It has my vote for the most creative!  Marshmallow theology!]
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 23:19:35 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 23:19:35 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 3
Message-ID: <05CD5353F28844B1A02191012DA157AE@YOUR264F1833C5>

In the midst of tending to the necessary chores, especially the things that need to be done in the hard times, the women were met by the unexpected experience of God's grace. Sometimes faith means going on and tending to the necessary chores. Prepare the spices, go to the tomb, tell the others, even when they think it an idle tale. Be faithful in the tasks that are ours and do the necessary tasks, for in them we, too, may be bearers of the good news of the day: "he is not here, but has risen!" 

The New Interpreter's Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995)
- - - - -

There is an interesting discussion concerning the theology of "The Grave Clothes" at 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_tomb
- - - - -

Death is real, but it is not final. In Jesus, life gets the last word. 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=4/4/2010#

Craig R. Koester, 2010
- - - - -

Verse 4: "two men in dazzling clothes": In Acts 1:10 (the Ascension) and 10:30 (Cornelius), Luke calls angels men. There are also two at the Transfiguration (see 9:29-30). 

http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/ceasdl.shtml

Chris Haslam
- - - - -

While, in general, I don't think that Easter Sunday is a time to chide the worshipers, with this text, it may be an appropriate time to talk about our attitudes and actions (ritual and otherwise) concerning Christ. Do we assume that he is dead and just go through the motions of good and right and proper rituals, or do we assume he is alive and active in our lives, in the world, and in our repeated rituals, e.g., liturgy and holy communion?

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke24x1.htm

Brian Stoffregen
- - - - -

Alone among the four gospels, Luke accents "remembering."  The two men tell the women to "remember" what Jesus had said in Galilee:  "It is necessary (for) the son of man to be delivered into the hands of sinful human beings, and to be crucified, and on the third day to rise?"  (As in Mark and Matthew, Jesus speaks of his death and subsequent resurrection three times during his ministry.  The statement spoken by the two men is a conflation of those three statements.  See 9:22, 44, and 18:32-33.)

http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/03/lectionary-blogging-easter-luke-24-112.html

John Petty, 2010
- - - - -

This lesson contains no resurrection - it is a story of an empty tomb and of remembering what we have already been told would happen.

http://www.holytextures.com/2010/03/luke-24-1-12-year-c-easter-sermon.html

David Ewart, www.holytextures.com
- - - - -

In my twenty-five years as a pastor of the church where I currently serve, I have heard and preached many Easter sermons. Likewise, I have watched so many persons endure the harsh realities of life. It has often been my prayer for many that they have "an anchor that grips and holds a solid rock," not just for Easter Sundays filled with frocks and bonnets, but for every day. My earnest desire is that more and more people know true resurrection-resurrection from dreary living, resurrection from tormented relationships, resurrection from government policies that are hostile to the poor, resurrection, indeed.

http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=80

William D. Watley, 2009
- - - - -

So effortless is this connection between springtime and Easter that, unless we are vigilant, we succumb to thinking that resurrection is as natural a thing as grass coming up green, as eggs cracking open to reveal chicks, as butterflies crawling out of cocoons. As beautiful as this coincidence is, there is something deceptive about it too, and we need to remember that there is nothing about resurrection that is natural.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_6_124/ai_n18791386/?tag=content;col1

Theodore J. Wardlaw, 2007
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 23:39:08 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 23:39:08 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 4
Message-ID: <28A6FE261D284CDC8CEED70D30CE6E9A@YOUR264F1833C5>

Capes notes that "through the fourth century
there is ample evidence that some Christians, even Gentile
Christians, continued to observe sabbath." The Christian theologian
Tertullian, in On Prayer (c. 205), wrote as though corporate
prayer on the sabbath were commonplace, and the Apostolic
Constitutions in the fourth century taught that both sabbath and
Sunday should be kept as festivals to the Lord. "Those Christians
who maintained a sabbath practice took their cue from the Lord
of the Sabbath, to whom the substance of the new creation
belongs."
Emperor Constantine decreed in A.D. 321 that workers should
rest on the venerable day of the Sun. Over the next centuries,
Christian believers began resting on Sunday and referring to the
Lord's Day as "the sabbath," attaching to the eighth day the
significance that is given to the seventh day in the Decalogue.

http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/Sabbathstudyguide3.pdf

Robert B. Kruschwitz, 2002
- - - - -

You cannot force anyone to believe anything. I cannot make you believe anything. God alone has that power. My calling is not to explain the resurrection or to defend it but to share my experience of the resurrection and to encourage you to experience it, to be uplifted by it.
As far as what the resurrection means, I can only tell you what I think it means. To me, the resurrection means that the powers of evil do not have the last word in the world or in your life. 

http://teamnoah.info/Stirred/joanna.html

Sarah M. Foulger
- - - - -

In his stimulating & imaginative 'Ballad of the Breadman', [The Sun Dancing, Kestrel, '82] Charles Causley portrays Jesus as 'charged with bringing the living to life'. I like that. For me it's a better starting point than much of our usual church talk about 'bringing the dead to life'. Aren't the living dead more priority than the dead dead? 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/laterallyluke/LLK24112EASTER.html

Brian McGowan
- - - - -

Maybe the news of Easter was simply too overwhelming for them to believe. Many years ago, a friend told me that his young son was a great fan of both Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers. The boy faithfully watched both of their television shows, and one day it was announced that Mister Rogers would be paying a visit to the Captain Kangaroo show. The boy was ecstatic. Both of his heroes, together on the same show! Every morning the boy would ask, "Is it today that Mister Rogers will be on Captain Kangaroo?" Finally the great day arrived, and the whole family gathered around the television. There they were, Mister Rogers and Captain Kangaroo together. The boy watched for a minute, but then, surprisingly, got up and wandered from the room.
Puzzled, his father followed him and asked, "What is it, son? Is anything wrong?"
"It's too good," the boy replied. "It's just too good."

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2166

Thomas G. Long, 2001
- - - - -

Note the word "must" in verse 7: "the Son of Man must (emphasis mine) be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." The death and resurrection of Jesus are not accidents of history. The death of Jesus was not merely the result of human decisions, even though human decisions played a crucial role. There was a divine purpose at work. "Must" implies divine necessity. Herein lies a great mystery. On one hand, human beings brought about the death of Jesus. Yet, in that very death the purposes of God were accomplished. Human beings are responsible for the death of Jesus. It is not God who brings about the death of His Son. Yet, when Jesus is crucified by the hands of sinners, God has not ceased His activity in the events of history. Even this awful death becomes the arena of God's work in the world.

http://www.cresourcei.org/lectionary/YearC/Ceaster1nt.html

Jirair Tashjian
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr  4 04:43:24 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 04:43:24 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] An Easter message based on Luke 24:1-12
Message-ID: <6FE0FD57BA084F469EC5AA0364F3C00A@YOUR264F1833C5>

Believing, they go out to the world: http://tiny.cc/c9ziy
an Easter message based on Luke 24:1-12.
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe
St. John's Church
Elizabeth, NJ
 
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From chadwohl at satucket.com  Sun Apr  4 21:34:49 2010
From: chadwohl at satucket.com (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 21:34:49 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the SECOND SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <820A8B03BF7F41188BC8F16F5468E0D2@ThinkpadT60CCW>

The following are the readings for the Second Sunday of Easter, April 15, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.


FIRST READING:  Acts 5: 27 - 32   (RCL)

Acts 5:27 (NRSV) When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." 


Acts 5: 12 - 16   (Roman Catholic)

Acts 5:12 (NRSV) Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16 A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured. 


PSALM 118: 14 - 29   (RCL)
               118: 2 - 4, 13 - 15, 22 - 24, Resp. v. 1   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 
his steadfast love endures forever! 
2 Let Israel say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 
3 Let the house of Aaron say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 
4 Let those who fear the LORD say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 

13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, 
but the LORD helped me. 
14 The LORD is my strength and my might; 
he has become my salvation. 
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: 
"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly; 
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted; 
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly." 
17 I shall not die, but I shall live, 
and recount the deeds of the LORD. 
18 The LORD has punished me severely, 
but he did not give me over to death. 
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, 
that I may enter through them 
and give thanks to the LORD. 
20 This is the gate of the LORD; 
the righteous shall enter through it. 
21 I thank you that you have answered me 
and have become my salvation. 
22 The stone that the builders rejected 
has become the chief cornerstone. 
23 This is the LORD's doing; 
it is marvelous in our eyes. 
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! 
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success! 
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. 
We bless you from the house of the LORD. 
27 The LORD is God, 
and he has given us light. 
Bind the festal procession with branches, 
up to the horns of the altar. 
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; 
you are my God, I will extol you. 
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, 
for his steadfast love endures forever. 


Psalm 150   (alt. for RCL)

Psal 150:1 (NRSV) Praise the LORD! 
Praise God in his sanctuary; 
praise him in his mighty firmament! 
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; 
praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; 
praise him with lute and harp! 
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; 
praise him with strings and pipe! 
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; 
praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! 
Praise the LORD! 


Psalm 2   (Can. BAS)

Psal 2:1 (NRSV) Why do the nations conspire, 
and the peoples plot in vain? 
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together, 
against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, 
and cast their cords from us." 
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; 
the LORD has them in derision. 
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, 
and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." 
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: 
He said to me, "You are my son; 
today I have begotten you. 
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, 
and the ends of the earth your possession. 
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, 
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; 
be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
11 Serve the LORD with fear, 
with trembling 12 kiss his feet, 
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; 
for his wrath is quickly kindled. 
Happy are all who take refuge in him. 


SECOND READING:   Revelation 1: 4 - 8   (RCL)

Reve 1:1 (NRSV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near. 
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; 
every eye will see him, 
even those who pierced him; 
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. 
So it is to be. Amen. 
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 


Revelation 1: 9 - 11a, 12 - 13, 17 - 19   (Roman Catholic)

Reve 1:9 (NRSV) I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Pat'mos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Eph'esus, to Smyrna, to Per'gamum, to Thyati'ra, to Sar'dis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodice'a." 
12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 


GOSPEL:   John 20: 19 - 31   (all)

John 20:19 (NRSV) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. 



Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, Vermont    USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:54:39 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:54:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11 - Part 1
In-Reply-To: 104525
References: 104525
Message-ID: <8CCA35C65CC912B-124C-3A5@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>



Sermons for Easter 2: 
     John 20:19-31 ? ?Thomas? 
     Revelation 1:4-8 ? ?The God Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come? by Leonard Sweet
 _________________________________________
 
John 20:19-31, the sermon titled "Thomas" 
 
If I were to mention the names of certain disciples to you and ask you to write down the first word that comes into your mind, it is unlikely you would come up with the same words. If I were to mention the name of Judas many of you would write down the word "betray" but not all of you. If I were to mention Simon Peter, some of you would write down the word "faith," but not all of you. If I were to mention the names of James and John, some of you would write down the phrase "Sons of Thunder," but not all of you. But when I mention the word Thomas, there is little question about the word most everyone would write down. It would be the word doubt. Indeed, so closely have we associated Thomas with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe him: "Doubting Thomas."

You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description. 

When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: Then let us go so that we may die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.

Unfortunately history has remembered him for this scene where the resurrected Christ made an appearance to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. Thomas was not present and when he heard about the event he refused to believe it. Maybe he was the forerunner of modern day cynicism. Maybe the news simply sounded too good to be true. Thomas said: Unless I feel the nail prints in his hands I will not believe.

Now I cannot help but notice that Thomas has separated himself from the disciples and therefore, in his solitude, missed the resurrection appearance. I think that john is suggesting to us that Christ appears most often within the community of believers that we call the church, and when we separate ourselves from the church we take a chance on missing his unique presence.

But the story doesn't end here. The second time Jesus made his appearance Thomas was present with the disciples and this time he too witnessed the event. This time he believed. What can we learn from the life of Thomas?
 
1. Jesus did not blame him.
2. The most endearing things in life can never be proven.
3. We must move beyond doubt to faith.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
_______________________
 
Revelation 1, the sermon titled ?The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come? 
 
It has always bothered me that the symbol for Easter is a rodent. It is bad enough that the symbol for Pentecost is a dove, a fancy name for a white pigeon, or a trash bird. But the high and holy festival of Easter -- a rodent?
 
How's that for a beginning to what is sometimes known as "Low Sunday?"
 
Okay, okay. Technically, no longer are rabbits classified as rodents. As of 1912, rabbits and hares went from being classified in the order Rodentia to a new order, Lagomorpha, which also includes pikas. But up until 1912 rabbits were rodents.
 
Most kids have rodents as pets at some point in their lives. Hamster? Gerbil? It might as well be a rat or a mouse. [At this point if you can showcase and storyboard one or more cages of pet hamsters or gerbils, and even get their "owners" to tell something about them, so much the better.]
 
As a one-time parent of a child with a pet rodent, I can testify to a middle-of-the-night sound that used to drive me crazy until I got used to it. This is the constant squeak and rattle of the running wheel in the rodent's cage. With no place to expend all their energy, they frantically race their way to nowhere inside that spinning wheel.
 
Can you think of a kinder invention ever devised for our furry captives than this clear plastic exercise ball? Safely ensconced in the ball the critter can't actually "escape" to anywhere. But at least there is a feeling of making "progress" to somewhere. The human version of a rodent's running wheel is a treadmill, a Stairmaster, or some other stationary exercise machine. Our bodies go through the motions of running or climbing or rowing - but we don't actually go anywhere. Fancier versions of these machines now take pity on the poor human-gerbil-in-the-wheel.
 
Many now come with a video screen. You can pick what kind of beautiful scenery you are not actually running through. You cannot really run along the beach. You cannot really run in the mountains. You cannot really run beside a pristine lake. You can look at real pretty fakery, but you are still getting nowhere. Getting nowhere faster than you did yesterday. But still getting nowhere.
 
One of the things that makes human beings unique is we can simultaneously live in three dimensions of time. Of course, don't ask what "time" is. St. Augustine confessed about time that "I know well enough what it is, provided nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled." So don't ask me what time is.
 
But let's try to describe it from our text this morning. Raymond Tallis, in The Kingdom of Infinite Space: A Fantastical Journey around Your Head (Atlantic Books, 2008), puts it like this: "animals live their lives, humans lead theirs." Only humans, he says, have an explicit concept or idea of the past, the present and the future: which is both a tremendous advantage and a terrible burden?
 
The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com
___________________________
 

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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:54:49 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:54:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11 - Part 2
Message-ID: <8CCA35C6BD7D689-124C-3A6@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


The Reputation of a Lifetime

Thomas found a Lord who dealt with him where he was, in his present circumstances but led him beyond the passing into the permanent. I think it is criminal to call him, "Doubting Thomas," for one brief moment of his life. We should remember him for the permanent affirmation Jesus evoked from him.

I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down the main street of Arlington, Kentucky, all the while singing at the top of his lungs the song, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" For the rest of his life he was known as "Hot Time." One night and a reputation for a lifetime! It wasn't fair to call him "Hot Time" all his life, nor is it fair to keep on saying, "Doubting Thomas" for one request on one night.
 
John Ewing Roberts, The Thomas in Us
________________________________________
 
No Evidence Necessary
 
When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. The notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two, not today and not 2,000 years ago, either. Modern scholars sometimes pet the disciples as such na bumpkins that they'd believe anything. Not so. They knew the dead stayed dead and this was not a fact you revised on a whim. So Thomas plays it safe but also then speculates aloud as to what it might take for him to believe this after all. As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. "My friends, I'd have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I'd need to touch those holes with my own finger. Better yet, I'd want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!" Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evidence that he thought he'd need to believe. His words seemed calculated to induce some eye-rolling.
 
Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates. To paraphrase a traditional aphorism, if you don't have faith, then there will never be evidence enough to convince you, and if you do have faith, no evidence is needed.
 
Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.
 
Scott Hoezee, comments and observations on John 20:19-31

 
____________________________________________
 
A Year of Rehearsals
 
I had a good friend back in Memphis years ago, one of my fellow rock-and-roll musicians, who only attended church on Easter Sunday. I asked him once why he didn't go to church more often than that, and I will never forget his reply. He said, "Johnny, you know how I hate rehearsals. Why should I sit through 51 rehearsals? I want to see the real thing, and that's what happens on Easter Sunday!" An interesting point of view, isn't it?
Think about it. Easter is without a doubt "show time" for the church! Church choirs spend months in preparation for that one Sunday when we celebrate what is for Christians the central event in the history of the world, the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the Sundays in the year can seem like rehearsals. But is that such a bad thing?

Johnny Dean, The Benefit of the Doubt, wwwSermons.com
_____________________________________________________
 
What's the Good Word?
 
A student from Korea was complaining about how difficult it is to learn the English language. He felt that American idioms were particularly difficult to comprehend. He said that he had studied English for nine years in preparation for attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On his first day at the school, as he was walking across the campus, an American student casually greeted him with, "Hi, What's the good word?" The Korean boy stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself: "I don't know the good word! You would have thought that after nine years of studying English, someone would have told me what "the good word' was!"

Later, trying to solve this puzzle, he decided to turn the tables and ask an American, "What's the good word?" and listen to his reply. So, approaching a fellow student, he repeated, "Hi! What's the good word?" The quick response was, "Oh, not much. How about you?"

 
It was obvious that neither of these students knew what the good word was. It's a rather plastic greeting. But I can tell you the good word for today: Christ the Lord is risen. That's the Good Word. And because it is; it says a great deal about our lives.

 
Brett Blair and King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________________________
 
A New Shalom
 
When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and light-hearted with no more significance than a passing greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. At Bethlehem God announced that peace would come through the gift of God's unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God and to order peace for the world.
 
Harry N. Huxhold, Which Way To Jesus?, CSS Publishing
____________________________

Peace Be With You...It Already Is!
 
Theologian Karl Barth once remarked that to say the old line from the creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" does not mean that we believe in the church. It means rather to believe that God is present and at work in the church, that "in this assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit takes place. ... We do not believe in the Church: but we do believe that in this congregation the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an event."
 
Barth's words rang true for me some years ago, when I was invited by a church in a nearby town to be the worship leader at a special evening communion service. The church staff had planned this service to be educational as well as worshipful. The idea was that, first, the congregation would gather in the sanctuary and I would give a brief talk about the meanings of the Lord's Supper. Then, we would go into the fellowship hall and be seated around tables for the service itself.
 
At each table there would be the flour and other ingredients to form the dough for the communion loaves. The plan called for each table to prepare a loaf and, while the loaves baked in the ovens of the church kitchen, the people at each table were to engage in various exercises designed to get them talking about their experiences in the faith.
 
It was a good idea, but like many well-planned events, things looked better on the drawing board than they turned out in reality. There were problems. Children at many tables began to play in the baking ingredients, and white clouds of flour floated around the room coating everybody and everything. There were delays in the kitchen, and the communion bread baked with agonizing slowness. Some of the tables ran out of things to say; children grew weary and fussy; the room was filled with commotion and restlessness. The planners had dreamed of an event of excitement, innovation, peak learning, and moving worship. What happened was noise, exhaustion, and people making the best of a difficult situation. In other words, despite the rosy plans, it was the real church worshipping down there in the church basement.
 
Finally, the service ended, and, with no little relief, I was able to pronounce the benediction. "The peace of Christ be with you all," I said, and just as I did, a child's voice from somewhere in the room called out strong and true, "It already is."
 
Just that -- "It already is" -- but with those words the service was transformed into an event of joy and holy mystery. That small voice captured what the Gospel of John is trying to say. In the midst of a church that can claim nothing for itself, a church of noise, confusion, weariness, and even fear, the risen Christ comes to give peace. The peace of Christ be with you? Because the risen Christ comes to inhabit our empty places, then, as the child said, "It already is," and the church with nothing becomes the church with everything.
 
Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing
_________________________

 
Honey...It's Me
 
Perhaps you've heard the story of the Yugoslavian judge who was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. No, I'm not cruel or weird, let me tell you the rest of the story. This guy?s poor wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and was placed in a preparation room under a crypt in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial.
 
Well, and this is the part I love, in the middle of the night, the judge came to. The judge looked around at his surroundings and suddenly realized where he was. He got pretty excited and rushed over to alert the guard. But instead of being any help, the guard was terrified and promptly ran off.
 
Fortunately, though, the guard returned with a friend, and they released the newly-revived judge. The judge's first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her that he really wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he got no farther than, "Honey... it's me," when his wife screamed and fainted.
 
So, he decided that the best course of action was to enlist some friends. He went to the houses of several friends; but because they all had heard the news from his distraught wife, they all doubted that he was really alive. They were all convinced he was a ghost.
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive.
 
That story almost sounds like one of the Gospel writers could have written it, doesn't it? It sure sounds like the passage from John this morning.
 
Traditional Story. We have not been able to verify the veracity of this story.
____________________
 
Just Because We Can't See It
 
A junior high school teacher was telling her class about evolution and how the way everything in the world was formed proved that God doesn't exist. She said, "Look out the window. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Look around you in this room. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Then our logical conclusion is that God doesn't exist, does He?" she asked at last, certain that she had won her audience over.
 
But one girl from the back of the classroom said, "Miss Smith, just because we can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist?.
 
 
The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 2 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 



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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:48:03 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:48:03 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11
In-Reply-To: 104500
References: 104500
Message-ID: <8CCA35B7A0155B1-124C-39E@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Sermons for Easter 2: 
     John 20:19-31 ? ?Thomas? 
     Revelation 1:4-8 ? ?The God Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come? by Leonard Sweet
 _________________________________________
 
John 20:19-31, the sermon titled "Thomas" 
 
If I were to mention the names of certain disciples to you and ask you to write down the first word that comes into your mind, it is unlikely you would come up with the same words. If I were to mention the name of Judas many of you would write down the word "betray" but not all of you. If I were to mention Simon Peter, some of you would write down the word "faith," but not all of you. If I were to mention the names of James and John, some of you would write down the phrase "Sons of Thunder," but not all of you. But when I mention the word Thomas, there is little question about the word most everyone would write down. It would be the word doubt. Indeed, so closely have we associated Thomas with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe him: "Doubting Thomas."

You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description. 

When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: Then let us go so that we may die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.

Unfortunately history has remembered him for this scene where the resurrected Christ made an appearance to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. Thomas was not present and when he heard about the event he refused to believe it. Maybe he was the forerunner of modern day cynicism. Maybe the news simply sounded too good to be true. Thomas said: Unless I feel the nail prints in his hands I will not believe.

Now I cannot help but notice that Thomas has separated himself from the disciples and therefore, in his solitude, missed the resurrection appearance. I think that john is suggesting to us that Christ appears most often within the community of believers that we call the church, and when we separate ourselves from the church we take a chance on missing his unique presence.

But the story doesn't end here. The second time Jesus made his appearance Thomas was present with the disciples and this time he too witnessed the event. This time he believed. What can we learn from the life of Thomas?
 
1. Jesus did not blame him.
2. The most endearing things in life can never be proven.
3. We must move beyond doubt to faith.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
_______________________
 
Revelation 1, the sermon titled ?The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come? 
 
It has always bothered me that the symbol for Easter is a rodent. It is bad enough that the symbol for Pentecost is a dove, a fancy name for a white pigeon, or a trash bird. But the high and holy festival of Easter -- a rodent?
 
How's that for a beginning to what is sometimes known as "Low Sunday?"
 
Okay, okay. Technically, no longer are rabbits classified as rodents. As of 1912, rabbits and hares went from being classified in the order Rodentia to a new order, Lagomorpha, which also includes pikas. But up until 1912 rabbits were rodents.
 
Most kids have rodents as pets at some point in their lives. Hamster? Gerbil? It might as well be a rat or a mouse. [At this point if you can showcase and storyboard one or more cages of pet hamsters or gerbils, and even get their "owners" to tell something about them, so much the better.]
 
As a one-time parent of a child with a pet rodent, I can testify to a middle-of-the-night sound that used to drive me crazy until I got used to it. This is the constant squeak and rattle of the running wheel in the rodent's cage. With no place to expend all their energy, they frantically race their way to nowhere inside that spinning wheel.
 
Can you think of a kinder invention ever devised for our furry captives than this clear plastic exercise ball? Safely ensconced in the ball the critter can't actually "escape" to anywhere. But at least there is a feeling of making "progress" to somewhere. The human version of a rodent's running wheel is a treadmill, a Stairmaster, or some other stationary exercise machine. Our bodies go through the motions of running or climbing or rowing - but we don't actually go anywhere. Fancier versions of these machines now take pity on the poor human-gerbil-in-the-wheel.
 
Many now come with a video screen. You can pick what kind of beautiful scenery you are not actually running through. You cannot really run along the beach. You cannot really run in the mountains. You cannot really run beside a pristine lake. You can look at real pretty fakery, but you are still getting nowhere. Getting nowhere faster than you did yesterday. But still getting nowhere.
 
One of the things that makes human beings unique is we can simultaneously live in three dimensions of time. Of course, don't ask what "time" is. St. Augustine confessed about time that "I know well enough what it is, provided nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled." So don't ask me what time is.
 
But let's try to describe it from our text this morning. Raymond Tallis, in The Kingdom of Infinite Space: A Fantastical Journey around Your Head (Atlantic Books, 2008), puts it like this: "animals live their lives, humans lead theirs." Only humans, he says, have an explicit concept or idea of the past, the present and the future: which is both a tremendous advantage and a terrible burden?
 
The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com
___________________________
 
The Reputation of a Lifetime

Thomas found a Lord who dealt with him where he was, in his present circumstances but led him beyond the passing into the permanent. I think it is criminal to call him, "Doubting Thomas," for one brief moment of his life. We should remember him for the permanent affirmation Jesus evoked from him.

I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down the main street of Arlington, Kentucky, all the while singing at the top of his lungs the song, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" For the rest of his life he was known as "Hot Time." One night and a reputation for a lifetime! It wasn't fair to call him "Hot Time" all his life, nor is it fair to keep on saying, "Doubting Thomas" for one request on one night.
 
John Ewing Roberts, The Thomas in Us
________________________________________
 
No Evidence Necessary
 
When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. The notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two, not today and not 2,000 years ago, either. Modern scholars sometimes pet the disciples as such na bumpkins that they'd believe anything. Not so. They knew the dead stayed dead and this was not a fact you revised on a whim. So Thomas plays it safe but also then speculates aloud as to what it might take for him to believe this after all. As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. "My friends, I'd have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I'd need to touch those holes with my own finger. Better yet, I'd want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!" Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evidence that he thought he'd need to believe. His words seemed calculated to induce some eye-rolling.
 
Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates. To paraphrase a traditional aphorism, if you don't have faith, then there will never be evidence enough to convince you, and if you do have faith, no evidence is needed.
 
Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.
 
Scott Hoezee, comments and observations on John 20:19-31

 
____________________________________________
 
A Year of Rehearsals
 
I had a good friend back in Memphis years ago, one of my fellow rock-and-roll musicians, who only attended church on Easter Sunday. I asked him once why he didn't go to church more often than that, and I will never forget his reply. He said, "Johnny, you know how I hate rehearsals. Why should I sit through 51 rehearsals? I want to see the real thing, and that's what happens on Easter Sunday!" An interesting point of view, isn't it?
Think about it. Easter is without a doubt "show time" for the church! Church choirs spend months in preparation for that one Sunday when we celebrate what is for Christians the central event in the history of the world, the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the Sundays in the year can seem like rehearsals. But is that such a bad thing?

Johnny Dean, The Benefit of the Doubt, wwwSermons.com
_____________________________________________________
 
What's the Good Word?
 
A student from Korea was complaining about how difficult it is to learn the English language. He felt that American idioms were particularly difficult to comprehend. He said that he had studied English for nine years in preparation for attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On his first day at the school, as he was walking across the campus, an American student casually greeted him with, "Hi, What's the good word?" The Korean boy stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself: "I don't know the good word! You would have thought that after nine years of studying English, someone would have told me what "the good word' was!"

Later, trying to solve this puzzle, he decided to turn the tables and ask an American, "What's the good word?" and listen to his reply. So, approaching a fellow student, he repeated, "Hi! What's the good word?" The quick response was, "Oh, not much. How about you?"

 
It was obvious that neither of these students knew what the good word was. It's a rather plastic greeting. But I can tell you the good word for today: Christ the Lord is risen. That's the Good Word. And because it is; it says a great deal about our lives.

 
Brett Blair and King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________________________
 
A New Shalom
 
When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and light-hearted with no more significance than a passing greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. At Bethlehem God announced that peace would come through the gift of God's unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God and to order peace for the world.
 
Harry N. Huxhold, Which Way To Jesus?, CSS Publishing
____________________________

Peace Be With You...It Already Is!
 
Theologian Karl Barth once remarked that to say the old line from the creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" does not mean that we believe in the church. It means rather to believe that God is present and at work in the church, that "in this assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit takes place. ... We do not believe in the Church: but we do believe that in this congregation the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an event."
 
Barth's words rang true for me some years ago, when I was invited by a church in a nearby town to be the worship leader at a special evening communion service. The church staff had planned this service to be educational as well as worshipful. The idea was that, first, the congregation would gather in the sanctuary and I would give a brief talk about the meanings of the Lord's Supper. Then, we would go into the fellowship hall and be seated around tables for the service itself.
 
At each table there would be the flour and other ingredients to form the dough for the communion loaves. The plan called for each table to prepare a loaf and, while the loaves baked in the ovens of the church kitchen, the people at each table were to engage in various exercises designed to get them talking about their experiences in the faith.
 
It was a good idea, but like many well-planned events, things looked better on the drawing board than they turned out in reality. There were problems. Children at many tables began to play in the baking ingredients, and white clouds of flour floated around the room coating everybody and everything. There were delays in the kitchen, and the communion bread baked with agonizing slowness. Some of the tables ran out of things to say; children grew weary and fussy; the room was filled with commotion and restlessness. The planners had dreamed of an event of excitement, innovation, peak learning, and moving worship. What happened was noise, exhaustion, and people making the best of a difficult situation. In other words, despite the rosy plans, it was the real church worshipping down there in the church basement.
 
Finally, the service ended, and, with no little relief, I was able to pronounce the benediction. "The peace of Christ be with you all," I said, and just as I did, a child's voice from somewhere in the room called out strong and true, "It already is."
 
Just that -- "It already is" -- but with those words the service was transformed into an event of joy and holy mystery. That small voice captured what the Gospel of John is trying to say. In the midst of a church that can claim nothing for itself, a church of noise, confusion, weariness, and even fear, the risen Christ comes to give peace. The peace of Christ be with you? Because the risen Christ comes to inhabit our empty places, then, as the child said, "It already is," and the church with nothing becomes the church with everything.
 
Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing
_________________________

 
Honey...It's Me
 
Perhaps you've heard the story of the Yugoslavian judge who was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. No, I'm not cruel or weird, let me tell you the rest of the story. This guy?s poor wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and was placed in a preparation room under a crypt in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial.
 
Well, and this is the part I love, in the middle of the night, the judge came to. The judge looked around at his surroundings and suddenly realized where he was. He got pretty excited and rushed over to alert the guard. But instead of being any help, the guard was terrified and promptly ran off.
 
Fortunately, though, the guard returned with a friend, and they released the newly-revived judge. The judge's first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her that he really wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he got no farther than, "Honey... it's me," when his wife screamed and fainted.
 
So, he decided that the best course of action was to enlist some friends. He went to the houses of several friends; but because they all had heard the news from his distraught wife, they all doubted that he was really alive. They were all convinced he was a ghost.
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive.
 
That story almost sounds like one of the Gospel writers could have written it, doesn't it? It sure sounds like the passage from John this morning.
 
Traditional Story. We have not been able to verify the veracity of this story.
____________________
 
Just Because We Can't See It
 
A junior high school teacher was telling her class about evolution and how the way everything in the world was formed proved that God doesn't exist. She said, "Look out the window. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Look around you in this room. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Then our logical conclusion is that God doesn't exist, does He?" she asked at last, certain that she had won her audience over.
 
But one girl from the back of the classroom said, "Miss Smith, just because we can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist?.
 
 
The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 2 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 22:51:31 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 22:51:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Preaching Resource - John 20:19-31
In-Reply-To: 104831
References: 104831
Message-ID: <8CCA4145C4F01A5-124C-8A3@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

Theological Themes: John 20:19-31

It is difficult for me to read this text and not visualize the famous painting by Carravagio, "The Incredulity of Thomas" (A "Google images" search will turn it up, if you haven?t seen it.). In this picture, Jesus stands with several of his disciples, Thomas at the front of the group. Jesus is holding open his robe, baring his chest and showing the gash from the sword with which he was pierced on the cross (See Jn 19:34). With his left hand he guides Thomas? right index finger directly into the wound. With this gesture Carravagio draws the viewer?s attention so powerfully that she almost feels Jesus? flesh for herself as the tip of Thomas? finger disappears through the fold in Jesus? skin. All three disciples crane to see Thomas touch Jesus, and Thomas? own expression is a mixture of amazement, awe, and fear. It is an incredibly realistic scene: the sheer physicality of the men dominates with their faces creased and deeply lined and the nail mark visible on Jesus? left hand. 

It may be true, as Jesus says, that those who believe in Jesus even though they have not seen him are particularly blessed, but I do not mind saying that I find myself deeply sympathetic to Thomas in this scene. Like Thomas, I want to see Jesus, I want to touch Jesus, I want, like Mary, to wrap my arms around him and cling to him. I find Thomas? reaction entirely believable, and, for good or ill, I can imagine myself in Thomas? place demanding the same thing. There is, I think, a little of Thomas in all of us ? the nagging voice that whispers in our ear every now and then, "maybe it isn?t true," "maybe you?re wrong," "maybe this is all a waste of time." When we hear that voice we doubt our faith, we doubt ourselves, and we desperately wish for proof ? proof we can see, proof we can touch.
The truth is, however, that this "doubt" Thomas so vividly embodies is not something opposed to our faith, a sign that our faith is weak, or even something that years of church going and Bible reading can make disappear. Instead, doubt is something that goes hand-in-hand with faith, and is, in fact, an inextricable part of it. No one knew this better than the great 20th century master of existential anxiety, Paul Tillich. 

For Tillich, faith describes the experience of a finite being, an individual human being who is grasped by God, the Ultimate, the ground of all Being, the One who surpasses and exceeds every attempt at full comprehension and understanding. Even in the midst of this experience and this relationship, the radical gap, the infinite chasm between God and humanity always remains, standing as a constant reminder of human frailty, finitude, and fallenness. Thus, the very act of faith requires that we believe in someone we cannot fully know, someone who calls us to follow down paths whose ends we cannot see, and someone who demands of us an obedience and trust beyond anything we can conceive of in our daily lives. 

Tillich believed that if you take all this seriously you will realize that it is impossible to accept it all without some questions, some concerns, and some hesitation. Thus, Tillich writes: "Faith is certain in so far as it is an experience of the holy. [In other words, faith is reliable not because of what we are or what we do, but because of who God is, and what God does.] But faith is uncertain in so far as the infinite to which it is related is received by a finite being. This element of uncertainty in faith cannot be removed, it must be accepted."1 Thus, for Tillich, the very act of faith is a risk, and consequently, the very act of faith is inseparable from the doubt such a profound risk carries with it inherently. He writes, "The doubt which is implicit in every act of faith
is the doubt which accompanies every risk."2 As contrary as it might seem, as people of faith, we were, are, and will be subject to doubt. As long as we exist in this relationship with God, that doubt will be with us?whether we can put our finger in Jesus? side or not. 

Another way that Tillich articulates this reality of doubt is with the language of "in spite of." He says, "There is no faith without an intrinsic ?in spite of? and the courageous affirmation of oneself in the state of ultimate concern."3 What he means is that Christians affirm their faith "in spite of:" Christians affirm that God exists in spite of the fact that there is still so much evil in the world. Christians affirm that God loves us in spite of the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Christians affirm the fact that Jesus is risen in spite of the fact that death?s ravaging hand still comes to all, sometimes much, much too soon. I am a Christian and I believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The bottom line is that faith takes courage. It takes courage to affirm oneself as a person of faith when so many of our friends and family members have abandoned faith as an antiquated and irrelevant mode of being in the world. It takes courage to trust in God and the grace of God?s presence when life seems marked by death, despair, and misfortune. It takes courage to believe in what we cannot see, to trust in what we cannot touch, to affirm what we cannot prove. This courage does not rest on our strength alone, but on the same God who continually calls us, loves us, and redeems us, walking with us every step of the way. As Tillich says, "The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt."4

As this text reminds us, Jesus appeared to Thomas, even when Thomas? faith had all but vanished in his doubt and despair at seeing his savior crucified on the cross. Like Thomas, even in the midst of our disbelief and misgivings, God shows up, God is there for us, God doesn?t abandon us. Today and every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God still comes to us that we might believe and have life and life abundant in Jesus Christ. 

Kristin Johnston Largen

Notes

1. Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1957), 16.

2. Ibid., 20.

3. Ibid., 21.

4. Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be, (New Haven, CT: Yale Nota Bene, Yale University Press, 2000), 190, author?s italics.

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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Wed Apr  7 01:04:31 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 22:04:31 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 2 Easter c
Message-ID: <830738292.1270616671875.JavaMail.root@mp09>

On Sunday evening, when I should have known better, I put this together. Then on Monday I was given a book "The Message of the Qur'an" from which I append a paragraph from the preface as a footnote. I don't know if I'll use that quote, but it does tie in and is interesting.

Anyway, for reflection and revision here's what I have.

Happy Easter Week!


	?Don?t take MY word for it!?
	If there?s one thing that seems to split denominations, and religions, I think it?s the approach to questioning. To flirt with over-simplification and generalisation, what causes more people more anguish, I think, is whether or not we can know anything for certain, or whether or not we SHOULD believe that there ARE absolute certainties.
	Last night I went to bed, reasonably sure that the sun would be there at - when was it? - 6:15 this morning. If I drove my car through the red light at Queen and Elm on the way to this service this morning, and there had been a law enforcement office sitting in the Dairy Mart parking lot, I?m almost positive I?d have been pulled over. But what about, for instance, the statements we make in the Nicene Creed? What do I think about the Creator of the universe? What about the Third Person in the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - what do I feel about her? And Jesus - is it really pushing it to suggest that there might be questions about Jesus within such a short time from the repetition of our baptismal vows and our affirmation of support for Maya?
	Some in Christian society, some in Muslim society, some in religious communities of different backgrounds and systems argue quite fiercely that once one makes a commitment of the mind or the heart then there is no need to worry about questions. One simply accepts what one is told, or what one reads. The founder of the first Sharia-compliant bank in Britain, Junaid Bhatti, talked last week about those who began their religious education by reciting the word without absorbing the message.   He was describing how he began to absorb what was going on among his own classmates as he grew up in a faithful, observant Islamic family. That?s when HE began to question. What was the purpose behind reading or listening to the Qur?an if it was merely memorised and its implications weren?t explored? 
	And here we?re back to the issue of questioning. Not only do we have to wrestle with what a certain reading or speech might mean, how it might impact us tomorrow, or next week, or five years from now; not only do we have to deal with this, but we also have to consider whether or not we can question the person who wrote the text, or spoke it.
	I was listening to that interview with Junaid Bhatti, so I?ll bring up his opinion again, but it applies to ALL religious traditions, in ALL periods of time. When asked about terrorism, especially by those who claim religious authority for their actions and die with the name of God on their lips, Bhatti asked whether the issue is being tackled in the wrong way. He insisted that the only way to tackle terrorism is to quote back the same scripture and show that God CANNOT be seen as fickle, or violent, or destructive.
	I don?t want to make it seem that I?m talking only of Islamic behaviour and understanding. Behind Bhatti?s talk it was quite obvious to me that he felt that EVERY religious tradition had to address terrorism in the same way, and he also implied that there are many forms of such attacks. They can be social or economic - keeping those neighbours in their places; putting down certain people because they don?t meet our economic expectations when it comes to being a Christian. They can be emotional and psychological - raising a child to believe she or her cannot follow a certain vocation; suggesting that someone?s opinion or judgement isn?t valuable or of any worth.
	Terrorism takes many forms, and we can learn it at an early age, if we don?t ask questions.
	I find it somewhat amusing - and here I?m putting on my own judgemental mantle, albeit knowingly - I find it somewhat amusing to think that there are Christian congregations within every denomination, and whole Christian denominations, which say that if we express any idea about whether or not what someone said in a sermon is a load of codswallop, or what the B.A.C. voted to do is subject to investigation, that the questioner?s faith is weak or absent, and that person has to be treated with extreme suspicion; I find it somewhat amusing that there ARE congregations and denominations which act that way, yet still talk about Thomas. But then, HOW do they talk about Thomas?
	The usual approach is to say, ?Poor old Doubting Thomas?, and to be scornful and snotty, rather than heaving  a sigh of relief when we read, in the verses describing the events of Jesus? first and second appearance in that Upper Room, that Jesus didn?t destroy Thomas with a lightning bolt of some sort. To the contrary, Jesus spoke directly to Thomas? question. ?You said you wanted to see My wounds? O.K., look, touch, satisfy your curiosity.?
	Jesus wasn?t humouring Thomas. Jesus was making a personal appearance, to address a specific problem, at a particular period of time. This is PRECISELY why the resurrection matters. Jesus? compassionate exemplification and presentation of the Love of God didn?t vanish with the hideous execution - which in itself may be seen as an horrendously violent reaction to Someone who asked questions and who brought troubling doubt about their own behaviour and the things they held to be sacred cows. To be fair, the average Roman soldier, maybe even the average Roman Governor, HAD to swear that he would accept the word of the Senate and the Emperor without question. Otherwise not only would his job and livelihood be in jeopardy, his life would be in jeopardy. It?s quite possible that banishment would be too mild a response to such insubordination. And this raises the issue of blind loyalty to anything.
	But Jesus? death was NOT the END to questions. It was the BEGINNING.
	Yes, orthodox Christian Doctrine has formulated the Nicene Creed. Yes, we DO say it, practically every time we celebrate Eucharist. And, NO, I DON?T cross my fingers - as the old joke has it - whenever I say the Creed. I believe that WE believe what we say. But I believe also, very firmly, that we also reserve the right to cross examine Jesus, to cross examine the Holy Writings we call the Bible. And I believe, as firmly as I can possibly say to anyone, that God will bring me to whatever and whomever it takes for me to be comfortable - or UN-comfortable - with how I understand who Jesus is and what He?s accomplished for me.
	Thomas has a lot for which to answer. But then, so do you and I. We?re ALL commissioned as witnesses to the Love and Power of God to bring us to fulfillment as members of the family of God.


	So, please - DON?T take my word for it. Ask yourself if what I?m saying makes sense - and why. Ask yourself how what the Bible says came to be considered so valuable - what sort of a problem or what sort of a celebration prompted thinking and rethinking about humans? relationship with the Creator down through history.
	And we needn?t worry if we think people will be offended, and disturbed, and maybe even frightened by the questions and challenges we present, even to the members of our own family. When Jesus and Thomas got together by themselves in that corner of the Upper Room, Jesus was saying, ?Look! Whatever the world can throw at Me, it CAN?T stop Me talking to you, or encouraging you, or challenging you, as you deal with absolutely everything in life. Believe Me, I KNOW life can be a pain! But ask for whatever help, for whatever encouragement, for whatever proof you like. And God WILL provide. Maybe not the first time you ask. But God WILL provide.
	There is an incredible piece of music written in the 1970s by the British composer Gavin Bryars. He called it, ?Jesus? Blood Never Failed Me Yet?. Why did he give it that title? Because one day, when the composer was wandering around London, tape-recording songs and sounds as background for a film on which he was working, he heard this man who looked and sounded as if he?d experienced such an incredible amount of pain and ostracisation by society that he?d been compelled to live on the streets. And what did he hear from that man? He repeated, over and over again, to the same simple set of notes, the words, ?Jesus? Blood Never Failed Me Yet.? 
	And from that song, Bryars brought out his lengthy composition, in which the recording of that street person plays over, and over, and over again.
	Now THAT man seemed to have discovered a certainty. So maybe we can trust that HIS experience may be ours too.
	Let?s hear it for Thomas, then! Thank God for Thomas! Who wasn?t afraid to question anyone, especially someone who said, ?Trust me, I?m here to help you!?

FOOTNOTE: 

1 	Belief: Part 2. Tuesday 30th March, 2009. BBC Radio 3  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rpw9x

Quote:
	?It is axiomatic from the Islamic perspective that the Qur?an cannot be translated, because the form of God?s revelation, that is the Arabic itself, is note merely incidental to its meaning, but essential to it. The Arabic of the Qur?an does not, however, limit the Qur?an to one ?literal? interpretation, but by virtue of the power of its vocabulary allows for a depth of meaning that would be lost in any translation. A rendering into another language, therefore, is not and never can be the Qur?an as such but merely an interpretation of it.? 2

2	Hasan Gai Eaton: Prologue to ?The Message of the Qur?an: The full account of the revealed Arabic text accompanied by parallel transliteration?. Translated and explained by Muhammad Asad. ? 2003 The Book Foundation, Bristol, England. 

--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 09:54:38 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:54:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 11 (Easter 2C) John 20:19-31
Message-ID: <45AAE116366941149236C662F5368A35@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for Apr. 11 (Easter 2C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 20:19-31, the story of Jesus' disciples following 
his crucifixion.


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  Surely the preacher's greatest sin is to put people 
to sleep with the greatest story ever told. (Bruce W. Thielemann)


TITLE:  Breaking the Chains of Fear


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Our faith in the risen Christ and his promise of 
resurrection for us help us to break the chains of fear in our lives.


SCRIPTURE:  John 20:19-31
<>

FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm

Scroll down to John 20.  There are several sermons on this text posted 
there.


TRUE STORY:

Kurt Wallenda lived on top of the world. He thrilled crowds with his daring 
stunts on the high wire until the fateful day in 1978 when his show ended. 
Wallenda plunged 75 feet to his death before an audience of thousands in San 
Juan, Puerto Rico.

What happened? His widow explained that Kurt had never been one to know 
fear.  Confidence marked his style. But when he started worrying, little 
details of safety preoccupied his mind. He checked and double-checked the 
tightrope to make certain that everything was secure. This was a different 
Karl. For the first time his energies were not devoted to confidently 
walking the wire, but to not falling. From then on he was an accident just 
waiting to happen.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

We find ourselves listening still to a man
crowded with his disciples into a narrow room on a dead-end street,
saying quietly in the face of measureless defeat,
while the ghost of that fear which had stalked them there
began its chattering at the door,
"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Paul Scherer

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Someone has said that "Fear is faith in the thing we don't want to happen."
This produces a tension over that thing.
Then surrender that false faith in the wrong thing
and fasten that faith on God, your father.

E. Stanley Jones

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Given a strong hub,
a person can take a surprising number of shocks and bumps
on the outside rim
without sustaining permanent damage.

Oveta Culp Hobby

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

History shows that when religion wanes in any country,
it is not replaced by popular nationalist philosophy
that leads to universal happiness and peace....
The vacuum left by the waning of religion in western countries
has been filled by an army of superstitious cults and beliefs.
Perfect secularism by no means casts out fear.

David H.C. Read

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Faith is not the way around pain;
it is the way through pain.
Faith doesn't get rid of the opposition;
it invites it over for dinner.
Faith doesn't give you the winning point at the last second;
it ties the game and sends you into overtime.
Faith doesn't give you the solution;
it forces you to find it.
Faith doesn't teach you at the moment;
it teaches in retrospect.
Faith doesn't provide a net to fall into
when your fingers are about to give way
as you hang suspended over the cliff;
faith gives your fingers the strength to hang on just a little longer.
In other words, faith doesn't do anything
when it's doing something.

Mike Yaconelli

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

<>
HYMN STORY:  Open My Eyes

Psalm 119:18 is a prayer for spiritual insight.  It asks God, "Open my eyes, 
so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."  Reading that verse 
inspired Clara Scott to write the hymn "Open My Eyes."  The opening verse of 
the hymn asks, "Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for 
me."

But Clara was not satisfied to pray for open eyes.  She also wrote, "Open my 
ears, that I may hear voices of truth thou sendest clear."

And she was not satisfied to ask God to receive blessings.  She also prayed 
that God would make her a blessing by helping her to speak to others about 
what God had revealed to her.  She wrote, "Open my mouth, and let me bear 
gladly the warm truth everywhere."

Clara understood, and helped countless others to understand, that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive --and that we, as Christians, are called to 
share the good news that we have received.

Clara wrote a number of other hymns, and even published a book entitled, 
Truth in Song for Lovers of Truth -- but "Open My Eyes" is the hymn for 
which she is remembered today.

Clara published "Open My Eyes" in 1895.  Two years later, as she was riding 
in a carriage, her horse was spooked and began running crazily through the 
streets.  Clara was thrown from the carriage and killed.  Reflecting on 
that, one of her biographers commented that she never knew how popular her 
hymn, "Open My Eyes" had become.

But I believe that one of her heavenly blessings will be to know just how 
many people have been blessed by the hymn that she wrote so late in her 
life.

NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 09:56:54 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:56:54 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 11 (Easter 2C) Acts 5:27-32
Message-ID: <4AC4A7078CCE4D3EBF3808B577B2AAE6@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for April 11 
(Easter 2C), Acts 5:27-32.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.
<>

ACTS 5:27-32 (Easter 2C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.wpd

A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.

www.lectionary.org

www.lectionary.org

<>

TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 10:00:23 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 10:00:23 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Goodsermons] Free Preaching Resource - John
	20:19-31
Message-ID: <2BEF70A847F24E73B8D8D3B1A6BAD01E@YOUR264F1833C5>

A free preaching resource for this coming Sunday is below (Thomas and Tillich for the Second Sunday of Easter), but first we wanted to share with you that we are accepting one day, one half day, and evening registrations for the Festival of Homiletics. Go to Register at GoodPreacher .com

Theological Themes: John 20:19-31

It is difficult for me to read this text and not visualize the famous painting by Carravagio, "The Incredulity of Thomas" (A "Google images" search will turn it up, if you haven't seen it.). In this picture, Jesus stands with several of his disciples, Thomas at the front of the group. Jesus is holding open his robe, baring his chest and showing the gash from the sword with which he was pierced on the cross (See Jn 19:34). With his left hand he guides Thomas' right index finger directly into the wound. With this gesture Carravagio draws the viewer's attention so powerfully that she almost feels Jesus' flesh for herself as the tip of Thomas' finger disappears through the fold in Jesus' skin. All three disciples crane to see Thomas touch Jesus, and Thomas' own expression is a mixture of amazement, awe, and fear. It is an incredibly realistic scene: the sheer physicality of the men dominates with their faces creased and deeply lined and the nail mark visible on Jesus' left hand. 

It may be true, as Jesus says, that those who believe in Jesus even though they have not seen him are particularly blessed, but I do not mind saying that I find myself deeply sympathetic to Thomas in this scene. Like Thomas, I want to see Jesus, I want to touch Jesus, I want, like Mary, to wrap my arms around him and cling to him. I find Thomas' reaction entirely believable, and, for good or ill, I can imagine myself in Thomas' place demanding the same thing. There is, I think, a little of Thomas in all of us ? the nagging voice that whispers in our ear every now and then, "maybe it isn't true," "maybe you're wrong," "maybe this is all a waste of time." When we hear that voice we doubt our faith, we doubt ourselves, and we desperately wish for proof ? proof we can see, proof we can touch.
The truth is, however, that this "doubt" Thomas so vividly embodies is not something opposed to our faith, a sign that our faith is weak, or even something that years of church going and Bible reading can make disappear. Instead, doubt is something that goes hand-in-hand with faith, and is, in fact, an inextricable part of it. No one knew this better than the great 20th century master of existential anxiety, Paul Tillich. 

For Tillich, faith describes the experience of a finite being, an individual human being who is grasped by God, the Ultimate, the ground of all Being, the One who surpasses and exceeds every attempt at full comprehension and understanding. Even in the midst of this experience and this relationship, the radical gap, the infinite chasm between God and humanity always remains, standing as a constant reminder of human frailty, finitude, and fallenness. Thus, the very act of faith requires that we believe in someone we cannot fully know, someone who calls us to follow down paths whose ends we cannot see, and someone who demands of us an obedience and trust beyond anything we can conceive of in our daily lives. 

Tillich believed that if you take all this seriously you will realize that it is impossible to accept it all without some questions, some concerns, and some hesitation. Thus, Tillich writes: "Faith is certain in so far as it is an experience of the holy. [In other words, faith is reliable not because of what we are or what we do, but because of who God is, and what God does.] But faith is uncertain in so far as the infinite to which it is related is received by a finite being. This element of uncertainty in faith cannot be removed, it must be accepted."1 Thus, for Tillich, the very act of faith is a risk, and consequently, the very act of faith is inseparable from the doubt such a profound risk carries with it inherently. He writes, "The doubt which is implicit in every act of faith.is the doubt which accompanies every risk."2 As contrary as it might seem, as people of faith, we were, are, and will be subject to doubt. As long as we exist in this relationship with God, that doubt will be with us?whether we can put our finger in Jesus' side or not. 

Another way that Tillich articulates this reality of doubt is with the language of "in spite of." He says, "There is no faith without an intrinsic 'in spite of' and the courageous affirmation of oneself in the state of ultimate concern."3 What he means is that Christians affirm their faith "in spite of:" Christians affirm that God exists in spite of the fact that there is still so much evil in the world. Christians affirm that God loves us in spite of the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Christians affirm the fact that Jesus is risen in spite of the fact that death's ravaging hand still comes to all, sometimes much, much too soon. I am a Christian and I believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The bottom line is that faith takes courage. It takes courage to affirm oneself as a person of faith when so many of our friends and family members have abandoned faith as an antiquated and irrelevant mode of being in the world. It takes courage to trust in God and the grace of God's presence when life seems marked by death, despair, and misfortune. It takes courage to believe in what we cannot see, to trust in what we cannot touch, to affirm what we cannot prove. This courage does not rest on our strength alone, but on the same God who continually calls us, loves us, and redeems us, walking with us every step of the way. As Tillich says, "The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt."4

As this text reminds us, Jesus appeared to Thomas, even when Thomas' faith had all but vanished in his doubt and despair at seeing his savior crucified on the cross. Like Thomas, even in the midst of our disbelief and misgivings, God shows up, God is there for us, God doesn't abandon us. Today and every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God still comes to us that we might believe and have life and life abundant in Jesus Christ. 

Kristin Johnston Largen

Notes

1. Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1957), 16.

2. Ibid., 20.

3. Ibid., 21.

4. Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be, (New Haven, CT: Yale Nota Bene, Yale University Press, 2000), 190, author's italics.


Check out James Howell's Preaching Journal at GoodPreacher.com.
Click on Quick Access To This Week's Resources to have more than 60 preaching resources (like the one above) per week on one screen.


Festival of Homiletics
PO Box 843
9179 Washington Street
Amelia, VA 23002


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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  8 14:29:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:29:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: And Jesus Will Be Our Friend - sermon for April 11
	based on gospel lesson
Message-ID: <93FD25A80D8A416B88EC17A83EE1A4BB@YOUR264F1833C5>

Forwarded:

Note #32873 from FRANK FISHER to PROPERTALK:


Here's my sermon for Sunday based on the Gospel lesson. The idea came from
my son explaining the resurrection to me.


__

Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
www.ffisher.net
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Kewanee, IL
Elmira United Presbyterian Church


Council Member of the Associaton of Presbyterian Interim Ministry
Specialists
www.apims.org

aka

Brother Oscar Romero
Oblate of St. Benedict's Abbey
Bartonville, IL
www.SBAbbey.com


"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so
that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."-Cherokee proverb


____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________

You're two months old
and you're being held securely
in your mother's arms.
She has to hold on to you
with a pretty good grip today
because you're not all that happy
about this starchy, white, outfit
she's crammed you into.
But no matter how much you squirm or protest
you're not getting out of it
because today
is the day of your Baptism.

You start to squirm
even harder
when your mother, and father
carry you down a long aisle
to a strange place
where you're surrounded
by strange people.

You've almost settled down
when they hand you over to a total stranger.
That doesn't suit you at all
and you open your mouth wide
to tell the world about it.
But your screech of fear's cut short
when the stranger begins to pour water
over your head.

Still sputtering
you're handed back
into the relative security
of your mother's familiar arms.
She cradles you snugly
and calms all your fears.
And although no one can see them,
you're now also held
 by another
 set of arms.

You're wrapped in the arms of a Friend
who will securely hold you.
The arms of a Friend
who will be with you
throughout every fear and terror
of your life.
The arms of a Friend
who will one day
carry you to where no fear or terror
 can ever follow.

You're ten years old.
You've had a pretty happy
and normal life.
That is
 you had
a pretty happy and normal life.
All that's been changed
 because things
 have been tense in your house lately.
Your mother and father
started arguing about a year ago.
About six months ago
the arguments got a lot worse.
It seemed like they couldn't even talk
to each other without screaming.
Last night
they told you
they're getting
 a divorce.

You pleaded with them
and cried your heart out,
but you couldn't change their minds.
Somehow you sensed
they weren't really even listening
to anything you said.
Sure,
they told you
 they'd always love you.
But that doesn't take away the pain.
And it doesn't change
the absolute terror
 you feel deep inside.

You cried all night
and most of the day.
Finally
 you couldn't take it anymore.
You had to talk to someone.
So you went to find the one person
you thought would listen.
Your Sunday School teacher.
She'd taught your class
for three years now.
And you knew
 she really cared about you.
You knew she'd really hear
what you had to say.

You looked into her eyes
as your teacher listened
to the whole story.
You could tell
she understood
and that she hurt with you.
But you also knew
there was nothing she could do
to change your parent's minds.
As you realized that
 you started to cry again.
Your teacher started to cry too,
and she put her arm around you
and hugged you.

It was her hug that did it.
Just from her arm around you
you could tell
you'd survive.
Sure,
 you still hurt,
But you now had what it takes
to make it through the bad times.
For the feel of that gentle pressure
told you
you had a friend.
A friend who would be there
when things got bad.

And in the relief
of this discovery
you somehow knew
both you
and your teacher
might have another Friend.
A Friend who will always be with you
and who'll hurt when you hurt.
A Friend who will never
 divorce or leave you.
A Friend that binds you
 and your teacher
 together into one family.
The family of God.

You're twenty-two years old,
and you've just started
what looks like it'll be
a great career in sales.
You're enjoying
 all the parts of your work.
But perhaps
there's some parts of it
you're starting to enjoy
a little too much.

For you've found
 you need to entertain your clients.
That means
 you spend a lot of time
drinking with them.
And now
 you've started to drink
even when you aren't with them.

Your work starts to slip
and so does the rest of your life.
Finally there comes a time
when your spouse lays
it on the line.
You can choose between your drinking
or your marriage.

One of your friends
 takes you to an AA meeting.
And afterwards he tells you his story.
He tells you the story
about his journey out of addiction.
And he tells you how his story
is all a part of another,
and greater story.
He reminds you of all
you  already knew
about the story of the person
named Jesus of Nazareth

And as he reminds you,
something seems to move
inside your heart.
It feels like a damn bursting inside
and opening a path;
a path showing you  the way
 to go on.
And you remember
something you've forgotten
for the past few years.
You remember
you have a Friend.
A Friend
who will be by your side
through your journey out of addiction.
A Friend
who will be with you
as you work
to save your marriage.
A Friend
who's reaching out to hold your hand
to lead you
though the rest of your life.

You're thirty-five years old.
You're happily married
with a loving spouse
and three wonderful children.
You have a great job,
a nice house,
and respect in your community.
Your life seems like
its working out just fine.
Well,
 it was working out fine,
before that call last night.
You knew something had to be wrong
when the phone rang at 3 A.M.

It was your sister.
She didn't even let you finish saying hello,
before she blurted out the news.
She said your mother and father
had been in an accident.
A drunken driver had
swerved over the center line
and stuck their car head on.
No one survived.

The phone fell to the floor.
You fell too.
With your spouse's arms tight around you
you knelt there and cried
for what seemed like hours.
You're still on that floor now,
kneeling where you fell last night.

There's a gentle touch
and you look up to see
your pastor's sitting beside you.
She doesn't say a word.
All she does is to look into your eyes
and let her hand
rest on your shoulder.
But that touch
 suddenly means the whole world to you.

It reminds you
 you're among friends.
And who she is
reminds you
you also have
an even greater Friend.
You have a Friend
 who will morn with you.
You have a Friend
who will help you find a way
to live with this pain.
And you have a Friend
who now holds your parents
securely
and lovingly
in the palm of a mighty hand.

You're forty-six years old
and you're laying on a cart
 in an emergency room.
An ambulance brought you here
 about four hours ago
after you fell on the ice.
They've given you a shot
to ease the pain.
The shot helped a little
but you still feel like there's a knife
sticking in your right knee.

Your doctor appears at the side of the cart.
He doesn't look real happy.
And when you hear his news
you're not real happy either.
You're going in for emergency surgery
in about an hour.
After the surgery
you're going to be in rehabilitation
for at least six months.
When the rehab's done
you'll be able to walk again.
But you'll always use a cane
and you'll always need help
where ever you go.

Just as the unfairness of this loss
begins to seep into your mind,
there are other people
standing by the side of your cart.
Its your spouse and your children.
They look down and smile at you.
Your children tell you
you helped them to learn to walk,
and they'll be happy to do the same for you.
And while your children are talking
you hear your spouse quietly breathing
a word of prayer.

That prayer reminds you of the Friend
who's always with you.
And the presence
of your spouse and children
remind you of that Friend's marvelous gifts.
The pain in your knee
is still there
but it doesn't seem to matter
so much anymore.
You look at your family
and look at your knee
and then look upwards
and you say,
"the Lord gives
 and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord."

You're fifty-seven years old
and living a life that finally seems
to have settled down.
All of your kids are in college
and you
and your spouse
are beginning to really enjoy decorating
 your new house.
You smile as you walk into
your office building,
and wave at your boss
who's standing by her desk.
Surprisingly
 she doesn't wave back,
but beckons you into her office instead.
There's a security guard
 standing by her desk.

Your boss tells you
the company has re-evaluated
its work force.
And in the re-evaluation
it's been decided
your job is now unnecessary.
She tells the security guard
to escort you to your office
and to watch you
while you clean out your desk.


After five months
you finally find another job.
You know you couldn't have
made it through those months
without your faith.
For even while you watched
 your life savings shrink
there was a feeling
of an arm
around your shoulders.
A feeling that no matter how bad things got
somehow
it was going to be ok.
A feeling that although this seemed like
the worst of times,
there was a Friend with you.
A friend who held you tightly,
when you didn't know
if you could go on.
A Friend who never strayed from your side
and who walked every step
 of this path with you.

You're sixty-eight years old
and last week you had another of
 those visits
with your doctors.
A visit
 where you did you best to convince them
heart surgery,
is not your idea
of a fun way to spend your time.

You didn't convince them,
and they were pretty convincing themselves.
They told you
straight out
if you wanted to have
a lot more years in this life,
you had to have this operation.

They've come to take you
 to the operating room now.
And you're scared.
More scared then you've ever been.
You turn to your pastor
who's been waiting in your room with you,
and you ask for a word of prayer.
She touches your head gently
and you hear words lifting up
your need for protection and health.
and you hear
words asking for guidance
for your surgeon's hands.

As the prayer gently finishes
your pastor traces a cross
 in oil
 on your forehead
and reminds  you
that the blessing of the Triune God
is with you.

And as she makes that cross
you sense there's another hand
on top of her's.
A hand offering a blessing
human hands could never bestow.
As you're wheeled away toward surgery,
that blessing
hovers over you
reminding you;
no matter what happens
there's a Friend with you.
A Friend
who's taking care of you
and who's not going to leave your side today.

You're ninety-five years old.
A person full of life.
Full of love for your grand children,
and brimming with love for your God.
You've been in good health,
but that's slipping now.
Today its slipped a little too far
and you know
your life on the face of this earth
is over.

Your sight begins to fade,
making your grand children's
faces disappear.
Your hearing starts to fade too
and their voices dim
and slip away.

Then suddenly
 you seem to feel
an arm around you.
An arm
 whose touch you seem to know
very well indeed.
A strong arm that lifts you up
until you see the face
 of your best Friend;
the one who's always been
a real and tangible presence with you
through every fear filled
moment of your life;
the One who never left your side;
the One who walked with you,
the One who cried with you,
and wiped away
every tear from your eyes;
the One who died
and was raised for you.

And you see
a new heaven
and a new earth.
Every tear
is wiped away
from our eyes.
Death is no more;
mourning and crying and pain
are banished from our lives.

All things
are made new.
And forever more

Jesus
 will be our Friend.

To God alone be glory.
Amen.

- - - - -




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 09:25:11 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:25:11 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] The little train that always can - Textweek
Message-ID: <33A3A125AABE48EAAA15FA9E043F0E96@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc2.htm
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 13:03:32 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:03:32 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: 2 Easter
In-Reply-To: 107031
References: 107031
Message-ID: <8CCA6E6E230ECE3-DC0-651@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

Forwarded:


-----Original Message-----
From: AFONTAINE <annfontaine at me.com>
To: SERMONSHOP 2010 04 11 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_11.topic at faithgroups.com>
Sent: Sat, Apr 10, 2010 11:47 am
Subject: 2 Easter


Note #3 from AFONTAINE to SERMONSHOP 2010 04 11:

y sermon thoughts are here
http://seashellseller.blogspot.com/2010/04/2-easter.html


The Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 20:31:10 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:31:10 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - John 20:19-31
Message-ID: <8B3887D31DF543668AA4ED5C02D2817B@YOUR264F1833C5>

Susan Sparks is a former trial lawyer who now serves as senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York, NY. 
Trust Jesus and Elvis
John 20:19-31
2nd Sunday of Easter - Year C
April 11, 2010
http://day1.org/1870-trust_jesus_and_elvis
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 22:27:48 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:27:48 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 1
Message-ID: <EA1BDAAAA10C4141AEF62C303001ADFD@YOUR264F1833C5>

There have been Elvis sightings all over the world--from a spa in Tokyo to a Burger King in Michigan.  There was even a woman who claimed that she found the image of Elvis in a taco shell.
If only we'd put even 1% of that kind of energy towards looking for Jesus, we might actually find him too.  Maybe we'd find him in the eyes of a little child or the downcast gaze of a homeless stranger.  Maybe we'd find him in the face of an enemy or the tears of a loved one with whom we are fighting.  If you believe he lives, you'll act like he lives.  You'll look for him and you'll find him.

http://day1.org/1870-trust_jesus_and_elvis

Susan Sparks
- - - - -

The first words Jesus offered were a gift: "Peace be with you."  He knew what was in their hearts; he knew why they had barred the door. He knew they weren't re-grouping, getting it together and deciding on their next move, how they were going to carry on Jesus' legacy or spread his teaching. They were scared and they were hiding out. 

http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-11-2010.html

Kathryn Matthews Huey
- - - - -

The wonderful thing about God is that we are met wherever we are on our journey in faith. God speaks to everyone regardless - the mystic who is seeking God in meditation and prayer, the Thomas who needs more proof, the unbelieving who live in faith nevertheless, those who are just born with an innate sense of belief, those who follow an ethical compassionate life regardless of belief systems. God is open to all.

http://seashellseller.blogspot.com/2010/04/2-easter.html

Ann Fontaine
- - - - -

Some things cannot be explained or seen or touched but must simply be accepted as mystery, truth that is beyond our understanding.  Sometimes we must trust in God's mercy rather than in our ability to figure everything out.

http://day1.org/1242-dealing_with_mystery

Laura S. Mendenhall, 2009 
- - - - -

 A diverse world demands more of us as Christian people. It forces us to examine our own motivations and our reasons for engaging otherness and difference in the world. We have a unique opportunity to embrace people from all over the world with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. The challenge of this engagement with otherness and difference is a significant one, because I'm convinced that you and I are now living in the century of the local church, the local congregation when it comes to the Christian engagement with the world.

http://day1.org/1095-on_chocolate_chip_cookies_and_dirty_water_and_being_church_in_a_shrinking_world

Rob Nash
- - - - -
Thomas had lost his Lord; he had witnessed the crucifixion of his savior! But he had survived that ordeal. In fact sometimes I wonder if, while the other disciples were hiding in the upper room at Christ's first appearance, Thomas was not out preparing to move on, to get on with the work of rebuilding his shattered life. No wonder, then, that when his friends share their joyous news, "We have seen the Lord," he reacts skeptically.

It is as if an AIDs patient, finally reconciled to his fate, is told of a new miracle cure; or a disillusioned spouse, who has finally accepted that her marriage is over, is told that her husband is really a "new man." Nothing, you see, is worse than getting cut again by one's broken dreams, and Thomas has bled enough.

http://day1.org/1082-realities_old_and_new

David Lose
- - - - -

Doubt is like a front porch. All of us go through it before we get into the house of faith.

http://day1.org/1038-doubtthe_prelude_to_faith

Bill Self 
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 23:12:40 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:12:40 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 2
Message-ID: <C2ECFF2E2D6A413BB4ED5FDC6F25F89A@YOUR264F1833C5>

In reality, it was the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus that turned skeptics into believers.  Easter Resurrection continued for days and to hundreds of people. There's something about death that is so final.  It's not the story that convinces people in the New Testament, it's the encounter with a living Savior that changes hearts.  
<>
Jesus was patient with all of them and He shared the same peace with Thomas.  

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=163&kennung=20070415en

James Mueller, 2007
- - - - -

Jesus came to them, and especially, Thomas, to chase away doubt and to restore faith. 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-8/060423-6-e.html

David Andrus
- - - - -

Trusting something or someone outside ourselves is not always easy. Physicians tell us that if a child doesn't bond with a parent or guardian in the early months of its life, it will have difficulty trusting others as it develops. And, in fact, if trust is not established early in the development stages, a fracture may occur in the child's spirit and affect its personality for life. 

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/bullock_4912.htm

Wyvetta Bullock, 2006 
- - - - -

Jesus says something even more shocking. He says, "if you forgive people, their sins are forgiven, and if you don't forgive them, their sins are not forgiven." What could it possibly mean to retain-or not to forgive sins! The church, in its need to be control taking, has often messed this all up. The concept of excommunication comes from this statement. If someone sins and does not repent, you can remove them from the Christian community. Historically, both the Eastern Church and the Western Church often held this threat over people's heads, from popes to kings to reformers to lowly rebellious types. However, Jesus, the one who held no grudges and who hired even those who denied him to follow him again, this Jesus seems never to have withheld or retained sins. And why would we, who have been forgiven so generously, even consider such a thing? If we refuse to forgive someone, of course we haven't forgiven them-- but why would we entertain such a thought! 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-7/050515-9-e.html

David Zersen, 2005
- - - - -

You've probably heard the phrase "Caesar's breath." It is science's way of reminding us that energy never dies or disappears. The molecules of Caesar's breath, 2,000 years ago, are still in our atmosphere today. They have scattered around the globe and we are breathing them with every breath we take. Christ's breath is still alive too. The breath he breathed into the disciples that day in the upper room - the spirit and power of God - is still circulating. And it is far more powerful than Caesar's breath. It's the reminder that God, whose spirit hovered over the face of the deep at creation, was still making the world through Christ and is still working on it today.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/killinger_4803.htm

John Killinger, 2004 
- - - - -

It was in China that I experienced that trust. On a mission team I shared with members of a congregation in Beijing, an elderly gentleman told his story of faith that included his congregation. When the Red Guard had taken power, the churches were closed and the pastors sent into the countryside to work in factories. The church buildings were used as warehouses. He and other members of their congregation had made an agreement to study the Scriptures in private and tithe during their forced absence from corporate worship. He said sadly, "We did not realize it would be 13 years of exile from worship." He said after those years of Bible study and fear, the churches reopened and on that first Sunday of worship, the people returned to the altar to pray and brought their tithes and offerings-all 13 years' worth. Indeed, blessed are those that have not seen and believed.

http://day1.org/467-can_i_get_a_witness

Jonathan Holston, 2004
- - - - -



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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 23:58:22 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:58:22 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 3
Message-ID: <48E3B9DA531A498BA4441C285AD7AABD@YOUR264F1833C5>

I once got a phone call from a retired minister who wanted an appointment with me. When we were together, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop, for the thing he had come for to reveal itself. Whatever it was, I knew it would be concrete -- an illness, a lapse, a fear, an alienated loved one. It might have been anything. And so we talked and I waited. Finally, as he was leaving, I understood. There was something concrete that had brought him to me. But I was totally unprepared for what it was. He never put it into words, but what he wanted was to open the locked door of his retirement by praying for a younger minister, someone who was doing each day the things that he used to do. He wanted to pray the power he had known in his own life of service, to share the commission, and so he knelt and took my hand and prayed for my ministry. With his words and his posture, it was as if he breathed on me a power that was neither his or mine. There was no one else in the room you would have been able to see had you looked in the window--just two followers, one old, one younger, but someone else was there giving both of us what we needed to serve him.

http://day1.org/518-handwitness_testimony

Catherine Taylor 
- - - - -

I discovered that Christians can become fixated on their Sunday school theology and not move beyond it; and I also discovered that a person can become fixated on their doubts and not move beyond them.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_thomas_the_doubter.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

Centuries ago, Copernicus doubted that the earth was the center of the universe and Christians round him were using the Bible and quoting the Bible to prove that the earth was the center of the universe. His doubt of their reading of the Bible lead him to a larger and deeper understanding of the Christian faith. 
Centuries ago, during the time of Columbus, certain Christians were using the Bible and quoting the Bible that the earth was flat and had edges and if you sailed too far, your boat would fall over the edge off the earth. Columbus doubted the Christianity he had been taught, and his doubts led to a deeper and larger faith. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_thomas_a_honest_doubter.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

You see, peace is not simply the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of justice for all. No, you and I will not always agree on the way to peace, yet in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all sent into the violent world to be peacemakers.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/hanson_4714.htm

Mark Hanson, 2004
- - - - -

Virginia was 19 years old and pregnant when she went to live with her 15th set of foster parents. Her case file read like a textbook example of neglect, abuse and bureaucratic failure. She sat silently in a chair, hands neatly clasped, staring into her lap. The foster parents, whose three children were in school, had been appraised of Virginia's story and promised that this placement would be "temporary". (Temporary was the story of Virginia's life.)
Finally, the foster mother said, "Are you frightened, Virginia?"

"Kinda," she replied without looking up. Then, "I've been in lots of homes."

"Well," the sympathetic woman tried to reassure the bewildered young mother-to-be, "Let's hope this time turns out for the best."

Virginia's reply is one of those statements that sticks to your soul -- it was flat, without change of tone and without Virginia even looking up -- "Hurts too much to hope."

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/pieces1.html

John Jewell, 2000
- - - - -

When we have left behind all objective probabilities about God and the Christ, and all subjective approximations to God and the Christ, when all preliminary certainties have disappeared, the ultimate certainty may appear to us. And in the power of this certainty, though never secure and never without temptation, we may walk from certainty to certainty.

http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=375&C=22

Paul Tillich, 1955 
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 11 00:52:08 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:52:08 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 4
Message-ID: <88343B67665C4C1F83C02C542487B53E@YOUR264F1833C5>

Madame C. J. Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove, in Delta, Louisiana, became America's first black millionaire. She defied the odds of her state of existence. She was illiterate but eventually developed a business that influenced the world's hair products. Madame  Walker's husband was killed when she was 20. As a single parent she raised her two-year old daughter. She could not read or write during this period of her life. At a point in her life she found herself going bald. She prayed to the Lord to save her hair. Ingredients to make a formula appeared to her in a dream. She understood her dream to be evidence that the Lord was alive in her experience and guiding her. Through her belief in the Lord's presence, she became successful.
Now, you may think that a silly thing to do: Pray for God to save your hair. But the Lord honored that simple belief. From that simple belief, Madame Walker experienced the reality of the Lord's aliveness in her life. Because of this experience, she went ahead to produce hair products and methods that contributed to the development of the whole hair product industry.

http://day1.org/633-experiencing_jesus_aliveness_through_believing

Isaiah Jones Jr., 2001
- - - - -

I believe that inside us all there is a spark of hope which, like a keyhole, allows us to peek out from behind our locked doors of doubt and fear and confusion to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Risen Lord. We find ourselves most able to identify with Thomas because doubt is the simplest door to lock and hide behind. 

http://day1.org/853-behind_closed_doors

Duane Steele, 1997 
- - - - -

To forgive is not a right to be jealously guarded, but an obligation to be exercised generously. We do not earn our own forgiveness by forgiving others.  Rather we manifest the generosity and implacability of God's forgiveness of us.

http://www.agreeley.com/hom10/apr11.htm

Andrew M. Greeley, 1999
- - - - -

To symbolize the giving of the Holy Spirit/Breath, Jesus "breathes on" (emphusao -- only occurrence in NT) the disciples (without Thomas!). The same word is used in Gn 2:7 (LXX) where God breathes the breath of life into the nostrils of the man and he becomes a living being. It is used in Ez 37:9 where the breath breathes on the slain [the dry bones], so that they may live. It is also used in Wisdom 15:11c where God "breathed a living spirit into them."
<>
"User Friendly Evaluation," by C. Jeff Woods... has a chapter called "Evaluation and Church Renewal." He defines church renewal as:
  Church renewal occurs when a distinct group of people expect the Spirit of God to challenge, direct, and empower them to reach their potential of being the church in today's world.

One of his four assumptions about church renewal is:

  the church does not renew itself. The Holy Spirit challenges, directs, and empowers the work of renewal. . . . The Spirit renews the church. Many church renewal resources coerce the pastoral leadership into feeling responsible for the church's state of renewal. That's simply not biblical. Pastoral leadership has a great deal to do with the activities in the congregation, but renewal results are the sole property of God's handiwork. Even Paul, who liked to tell churches that he had more to boast about than anyone else if he chose to do so, reminded the church, 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth' (1 Cor. 3:6). God is the one who provides growth and renewal for churches. Numerical growth. Common-bond growth. Growth in maturity. All kinds of growth. God is the source." [p. 49]

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19p.htm

Brian Stoffregen
- - - - -

For the fourth Gospel, the day of Pentecost is no tongues of fire or a bewildering, amazing, perplexing cacophony of voices, but the peace of one voice, the shepherd's voice, who bestows on his disciples the abiding presence of "I am." 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=5/11/2008&tab=4

Karoline Lewis, 2008
- - - - -

God is breathing the Spirit into us & the whole creation all the time. It is a collective gift rather than a private one. Here in the upper room Jesus breathes it upon those who have desperate need of Comfort & Assurance, of Courage. 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/marginallymark/MMKJN201931E2.html

Brian McGowan
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 11 03:46:59 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:46:59 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] "The Steps of Faith" based on John 20:19-31 for April
	11
Message-ID: <A819872F1C9047B69FFCEB371D56B219@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://tiny.cc/33d22 is a sermon on "The Steps of Faith" based on John 20:19-31 for April 11.
Peace and blessings,
Joe
St. John's, Elizabeth, NJ
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From charles.wohlers at verizon.net  Sun Apr 11 21:05:25 2010
From: charles.wohlers at verizon.net (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:05:25 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the THIRD SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <4D29308277F4427F90B93938A780EE32@cranmer>

The following are the readings for the Third Sunday of Easter, April 18, 
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, 
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All 
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the 
Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries 
are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <<http://satucket.com/lectionary>>, 
in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING:   Acts 9: 1 - 6 (7 - 20)   RCL)
                                  Acts 9: 1 - 20   (Can. BAS)

Acts 9:1 (NRSV) Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against 
the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for 
letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged 
to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as 
he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven 
flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The 
reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter 
the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7 The men who were 
traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no 
one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could 
see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 
For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Anani'as. The Lord said to him 
in a vision, "Anani'as." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11 The Lord said to 
him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas 
look for a man of Tar'sus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12 and 
he has seen in a vision a man named Anani'as come in and lay his hands on 
him so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Anani'as answered, "Lord, I 
have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your 
saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to 
bind all who invoke your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is 
an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings 
and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must 
suffer for the sake of my name." 17 So Anani'as went and entered the house. 
He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who 
appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your 
sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately something like 
scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and 
was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately 
he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of 
God."


Acts 5: 27b - 32, 40b - 41   (Roman Catholic)

Acts 5:27 (NRSV) The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you 
strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem 
with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." 
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any 
human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had 
killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as 
Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of 
sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit 
whom God has given to those who obey him."

40  Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them 
go. 41 As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered 
worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.


PSALM 30   (RCL)
Psalm 30: 1, 3 - 5, 10 - 11a, 12b   (Roman Catholic)
Psalm 30: 4 - 12   (Can. BAS)

Psal 30:1 (NRSV) I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from She'ol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7 By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9 "What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Note Verse numbering in Roman Catholic Bibles is one higher than the above.


SECOND READING:   Revelation 5: 11 - 14   (all)

Reve 5:11 (NRSV) Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels 
surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they 
numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full 
voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!"
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth 
and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
"To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!"
14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and 
worshiped.


GOSPEL:   John 21: 1 - 19   (RCL)
                    John 21: 1 - 14 (15 - 19)   (Roman Catholic)
                    John 21: (1 - 14) 15 - 19   (Can. BAS)

John 21:1 (NRSV) After these things Jesus showed himself again to the 
disciples by the Sea of Tibe'rias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 
Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'ael 
of Ca'na in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples. 
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will 
go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they 
caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not 
know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, 
have you?" They answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the 
right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now 
they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That 
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter 
heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and 
jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging 
the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a 
hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on 
it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have 
just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full 
of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, 
the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now 
none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it 
was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did 
the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared 
to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son 
of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you 
know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 A second time 
he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, 
Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He 
said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt 
hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to 
him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to 
him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you 
used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you 
grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a 
belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." 19 (He said this 
to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he 
said to him, "Follow me."


Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu





From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Tue Apr 13 19:38:06 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:38:06 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 3 Easter c rcl - first draft
Message-ID: <1451450448.1271201886272.JavaMail.root@mp09>

Here's what developed from my thought about the opening story.

I hope it is at least a start 8 - )

I have a funeral on Friday and have a homily for that.

The XOXOXO in the text  is to remind me to add the name of next month's Outreach Project when I find my list!

Bob


THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	       THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER C RCL
ACTS 9:1-20			             18th APRIL, 2010
REVELATION 5:11-14			 PSALM 30
JOHN 21:1-19

	Remember Clara Peller? Her name ring a bell? What about, ?Where?s the beef??  Ms. Peller must have been about four feet tall. I don?t know that for sure, but she was usually matched with men or women almost double her size.
	For all her diminutive size, though, she had a voice that could carry ? and she used it well. The phrase is still with us although it?s been twenty six years since she repeated it, over, and over, and over again. Does it start to come back now?
	OK, then ? Where?re the women? ?Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples didn?t know that it was Jesus.? ?Where?re the women?? ?When they had gone ashore they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it.? ?Where?re the women??
	Maybe that?s enough ? we probably get the point! On Easter day we all heard about Peter and John racing to the tomb after women came to tell them that the stone had been rolled back. But Peter and John left, after a while, while Mary stayed in the garden, trying to make sense of things. That?s where she met Jesus. That?s where she was told to tell the others. That?s more than likely when the women started to ball rolling on getting the word passed from house to house among Jesus? friends ? ?He?s alive! He?s NOT dead! He said He?d meet up with us in Galilee!?
	So ? where ARE the women this day, when Jesus met up with them around the Sea of Galilee? Well, they probably went back, with Peter, and James, and John, and the others, to Galilee, but this meeting with Jesus was specifically about what to do with the baggage that Peter may have been carrying around with him.
	Have you ever been in a situation when you were reminded of something terribly embarrassing, or unhelpful, or stupid, maybe even dangerous, that you may have done?  I know I have. Maybe we said something without thinking through what we were saying, or to whom we were saying it. Maybe we were under a lot of stress already and something happened that demanded a quick response ? and we blurted out the first thing we thought would get us off the hook. Only it backfired, and offended someone, or crushed her or his spirit, or put them in some jeopardy.
	I think of some nightmarish situations in which I wish I could reach back into the past and yank that memory so hard I could eradicate it, and think, or speak, or act more sensibly, more thoughtfully, more compassionately. But that only works in movies. Maybe that?s why the disturbing nightmare returns again and again ? it?s never been exorcised from within us. And most of us know what THAT does. It stunts our development. It makes us uncertain about how to decide or act the next time. It prevents us from being able to encourage ourselves or others. So, somehow, we HAVE to be able to put the past behind us, better yet, we have to be able to let go of it, somehow, so that we CAN grow more and more into the people God hopes that we will be.
	And so, once again, Jesus tailored His Presence for a specific purpose. He wanted to make sure that those who were going to do His work were nourished, and saw the plentiful resources for nourishment all around therm. And He wanted to exorcise Peter.
	Peter, who would still have been shaking from the terror of having denied Jesus and how special He was to him, Peter needed Jesus to relieve him of his burden. So Jesus WAS there, not only just after He?d talked to Mary. Jesus was counting on Peter to accomplish great things. THAT?S why Jesus sought out Peter and directly asked him about the depth of his love and commitment.
	Three times Jesus dug deep into Peter?s wounded memory, to drege up the recollection of his denial of Jesus. And each time the denial surfaced, Jesus immediately commanded Peter physically, spiritually, emotionally to care for all whom Jesus called sister and brother.
	Three times that pain came to the surface, and three times it was soothed, until Peter COULD do the job to which God had called him.
	Sometimes we need the same intense surgery. Anyone who?s been through chemotherapy or radiation treatment has a pretty good idea of what Jesus did that day ? and offers to do for us today. Anyone who?s had a malignancy cut out of their bodies, and then been given a course of treatment to try to ensure that the twisted, amok-running-cells don?t return, knows how difficult it can be to accept the healing that Jesus offers.
	Sometimes it ISN?T easy or pretty. Sometimes it leaves one weak, perhaps because secretly in one way or another we?d been coming to terms with what was inside ourselves, Still, Jesus probes us, asking us if we DO love Him, if we DO trust Him, if we WILL follow Him and give whatever it takes on behalf of someone else. 
	Sometimes feeding Jesus? sheep takes a huge effort. But Jesus waits, patiently, looking deep into our eyes, and seeking our assent to our vocations.
	Notice, Jesus never said to Peter, ?Well, good, that was the answer for which I?d been hoping. Now, here?s a list of places I?d like you to visit, the people you need to see, the ships you need to take, the countries to which you have to travel before your energy and life are exhausted.? No, Jesus said something very simple. ?Feed my lambs.? Protect those who are vulnerable to every kind of preying, opportunistic adversary. ?Tend my sheep.? Make sure that the adults, too, are well-provided-for, ?Feed my sheep.? It?s necessary that everyone receives whatever care is necessary ? be it radical surgery or a common band-aid. Do what it takes ? and, the unspoken advice to Peter, remember that My sheep are all around you right now. You don?t have to go far to find them. They may even be listening at the doors and windows of this building right now.
	Jesus still heals. Jesus helps us to face all our deepest worries and fears. And once they?re addressed, Jesus sets them aside so that we can travel more lightly, with our concern how to find out what the lambs are up to, what the sheep need, what they eat that will nurture them.
	So, off we go. Not only the Peters, though. Yes, all of us have SOME burden to shed. However, some of us are already ahead of even Peter. Some, like those women ? remember them? ? some like those women are already going around this city and State, this nation and the world, not only speaking Good News but acting Good News, bringing food, bringing health care, bringing encouragement, bringing whatever resources they can to make Jesus? words real.
	Sometimes, what needs to be done is radical. Always what needs to be done is personal ? one-on-one, one street or community at a time. 
	 ?Beverly Bell, an activist and an expert on Haitian social movements,? has edited a book published recently, which ?brings together thirty-eight oral histories from a diverse group of Haitian women. The interviewees include, for example, a former prime minister, an illiterate poet, a leading feminist theologian, and a vodou dancer. Defying victim status despite gender- and state-based repression, they tell how Haiti's poor and dispossessed women have fought for their personal and collective survival.? 1 By giving these women?s stories greater visibility, Beverly Bell is making sure that fears and hurts are brought to the surface so that people may seem them, and then respond.
	Seemingly co-incidentally, last Tuesday, news sources reported that ?First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden (were) visiting Haiti to underscore to the Haitian people and the Haitian government the enduring U.S. commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild, especially as we enter the rainy and hurricane seasons,? . (The) White House statement (continued that the visit is additionally) ?to thank the women and men across the whole of the U.S. government for their extraordinary efforts in Haiti during the past three months. They will also reach out to the U.N. and international relief communities in recognition of the truly global effort underway to help Haiti.? 2
	This goes on all the time, of course. People need to be fed; they need gas for their cars and their generators; they need water to drink and to wash clothes ? they need clothes ? the list goes on and on. THAT?S how and where the Outreach Committee has specified that the undesignated money in our offering will be disbursed this morning. Episcopal Relief and Development will get the money to Haiti to try to act to feed Jesus? agnellian sisters and brothers before the rains hit in earnest.
	AND problems exist right here on our own doorstep also. Last month the money went to our participation in the meal programme at St. Mary?s. Next month it will go to XOXOXOX.  Sheep, it seems, are everywhere. Now that WE?VE been offered hope, and reconciliation, and renewal by Jesus, then, it?s time for us to move on.
	Maybe it wasn?t helpful for me to begin by asking ?Where?re the women? in the Gospel story this morning. Maybe we all need to be dwell for a little on just how many times Jesus offers to renew, and to reassure, and to re-energise us. But that?s never the end of the picture.
	Jesus could?ve patted Peter on the head and said, ?Good boy! Now, let?s see how the fishing will be tomorrow.? Jesus, as part of the same action of cleansing and strengthening, always charges people, always gives them something to do, something each one of us can at least start to do, even if we don?t know where we may end up.
	So when WE?VE been fed this morning at the Altar, when the Lamb of God has been placed in our hands and assumed into our bodies, we know that it?s become OUR turn to touch others.
	Whether we?re the women who went on ahead of Peter, and James, and John, or whether we?re Peter himself ? wherever we are, whatever our needs, Jesus addresses each one of us, then sends us out, so that we may be the means of bringing real, tangible hope ? to Helping Hands here, AND to the people of Haiti, who?re waiting to hear from us.
	Jesus stands all around this room, right now, repeating, ?Do YOU love Me?? On second thoughts, maybe Clara Peller?s slightly abrasive voice should be, ?Where are the sheep??

NOTES:
1 	?Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance? by Beverly Bell, foreword by Edwidge Danticat, paperback, 272 pages, c. 2001, $21. Cornell University Press 
 2 	New York Times. April 13, 2010  Michelle Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Haiti  By MARC LACEY
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/world/americas/14firstlady.html?hp  or http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na


--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 14 10:23:35 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:23:35 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon on Mark 10:46-52 [off lectionary]
Message-ID: <8CCA9F533A00402-1704-E58@angweb-usd003.sysops.aol.com>

Susan Sparks is a former trial lawyer who now serves as senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York, NY. 
The True Universal Health Care
Mark 10:46-52
Proper 25 - Year B
April 18, 2010



http://day1.org/1871-the_true_universal_health_care

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From chadwohl at satucket.com  Sun Apr 18 20:55:52 2010
From: chadwohl at satucket.com (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:55:52 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the FOURTH SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <6C65BB56554A4E729AB8B321D561B1BF@ThinkpadT60CCW>

The following are the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 25, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <http://satucket.com/lectionary>, in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING: Acts 9: 36 - 43 (RCL)

Acts 9:36 (NRSV) Now in Jop'pa there was a disciple whose name was Tab'itha, which in Greek is Dor'cas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lyd'da was near Jop'pa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay." 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dor'cas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tab'itha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Jop'pa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Jop'pa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner. 


Acts 13: 15 - 16, 26 - 33 (Can. BAS) 

Acts 13:15 (NRSV) After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it." 16 So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: 
"You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. 

26 "My brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. 28 Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead; 31 and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 
"You are my Son; 
today I have begotten you.' 


Acts 13: 14, 43 - 52 (Roman Catholic) 

Acts 13:14 (NRSV) but they went on from Per'ga and came to An'tioch in Pisid'ia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 

43 When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Ju'daism followed Paul and Bar'nabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 
44 The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. 46 Then both Paul and Bar'nabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 
"I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, 
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. 49 Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Bar'nabas, and drove them out of their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Ico'nium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. 


PSALM 23 (RCL) 

Psal 23:1 (NRSV) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; 
he leads me beside still waters; 
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths 
for his name's sake. 
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 
I fear no evil; 
for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff-- 
they comfort me. 
5 You prepare a table before me 
in the presence of my enemies; 
you anoint my head with oil; 
my cup overflows. 
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
all the days of my life, 
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD 
my whole life long. 

 
Psalm 100: 1 - 3, 5   (Roman Catholic) 

Psal 100:1 (NRSV) Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; 
come into his presence with singing. 
3 Know that the LORD is God. 
It is he that made us, and we are his; 
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 
and his courts with praise. 
Give thanks to him, bless his name. 
5 For the LORD is good; 
his steadfast love endures forever, 
and his faithfulness to all generations. 


SECOND READING: Revelation 7: 9 - 17 (all but Roman Catholic) 
                                      Revelation 7: 9, 14b - 17 (Roman Catholic) 

Reve 7:9 (NRSV) After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, 
"Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing, 
"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom 
and thanksgiving and honor 
and power and might 
be to our God forever and ever! Amen." 
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, 
and worship him day and night within his temple, 
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; 
the sun will not strike them, 
nor any scorching heat; 
17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, 
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, 
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." 


GOSPEL: John 10: 22 - 30 (all but Roman Catholic) 
                  John 10: 27 - 30 (Roman Catholic) 

John 10:22 (NRSV) At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 


Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, Vermont    USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 08:12:26 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:12:26 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Sacred Cows Make Great BBQ's
Message-ID: <DEA251EFABEC4FC6BA7A1AE3353C2CC0@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtNaZ_DIxP8&

by Dave Gilpin

What other sacred cows do we have?
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 10:57:07 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:57:07 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
Message-ID: <82B02DBDCD1D4AF9B02CBA59ADD50042@YOUR264F1833C5>

Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed at http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 11:41:54 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:41:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
In-Reply-To: 112003
References: 112003
Message-ID: <8CCADEDF8CD2382-B30-25C@angweb-usm005.sysops.aol.com>


Hi Ann,
Hope you will add your thoughts on your blog anyway, Ann, as we look forward to them. We'll just 'circulate' them for you Sunday! Please do post a link if you do. 
Thanks!
Peace and blessings,
Joe


-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>; SERMONSHOP 2010 04 25 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_25.topic at faithgroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 11:03 am
Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C


Not preaching this week - sadly - as this is my favorite post  
esurrection story.


n Apr 19, 2010, at 7:57 AM, Joe Parrish wrote:
Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed  
thttp://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm



he Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Mon Apr 19 13:24:43 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:24:43 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
Message-ID: <948214992.1271697883278.JavaMail.root@mp10>

Ha!

I'm not preaching either! Our deacon is.

Bob


---- Joe Parrish <joeparrish at compuserve.com> wrote: 
> 
> Hi Ann,
> Hope you will add your thoughts on your blog anyway, Ann, as we look forward to them. We'll just 'circulate' them for you Sunday! Please do post a link if you do. 
> Thanks!
> Peace and blessings,
> Joe
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
> To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
> Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>; SERMONSHOP 2010 04 25 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_25.topic at faithgroups.com>
> Sent: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 11:03 am
> Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
> 
> 
> Not preaching this week - sadly - as this is my favorite post  
> esurrection story.
> 
> 
> n Apr 19, 2010, at 7:57 AM, Joe Parrish wrote:
> Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed  
> thttp://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm
> 
> 
> 
> he Rev. Ann Fontaine
> ander, Wyoming
> 
> 
> 
> 

--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)




From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 23 22:56:01 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:56:01 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] John 10:22-30 - April 25, 2010
Message-ID: <8CCB170CE724EA3-388-1A6B@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

The Rev. Dr. Royeese Stowe is senior pastor of Chamblee First United Methodist Church in Chamblee, GA. 
There Is Something About That Name
John 10:22-30
4th Sunday of Easter - Year C
April 25, 2010
http://day1.org/1892-there_is_something_about_that_name



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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:09:35 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:09:35 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <BBA01956DBC349B884A97FCDD8297493@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 4: 
     John 10:22-30 ? ?So Who Needs a Shepherd??
     John 10:22-30 ? ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? by Leonard Sweet

_________________________________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10:22-30, the sermon titled ?So Who Needs a Shepherd?" 

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, ?Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.? The stunned pastor replied, ?What on earth do you mean?? ?Well,? said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ?We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.? And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God?s flock.? Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards.  There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created.  Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse.  Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig? every Sunday morning.  So I?m not at all sure I want to co me to church and be called a sheep? any longer...even God?s sheep?.?

The man had a point.  But whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.  We are called ?God?s sheep.? The favorite psalm of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, ?The Lord is my shepherd...? And if ?the Lord is my shepherd,? then I am one of the Lord?s sheep.  Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: ?All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.? (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church.  One of the symbols of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd?s crook, that long staff with a hook on the end.  And ministers are often called ?pastors.? In the dictionary, one of the meanings of ?past or? is ?shepherd,? coming from a Latin word which means ?feeder.? At the end of the Fourth Gospel we have that final resurrection appearance of the Lord by the Sea of Galilee when He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three times that he did.  And Jesus said to Peter, ?Feed my sheep.?

The word ?pastor? is a common one used to refer to an ordained person who is in charge of a congregation.  Sometimes I wonder whether it is not a bit anachronistic, coming as it does from a rural, pastoral metaphor which seems rather out of date in our busy, urban, industrialized society?

1. Pastoral Language in a Modern World
2. The Messianic Claim of the Good Shepherd
3. Who Needs a Shepherd? We Do!

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

_______________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10, the sermon titled ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? 

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the ?driver?s license,? they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test.

It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last ? suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going!

For most drivers, the eye exam is nothing, takes virtually no time, and hardly registers as a ?test.? That is, until you reach a certain age. For older drivers the one exam they cannot study for, the one skill they cannot improve with practice, the one exam over which they have the least control, becomes the biggest obstacle to renewing their license. Degenerating eyesight, either because of cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or just increasing near- or far-sightedness, ends the driving careers of many older adults.

In driving, there comes a time when experience and insight don?t help. What is required is eyesight.

The problem with the old adage ?what you see is what you get? is that vision is surprisingly subjective. Ask any police officer trying to get eyewitness reports at the scene of an accident and they will confirm that ten witnesses will give ten very different versions of the event. They eye might be an amazing piece of biological equipment. The eye might be a remarkable camera. The eye might be a feat of unparalleled divine imagination. But the information behind the images the eye spies is processed by our whole being. Every ?picture? our eyes take is colored, clouded, focused, and framed, by a lifetime of experiences and expectations.

As Jesus strolled around the temple during the festival of Dedication, his image was at odds with the picture of a Messiah that the Jewish people had come to expect. The Festival of Dedication commemorated a military-religious triumph. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabee (aka ?Judah the Hammer?), the Syrians were sent packing. The so-called ?desolating sacrilege? (1 Maccabee 1:59) of a pagan altar constructed within the temple was torn down. A new altar was constructed and sanctified. The Jewish victors celebrated, confident that God?s presence had once again been established and ensconced within the temple.

Jesus did not look like any ?Judas the Hammer? or talk like one either. Jesus did not speak of running the Romans out of town on a rail. Jesus talked about being a ?Good Shepherd.? Jesus spoke of self-sacrifice. Jesus likened the faithful to ?sheep,? not mighty warriors. Jesus offered protection and presence, not triumph and glory.

To ?the Jews? who questioned his identity and challenged him to tell them ?plainly? if he were the Messiah, Jesus just didn?t look right or sound right. His words and images were not what they expected.

How could suffering bring salvation?
How could weakness bring strength?
How could a shepherd stand up against a soldier?
How could the presence of Almighty God reside in such a humble spirit as this Jesus?

These Jews failed their vision test...

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

______________________

Humor: The Trouble with Self-atonement

I share one of my favorite stories that I once clipped from the Readers' Digest. A gentleman wrote in and told of this real life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her the hammer came over to me and said, ''If only she had told me what she wanted the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.''"

Oh, the brokenness we bring into our lives when we try to do a self-atonement job and fix our fallen nature. 
 
Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com 
____________________________________
 
Confirming the Testimony

Some time ago I came across this short story called, "Whom Should You Ask?"
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?

The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
There is a sense that one cannot testify to one's self. When Mohammed Ali testified, "I am the greatest," that meant nothing until his works testified to that fact. In a sense, someone claiming, "I am a Christian" is invalid until there is someone or something else that confirms that testimony.

Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
____________________________________

Humor: Leading the Way

A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain's voice was heard over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers on the right side can, if they look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That shouldn't worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an ac ceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the progress of the plane from that lifeboat below."

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the ocean far below.

But the person in charge of our lives is not remote. He is our Shepherd and he is leading the way. Leading us; giving us eternal life; assuring us we will never perish; and, my friends, no one can snatch you out of his hands.

Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company

________________________________________

He Knows Our Names

There is an old story of a census taker who was making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish woman bending over her washtub. ?Lady, I am taking the census. What?s your name? How many children have you?? She replied, ?Well, let me see. My name is Mary. And then there?s Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and...? ?Never mind the names,? he broke in, ?just give me the numbers.? She straightened up, hands on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, ?I?ll have ye know, sir, we ain?t got into numberin? them yet. We ain?t run out of names!? The image of God as the Good Shepherd tells us that is the way it is with God. He knows us by name.

Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com
_____________________

Sheep Know Their Shepherd

In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. "It is the cattle ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely, their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right."

Sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd knows them.

He went on to say that "it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium."

Sheep & shepherds develop a language of their own.

Unknown Source

____________________

What Have You Heard?

A rabbi and his pupil were discussing God's Word:

Rabbi: Herschel, do you know the sacred scriptures?
Pupil: Yes, teacher, I have been studying them.
Rabbi: And, do you know the phrase, 'Thus have I heard?'
Pupil: Oh, yes, that is throughout the scriptures.
Rabbi: Herschel, what have you heard?

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com

_______________________________
  
Stability Zones

In his book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler explains how, in this modern world of rapid change, confusion and over-choice, we all need some kind of "stability zones" - regular habits, rituals, beliefs - whatever it is that gives us a stable point of reference. It would be difficult to deny the wisdom of Toffler's observation, or to miss its application to the role of religious faith in our lives. The grace of God as revealed in Jesus, the Christ, is surely our ultimate stability zone.

Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company

____________________________

What Is Unique About Christianity?

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, ?Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form.? Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, ?what's all this rumpus about?? Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, ?We're debating what's unique about Christianity.? ?Oh, that's easy,? answered Lewis?

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 4 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:15:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:15:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 25 (Easter 4C) John 10:22-30
Message-ID: <73485F70378046EAACE4F37F1C3D20EE@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for Apr. 25 (Easter 4C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 10:22-30, where Jesus says, "My sheep hear my 
voice, I know them, and they follow me."


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new 
ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique 
questions.  The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, 
because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence. (Helmut 
Thielicke)


TITLE:  Winter in Jerusalem


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:    We who have chosen to believe in Jesus are the 
sheep of his hand -- forevermore in his loving care.


SCRIPTURE:  John 10:22-30


<>
Note: "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" is a lovely song that 
would compliment the lesson.  Optional activity. For the words, go to:

http://www.angelfire.com/co/inspiration/byourlove.html


<>
As you know, the Chinese government has been quite hostile to religion --  
has made it difficult to believe.  But when Michael Card, a Christian 
musician, visited China this is what he found.  He says:

"Again and again in China I talked to people
who had never heard of Christianity,
never heard of Jesus,
never heard a single word from the Bible.
Yet through nature and their God-given conscience,
many believed in God.

Not only did they believe God existed,
they had derived some understanding about His loving character
because he provided food, water, and a beautiful world.

One old woman told me, 'I've known him for years.
I just didn't know his name'."

<>
Toward the end of his life, Victor Hugo, the French writer, reflected on the 
life that he had lived -- and the life that lay before him, yet to be lived. 
He spoke of life beyond the grave.  He said:

"I feel within me that future life.
I am like a forest that has been razed;
the new shoots are stronger and brighter."

Isn't that lovely imagery!  "I am like a forest that has been razed; the new 
shoots are stronger and brighter."  Most of us have seen a place where a 
forest has been cut or burned -- or where a field has been burned.  Places 
like that look ugly for awhile, but then new life begins to sprout -- and 
soon the new life takes over.

Hugo went on to say:

"I feel I haven't given utterance
to the thousandth part of what lies within me.
When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said,
'My day's work is done.'
But I cannot say, 'My life is done.'
My work will recommence the next morning.

The tomb is not a blind alley;
it is a thoroughfare.
It closes upon the twilight but opens upon the dawn."

<>

MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT:  For more sermons on this text, go to:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm


A TRUE STORY:

Anthony Flew was a well-known philosopher who was atheist for most of his 
life.  However, at the age of 81, he changed his mind -- and even wrote a 
book entitled, There Is a God:  How the World's Most Notorious Atheist 
Changed his Mind.

At some point, he came to the conclusion that it was impossible to explain 
"the DNA of the first reproducing species" by naturalistic means.

- He wrote, "A deity or a 'super-intelligence' (is) the only good 
explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature."

- He found a "growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted 
scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated 
complexity of the physical universe."

Flew never did become a Christian -- he described himself as a deist. 
Nevertheless, his conversion from disbelief to belief was encouraging.  It 
shows that a person with hardened disbelief can become a believer.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

Understanding is the reward of faith.
Therefore seek not to understand that thou may believe,
but believe that thou may understand.

Augustine

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Let the convinced Christian believe,
for that is the duty he has taken upon himself.
The non-Christian has forfeited the grace of faith.
(Perhaps he was cursed from birth
in not being able to believe
but only to know.)

Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Men may believe what they cannot prove.
They may not be put to the proof
of their religious doctrines or beliefs.
Religious experiences which are as real as life to some
may be incomprehensible to others.

William O. Douglas, the late Supreme Court Justice

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Belief is not dependent on evidence and reason.
There is as much evidence that the miracles occurred
as that the Battle of Waterloo occurred.

George Bernard Shaw

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

There are two things to do about the Gospel --
believe it and behave it.

Susannah Wesley

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

<>
HYMN STORY:  Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

We don't know who wrote the words to "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us."  It 
first appeared in a children's hymnal compiled by Dorothy Thrupp in 1836, so 
some people think that Mrs. Thrupp wrote it -- but that is far from certain.

But it is clear enough what inspired the words.  Two scriptures come to 
mind.  The first is Psalm 23, which begins, "The Lord is my shepherd, I 
shall not want."  The second is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, 
where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd."

And we know who wrote the music.  His name is William Bradbury.  Bradbury 
was a gifted teenage music student in Boston when he met Lowell Mason at the 
Bowdoin Street Church.  Mason was a well-known musician who wrote the music 
for "Joy to the World" and a number of other hymns.  Mason took Bradbury 
under his wing, nurturing his musical abilities.  After finishing school, 
Bradbury moved to New York City, where he worked as a church musician 
specializing in children's music.  He wrote the music for what must be the 
favorite children's hymn of all time -- "Jesus Loves Me."  He intended 
"Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us" to be a children's hymn, but it turned out 
that adults enjoyed singing it too.

A story related to this hymn is told about Ira Stankey, a musician who 
worked closely with Dwight L. Moody.  On one occasion, Stankey sang this 
song, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" at a public gathering.  Afterwards, 
one of the guests pulled him aside and asked if Stankey had served on guard 
duty on a particular night in a particular place.  Stankey, who had served 
in the Union army, said that he had.  The other man said that he had served 
in the Confederate army.  On the evening in question, he had started to 
shoot a Union soldier when the Union soldier began to sing "Savior, Like a 
Shepherd Lead Me." The Confederate soldier, who had often heard his mother 
sing that song, couldn't do it.  Singing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" 
had saved Stankey's life.


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:16:33 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:16:33 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 25 (Easter 4C) Acts 9:36-43
Message-ID: <4D1C07A2445246CE8F778CFA073E6D47@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for April 25 
(Easter 4C) for Acts 9:36-43.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.

OR YOU CAN USE YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD to access the files elsewhere on 
my web site.  See below for instructions.


ACTS 9:36-43 (Easter 4C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.

<>
www.lectionary.org


www.lectionary.org.

<>

TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 23:22:42 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:22:42 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Part 1] Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <C779B0FD05804DAD997BFA0BE86E6DC5@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 4: 
     John 10:22-30 ? ?So Who Needs a Shepherd??
     John 10:22-30 ? ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? by Leonard Sweet

_________________________________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10:22-30, the sermon titled ?So Who Needs a Shepherd?" 

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, ?Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.? The stunned pastor replied, ?What on earth do you mean?? ?Well,? said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ?We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.? And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God?s flock.? Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards.  There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created.  Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse.  Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig? every Sunday morning.  So I?m not at all sure I want to co me to church and be called a sheep? any longer...even God?s sheep?.?

The man had a point.  But whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.  We are called ?God?s sheep.? The favorite psalm of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, ?The Lord is my shepherd...? And if ?the Lord is my shepherd,? then I am one of the Lord?s sheep.  Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: ?All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.? (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church.  One of the symbols of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd?s crook, that long staff with a hook on the end.  And ministers are often called ?pastors.? In the dictionary, one of the meanings of ?past or? is ?shepherd,? coming from a Latin word which means ?feeder.? At the end of the Fourth Gospel we have that final resurrection appearance of the Lord by the Sea of Galilee when He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three times that he did.  And Jesus said to Peter, ?Feed my sheep.?

The word ?pastor? is a common one used to refer to an ordained person who is in charge of a congregation.  Sometimes I wonder whether it is not a bit anachronistic, coming as it does from a rural, pastoral metaphor which seems rather out of date in our busy, urban, industrialized society?

1. Pastoral Language in a Modern World
2. The Messianic Claim of the Good Shepherd
3. Who Needs a Shepherd? We Do!

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

_______________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10, the sermon titled ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? 

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the ?driver?s license,? they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test.

It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last ? suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going!

For most drivers, the eye exam is nothing, takes virtually no time, and hardly registers as a ?test.? That is, until you reach a certain age. For older drivers the one exam they cannot study for, the one skill they cannot improve with practice, the one exam over which they have the least control, becomes the biggest obstacle to renewing their license. Degenerating eyesight, either because of cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or just increasing near- or far-sightedness, ends the driving careers of many older adults.

In driving, there comes a time when experience and insight don?t help. What is required is eyesight.

The problem with the old adage ?what you see is what you get? is that vision is surprisingly subjective. Ask any police officer trying to get eyewitness reports at the scene of an accident and they will confirm that ten witnesses will give ten very different versions of the event. They eye might be an amazing piece of biological equipment. The eye might be a remarkable camera. The eye might be a feat of unparalleled divine imagination. But the information behind the images the eye spies is processed by our whole being. Every ?picture? our eyes take is colored, clouded, focused, and framed, by a lifetime of experiences and expectations.

As Jesus strolled around the temple during the festival of Dedication, his image was at odds with the picture of a Messiah that the Jewish people had come to expect. The Festival of Dedication commemorated a military-religious triumph. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabee (aka ?Judah the Hammer?), the Syrians were sent packing. The so-called ?desolating sacrilege? (1 Maccabee 1:59) of a pagan altar constructed within the temple was torn down. A new altar was constructed and sanctified. The Jewish victors celebrated, confident that God?s presence had once again been established and ensconced within the temple.

Jesus did not look like any ?Judas the Hammer? or talk like one either. Jesus did not speak of running the Romans out of town on a rail. Jesus talked about being a ?Good Shepherd.? Jesus spoke of self-sacrifice. Jesus likened the faithful to ?sheep,? not mighty warriors. Jesus offered protection and presence, not triumph and glory.

To ?the Jews? who questioned his identity and challenged him to tell them ?plainly? if he were the Messiah, Jesus just didn?t look right or sound right. His words and images were not what they expected.

How could suffering bring salvation?
How could weakness bring strength?
How could a shepherd stand up against a soldier?
How could the presence of Almighty God reside in such a humble spirit as this Jesus?

These Jews failed their vision test...

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

______________________

Humor: The Trouble with Self-atonement

I share one of my favorite stories that I once clipped from the Readers' Digest. A gentleman wrote in and told of this real life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her the hammer came over to me and said, ''If only she had told me what she wanted the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.''"

Oh, the brokenness we bring into our lives when we try to do a self-atonement job and fix our fallen nature. 
 
Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com 
____________________________________
 
Confirming the Testimony

Some time ago I came across this short story called, "Whom Should You Ask?"
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?

The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
There is a sense that one cannot testify to one's self. When Mohammed Ali testified, "I am the greatest," that meant nothing until his works testified to that fact. In a sense, someone claiming, "I am a Christian" is invalid until there is someone or something else that confirms that testimony.

Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
____________________________________
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 23:23:28 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:23:28 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Part 2] Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <067BF9FA7EA34F5FBFBCA2E49039986F@YOUR264F1833C5>

Humor: Leading the Way

A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain's voice was heard over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers on the right side can, if they look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That shouldn't worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an acceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the progress of the plane from that lifeboat below."

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the ocean far below.

But the person in charge of our lives is not remote. He is our Shepherd and he is leading the way. Leading us; giving us eternal life; assuring us we will never perish; and, my friends, no one can snatch you out of his hands.

Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company

________________________________________

He Knows Our Names

There is an old story of a census taker who was making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish woman bending over her washtub. "Lady, I am taking the census. What's your name? How many children have you?" She replied, "Well, let me see. My name is Mary. And then there's Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and..." "Never mind the names," he broke in, "just give me the numbers." She straightened up, hands on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, "I'll have ye know, sir, we ain't got into numberin' them yet. We ain't run out of names!" The image of God as the Good Shepherd tells us that is the way it is with God. He knows us by name.

Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com
_____________________

Sheep Know Their Shepherd

In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. "It is the cattle ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely, their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right."

Sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd knows them.

He went on to say that "it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium."

Sheep & shepherds develop a language of their own.

Unknown Source

____________________

What Have You Heard?

A rabbi and his pupil were discussing God's Word:

Rabbi: Herschel, do you know the sacred scriptures?
Pupil: Yes, teacher, I have been studying them.
Rabbi: And, do you know the phrase, 'Thus have I heard?'
Pupil: Oh, yes, that is throughout the scriptures.
Rabbi: Herschel, what have you heard?

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com

_______________________________
  
Stability Zones

In his book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler explains how, in this modern world of rapid change, confusion and over-choice, we all need some kind of "stability zones" - regular habits, rituals, beliefs - whatever it is that gives us a stable point of reference. It would be difficult to deny the wisdom of Toffler's observation, or to miss its application to the role of religious faith in our lives. The grace of God as revealed in Jesus, the Christ, is surely our ultimate stability zone.

Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company

____________________________

What Is Unique About Christianity?

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, "what's all this rumpus about?" Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, "We're debating what's unique about Christianity." "Oh, that's easy," answered Lewis.

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 4 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 25 01:03:23 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 01:03:23 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Hearing the Voice of God, John 10:22-30, for 4 Easter
Message-ID: <566D95D739B84D2EA69FC9A24AAAC9B7@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://tiny.cc/90jn9 is a note on Hearing the Voice of God, for 4 Easter, based on John 10:22-30.
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe 
St. John's Episcopal Church
Elizabeth, NJ
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From charles.wohlers at verizon.net  Sun Apr 25 21:27:38 2010
From: charles.wohlers at verizon.net (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:27:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the FIFTH SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <E257AA76471C4E57B795DF27C4AAC8F8@cranmer>

The following are the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 2, 
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, 
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All 
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the 
Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries 
are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <http://satucket.com/lectionary>, 
in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING: Acts 11: 1 - 18 (RCL)

Acts 11:1 (NRSV) Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard 
that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up 
to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, "Why did 
you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?" 4 Then Peter began to 
explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5 "I was in the city of Jop'pa 
praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large 
sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it 
came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, 
beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice 
saying to me, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I replied, "By no means, 
Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But a 
second time the voice answered from heaven, "What God has made clean, you 
must not call profane.' 10 This happened three times; then everything was 
pulled up again to heaven. 11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from 
Caesare'a, arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go 
with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six 
brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 He told us 
how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, "Send to Jop'pa 
and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which 
you and your entire household will be saved.' 15 And as I began to speak, 
the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 
And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, "John baptized with 
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave 
them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" 18 When they heard this, they 
were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the 
Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."


Acts 14: 21b - 27 (Roman Catholic)

Acts 14:21 (NRSV) [T]hey returned to Lys'tra, then on to Ico'nium and 
An'tioch. 22 There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and 
encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, "It is through many 
persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." 23 And after they had
appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they 
entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe. 24 Then they 
passed through Pisid'ia and came to Pamphyl'ia. 25 When they had spoken the 
word in Per'ga, they went down to Attali'a. 26 From there they sailed back 
to An'tioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work 
that they had completed. 27 When they arrived, they called the church 
together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened 
a door of faith for the Gentiles.


Acts 14: 8 - 18 (Can. BAS)

Acts 14:8 (NRSV) In Lys'tra there was a man sitting who could not use his 
feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. 9 He 
listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and 
seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said in a loud voice, "Stand 
upright on your feet." And the man sprang up and began to walk. 11 When the 
crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycao'nian language, "The 
gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Bar'nabas they called Zeus, and 
Paul they called Her'mes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of 
Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to 
the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. 14 When the apostles 
Bar'nabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into 
the crowd, shouting, 15 "Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals 
just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these 
worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and 
the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the 
nations to follow their own ways; 17 yet he has not left himself without a 
witness in doing good--giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, 
and filling you with food and your hearts with joy." 18 Even with these 
words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.


PSALM 148 (RCL)

Psal 148:1 (NRSV) Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!


Psalm 145: 8 - 13, R. v. 1 (Roman Catholic)
Psalm 145: 14 - 21 (Can. BAS)

Psal 145:1 (NRSV) I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Note: verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above.


SECOND READING: Revelation 21: 1 - 6 (RCL, Can. BAS)
                                      Revelation 21: 1 - 5a (Roman Catholic)

Reve 21:1 (NRSV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first 
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I 
saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from 
the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all 
things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and 
true." 6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the 
beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the 
spring of the water of life.


GOSPEL: John 13: 31 - 35 (RCL, Can. BAS)
                  John 13: 31 - 33a, 34 - 35 (Roman Catholic)

John 13:31 (NRSV) When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has 
been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been 
glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him 
at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will 
look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am 
going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one 
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By 
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one 
another."



Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu




From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 28 16:34:44 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:34:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18
Message-ID: <8CCB5295EF2F7E9-388-10D5@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>



Dr. Jan Love is the dean and professor of Christianity and World Politics for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Encountering Other Religions
Acts 11:1-18
5th Sunday of Easter - Year C
May 02, 2010
http://day1.org/1940-encountering_other_religions


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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 28 16:49:26 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:49:26 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18
In-Reply-To: 117301
References: 117301
Message-ID: <8CCB52B6C55F040-388-10E4@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Many thanks, Ann!
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>
Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 4:45 pm
Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18


http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/world_religions/separate_truths_religions_are.html
another article on other faiths.

n Apr 28, 2010, at 1:34 PM, Joe Parrish wrote:

r. Jan Love is the dean and professor of Christianity and World  
olitics for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in  
tlanta, GA.
ncountering Other Religions Acts 11:1-18 5th Sunday of Easter - Year  
 May 02, 2010http://day1.org/1940-encountering_other_religions
______________________________________________
ropertalk mailing list
ropertalk at stsams.org
ttp://mail.stsams.org/mailman/listinfo/propertalk_stsams.org



he Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Wed Apr 28 17:26:34 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:26:34 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 5 Easter c rcl
Message-ID: <576617222.1272489995251.JavaMail.root@mp10>

This may be revised and even take another direrction before Sunday. But here's what I have set down so far for the coming weekend.

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	 THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER C RCL
ACTS 11:1-18	                  2nd MAY, 2010
REVELATION 21:1-6	                  PSALM 148
JOHN 13:31-35

	What would you change ? if you could? I mean, anything is fair game ? nothing is off the table. What would you do? Would you try to do whatever you could, from your perspective, to make sure that relationships with others are richer and more fulfilling? Would you make a point of calling the relative with whom you may feel at odds right now? Or the neighbour across the street with the annoying habit that wakes you up in the middle of the night? Or the City official who never seems to understand that what you say and think is important?
	What about the things around and in the congregation here. I won?t even suggest anything for fear of bringing up something of which you haven?t thought, in case it adds one more bone of contention! However, if we?re like every other congregation on earth, there are already things that at least make us sigh, if not squirmy.
	What happens when we think of these things? What happens when we mention these things ? to our family member or friend? to the editor of the Gazette-Herald? to the mayor and city council? What about the Bishop? We DO have a Bishop now, in case you hadn?t heard. Bishop Michael will be here in Albany with us on Tuesday 11th from 11 till 2 pm. Are you planning on coming? What might you and say to him ? about this congregation, and city, and Diocese?
	Oh, just one thing ? it HAS to be tied in, somehow, to the Gospel ? how we understand it, how it troubles us, how it encourages us and reassures us, how it enthuses us.
	That should really be one of those ?no-brainers?. Everything we do should be a development from what we hear Jesus saying in the Gospel, and what the early Christian leaders wrote and said to the first congregations. Everything ? from how we interact with the person from whom we?re buying our food to the person who?s just interrupted our dinner to ask us for a contribution to some social or political cause.
	NOT thinking about this just won?t do. We don?t ever have to agree, but we ALWAYS have to respect the other individual as a child of God, no matter how misguided or crazy we may feel that she or he is.
	Is this easy? Is it second nature to us? I can?t speak for you, but I know that no matter how long I may have felt I?ve made a commitment to live as Jesus? friend and follower, no matter how long or how many congregations I?ve been a part of, no matter how many times I?ve read or heard the Gospel, never mind the rest of the Bible, it?s STILL not second nature. It?s STILL not an easy way to live. So I have to be on my guard, constantly. In act, usually, just when I think I have everything down pat, when I think I know where God is trying to lead me, I discover that I?m off base.
	Does this make me nervous, though? Does this mean that I?m a second-, or a third-, or a fiftieth-rate Christian? No, not at all. It simply means that I?m the same track as the disciples. It means that I have to learn to be open every day of my life ? open to discovering that just when I thought I?d got some clue as to what God sounds like and how God directs me, I discover that God has many more voices, God has many more situations which I?m supposed to address. And this holds true even when I DO accept what last week?s Gospel asserted was Jesus? assurance that His sheep recognize his voice.
	This doesn?t ? or usually doesn?t ? make me nervous, though. Jesus as given us the assurance that when He or God speak we WILL be able to understand ? if we make the effort, if we?re open to the fact that things keep changing in life. This is true in terms of the people we meet walking down the same streets at the same time of day as it is of the land forms of the earth which are constantly moving, and erupting, and swaying, and settling.  All that Jesus asks is that we move with Him; that we listen for Him; that we be willing to hang loose every now and again.
	That?s why Jesus spoke to the disciples as He did on that night on which He?d gathered folk together to celebrate the remembrance of God?s protection and leadership. He reminded them of all that God had meant to their ancestors, all the ways in which God had been there for them. He talked about the way in which the community of faith was being formed, and then He interjected that He had something new, something radical to bring to their ways of living.
	It wasn?t enough that He simply might reinforce everything they?d heard up to that point in time. He said that that had to take a new direction ? they had to live as if utterly consumed by love.
	Thank back to the time when you recognized that there was some one person who was ? and, I hope, remains ? incredibly special to you. Think of the moment when that first dawned on you. Think about how you felt when you became caught up in that relationship of love, and commitment, and dedication. Try to recapture that moment.
	I wonder if you can. For some, it may be possible to enter that special place again and again. For many of us, though, what we have is the memory of how elated we felt, how we discovered that we were focussed on the sharing of life and desires with that one person. This doesn?t mean that we love the person any less. It doesn?t mean that the commitment is shallower or weaker. Often it?s the opposite. There?s an added depth to it because we?ve shared life with that person for a number of years and have grown emotionally and spiritually with that person as we?ve gone through both joy and struggle together.
	THAT?S how Jesus wanted the disciples to feel at that moment. At that particular instant, He wanted each one of them to experience the incredible attention they were being given by Him, and the seemingly simple command that each should wash others? feet, should show complete devotion to others, without exception.
	On the face of it, it seems relatively simple. ?Do this in remembrance of me.? Jesus said that, more than once. We obey, we remember Him as we feed from His Body and His Blood at the altar, of course. But DO we remember that just before He took the bread, and passed the cup, He took off his robe, he took up a towel, and a basin and a jug of water, and He took their tired feet in His hands, and He said ? BEFORE the Bread and Wine ? He said, ?Do this in remembrance of Me.? The verses we heard this morning are a part of the whole description of Jesus? conversation with His followers, a conversation that began around the table just before Passover.
	There?s no way of knowing with how many people Jesus celebrated that ancient rite in that room. Our minds tend to jump to the number twelve, and the twelve were, undoubtedly, there. But chances are there were at least several more than that. So how many feet DID Jesus wash? What DID He say we had to do? How many feet do WE have to wash? And how often do WE have to do it?
	I can speak for myself ? you have to speak for yourselves ? too often I?ve tried to convince myself that I?ve done enough ? enough sweaty feet, enough confused minds, enough whining or sad voices, enough ? enough changes asked of me. ?When, God, is enough enough? Isn?t it enough to stick to this congregation, to this Diocese, to this denomination, to this ? God, why is it NEVER enough? Why should love, and respect, and compassion, and all forms of caring ? why should they never end. ISN?T it enough that we keep our resources for those whom we know to be going through difficult times right here??
	But then, just when we?re tired, when we feel that we?re doing our best with perhaps somewhat limited resources, God speaks to us in some sort of a way and says, kindly yet forcefully, ?Look at what ELSE there is. Look at the resources you?ve never considered. Look at the people whom you haven?t asked to help tell the story of the Gospel. Look at the people whom you?ve never asked if THEY needed help.
	To use the movie title, the vocation to which every one of us is called is ?The Neverending Story?. It doesn?t stop when we feel that we?ve exhausted ourselves, and our talents and resources. It simply changes gears. It may involve different people, folk of whom we may seldom have given a second thought because they always seem indifferent to us and to the Love of Jesus. It may involve different situations and circumstances, when we come up against what we feel are terminal road blocks in our ministry. It may involve people or situations which annoy and frighten us because they represent views or approaches which are radically different from our own. Heaven forbid, it may involve things of which we?ve never thought before!
	However, the sheet of God?s bounty is immeasurably immense. As that familiar hymn puts it, ?EACH little flower that opens, EACH tiny bird that sings ? the Lord God made them ALL.?
	No matter how many feet we may have washed already, how many hands held up till now, how many times we?ve simply sat in silence with someone who?s scared or grieving ? no matter what we?ve done, God says, ?There are yet more to whom I send you. There are opportunities of which you?ve not yet dreamed. And there are resources available for you which WILL be there WHEN you need them.?
	It?s a matter of trust, and of whom we trust. If we thought that the foot at which we knelt was going to kick us in the face, would we wash it? If we thought that the hand to which we reach out in compassion is going to slap us, do we still hold it? If we thought that the mind which we try to comfort would produce all sorts of threats of endangerment, will we sit there?
	What WOULD Jesus do? What WOULD Peter do? What ARE we to do?
	Change gears for a moment. A mother hears that her child has been arrested by an occupying-force police, and is being held incommunicado. She knows that the authorities have a track record of brutality. She knows that she seems powerless. What does she do? Does she stop loving? Does she try to gather friends and neighbours to effect the release of her child? Does she, even if no one else will move, does she go by herself and put herself in jeopardy, as well as the child? Does it tear her in pieces to rationalise and say, ?I have other children. I can?t jeopardize them. If the one dies, perhaps the others will live.?? Does a mother say that? Or does a mother say, ?THAT is my child. I MUST do whatever it takes to help?
	What did Mary do? What do her daughters and her sons do today?
What do women ? and men ? do today when their children are picked up as they come home from school ? all over the world ? and are abused, or tortured, or even killed? What do WE do when our neighbours are not protected from indignity and danger? What do WE do when they need above all else to know that God loves them?
	It seems clear to me that I have to face some tension in my life. While there is certainty of God?s love for me and of me, there is at the same time UNcertainty about where that love may take me. I simply have to take on trust, not that GOD?S mind changes, but that my perception of God?s mind, and of how God?s mind impacts my life and vocation, is and MUST ALWAYS be changing.
	I don?t know whom I shall meet tomorrow, never mind this afternoon. However, I CAN be sure that there WILL be feet to be washed by me. And I can be sure that those feet may belong to people with whom I never imagined I?d have contact. AND I can be sure that my goal will be to bring comfort and acceptance to whomever has these feet. But I can also be sure that the means to care for the feet of the world will be there for me, if I can only set aside my prejudices, and my fears, and my desire to stick only to what I know right now.
	If I ? if YOU ? can take this chance for Jesus, and never try to confine where, and why, and how, and through whom God may minister, then ?all will know that (we) are (Jesus?) disciples?. And all will see who Jesus is, and what He does. This is the promise of Jesus.
--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:20:58 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:20:58 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  May 2 (Easter 5C) John 13:31-35
Message-ID: <A4FC4B4B015947D8BE5285E41F0CFEF1@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for May 2 (Easter 5C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 13:31-35, where Jesus says, "I give you a new 
commandment, that you love one another."


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  If preaching is not your main business, you have no 
business preaching.  (Zan Holmes, quoting Black Elders)


TITLE:  The Sign that You Are a Christian


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Christ calls us to love one another as he has loved 
us so that the world might experience Christ's love through us.


SCRIPTURE:  John 13:31-35


<>

SERMON QUOTES:

In his book, Why Not the Best? Jimmy Carter tells about sitting in a pew in 
his Plains, Georgia Baptist church.  He says that he can't remember a word 
of the sermon that morning, but he couldn't quit thinking about the title of 
the sermon, which was "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would 
there be enough evidence to convict you?"

That's a pretty long sermon title, isn't, but it's the kind of provocative 
statement that comes back at odd hours to haunt you.  "If you were arrested 
for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

That question caused Jimmy Carter to take stock.  There was a good deal of 
evidence to prove that he was a Christian.  He was a member of the largest 
church in town.  He was a deacon in the church and taught Sunday school.  He 
talked openly about his faith, and even wrote about it.  But then he 
concluded:

"I finally decided that if arrested
and charged with being a committed follower of God,
I could probably talk my way out of it!"

<>
A few years ago, I read a story that illustrates how this works.  Albert 
DiBartolomeo was a report for the Philadelphia Inquirer.  He had gone to a 
Catholic school as a child, and many years later wrote an article in which 
he talked about one of the nuns there.  He said that her nickname was 
Bulldog -- and he described her as a "seraphic Frankenstein monster."  Wow! 
That's tough talk!  Mean talk!  Angry talk!

After the article hit the streets, DiBartolomeo received a phone call from a 
nun -- Sister Maria.  You can probably imagine how that conversation went --  
an angry nun shouting at DiBartolomeo and demanding a public apology.

But that isn't how the conversation went at all.  Sister Maria did say, 
"You've done a big disservice to sisters," but she said it in a kindly 
voice.  There was no shouting -- no recriminations -- no demands for 
retractions -- just a simple statement of fact, "You've done a big 
disservice to sisters," spoken in a soft and kindly voice.

DiBartolomeo felt a bit guilty when they finished their conversation and he 
hung up his phone -- but he assumed that was the end of it.  But it wasn't 
the end of it at all.  Sister Maria began to send him notes.  When his 
stepfather became ill, she sent a note assuring him that he was in her 
prayers.  When his stepfather died, she sent a pamphlet entitled, "Dealing 
with Grief."

DiBartolomeo was grieving.  He was heartbroken at his stepfather's death. 
Finally, he reached out to the one person who had shown real concern.  He 
wrote a long letter to Sister Maria, pouring out his heart.  She responded 
compassionately, telling of her own struggles and inviting him to visit, 
saying, "It would be so good to meet and really cement this friendship that 
I think was a gift from God" She sent him a rosary that she had used in the 
hospital while recovering from a heart condition.

Finally, after more than a year, DiBartolomeo met with Sister Maria at a 
Catholic retreat house on the Jersey shore.  As they sat by the sea, he gave 
her a present -- a beautiful handmade wooden box filled with postage stamps. 
Bit he said, "What Sister Maria gave me that day was a moment of insight, a 
gift far greater than the wooden box I had brought her."

Even after Sister Maria had to go to a nursing home, they continued to 
correspond.  DiBartolomeo said, "Like sunshine and salt breezes on a 
summer's day by the sea, her words still nourish my soul."

Sister Maria obeyed Christ's commandment.  "Love one another," Christ had 
said.  "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."  Sister 
Maria did that, and Albert DiBartolomeo caught a glimpse of Christ.  No 
preaching or logic could have drawn him to that religious retreat center, 
but the kind words of an elderly woman broke through the locked door of his 
heart.

<>

There's a lovely song that expresses what I am talking about.  It says, "We 
are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord" -- and it prays that "all 
unity may one day be restored.  It talks about how we work together "side by 
side" -- and how we" guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride." 
Then the chorus concludes by saying:

"And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."

<>

FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm

Scroll down to John 13.  There are several sermons on this text posted 
there.


TRUE STORY:

See the story of Albert DiBartolomeo and Sister Maria in the sermon above.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

Lucy came up behind Schroeder as Schroeder was playing the piano.  She said, 
"Guess What?  I am going to hold my breath and turn blue in the face if you 
don't tell me you love me."

Schroeder quit playing the piano for a moment, and turned to face Lucy. 
"Withdrawal in children is quite a phenomenon," he said.  "It can have a 
metabolic basis.  What you really need is forty milligrams of Vitamin B6. 
Eat plenty of bananas and avocados and beef liver."

Lucy says, "I asked for love, and I got beef liver."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Because we cannot see Christ,
we cannot express our love to him;
but our neighbors we can always see,
and we can do to them what, if we saw him,
we would like to do to Christ..
Here in the slums, in the broken body, in the children,
we see Christ and we touch him.

Mother Teresa

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Love cures.
It cures not only those who receive it,
but it cures those who give it.

Dr. Karl Menninger, the eminent psychiatrist

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The reigning cliche of the day
is that in order to love others
one must first learn to love oneself.
This formulation -- love thyself, then thy neighbor --
is a license for unremitting self-indulgence,
because the quest for self-love is endless.
By the time you have finally learned to love yourself,
you'll find yourself playing golf at Leisure World.

Charles Krauthammer

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

We can risk loving as passionately as God loves.
For we know that the love God makes possible
is no scarce resource that must be hoarded
so that it can be distributed in dribs and drabs --
a little here and a little there.
Love is not a rare commodity;
rather, the more we love with the intense particularity of God's love,
the more we discover that we have the capacity to love.

Stanley Hauerwas

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


<>
HYMN STORY:  Blest Be the Tie That Binds

John Fawcett was born into a poor family in Yorkshire, England, and was 
orphaned at age 12.  To survive, he accepted a lengthy apprenticeship to a 
tailor.  Then, while still in his teens, he heard the great George Whitfield 
preach and became a Christian.

While serving his apprenticeship, Fawcett became active in a Baptist church 
and was often asked to speak.  Then at age 25 (and newly married) he was 
invited to serve as pastor of a small church at Wainsgate.  The poor people 
of that little village were able to pay very little, and much of Fawcett's 
pay came as potatoes and other produce.  Once his wife, Mary, began having 
children, they found it difficult to survive.

Then Fawcett learned that the pastor of a large Baptist church in London was 
retiring, and he let the church know that he would be interested in serving 
them.  They called him to be their pastor at a much larger salary, so John 
and Mary packed their household and prepared to move.  But then, as the 
story is told, Mary told John that she didn't think that she could leave 
these people whom they had both learned to love -- and John allowed that he 
shared her sentiment -- so the two of them unpacked the wagon and let the 
London church know that they wouldn't be coming.

Then Fawcett, who wrote a number of hymns during his lifetime, wrote this 
hymn, "Blest Be the Tie," to convey his sentiments and those of his wife to 
the poor people among whom they had chosen to live.  Fawcett served that 
little church for the rest of his life -- 54 years in all.


NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:22:34 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:22:34 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  May 2 (Easter 5C) Acts 11:1-18
Message-ID: <EE33FB27A9CB48AF9A9E3FF5AAABF754@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for May 2 (Easter 
5C) for Acts 11:1-18.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.

<>
ACTS 11:1-18 (Easter 5C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


www.lectionary.org


www.lectionary.org

<>
TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:25:16 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:25:16 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2 - Part 1
Message-ID: <1141CA93BF8A4E2696432242EE0AC27E@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 5:

     John 13:31-35 ? ?Love One Another? 
     Revelation 21:1-6 ? ?Time to Get Wet? by Leonard Sweet

John 13, the sermon titled ?Love One Another" 

A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, she stepped back, lifted her baton and with a great flourish brought it down. Lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence.

Sometimes we in the church are like that junior high band, unsure of our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to trumpet forth the music of faith that God desires of us. And that's because we have trouble deciding what's most important.

An incident a couple of summers ago in San Antonio, Texas, illustrates what I'm talking about. It was a hot, 99-degree August day when a ten-month-old baby girl was accidentally locked in a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and the aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. The infant was bawling at the top of its lungs, beginning to turn purple and foam from the mouth, a combination of anxiety and the intense heat inside the car.

It had quickly become a life-and-death situation when Fred Arriola, a tow-truck driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer from his truck and smashed the back side window of the car to free the baby. Was he heralded a hero? Not so. According to an article in the San Antonio Tribune, he is quoted as saying, "The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, 'What's more important -- a baby or a window?' "

Most of the choices we make in life are not between what is trivial and what is important. Rather, most of the choices we make are usually between what is important and what is more important. This morning's Gospel reading is so timely for us because it shows us what is most important.

1. The Greatest Blessing We Have is God?s Love
2. Our Love in Action
3. May God Help Us Love

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

_______________________ 

Revelation 21, the sermon titled "Time to Get Wet"]

The governor of Washington state just signed a new series of "sin taxes" into effect. The items being taxed include the usual suspects: tobacco products and beer (though NOT beer produced by micro-breweries). But there is a new sinful category: you can now add "snack food" to the roster of iniquity. 

But the most anticipated money raiser for the state is the "sin tax" on -- are you ready for this? -- bottled water. From now on if you want to indulge in guzzling a bottle of H2O, it?s going to cost you. Just over the state line in Idaho, eager shop owners are creating water bottle pyramids next to their cartons of Camels, anticipating a stream of thirsty Washingtonians.

Every savvy entrepreneur knows that water is a sure fire way to attract people. Is there any mall in America that doesn?t have a fountain or a pool full of pennies in it somewhere? Hotel lobbies, office complexes, libraries, county courthouses, all spurt water, inviting people in and making them feel welcome. Can you find a doctor's office nowadays without an aquarium? 

Human beings crave closeness to water. That's why most of the earth's population hugs the shorelines of its continents. Maybe it is because we are made almost entirely of water. Maybe it is because we started our life in water, living in it and breathing it for our first nine months of life. Maybe it is because almost none of us get the recommended daily 60-70 ounces of water we need to be optimally hydrated, so that whether we recognize it or not, our bodies are constantly thirsty.

Water is life. Disney's Earth Day release of "Oceans," a 103 minute special breathtaking in every way, reminded us that we live on the only blue planet in the galaxy and it is that azure which animates us. Is it any wonder then that, in this week?s text from Revelation when John receives his vision of "the new heaven and the new earth," the first thing God does is to offer water to all who are thirsty? And because this is the beginning of a new creation, a new living relationship, whole and healed, between all the peoples of the world and God, this can only be called "living water."

Living water comes freely and fully from God?

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

___________________________

Loving as Jesus Loved Us

Some years back neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote a fascinating vignette of an intriguing neurological difficulty. As some of you know, Tourette's Syndrome is a bizarre mental disorder that causes victims to have any number of physical and verbal tics. Some Tourettic people have constant facial twitches, others find themselves uncontrollably uttering verbal whoops, beeps, and sometimes also raunchy swear words. One man with Tourette's whom Dr. Sacks knew was given to deep, lunging bows toward the ground, a few verbal shouts, and also an obsessive-compulsive type adjusting and readjusting of his glasses. The kicker is that the man is a skilled surgeon! Somehow and for some unknown reason, when he dons mask and gown and enters the operating room, all of his tics disappear for the duration of the surgery. He loses himself in that role and he does so totally. When the surgery is finished, he returns to his odd quirks of glasses adjustment, shouts, and bows.
 
Sacks did not make any spiritual comments on this, of course, yet I find this doctor a very intriguing example of what it can mean to "lose yourself" in a role. There really can be a great transformation of your life when you are focused on just one thing--focused to the point that bad traits disappear even as the performing of normal tasks becomes all the more meaningful and remarkable.
 
Something like that is our Christian goal as we travel with Jesus. Our desire is to love one another?to love the whole world finally, I suppose?as Jesus loved us. To do that, we need an infusion of a kind of love that does not arise naturally from the context of the world as we know it. So as we lose ourselves in Jesus and in being his disciples, we find even our ordinary day-to-day activities infused with deep meaning as a love from another place fills our hearts. Because if sacredness happens to us at all, it happens among the pots and pans of the everyday and not just on Sundays when we feel particularly jolted by worship or on Tuesdays when we volunteer for some service project (vital though those things are, too). If we are to love as Jesus loved us, this becomes for us a daily reality that is possible if and only when the love of Christ fills us to the brim.
 
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
________________________________________

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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:25:41 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:25:41 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2 - Part 2
Message-ID: <8354616A821143E4AF253D608E52171F@YOUR264F1833C5>

How Do You Know My Name?

I've always loved the little story about the boy who's trying to learn the Lord's Prayer, and one night as he knelt by his bed, these words came out:
 
Our Father, who are in heaven 
How do you know my name?
 
Such individualized affection will always remain a mystery to us mortals, and at the same time, let us never forget we're made in the image of that extraordinary love. And doing what Jesus did in loving each one he ever met as if there were none other in all the world is at least an ideal toward which we can reach even if it always remains utterly beyond our complete grasp.
 
John R. Claypool, Loving as Jesus Loved
___________________________________________


Closer to Christ

God never intended God's boundaries to be less than the whole world. Therefore, none of us have a monopoly on God's love. We may feel like we do when we look down on someone different than we are, or when we snicker at someone's misfortune, or when we say, "Thank you, Lord, that I am not like them," or when we say, "It's too bad they do not believe as we believe." But woe be unto us whenever we reek of such arrogance! For when we try to restrict God's grace to ourselves, we cut ourselves off from that very grace. Why? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have said it best, "It is impossible to love Christ without loving others, and it is impossible to love others without moving nearer to Christ."

John K. Bergland, Love without Limits, One Heaven of a Party: Year C Sermons on the First Readings, CSS Publishing Company
_______________________

A Sympathetic Gesture

Edgar Guest, a renowned American poet at the turn of the century, tells of a neighbor by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would pass his neighbor and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But it was a mere casual relationship.

Then came that tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first born child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to go to the drug store run by his neighbor, and when he entered Jim Potter motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need for me to do anything, you can count on me."

Many years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books. This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way--a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget it--never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset."

[Suggestion for follow-up on this story]
I have wondered how it is that I want people to remember me when I come to end of life's journey.

But I really don't care if someone remembers me for that. I really don't.

I do hope that people are able to say of me at the end of my life's pilgrimage: When we were sick he came to us; when we needed help, he was there; when I was down, he lifted me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered for simple acts of kindness. For if that is the case, then my life would have been worth it and I might have come close to fulfilling the greatest commandment in life: Love God and love your neighbor.

Brett Blair and Staff, www.eSermons.com 

___________________
  
Didn't Look Like an Elephant

There is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking.

A neighbor asked, "How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?"

The man answered, "I just chipped away everything that didn't look like an elephant!"

If you have anything in your life right now that doesn't look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that doesn't look like compassion or mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have hatred or prejudice or vengeance or envy in your heart, for God's sake, and the for the other person's sake, and for your sake, get rid of it! Let God chip everything out of your life that doesn't look like tenderheartedness.

James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Nashville: Dimensions, 1994, p. 32.

___________________

The Law of the Spirit

We need our laws. Laws tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. To be sure, society will fail if its people reject law. But law can only go so far. It can dictate to us what we can and cannot do but it is powerless to dictate to us what we think and what we feel. When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you," I want you to hear those words within the context of community law. When the disciples, or the Jews, talked about Commandments they were discussing laws for acceptable behavior in society. Now, I want you to hear how utterly strange these words really are, "A new COMMANDMENT I give to you: LOVE one another."

Did you catch it? A law telling us, no, commanding us to love. Rev. Richard Daggett says, this law invades the very depths of our beings; this law presumes to have jurisdiction over the way we think, the way we feel, over our opinions, our prejudices and biases, our concepts of superiority, over the way every fiber of our being, both inward and outward, responds to the world around us.

And then Richard says this: This law clarifies to us that while religion and law may exercise lordship over our actions, over the way we live, Christ wants lordship over everything we are. It is the law of the spirit and not simply the law of the letter.

And to whom does this new law apply? My brothers and sisters in Christ. It is to us.

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Richard Dagget statements adapted from Minister's Manual, 1995, p. 188.

___________________

A Lie

Now I want to tell you a lie. Hate is an emotion we can't help. Hate is a feeling we cannot overcome. If we hate someone, it is because we just can't help ourselves. We're human. We have no choice but to hate. That is a lie. Unfortunately, it is a lie many people believe. They believe this lie in order to excuse their hatred. After all, if we can't help but hate, if hate is a feeling we simply cannot help, then hatred is never our fault, is it? 

But we can help it. Hatred is a choice. We choose to hate, just as we choose to love. Oh, I know, there are people out there who believe love isn't a choice, that love is primarily an emotion, a feeling, a stirring in the loins. These are the same people who stay married for six months, then divorce. These are the people who love the idea of love but seem unable to stay in it. Love is a matter of the will - something we decide to do. Love is a choice.

Philip Gulley, For Everything a Season, Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, p. 204

___________________


We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a hard-boiled egg.

Traditional

___________________

A Great Inheritance

One of the great preachers of our time is Dr. Fred Craddock. Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." He didn't want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"Oklahoma," Craddock answered.

"Splendid state, I hear, although I've never been there," the stranger said."What do you do for a living?"

"I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly and thought to himself, "Oh, no! Here comes another preacher story! It seems like everybody has at least one."

The man stuck out his hand. "I'm Ben Hooper," he said.

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 5 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:12:38 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:12:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2
Message-ID: <EFE64AD2D77E450DB590C8B6027779E9@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 5:

     John 13:31-35 ? ?Love One Another? 
     Revelation 21:1-6 ? ?Time to Get Wet? by Leonard Sweet

John 13, the sermon titled ?Love One Another" 

A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, she stepped back, lifted her baton and with a great flourish brought it down. Lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence.

Sometimes we in the church are like that junior high band, unsure of our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to trumpet forth the music of faith that God desires of us. And that's because we have trouble deciding what's most important.

An incident a couple of summers ago in San Antonio, Texas, illustrates what I'm talking about. It was a hot, 99-degree August day when a ten-month-old baby girl was accidentally locked in a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and the aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. The infant was bawling at the top of its lungs, beginning to turn purple and foam from the mouth, a combination of anxiety and the intense heat inside the car.

It had quickly become a life-and-death situation when Fred Arriola, a tow-truck driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer from his truck and smashed the back side window of the car to free the baby. Was he heralded a hero? Not so. According to an article in the San Antonio Tribune, he is quoted as saying, "The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, 'What's more important -- a baby or a window?' "

Most of the choices we make in life are not between what is trivial and what is important. Rather, most of the choices we make are usually between what is important and what is more important. This morning's Gospel reading is so timely for us because it shows us what is most important.

1. The Greatest Blessing We Have is God?s Love
2. Our Love in Action
3. May God Help Us Love

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

_______________________ 

Revelation 21, the sermon titled "Time to Get Wet"]

The governor of Washington state just signed a new series of "sin taxes" into effect. The items being taxed include the usual suspects: tobacco products and beer (though NOT beer produced by micro-breweries). But there is a new sinful category: you can now add "snack food" to the roster of iniquity. 

But the most anticipated money raiser for the state is the "sin tax" on -- are you ready for this? -- bottled water. From now on if you want to indulge in guzzling a bottle of H2O, it?s going to cost you. Just over the state line in Idaho, eager shop owners are creating water bottle pyramids next to their cartons of Camels, anticipating a stream of thirsty Washingtonians.

Every savvy entrepreneur knows that water is a sure fire way to attract people. Is there any mall in America that doesn?t have a fountain or a pool full of pennies in it somewhere? Hotel lobbies, office complexes, libraries, county courthouses, all spurt water, inviting people in and making them feel welcome. Can you find a doctor's office nowadays without an aquarium? 

Human beings crave closeness to water. That's why most of the earth's population hugs the shorelines of its continents. Maybe it is because we are made almost entirely of water. Maybe it is because we started our life in water, living in it and breathing it for our first nine months of life. Maybe it is because almost none of us get the recommended daily 60-70 ounces of water we need to be optimally hydrated, so that whether we recognize it or not, our bodies are constantly thirsty.

Water is life. Disney's Earth Day release of "Oceans," a 103 minute special breathtaking in every way, reminded us that we live on the only blue planet in the galaxy and it is that azure which animates us. Is it any wonder then that, in this week?s text from Revelation when John receives his vision of "the new heaven and the new earth," the first thing God does is to offer water to all who are thirsty? And because this is the beginning of a new creation, a new living relationship, whole and healed, between all the peoples of the world and God, this can only be called "living water."

Living water comes freely and fully from God?

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

___________________________

Loving as Jesus Loved Us

Some years back neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote a fascinating vignette of an intriguing neurological difficulty. As some of you know, Tourette's Syndrome is a bizarre mental disorder that causes victims to have any number of physical and verbal tics. Some Tourettic people have constant facial twitches, others find themselves uncontrollably uttering verbal whoops, beeps, and sometimes also raunchy swear words. One man with Tourette's whom Dr. Sacks knew was given to deep, lunging bows toward the ground, a few verbal shouts, and also an obsessive-compulsive type adjusting and readjusting of his glasses. The kicker is that the man is a skilled surgeon! Somehow and for some unknown reason, when he dons mask and gown and enters the operating room, all of his tics disappear for the duration of the surgery. He loses himself in that role and he does so totally. When the surgery is finished, he returns to his odd quirks of glasses adjustment, shouts, and bows.
 
Sacks did not make any spiritual comments on this, of course, yet I find this doctor a very intriguing example of what it can mean to "lose yourself" in a role. There really can be a great transformation of your life when you are focused on just one thing--focused to the point that bad traits disappear even as the performing of normal tasks becomes all the more meaningful and remarkable.
 
Something like that is our Christian goal as we travel with Jesus. Our desire is to love one another?to love the whole world finally, I suppose?as Jesus loved us. To do that, we need an infusion of a kind of love that does not arise naturally from the context of the world as we know it. So as we lose ourselves in Jesus and in being his disciples, we find even our ordinary day-to-day activities infused with deep meaning as a love from another place fills our hearts. Because if sacredness happens to us at all, it happens among the pots and pans of the everyday and not just on Sundays when we feel particularly jolted by worship or on Tuesdays when we volunteer for some service project (vital though those things are, too). If we are to love as Jesus loved us, this becomes for us a daily reality that is possible if and only when the love of Christ fills us to the brim.
 
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
________________________________________


How Do You Know My Name?

I've always loved the little story about the boy who's trying to learn the Lord's Prayer, and one night as he knelt by his bed, these words came out:
 
Our Father, who are in heaven 
How do you know my name?
 
Such individualized affection will always remain a mystery to us mortals, and at the same time, let us never forget we're made in the image of that extraordinary love. And doing what Jesus did in loving each one he ever met as if there were none other in all the world is at least an ideal toward which we can reach even if it always remains utterly beyond our complete grasp.
 
John R. Claypool, Loving as Jesus Loved
___________________________________________


Closer to Christ

God never intended God's boundaries to be less than the whole world. Therefore, none of us have a monopoly on God's love. We may feel like we do when we look down on someone different than we are, or when we snicker at someone's misfortune, or when we say, "Thank you, Lord, that I am not like them," or when we say, "It's too bad they do not believe as we believe." But woe be unto us whenever we reek of such arrogance! For when we try to restrict God's grace to ourselves, we cut ourselves off from that very grace. Why? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have said it best, "It is impossible to love Christ without loving others, and it is impossible to love others without moving nearer to Christ."

John K. Bergland, Love without Limits, One Heaven of a Party: Year C Sermons on the First Readings, CSS Publishing Company
_______________________

A Sympathetic Gesture

Edgar Guest, a renowned American poet at the turn of the century, tells of a neighbor by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would pass his neighbor and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But it was a mere casual relationship.

Then came that tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first born child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to go to the drug store run by his neighbor, and when he entered Jim Potter motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need for me to do anything, you can count on me."

Many years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books. This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way--a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget it--never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset."

[Suggestion for follow-up on this story]
I have wondered how it is that I want people to remember me when I come to end of life's journey.

But I really don't care if someone remembers me for that. I really don't.

I do hope that people are able to say of me at the end of my life's pilgrimage: When we were sick he came to us; when we needed help, he was there; when I was down, he lifted me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered for simple acts of kindness. For if that is the case, then my life would have been worth it and I might have come close to fulfilling the greatest commandment in life: Love God and love your neighbor.

Brett Blair and Staff, www.eSermons.com 

___________________
  
Didn't Look Like an Elephant

There is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking.

A neighbor asked, "How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?"

The man answered, "I just chipped away everything that didn't look like an elephant!"

If you have anything in your life right now that doesn't look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that doesn't look like compassion or mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have hatred or prejudice or vengeance or envy in your heart, for God's sake, and the for the other person's sake, and for your sake, get rid of it! Let God chip everything out of your life that doesn't look like tenderheartedness.

James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Nashville: Dimensions, 1994, p. 32.

___________________

The Law of the Spirit

We need our laws. Laws tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. To be sure, society will fail if its people reject law. But law can only go so far. It can dictate to us what we can and cannot do but it is powerless to dictate to us what we think and what we feel. When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you," I want you to hear those words within the context of community law. When the disciples, or the Jews, talked about Commandments they were discussing laws for acceptable behavior in society. Now, I want you to hear how utterly strange these words really are, "A new COMMANDMENT I give to you: LOVE one another."

Did you catch it? A law telling us, no, commanding us to love. Rev. Richard Daggett says, this law invades the very depths of our beings; this law presumes to have jurisdiction over the way we think, the way we feel, over our opinions, our prejudices and biases, our concepts of superiority, over the way every fiber of our being, both inward and outward, responds to the world around us.

And then Richard says this: This law clarifies to us that while religion and law may exercise lordship over our actions, over the way we live, Christ wants lordship over everything we are. It is the law of the spirit and not simply the law of the letter.

And to whom does this new law apply? My brothers and sisters in Christ. It is to us.

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Richard Dagget statements adapted from Minister's Manual, 1995, p. 188.

___________________

A Lie

Now I want to tell you a lie. Hate is an emotion we can't help. Hate is a feeling we cannot overcome. If we hate someone, it is because we just can't help ourselves. We're human. We have no choice but to hate. That is a lie. Unfortunately, it is a lie many people believe. They believe this lie in order to excuse their hatred. After all, if we can't help but hate, if hate is a feeling we simply cannot help, then hatred is never our fault, is it? 

But we can help it. Hatred is a choice. We choose to hate, just as we choose to love. Oh, I know, there are people out there who believe love isn't a choice, that love is primarily an emotion, a feeling, a stirring in the loins. These are the same people who stay married for six months, then divorce. These are the people who love the idea of love but seem unable to stay in it. Love is a matter of the will - something we decide to do. Love is a choice.

Philip Gulley, For Everything a Season, Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, p. 204

___________________


We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a hard-boiled egg.

Traditional

___________________

A Great Inheritance

One of the great preachers of our time is Dr. Fred Craddock. Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn?t come over here." He didn?t want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"Oklahoma," Craddock answered.

"Splendid state, I hear, although I?ve never been there," the stranger said."What do you do for a living?"

"I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I?ve got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly and thought to himself, "Oh, no! Here comes another preacher story! It seems like everybody has at least one."

The man stuck out his hand. "I?m Ben Hooper," he said?

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 5 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 12:24:08 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:24:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for Mother's Day
In-Reply-To: 118140
References: 118140
Message-ID: <8CCB698B1C8E947-B30-18C8@angweb-usm005.sysops.aol.com>



Sermons for Mother?s Day: 
     John 14:23-29 ? ?Love and Obey? 
     Romans 16 ? ?Mother?s Day?
 
John 14 the sermon titled ?Love and Obey" 
 
Welcome on this Mother?s Day. Someone has made a list of nine things a Mother would never say. See if your Mom would ever say these things:
 
1. ?How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?? Anybody?
2. ?Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too.?
3. ?Just leave all the lights on . . . it makes the house look more cheery.?
4. ?Let me smell that shirt--Yeah, it?s good for another week.?
5. ?Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I?ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.?
6. ?Well, if Timmy?s mom says it?s OK, that?s good enough for me.? 
7. ?The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It?s not like I?m running a prison around here.?
8. ?I don?t have a tissue with me . . . just use your sleeve.?
9. ?Don?t bother wearing a jacket--the wind-chill is bound to improve.? 
 
Well, someone has to make sure we all survive childhood. And usually that task falls to Mom.
 
I can?t imagine a better lesson for Mother?s Day than one that begins like this: ?If anyone loves me, he will obey . . .? That is what Christ says to us in our text for the day. Jesus said to his disciples, ?If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . .? 
 
Obedience is important to our spiritual lives. However, obedience is also an important part of helping a family run smoothly.
 
A professor was giving a lecture on company slogans and was asking his students if they were familiar with them. ?Joe,? he asked, ?which company has the slogan ?Fly the Friendly Skies??? Joe answered with the correct airline. ?Brenda, can you tell me which company has the slogan ?Don?t Leave Home Without It??? Brenda answered quickly with the correct credit card company. ?Now John, tell me which company bears the slogan ?Just Do It??? ?That?s easy,? John answered, ?It?s my Mom.? The shoe company surely stole their motto from someone?s Mom: ?Just Do It??? Why? ?BECAUSE I SAID SO!?
 
Jesus said to his disciples, ?If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . .?
 
There is an undeniable link between love and obedience. We can threaten a child to be obedient. We can punish an act of willful defiance. But the only way that our children will internalize the values we want for them will be if they know they are connected to us by a bond of love that cannot be broken. So it is in our relationship with God?
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com.
 _______________________ 
 
Romans 16, the sermon titled "Mother?s Day" 
 
Sermon Opener - Mother's Day ? Romans 16
 
I must candidly confess that when I was in seminary the 16th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans didn?t do much for me. It struck me as being boring nothing more than a long presentation of people?s names, most of whom I could not pronounce; I usually skimmed over that part so I could get to what I considered to be the real Gospel. Over the years I have greatly changed my attitude about this particular chapter and I have discovered that there is much more to it than I had first imagined. For example, it is interesting to note that of the twenty-six people who Paul singles out for his personal greeting, six were women. Now that strikes me as being rather interesting, since Paul has frequently gotten a bum rap for being a male chauvinist. I think it also shows us the tremendous influence that women had in the early church. In the male oriented first century Palestine, it is tellin g that Paul could not describe the church without mentioning the significant role of women.
 
Verse 13 of chapter 16 is particularly interesting and it is one that scholars have struggled with over the centuries. Paul writes: "Give my greetings to Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." Now this statement could be taken two ways. It could mean that Paul had two distinct women in mind--the mother of Rufus and his own personal mother. Or, he could be saying: "I salute Rufus and his mother, who is like a mother to me." If that is what he meant, and most Biblical scholars agree that that is indeed what he meant, then it raises some interesting speculation. When and where did Paul meet Rufus? mother? Did she nurse him through some serious illness?  
 
Did she receive him into her home for an extended stay during his missionary journeys? How did this woman and Paul form such a close bond that he refers to her fondly as being like his mother? Mark tells us that Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried Jesus cross, had two sons: Alexander and Rufus. Was this the same Rufus to whom Paul was speaking? If that is true, his mother would be Simon of Syrene?s wife. No one knows for sure who this remarkable woman was who served as a mother figure for the great Paul. But it really makes no difference, because what he writes makes an excellent springboard for a Mother?s Day sermon.
 
Some people ridicule Mother?s Day as a lot of sentimental drivel. They say that it is nothing more than the creation of the greeting card companies and the florists. And, to be perfectly candid, there are many ministers who shun this day because, they say, it is not a religious holiday. Furthermore, they preach from the lectionary, which has an assigned scriptural reading each week, and therefore mother?s day is left out.
 
Well, of course, we must admit that there is sentiment to this day, but what is wrong with that? Seems to me that a little bit of sentiment is healthy.  True enough, there are some women in the Bible, such as Jezebel and the vindictive Herodias, who had John the Baptist beheaded, who tarnish the institution of motherhood. There are women today who abandon, abuse, and corrupt their children and who create a poor model, but I like to think that these are the exceptions. Most mothers do the right thing and deserve recognition. So this morning I would like to join Paul and salute all of the mothers who are with us.
 
1. First, mothers should be saluted for their tenacious love.
2. Secondly, mothers should be saluted for the tremendous impact they have.
3. Third, mothers should be saluted because where they are, that is where home is.
 
Click  http://www.sermons.com/signup or call 1-800-777-7731 to join.
 
___________________________
 
If They Are Going to Get You?
 
Author, speaker and sports enthusiast Pat Williams, in his book A Lifetime of Success, give one of the best examples I know of a mother?s love.
 
He tells of attending a very special Atlanta Braves? baseball home opener on April 8, 1974. It was a night game against the Dodgers and it was a complete sellout. Williams looked around to see that, seated immediately behind him was singer Pearl Bailey. Up at the plate: the immortal Henry Aaron. On the line: Babe Ruth?s record of 714 career home runs. Aaron had tied the record and tonight he was aiming to break it.
 
Understand that this was nearly 40 years ago. An African?American player was about to topple the great Babe Ruth--and a lot of people in the country didn?t like it. Aaron got a lot of mail that year--more than 930,000 letters in all, far more than any other person in the country. Most were fan letters--but about 100,000 of them were hate letters, some containing death threats. 
 
Williams says he was on the edge of his seat when Dodgers pitcher Al Downing hurled the ball toward the plate. Aaron swung and connected. The crack of his bat echoed through the stands. The ball was gone. Home run. Babe Ruth?s record was shattered. The ballpark went nuts.
 
?As Aaron rounded second base,? says Williams, ?a couple of teenagers--both white--jumped over the retaining wall and ran onto the field, chasing Aaron. For a moment, no one knew what they had in mind, but then it became clear: they were celebrating and cheering Aaron on. As Aaron crossed the plate, the dugout emptied as the Braves streamed onto the field to surround him, cheering and whooping it up. But amid all those ballplayers around Aaron was a short, sixty-eight?year?old black woman. She latched onto Aaron and wouldn?t let go of him.
 
?Henry Aaron turned and said to her, ?Mom! What are you doing here??
 
??Baby,? said the mother of the new home?run king, ?if they?re gonna get you,? (thinking of the death threats Aaron had received) ?they?ve gotta get me first!?? 
 
That is love only a mother could have for her child. ?If they?re gonna get you, they?ve gotta get me first!?
Pat Williams, A Lifetime of Success, (Grand Rapids. MI: Fleming H. Revell, 2000), pp. 109-110, adapted by King Duncan
___________________
The Most Important Job in the World
 
Dr. Tony Campolo is a well-known and highly-respected, inspirational speaker. Over the last several years, Tony Campolo has spent much of his time traveling around the world on speaking tours.
 
Meanwhile, his wife, Peggy, has chosen to stay home and give herself and all that she has to the "Bringing Up" of their two children, Bart and Lisa. On those rare occasions when Peggy does travel with Tony, she finds herself engaged in conversations with some of the most accomplished, impressive, influential, sophisticated people in the world. 
 
After one such trip, Peggy told Tony that sometimes as she visits with these powerful people? she finds herself feeling intimidated and sometimes even questioning her own self-worth. Tony said to her: "Well, honey, why don't you come up with something you could say when you meet people that will let them know that you strongly value what you do and you feel that it is dramatically, urgent and crucial and important.
 
Well, not long after that, Tony and Peggy Campolo were at a party? when a woman said to Peggy in a rather condescending tone, "Well, my dear, what do you do?" Tony Campolo heard his wife say:
 
"I am nurturing two Homo Sapiens into the dominant values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition in order that they might become instruments for the transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia God envisioned from the beginning of time." 
And the other woman said:
"O, my, I'm just a lawyer."
 
I like that story because it reminds us that there are a lot of important jobs in the world today but not one of them is more important than the job of being a mother. 
 
Tony Campolo adapted by James Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
 
___________________________________
 
What?s a Good Mother Like?
 
Judith Viorst once wrote an essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was ?What?s a good mother like??
 
Viorst reports that the children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. ?She has to,? said Ted, ?or she?ll faint from holding it in.? 
 
?But it?s best to remember,? said Randy, ?that when your mother starts to act real weird, you have to look scared and serious. Don?t giggle. When mommies are mad, they get madder if you giggle.?
 
?My mommy got so mad,? said Megan, ?that she yanked the plate off the table and all the mashed potatoes flew into the air.? ?And why,? Viorst asked, pretending she?d never heard of such shocking behavior, ?why would a mother do a thing like that?? 
?Well,? said Megan, ?she told my older brother, Mike, he?s 11 years old, to eat the potatoes on his plate and he said ?Later.? And then she told him again to eat the potatoes and Mike said ?Soon.? And then she told him he had better eat those potatoes right now and he said, ?In a minute.? And then she stood up and Mike finally took a bite and told her, ?How can I eat them? They?re cold!?? 
 
It?s not easy being a Mom. 
 
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com, adapting Judith Viorst, All in the Family
________________________
 
Job Description: Mother
 
I found this job description circulating on the Internet this past week. Anyone interested? [You may want/need to shorten this.] 
 
WANTED: Mom
 
JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
 
RESPONSIBILITIES: Must provide on-the-site training in basic life skills, such as nose blowing. Must have strong skills in negotiating, conflict resolution and crisis management. Ability to suture flesh wounds a plus. Must be able to think out of the box but not lose track of the box, because you most likely will need it for a school project. Must reconcile petty cash disbursements and be proficient in managing budgets and resources fairly, unless you want to hear, "He got more than me!" for the rest of your life. Also, must be able to drive motor vehicles safely under loud and adverse conditions while simultaneously practicing above-mentioned skills in conflict resolution. Must be able to choose your battles and stick to your guns. Must be able to withstand criticism, such as "You don't know anything." Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $ 5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name. Must have a diverse knowledge base, so as to answer questions such as "What makes the wind move?" on the fly. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
 
ADVANCEMENT/PROMOTION POSSIBILITIES: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
 
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
 
WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
 
BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
 
Every mother here this morning knows that mothering brings more joy and love and fulfillment than seem possible.
 
Adapted by Leonard Sweet 
_________________________________
 
Unconventional Mother?s Day Gifts
 
This Mother?s Day take a moment to think of all the mothers in the world who are in need. There are millions of women in the world living on less than a dollar a day. There are women in this country who are wondering how they are going to feed or diaper their children from day to day. There are children who need medical attention that their parents may not be able to afford. Anyone who has ever had to worry about such things can deeply sympathize. For those of us who have escaped such worries, we can only imagine the level of instinctive stress that uncertainty can provoke.
 
There are many ways to celebrate Mother?s Day, but here are a few unconventional suggestions that will prove to your own mother that she did a good job raising you. How about dropping off a box of diapers and/or a case of formula to a local food bank or women?s shelter? If you have some baby furniture or clothing that your own children have outgrown, how about donating that stuff to a local charity? Does our local hospital have a fund for children who need care? Are there doctors in our community or city who volunteer in clinics overseas who might need supplies? There are countless ways to help support Moms locally and globally. Let your own Mom know that you were thinking about her and all of the many things she provided for you along the way?and that you did a good deed in honor of her. It will make her proud.
 
www.esermons.com 
________________________________
 
Worse-Case Scenarios
 
If moms are to be faulted, it is because they love their children so much that they get irrational about it. For instance, in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin approaches his mother
 
Calvin: "Can Hobbes and I go play in the rain, Mom? 
Mom: "No." 
Calvin: "Why not?" 
Mom: "You'll get soaked." 
Calvin: "What's wrong with that?"   
Mom: "You could catch pneumonia, run up a terrible hospital bill, linger a few months, and die." 
Calvin, looking out the window at the rain: "I always forget. If you ask a mom, you get a worse-case scenario."   
Hobbes: "I had no idea these little showers were so dangerous." 
 
Bill Watterson, The Essential Calvin & Hobbes, p. 130.
 
__________________
 
 
The Truest Friend
 
A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. 


Washington Irving (1783-1859)
__________________________
 
Why God Made Moms?
 
"Why God made moms" answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.   
 
Why did God make mothers? 
 
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.   
2. Mostly to clean the house. 
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. 
 
How did God make mothers? 
 
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.   
 
What ingredients are mothers made of? 
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.   
 
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? 
1. We're related. 
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.   
 
What kind of little girl was your mom? 
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff. 
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy. 
3. They say she used to be nice.   
 
The rest of this list and many additional illustrations and sermons for Mother?s Day can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 

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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 20:45:14 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:45:14 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 1
Message-ID: <083BC65878FB4D448B4126343889747E@YOUR264F1833C5>

...this is one of those times when the answer may not be just give them whatever it is they think they want. Any alcoholic will tell you that just giving a desperate person what they want is not always the loving thing to do. 

http://www.laughingbird.net/ComingWeeks.html
(in Sermons, Post 4.)

Nathan Nettleton, 2007
- - - - -

A story is told about a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten
students put his boots on. 

   He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him
   pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on.  When the second boot
   was on, she had worked up a sweat.  She almost whimpered when the
   little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the  wrong feet."  She looked
   and sure enough, they were. 

   It wasn't any  easier pulling the boots off then it was putting them
   on.  She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the
   boots back on - this time on the right feet.  He then announced,
   "These aren't my boots."  She bit her tongue rather than get right
   in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. 

   Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. 
   He then said,"They're my brother's boots.  My Mom made me wear
   them." 

   She didn't know  if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the
   grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again.  She said, "Now, where
   are your mittens?"  He  said, "I  stuffed them in the toes of my
   boots..."

http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/c-ea05su.php

Richard J. Fairchild 
- - - - -

...a late night comedian quips, "It's a good thing love hurts, otherwise all the country songs would have to be about root canals."

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/giftlove.html

John Jewell 
- - - - -

In a lovely little book called Chicken Soup for the Soul, there's a story about a man who came out right after Christmas from his office and when he got out to his car he found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at this new vehicle. The little boy said, "Does this car belong to you?"
And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I've just gotten it." With that the little boy's eyes widened.

He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it? That it came without any strings attached?"

And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift."

With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..."

And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother."

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/claypool_3919.htm

John Claypool, 1996 
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 23:03:48 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:03:48 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 2
Message-ID: <9BF980D05D4C4E96ADF90B48B66EC1EB@YOUR264F1833C5>

...Fritz ...had been a refugee from Germany after World War II. He came to the United States and became a steel worker in Indiana. But more than this, he was the most tireless advocate for the world's hungry people that I have ever known. A common layman, he didn't have a high school education. His own schooling in Germany had been cut short by the war, and after the war he lived for months outdoors with his friends, stealing potatoes from farmers' fields and trying not to get shot in the process. After he became established in the United States, he began working with his own congregation volunteering, organizing them, and then going to other congregations to organize and challenge them to raise money for the poor, urging, coaxing, cajoling them to look beyond their own needs and to join in God's holy labor of giving life and hope to the poor around the world. Single-handedly, over the course of 25 years, Fritz was instrumental in raising millions of dollars to feed the hungry in dozens of countries. 

http://day1.org/630-sermon_for_the_5th_sunday_in_easter

David Miller, 2001 
- - - - -

"Exactly how did this one, who became what we are so we could understand more fully who God is, actually and realistically love?" 
St. Augustine has given me two clues to such a question. He once observed that Jesus loved each one he had ever met as if there were none other in all the world to love. In other words, Jesus radically individualized the affection he acted out toward others. 
<>
The second clue St. Augustine offers is that Jesus loved all as he loved each. The way he loved was not only individualized, but it was also incredibly universal. 

http://day1.org/464-loving_as_jesus_loved

John R. Claypool, 2004 
- - - - -

Some years ago, Albert Schweitzer, who served Christ by bringing medical skills to Africa, visited Chicago.  A group of reporters cornered him on a railroad platform, seeking an interview about his self-effacing work in Africa. As they spoke, an elderly lady walked by, struggling with a heavy suitcase.  Schweitzer excused himself for a moment, gently took the woman's suitcase and accompanied her to her railway car.  When Schweitzer returned to where he had left the reporters, not a single one of them was still standing there.  They were each trying to find some elderly lady whose suitcase they could carry.

http://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/

David Rogne
- - - - -

Mother Teresa used to say that "we can do no great things -- only small things with great love."

http://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/

Randy R. Quinn
- - - - -

I sat with an elderly man in hospital yesterday. He was talking about going to heaven. I asked him how long he had been a Christian. "For 45 years," he replied. Then he told me how he had sat through revival meetings almost every night for one month and heard the gospel. "It went in one ear and out the other," he continued. On the final Thursday night one of the evangelists sang a song and through one line of that song God really spoke to him. I asked, "What were the words?" He recited them with all the strength that his weak frame could muster, "When you pass the last milestone on earth, where will your soul be?" That night he stayed back and asked Jesus to forgive him and to come into his life. He's nearing the last milestone but he knows where his soul will be when he ends his journey here.

http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/pmol/webapr23.htm

Philip McAlister, 2006
- - - - -

The movie and the play, GODSPELL, certainly picks up the mood of this scene well. GODSPELL shows the twelve disciples saying goodbye to Jesus. The scene is very touching. In the play and movie, there was a clown named, Pip. Jesus was saying goodbye to each of his disciples, one at a time. There were the traditional, expected, emotional hugs. Jesus finally came to Pip, the clown. Pip put out his arms to hug Jesus and say farewell, but then Pip unexpectedly turned away. Pip walked away from Jesus. Jesus stood there. Pip turned towards him but then looked away again. One more time, Pip looked at Jesus and after putting on a solid, stoic front of coolness, Pip finally broke down and ran to hug Jesus and say goodbye. It was a very touching and emotional scene. This scene was well done in GODSPELL. It was tough to say goodbye.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_it_is_hard_to_say_goodbye.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 23:58:28 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:58:28 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 3
Message-ID: <ED4992A677904185ACB7EA0E4F11D433@YOUR264F1833C5>

So let's say we're going to read the whole Bible in one year; that is 66 books, 1189 chapters, and at three chapters a day, five minutes per each chapter, that totals 92 hours of reading.  So I want you to summarize the whole Bible, the 66 books, the 1189 chapters, the 92 hours of reading.  What would you say?  How would you summarize the whole Bible? With a tangled history of the Jews?  With a tangled list of theologies that appeal to?  How would you summarize all your reading?  Jesus summarizes the whole Bible with eight words:  "Love one another as I have loved you."  Eight words to summarize 66 books, 1189 chapters and 92 hours of reading.  

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_love_can_be_so_simple.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

...a quotation by Morris Niedenthal, who teaches and preaches at the University of Chicago. He says that Jesus accepted people just the way they were, but he never left people just the way they were because he loved them  . Jesus always made them better. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_i_love_you_charlie_brown.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

Notice Jesus' arms at the top of the painting, by Salvador Dali, the Spanish genius, that his arms are stretched out, that his forgiveness is for all people in the world. "This is my blood shed FOR YOU and for ALL people." 

This gift is both personal and universal at the same time. This gift of forgiveness is FOR YOU PERSONALLY and for EVERYBODY. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_a_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  1 00:08:38 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:08:38 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermons for Maundy Thursday,
	Good Friday and Easter
In-Reply-To: 101603
References: 101603
Message-ID: <8CC9F6823FCF220-124C-107F@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Subject: Sermons for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter


Holy Week and Easter: 
   John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-10 - The Good News of Easter
   John 13:1-17, 31-35 - Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples
   Luke 23:33-43 - Good Friday: The Three Crosses
 
==================================
 
Suggested Text: John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-10
Lectionary Week: Easter
 
Easter Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Easter Day or John 20 the sermon titled "The Good News of Easter" 
 
 As I look around, I see great events playing out on the world stage: 
 
Democracy is being brought to regions of the world that never really understood the dignity of individual citizens or the joy of liberty.
 
HIV/AIDS continues to take its toll around the globe. Countries face off in tense negotiations over trade, border disputes, and ancient grievances.
 
An unprecedented ability to communicate ideas and beliefs to any part of the planet and to any person is quickly becoming commonplace. And the ability to move produce and goods around the world makes it possible as never before to bring significant relief to regions that suffer. These world-shaping events are so important. They are literally changing the course of history. And as I watch, I wonder. I wonder what I am doing here in this pulpit. If the real action isn't out there doing the world shaping. And then I am reminded of two things.
 
First, I am reminded that no event in history has shaped the world like the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 
And Second I am reminded of this simple fact about life. Life does not go on forever. There is death. Every one of us must face our mortality. There is no military victory, no medical cure, no global village that can prepare any individual to answer the ultimate questions in life. And this morning I stand to proclaim Hope, the hope of His Resurrection. There is death. Yes. But life is in Jesus Christ, the hope of our resurrection.
 
Friends, you have come here this morning with a sense of anticipation and longing. There are sobering questions on your mind and much hangs in the balance. Is there hope? Is there new life? Is there reason for joy? The answer to your questions has arrived this day. It is here waiting for you.
 
It is a three-word message: Christ Is Risen! Good news for the depressed. Good news for those who have lost loved ones. Good news. Good news to those who have lost their joy, Christ is risen.
 
Consider with me this morning the implications of Easter.
 
1. First, because of the Resurrection the disciples were changed.
2. Secondly, because of the Resurrection our view of death has changed.
3. Because of the resurrection, our view of Jesus has changed.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by
joining www.eSermons.com. 
=================================
 
Suggested Text: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
 Holy Week: Maundy Thursday
 
Maundy Thursday Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Maundy Thursday or John 13 the sermon titled "Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves In The Disciples" 
 
We come together this evening to recall in our hearts and minds the events that occurred on Thursday of what the church calls Holy Week, the last week in the life of our Lord. One-third of all the events that we have about Jesus' life occurred during this week: Reminding us of the great significance of these last days. The disciples have gathered in a home, whose we are not sure, but we do know that it had a furnished second floor.
 
As they gather they participate in what is called a Seder meal, one of the highlights of the Passover week. The Passover festival, of course, had been done for centuries before Jesus came on the scene. It commemorated that time when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt. Moses warned Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh hardened his heart. So God sent a death over the land of Egypt, but miraculously this death passed over the homes of the Jews. Thus, the season of Passover was given birth.
 
The meal itself was a symbolic one reminding the Jews of the sufferings of their forefathers and the power of God's deliverance. The foods that were eaten were symbols to remind the Jews of their captivity in Egypt. Apple sauce was eaten to remind them of brick mortar and the fact that they were forced to make bricks with no straw. A bitter herb is eaten to remind them of the bitterness of their captivity. It was this symbolic Seder Meal that the disciples were partaking of that night in the upper room.
 
It was at the conclusion of that meal that Jesus himself added two more symbols. He took a loaf and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying:
 
Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me. Then he took a cup with wine. He drank from it and gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin." Thus was born our sacrament of the Lord's Supper, out of the experience of an ancient Jewish custom.
 
Leonardo da Vinci by his famous painting has forever impressed upon on our minds the last supper of our Lord. The scene that he depicts is that moment when Jesus announces his impending betrayal. The disciples look at one another with great shock, all, that is, except Judas, who refuses to look Jesus in the face and clutches his money to his breast. I wonder as we look at those disciples around the table if we can see ourselves. For me they represent all that is good and bad about our humanity.
 
Maybe we can see ourselves in Matthew...
 
The rest of this brief 10 minute sermon looks at 10 of the disciples sitting around the Passover Meal and how we can see our own frailties and sinfulness reflected in them.
 
 This sermon can be used by joining www.Sermons.com. 
==================================
 
Suggested Text: Luke 23:33-43
Holy Week: Good Friday
 
Good Friday Sermon Opener
 
Year C - Good Friday or Luke 23 the sermon titled "Good Friday: The Three Crosses" 
 
The Cross. It struck fear in the hearts of the world. It was Rome's means of controlling the people. According to Roman custom, the penalty of crucifixion was always preceded by scourging; after this preliminary punishment, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution, exposed to the jibes and insults of the people. On arrival at the place of execution the cross was uplifted. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords.
 
He was then, fastened with four nails to the wood of the cross. Finally, a placard called the titulus bearing the name of the condemned man and his sentence, was placed at the top of the cross. Slaves were crucified outside of Rome in a place called Sessorium, beyond the Esquiline Gate; their execution was entrusted to the carnifex servorum (the place of the hangman).
 
Eventually this wretched locality became a forest of crosses, while the bodies of the victims were the pray of vultures and other rapacious birds.
 
It often happened that the condemned man did not die of hunger or thirst, but lingered on the cross for several days. To shorten his punishment therefore, and lessen his terrible sufferings, his legs were sometimes broken. This custom, exceptional among the Romans, was common with the Jews.
 
In this way it was possible to take down the corpse on the very evening of the execution. Among the Romans, though, the corpse could not be taken down, unless such removal had been specially authorized in the sentence of death.
 
The corpse might also be buried if the sentence permitted. It is remarkable that all of this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24).
 
It is interesting that Jesus is responsible for the abolishment of the cross as a means of capital punishment. In the early part of the fourth century Constantine continued to inflict the penalty of the cross on slaves guilty of, in the old Latin, delatio domini, i.e. of denouncing their masters. But later on he abolished this infamous punishment, in memory and in honor of the Passion of the Christ. From then on, this punishment was very rarely inflicted and finally the practice faded into history. But, oh, how history has remembered.
 
As the week of Jesus' Passion now closes, it is well for us to reflect upon the cross. Martin Luther said, "Man must always have a cross." Jesus said:
 
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Every one of us does have a cross to bear, but which one? Is ours the cross on the right, the left, or the center? Let us review for a moment this scene on Calvary.
 
1. The first cross represents the cross of rebellion.
2. The second cross represents the cross of repentance.
3. The third cross, that of Jesus, represents the cross of redemption.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by
joining http://www.Sermons.com. 
<>


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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  1 01:15:00 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 01:15:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] "Struggling with the future" - Fourth Word for Good
 Friday, based on Mark 15:27-34
Message-ID: <8CC9F71699D4FA9-124C-1094@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


http://tiny.cc/kp2lx is our Fourth Word for an ecumenical Good Friday service, based on Mark 15:27-34, "Struggling with the future."
Peace and blessings,
Joe 
St. John's Episcopal, Elizabeth, NJ




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Thu Apr  1 18:04:52 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 14:04:52 -0800
Subject: [Propertalk] Great Vigil homily
Message-ID: <1524870251.1270159492387.JavaMail.root@mp10>

Here's what I've set down, and will look at closer to Saturday!

One more to write!

Peace for maundy Thursday.

Bob

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY              GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER
9 O.T. READINGS		                     3rd APRIL, 2010	
LUKE 24:1-12 

	We ALL dream. Only some of us remember our dreams. But we DO all dream. Somehow, it?s necessary for our mental health. I?d guess it?s good for our spiritual health too, depending on whether one dreams about Brad Pitt, or Liam Neeson, or Angelina Jolie, or Sigourney Weaver. But dreaming IS necessary for all of us. So if I?ve lost you for the rest of the sermon, I guess I?ll just have to live with it.
	Seriously, dreaming is one of the major gifts God gives us. Not only do dreams expand our imaginations and help us to consider things we may be too timid to consider in our more rational, waking hours, but God can and does speak to us when our guard is down and when we?re more open to suggestion. More?s the pity, then, when we may not remember our dreams. Possibly this is a skill which we may wish to try to brush up. Look through the Bible and you?ll find God helping individuals and societies discovering and growing their faith through the way they think about their dreams.
	Here?s what someone wrote me last week.
	?Things I wanted to do when I was ten.
	1. Make a wagon into a restaurant & travel around the world having adventures with my invisible pet dinosaur. Most of the adventures would start with people buying food from us.
	2. Light things on fire to see how they would burn. 
	3. Dig an underground fort & live there except at mealtime & at night because I hate dirt in my food & my pajamas.
	4. Discover a continent or an island & not tell my parents where it was because they'd just make me clean it.? 1
	These sound pretty reasonable to me, actually. We all like to eat, and most of us enjoy company, especially at meal times. And if we can provide for someone else?s comfort, if we can travel at the same time and discover new recipes, well that?s just icing on the cake.
	Lighting things just to see if they?ll burn ? well maybe that?s pushing the limits of acceptable behavior a little far. But controlled fires ? seeing flames leap up into the dark sky as if to touch the stars ? there?s a primitive pleasure in that, something which speaks to us about our ability to communicate, to send and receive messages, as well as to warm ourselves and to cook up the food we may have considered in the first part of our dream.
	I have mixed emotions about the third one also ? digging and underground fort and living in it. I?m with the person who says she doesn?t like dirt in her pyjamas. That?s worse than cookie crumbs in bed! But think about what may be behind that suggestion about living underground, for however long or short a time. For so much of our lives and activities we?ve distanced ourselves far too much from Mother Earth. We cut down trees because they block views, forgetting that trees are an integral; part of the view itself; we pave over the earth so that we don?t have to weed or track parts of creation all through the house on our shoes. Then we discover the most simple weeds, plants and trees can push their way through the toughest blacktop or cement. We put in four or five lane highways ? well, you don?t need me to overdo this image!
	Digging out some place to live where we actually touch this created world with our bare hands gives us a point of contact with the Creator. It might remind us of relationships, as we share our secret places, the places where we find spiritual nourishment and respite from the noise up above. This part of our dream may bring us closer to God as we remember where it is we are and who we have the potential to be.
	That last segment, though ? well, it DOES sound appealing to find some unexplored territory where we can get in touch with everything that?s important to us. We ALL need to be able to have someplace into which we can invite those who nourish us spiritually as well as emotionally, then, if need be, we can ask them to give us some space and let us think about what we?ve been talking and doing. But NOT telling our parents ? I know there have been some terrible parent-child relationships; I know there ARE times when you?d rather talk about something with a best friend. But translate this dream-segment into the religious sphere and think about not telling God where you are and what you?re doing. Well, it?s not possible, for one thing, but God wants us to tell us where we are in life, what?s going on in life, what?s too scary to talk about to another human being, no matter how close or compassionate. 
	It seems like only yesterday ? it WAS just yesterday, that we heard Jesus say ?It is accomplished?. I give Myself into Your care. 
	Eating and sharing food; watching fire be kindled again; establishing contact with creation; finding a safe space ? perhaps not quite in that sequence, but these Dream Pictures are EXACTLY what we?re about this night. These describe the Love of God which simply won?t allow something like torture and death to be or have the last word. These are the elements on which our faith is built. We can ALWAYS find Light for our darkness, whatever it may be, and that Light shows us how we are to relate to Creation and all within it. Perhaps in the silence before this liturgy began, as we struggled to face the dark we also found a safe place ? possibly a space next to Jesus in His tomb, where we can reveal to one another what frightens us, what diminishes our humanity.
	Then, together, we find ourselves drawn out of the darkness, away from loneliness and uncertainty. We live out an echo of George Herbert?s wonderful mystical poem as we see that we now have ?such a light as shows a feast; such a feast as mends in length;? such a feast that awaits us in a few moments, a Feast that will not end but will be consummated in Jesus? nearer Presence. 
	I feel I have a personal need to respond to that dream-desire not to clean my island, though.
	The other day I heard an interview with one of my favourite radio and classical music commentators. He was discussing his special room ? actually an insulated and well-designed shed at the foot of his garden. It was filled with books and CDs, from which he drew inspiration and with which he designed his radio programmes. He said, though, that he never used a filing system. He never fully shelved his books or CDs, just stacked them up wherever he could ? on shelves, on chairs, on the floor, wherever. He said he never failed to find incredible delight in coming across a book or a CD which he knew he had, but hadn?t seen for a while. His face lit up when it became apparent how recently he?d had such a discovery of God?s enlightening. 2
	God IS present, God IS revealed, even in the most messy, uncoordinated, unpromising-looking situation imaginable. From the most unbelievable of conditions ? the rubble of Haiti, the disorganization of Chile, the inhumanity of the most corrupt political authority ? even the room of a parent?s worst nightmare ? from ANY situation God can and will being new life, and hope, and love. This night promises that we can depend on that.
	OK, all of you who?re still picturing Brad, or Liam, or Angelie, or Sigourney ? you can come back to earth now. Maybe find an image of Jesus, at least for a few minutes, and see how we can picture Him at Heritage Mall, or Costco, or Little Caesar?s across the street. Dream on THAT, ACT on that, and you may discover the effects of Jesus? resurrection are already working in your lives.

NOTES:
1 	StoryPeople 30th March, 2010. Annette at storypeople.com
2	Rob Cowan, BBC Radio 3 producer, commentator and musicologist.



--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 19:10:06 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 19:10:06 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 1
Message-ID: <E2426913FFE84C6A946AD1D73A42C64F@YOUR264F1833C5>

...Theodore Wardlaw has noticed the many times Luke uses the word "but" in his telling of the Easter story. ...("Living by the Word: Unnatural Event," The Christian Century, March 20, 2007). This "defiant conjunction" gets in the face of every cynical, hopeless, harsh evaluation of the state of the things and the meaning beneath them. It says that God isn't through with things yet. God hasn't spoken the last word, not yet, not in our situation.

This has to mean something to each one of us, then, when we face the "empty tombs" of our lives: the losses and disappointments, heartbreaks and failures, tragic deaths and prolonged illnesses, loneliness and despair. Those tombs are our "Friday" lives, and Jesus shares them with us.  But (there's that word again, and again) Jesus also shares Sunday, and resurrection, new life and new hope, with us. It wasn't a one-time thing, the resurrection of Jesus. It was, instead, the dawning of a new day, and new life as well.
- - -
...a little poem called "Anyway": a man named Kent Keith wrote it, but they say that Mother Teresa had it framed on her wall, and she certainly was someone who knew something about suffering and faithfulness (and doubt, we have later come to understand) and, I suspect, resurrection and new life, too. Like Mother Teresa (probably the only way I resemble her!), I too have this poem framed on my office wall, and I really should get up out of my chair and read it more often. It says, for example, "People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway! The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway! Honesty makes you vulnerable. Be honest anyway! What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway! People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway! If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!"

http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html

Kathryn Matthews Huey, 2010
- - - - -

Luke goes on to tell us the response of the apostles when they heard the women's Easter Sermon. Here's how Luke describes their doubt and skepticism: "But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." A couple of other translations employ the word "nonsense," instead of "an idle tale." According to Dr Wm. Barclay: The word used is one employed by Greek medical writers to describe the babbling of a fevered and insane mind.

http://dimlamp.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/sermon-easter-day-yr-c-2/

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson, 2010
- - - - -

Your loved one dies and you're cast into the journey of grief, and you ask, "Why did this happen? Where is God in all of this? How does my faith help? What do I do now?" Well, as a pastor, I can provide the major theme. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Neither life nor death nor grief nor loss nor anything else. But I can't provide the score. "What do I do now?" The answer is, "Improvise. Do the next thing there is to do and trust God's love." Patrick Henry, author and former professor of religion at Swarthmore College, has a wonderful phrase in his recent book The Ironic Christian's Companion. He says, "I can't tell you what the grace of God is. The most I can do is tell you what trusting it is like." 
- - -
Let us pray. 
Surprise us, O Living God, as you surprised the women on that first Easter morning. ... Roll away every stone threatening to entomb us in a rigid and timid faith. 

http://day1.org/468-sunday_morning_at_the_improv

Homer Henderson, 2004
- - - - -

The oldest book in the Bible - the book of Job - asks a question which applies to everyone.  "IF A MAN DIES, SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN?"
It is this one question which separates us from all the rest of God's creatures.  Made in the image of God, our hearts turn to the heavens and ask the question of Job, "When I die.shall I live again?"  The animals don't do that.  (Wondered about my German Shepherd one morning, but he was just looking at a squirrel.)

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/april_20=03.htm 

John Jewell, 2003
- - - - -

A Benediction

O people of the Lord, you have been raised with Christ!  Go from
this place with joy and rejoicing in your hearts, for Christ is your
life and his glory is your hope!  Amen!

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/april_1501.htm

John Jewell, 2001
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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Sat Apr  3 19:21:05 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 15:21:05 -0800
Subject: [Propertalk] Easter Day sermon
Message-ID: <1840168026.1270336865423.JavaMail.root@mp09>

This will have to be checked out after the Vigil tonight. I don't trust myself to any more with it this afternoon!

We're welcoming a 7-year-old girl through Baptism tomorrow - her grandparents can't come tonight.

Peace and empty tombs all round!

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY    THE SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION: EASTER DAY
ACTS 10:34-43			         4th APRIL, 2010	
1 CORINTHIANS 15:19-26		              PSALM 118:1-2, 14-24
JOHN 20:1-18

	In a matter of minutes, Maya will lean her head over a wooden pedestal into which a bowl has been inserted, and I will pour water on her. What is it that will make her do that? What will she be thinking and feeling? Does she trust me not to soak her dress, or even drown her?
	Trust is something with which each of us has to deal on our own.
	Does Maya know what?s happening every second of the time here? Will she be able to answer in a skilful way what?s going on here? Does Maya ? do YOU ? NEED to know all that?s going on in order to be a part of this?
	You can answer that for yourself, but if you need a hint, it?s ?No ? but Yes!? The fact is that it?s the same inside this building as it is anywhere else on earth. There will always be questions ? so we DON?T need to know everything about the hows or even the whys. We?re asked to hope and to trust.
	But what we do this morning, and what Maya will be committing herself to doing from now on, is a sign that we live in hope, hope that the promise of God is far bigger than we can ever imagine, bigger than any of us can ever comprehend, no matter how old we are.
	Last Friday night, after the service, after leaving a very dark building, with shadows, and remnants of celebrations lying here and there on the floor, and on shelves and on tables, after leaving a building that was strangely quiet ? as if it were holding its breath ? from that atmosphere I arrived home and found that one of the parts of ?The Lord of the Rings? was on TV.
Both the books and the movies are wonderful pieces of work. There?s so much going on. In fact, no matter how often I pick up the books, or watch bits and pieces of the movies, I always find something else to intrigue me. There?s so much to grip the imagination because there?s so much that?s actually left to the imagination. We see the outline of the story, we read about the characters, and we pick up on many of the implications of situations and relationships. However, we have to dig deep sometimes to begin to catch all the different layers of the action. We DO become drawn in and when danger threatens we cringe, although it IS just a book or a film. I don?t know if this is something Maya would watch, but I know adults who find their emotions tested by Tolkien.
	I remember a scene in which the heroes are in underground caverns when they?re attacked by all sorts of creatures. They flee, but just as they?re about to escape, Gandalf, the wise old guide, can?t make the last jump over a chasm. His grip on the edge of the rock finally gives way, and he plunges down into the abyss ? seemingly lost for ever.
	A similar scene comes in ?The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?, when Aslan, the Lion, seems to be killed by Jadis, the White Witch.
	In both stories, the friends are devastated. They don?t know if they?ll survive. They stumble around. But both Tolkien and Lewis, who read their stories to one another as they were writing them, had a strong Christian faith on which their fantasies were built, and they based their treatment of the deaths of Gandalf and Aslan on the disarray of the disciples after the death of Jesus.
	There was Mary, lost, weeping at the tomb, thinking that she?d never be able to hope again, she?d never again establish a friendship which healed and renewed her as did her one with Jesus.
	It was like leaving this space on Thursday night, with the light lost, or the even darker Friday night, with the bare cross the only thing to see ? not even Jesus? body was there.
	But despite that, we?ve come to this room, somehow drawn to ask questions ? about hope, and about meaning. And Maya, she?s come too.
	Maya?s been waiting for this moment eagerly for a long time, mostly because what she?ll be doing is the ultimate symbol of ?belonging?.  She may not express herself precisely in terms of darkness, or loneliness, or weakness, but even at her age she knows that to experience life in its fullness, she has to seek strength to overcome them. And she senses that Jesus can do that for her.
Mary had the same need. She knew she needed strength from outside herself in order to cope. She simply didn?t know from where her help would come, however, yet she was drawn to the tomb, to the scene of the disaster, hoping to pick up a few of the pieces to which she could cling. She?d found the one Person who really believed in her, only to have Him ripped from her life just the day before.
What she found in the early hours of that Sunday morning, though, was completely beyond her expectations. She?d underestimated the power of the Love of God.
Mary heard someone call her name. THAT?S when she knew that she?d found what, or rather, whom she needed. Jesus not only was alive. He remembered her; He loved her; He was both able and willing to do anything for her so that she could find who she was and what she could do. 
That?s how WE learn who WE are. From the moment of our birth, people call our names, they encourage us, they correct us, they try to educate us, they socialise us; they LOVE us by calling our name ? sometimes a very special name. That?s the way it?s been for all of us.
Jesus still speaks our names ? Mary ? Maya ? Dan ? Pat ? Janet ? Rick ? Elisabeth ? ?I am here,? He says. I am alive.  As the water is poured over Maya, and then as she holds the Bread in her hands and tastes the wine, Jesus is saying her name, over and over, and over again ? ?I am here. Now you should go and tell everyone, ?I have seen the Lord.?? No matter how strange things may be at school, or wherever, each of these events can be seen in a new light now.  So we?re invited to share our new hope with everyone.
Yesterday I noticed several different people?s blogs all talking about a book written by Nora Gallagher. It?s called ?Practicing Resurrection? ? helping us to understand, firstly, that resurrection isn?t a one-time event for only one person. It?s for everyone. But, secondly, it?s to become our way of living. 	We?re to be bold, fearless in face of frustration, exuberant in the eyes of exasperation, daring in the  of disease . You can go on to finish these statements! Nothing is to stop us.
This won?t make problems go away. Sorry, Maya, you?ll still have homework. There?ll be some classes you may never like. That?s why Nora Gallagher talked about ?PRACTICING resurrection?.
Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, wrote that, ?We are not born with the ability to insist on resurrection everywhere we turn. It takes the discipline and repetition that forms an athlete ? in this case, a spiritually fit Christian. We practice our faith because we must ? it withers and atrophies unless it's stretched. We must continue to give evidence of the faith that is within us.
	?Easter,? Bishop Katharine went on, ?(Easter) prods and provokes us with an immense stretching exercise. God has renewed a life given to the evil of this world on behalf of those with no other helper. That earth-shattering and tomb-shattering rebirth has planted the seeds of hope in each one of us. Yet those seeds do not produce fruit without struggle.?
	We can all relate to that. If we want to do something and get as much pleasure out of it as we can, we HAVE to practice. And we practice by keeping in touch with Jesus so that we will be able to put up with all the things and people who annoy us.
	On NPR yesterday I heard an interview with an author of a book with an intriguing title. It is - ?The Lunatic Express: Discovering the World ? Via its most dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes?. Here?s what Carl Hoffman said in his preface:
Setting out across Afghanistan I was thoroughly frightened. I was accompanied by Khalid, who said, ?This is bad. It is a dangerous place. It is the home of ? the most dangerous man in Afghanistan. ? (Carl said he) suddenly had a terrible feeling. A feeling of dread ? I was crazy for trying to ride a bus across Afghanistan in the middle of a war; idiotic. What had I been thinking? I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, to think about nothing.
?Khalid prayed.? 1
	I wonder who had the better idea! So, Maya, AND all the rest of us ? if you and we want to practice living the resurrection life, then I suggest that we all try at least these three things:
1)	Listen for Jesus speaking our name. He WILL be saying it. It?s just that sometimes we aren?t hearing Him, or don?t recognise His voice.
2)	Talk to Jesus ? ALL THE TIME. Some people may think us a bit strange, but that?s O.K. It didn?t seem to bother Mary at the tomb. She prayed. Khalid prayed on that bus. You and I can, and must, pray ? talk to Jesus ? so we remember HIS Name. And ? 
3)	Be daring! Be willing to take risks. DO remember what our parents have said about getting into strange cars, or busses, but practise resurrection by reminding ourselves that there IS nothing which God can?t help us all overcome.
?Acts of faith,? reminded Scott Simon on NPR, talking of composer Marcos Galvany?s Opera ?Oh My Son?, about
Jesus, His mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene,  ?(Acts of faith) aren?t just for Bible figures, but any man or woman who offers their hopes and gifts. ?If you do something out of love, amazing things can happen.?? 2
	Come to the water, then, come to the tomb ? then go, spread the Good News about Jesus and Life.

NOTES:
1 	?The Lunatic Express: Discovering the World ? Via its most dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes? by Carl Hoffman ? Broadway Books ? 2010. Prologue.
2		?An Operatic Act Of Faith? Story by Scott Simon about Marcos Galvany?s Opera ?Oh My Son? NPhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125532205R: Weekend Edition, Saturday 3rd April, 2010





--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 20:34:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:34:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 2
Message-ID: <CF07A19F0CD14D0E949B6375DE47D77F@YOUR264F1833C5>

Whether or not you believe Christ rose from the dead makes all the difference in the world.
Interest, but skepticism: that's the way people have reacted to the Easter story since the very first time it was told. 
- - -
Jesus' resurrection was not a reprieve, a temporary delay of the physical death that comes to every human being. It was the fulfillment of everything the Master had said and done. 
- - -
...several years ago a friend of mine was facing open heart surgery and I was very concerned about him, and in praying about it, I felt the spirit of God saying to me, "Don't you know how much I love him and that whatever happens he will never be out of my care?" That opened me to a new dimension of God's love that is made most visible and dramatic in the resurrection.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/noren_3926.htm

Carol Noren, 1996
- - - - -

Easter Sunday is not an isolated event. It is unique in its climactic nature, but we had glimpses of it over and over again as God repeatedly responded to people faced with the power of death and led them forward to freedom and fullness of life. Easter is everywhere, wherever the Spirit of God comes back in the hearts of downtrodden people and they begin the dance of life, with futures resurrected as they follow the resurrected Lord of life and become part of God's great movement of raising life from the midst of death when all hope seems gone. 

http://www.laughingbird.net/ComingWeeks.html

Easter Sermon #2, Nathan Nettleton, 1996
- - - - -

We are not unlike those first followers. Though we know well the Easter story, we never seem fully to grasp its meaning. Like them, we so often continue to live burdened with our dashed hopes and with our misunderstanding of God's mysterious power. Like them, we come to the tomb and expect to find death, but instead we find signs of a new life that we cannot even begin to comprehend. Like them, we do not realize that our history has been broken open and is now filled with the resurrected presence of Christ.

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2910

Dianne Bergant, 2003
- - - - -

One Easter the children's liturgy featured different classes presenting their gifts to the risen Jesus. A class of fourth graders lumbered up the aisle with a stuffed teddy bear twice the size of the gift-bearers. The bear then reclined serenely against the altar, facing the congregation. After the liturgy an irate parishioner phoned, appalled at the liturgy and especially the smiling teddy bear, and kept repeating, "It was a total surprise" that "simply did not fit in." After a few forays on my part into the themes of God's love for all creation and gratitude over the enthusiasm of children, the teddy bear remained insurmountable. Finally, with some resignation, I said, "You are absolutely right, it was a total surprise and simply did not fit in; but neither does resurrection from the dead."

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2378

John R. Donahue, 2000
- - - - -

CHILDREN'S TIME: "Easter Eggs and Easter Victory"

An egg looks quite dead and lifeless.
But - given the warm love of the mother hen
it produces a new and wonderful life.

http://spirit-net.ca/sermons/b-ea01se.php

Richard  Fairchild
- - - - -

Resurrection Rolls, Crescent rolls, Melted Butter, Large Marshmallows, Cinnamon, Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in. 
Give each child a marshmallow, this represents Jesus.
Have him dip the marshmallow in melted butter, which represents the oils of embalming.
Then dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up...but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside. This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes (The oven 
represents the tomb--pretend like it was three days!). 
When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their
rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS
RISEN! 
(The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but
empty).

http://talks2children.itsforministry.org/t2c/view.asp?ID=73

G. Utz
[Just checking to see if you read this!  It has my vote for the most creative!  Marshmallow theology!]
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 23:19:35 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 23:19:35 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 3
Message-ID: <05CD5353F28844B1A02191012DA157AE@YOUR264F1833C5>

In the midst of tending to the necessary chores, especially the things that need to be done in the hard times, the women were met by the unexpected experience of God's grace. Sometimes faith means going on and tending to the necessary chores. Prepare the spices, go to the tomb, tell the others, even when they think it an idle tale. Be faithful in the tasks that are ours and do the necessary tasks, for in them we, too, may be bearers of the good news of the day: "he is not here, but has risen!" 

The New Interpreter's Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995)
- - - - -

There is an interesting discussion concerning the theology of "The Grave Clothes" at 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_tomb
- - - - -

Death is real, but it is not final. In Jesus, life gets the last word. 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=4/4/2010#

Craig R. Koester, 2010
- - - - -

Verse 4: "two men in dazzling clothes": In Acts 1:10 (the Ascension) and 10:30 (Cornelius), Luke calls angels men. There are also two at the Transfiguration (see 9:29-30). 

http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/ceasdl.shtml

Chris Haslam
- - - - -

While, in general, I don't think that Easter Sunday is a time to chide the worshipers, with this text, it may be an appropriate time to talk about our attitudes and actions (ritual and otherwise) concerning Christ. Do we assume that he is dead and just go through the motions of good and right and proper rituals, or do we assume he is alive and active in our lives, in the world, and in our repeated rituals, e.g., liturgy and holy communion?

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke24x1.htm

Brian Stoffregen
- - - - -

Alone among the four gospels, Luke accents "remembering."  The two men tell the women to "remember" what Jesus had said in Galilee:  "It is necessary (for) the son of man to be delivered into the hands of sinful human beings, and to be crucified, and on the third day to rise?"  (As in Mark and Matthew, Jesus speaks of his death and subsequent resurrection three times during his ministry.  The statement spoken by the two men is a conflation of those three statements.  See 9:22, 44, and 18:32-33.)

http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/03/lectionary-blogging-easter-luke-24-112.html

John Petty, 2010
- - - - -

This lesson contains no resurrection - it is a story of an empty tomb and of remembering what we have already been told would happen.

http://www.holytextures.com/2010/03/luke-24-1-12-year-c-easter-sermon.html

David Ewart, www.holytextures.com
- - - - -

In my twenty-five years as a pastor of the church where I currently serve, I have heard and preached many Easter sermons. Likewise, I have watched so many persons endure the harsh realities of life. It has often been my prayer for many that they have "an anchor that grips and holds a solid rock," not just for Easter Sundays filled with frocks and bonnets, but for every day. My earnest desire is that more and more people know true resurrection-resurrection from dreary living, resurrection from tormented relationships, resurrection from government policies that are hostile to the poor, resurrection, indeed.

http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=80

William D. Watley, 2009
- - - - -

So effortless is this connection between springtime and Easter that, unless we are vigilant, we succumb to thinking that resurrection is as natural a thing as grass coming up green, as eggs cracking open to reveal chicks, as butterflies crawling out of cocoons. As beautiful as this coincidence is, there is something deceptive about it too, and we need to remember that there is nothing about resurrection that is natural.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_6_124/ai_n18791386/?tag=content;col1

Theodore J. Wardlaw, 2007
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr  3 23:39:08 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 23:39:08 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Luke 24:1-12 Easter sermon quotes - Part 4
Message-ID: <28A6FE261D284CDC8CEED70D30CE6E9A@YOUR264F1833C5>

Capes notes that "through the fourth century
there is ample evidence that some Christians, even Gentile
Christians, continued to observe sabbath." The Christian theologian
Tertullian, in On Prayer (c. 205), wrote as though corporate
prayer on the sabbath were commonplace, and the Apostolic
Constitutions in the fourth century taught that both sabbath and
Sunday should be kept as festivals to the Lord. "Those Christians
who maintained a sabbath practice took their cue from the Lord
of the Sabbath, to whom the substance of the new creation
belongs."
Emperor Constantine decreed in A.D. 321 that workers should
rest on the venerable day of the Sun. Over the next centuries,
Christian believers began resting on Sunday and referring to the
Lord's Day as "the sabbath," attaching to the eighth day the
significance that is given to the seventh day in the Decalogue.

http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/Sabbathstudyguide3.pdf

Robert B. Kruschwitz, 2002
- - - - -

You cannot force anyone to believe anything. I cannot make you believe anything. God alone has that power. My calling is not to explain the resurrection or to defend it but to share my experience of the resurrection and to encourage you to experience it, to be uplifted by it.
As far as what the resurrection means, I can only tell you what I think it means. To me, the resurrection means that the powers of evil do not have the last word in the world or in your life. 

http://teamnoah.info/Stirred/joanna.html

Sarah M. Foulger
- - - - -

In his stimulating & imaginative 'Ballad of the Breadman', [The Sun Dancing, Kestrel, '82] Charles Causley portrays Jesus as 'charged with bringing the living to life'. I like that. For me it's a better starting point than much of our usual church talk about 'bringing the dead to life'. Aren't the living dead more priority than the dead dead? 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/laterallyluke/LLK24112EASTER.html

Brian McGowan
- - - - -

Maybe the news of Easter was simply too overwhelming for them to believe. Many years ago, a friend told me that his young son was a great fan of both Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers. The boy faithfully watched both of their television shows, and one day it was announced that Mister Rogers would be paying a visit to the Captain Kangaroo show. The boy was ecstatic. Both of his heroes, together on the same show! Every morning the boy would ask, "Is it today that Mister Rogers will be on Captain Kangaroo?" Finally the great day arrived, and the whole family gathered around the television. There they were, Mister Rogers and Captain Kangaroo together. The boy watched for a minute, but then, surprisingly, got up and wandered from the room.
Puzzled, his father followed him and asked, "What is it, son? Is anything wrong?"
"It's too good," the boy replied. "It's just too good."

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2166

Thomas G. Long, 2001
- - - - -

Note the word "must" in verse 7: "the Son of Man must (emphasis mine) be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." The death and resurrection of Jesus are not accidents of history. The death of Jesus was not merely the result of human decisions, even though human decisions played a crucial role. There was a divine purpose at work. "Must" implies divine necessity. Herein lies a great mystery. On one hand, human beings brought about the death of Jesus. Yet, in that very death the purposes of God were accomplished. Human beings are responsible for the death of Jesus. It is not God who brings about the death of His Son. Yet, when Jesus is crucified by the hands of sinners, God has not ceased His activity in the events of history. Even this awful death becomes the arena of God's work in the world.

http://www.cresourcei.org/lectionary/YearC/Ceaster1nt.html

Jirair Tashjian
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr  4 04:43:24 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 04:43:24 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] An Easter message based on Luke 24:1-12
Message-ID: <6FE0FD57BA084F469EC5AA0364F3C00A@YOUR264F1833C5>

Believing, they go out to the world: http://tiny.cc/c9ziy
an Easter message based on Luke 24:1-12.
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe
St. John's Church
Elizabeth, NJ
 
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From chadwohl at satucket.com  Sun Apr  4 21:34:49 2010
From: chadwohl at satucket.com (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 21:34:49 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the SECOND SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <820A8B03BF7F41188BC8F16F5468E0D2@ThinkpadT60CCW>

The following are the readings for the Second Sunday of Easter, April 15, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.


FIRST READING:  Acts 5: 27 - 32   (RCL)

Acts 5:27 (NRSV) When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." 


Acts 5: 12 - 16   (Roman Catholic)

Acts 5:12 (NRSV) Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16 A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured. 


PSALM 118: 14 - 29   (RCL)
               118: 2 - 4, 13 - 15, 22 - 24, Resp. v. 1   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 
his steadfast love endures forever! 
2 Let Israel say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 
3 Let the house of Aaron say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 
4 Let those who fear the LORD say, 
"His steadfast love endures forever." 

13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, 
but the LORD helped me. 
14 The LORD is my strength and my might; 
he has become my salvation. 
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: 
"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly; 
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted; 
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly." 
17 I shall not die, but I shall live, 
and recount the deeds of the LORD. 
18 The LORD has punished me severely, 
but he did not give me over to death. 
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, 
that I may enter through them 
and give thanks to the LORD. 
20 This is the gate of the LORD; 
the righteous shall enter through it. 
21 I thank you that you have answered me 
and have become my salvation. 
22 The stone that the builders rejected 
has become the chief cornerstone. 
23 This is the LORD's doing; 
it is marvelous in our eyes. 
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; 
let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! 
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success! 
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. 
We bless you from the house of the LORD. 
27 The LORD is God, 
and he has given us light. 
Bind the festal procession with branches, 
up to the horns of the altar. 
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; 
you are my God, I will extol you. 
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, 
for his steadfast love endures forever. 


Psalm 150   (alt. for RCL)

Psal 150:1 (NRSV) Praise the LORD! 
Praise God in his sanctuary; 
praise him in his mighty firmament! 
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; 
praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; 
praise him with lute and harp! 
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; 
praise him with strings and pipe! 
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; 
praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 
6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! 
Praise the LORD! 


Psalm 2   (Can. BAS)

Psal 2:1 (NRSV) Why do the nations conspire, 
and the peoples plot in vain? 
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together, 
against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, 
and cast their cords from us." 
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; 
the LORD has them in derision. 
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, 
and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." 
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: 
He said to me, "You are my son; 
today I have begotten you. 
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, 
and the ends of the earth your possession. 
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, 
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; 
be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
11 Serve the LORD with fear, 
with trembling 12 kiss his feet, 
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; 
for his wrath is quickly kindled. 
Happy are all who take refuge in him. 


SECOND READING:   Revelation 1: 4 - 8   (RCL)

Reve 1:1 (NRSV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near. 
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; 
every eye will see him, 
even those who pierced him; 
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. 
So it is to be. Amen. 
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 


Revelation 1: 9 - 11a, 12 - 13, 17 - 19   (Roman Catholic)

Reve 1:9 (NRSV) I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Pat'mos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Eph'esus, to Smyrna, to Per'gamum, to Thyati'ra, to Sar'dis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodice'a." 
12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. 
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 


GOSPEL:   John 20: 19 - 31   (all)

John 20:19 (NRSV) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. 



Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, Vermont    USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:54:39 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:54:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11 - Part 1
In-Reply-To: 104525
References: 104525
Message-ID: <8CCA35C65CC912B-124C-3A5@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>



Sermons for Easter 2: 
     John 20:19-31 ? ?Thomas? 
     Revelation 1:4-8 ? ?The God Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come? by Leonard Sweet
 _________________________________________
 
John 20:19-31, the sermon titled "Thomas" 
 
If I were to mention the names of certain disciples to you and ask you to write down the first word that comes into your mind, it is unlikely you would come up with the same words. If I were to mention the name of Judas many of you would write down the word "betray" but not all of you. If I were to mention Simon Peter, some of you would write down the word "faith," but not all of you. If I were to mention the names of James and John, some of you would write down the phrase "Sons of Thunder," but not all of you. But when I mention the word Thomas, there is little question about the word most everyone would write down. It would be the word doubt. Indeed, so closely have we associated Thomas with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe him: "Doubting Thomas."

You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description. 

When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: Then let us go so that we may die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.

Unfortunately history has remembered him for this scene where the resurrected Christ made an appearance to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. Thomas was not present and when he heard about the event he refused to believe it. Maybe he was the forerunner of modern day cynicism. Maybe the news simply sounded too good to be true. Thomas said: Unless I feel the nail prints in his hands I will not believe.

Now I cannot help but notice that Thomas has separated himself from the disciples and therefore, in his solitude, missed the resurrection appearance. I think that john is suggesting to us that Christ appears most often within the community of believers that we call the church, and when we separate ourselves from the church we take a chance on missing his unique presence.

But the story doesn't end here. The second time Jesus made his appearance Thomas was present with the disciples and this time he too witnessed the event. This time he believed. What can we learn from the life of Thomas?
 
1. Jesus did not blame him.
2. The most endearing things in life can never be proven.
3. We must move beyond doubt to faith.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
_______________________
 
Revelation 1, the sermon titled ?The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come? 
 
It has always bothered me that the symbol for Easter is a rodent. It is bad enough that the symbol for Pentecost is a dove, a fancy name for a white pigeon, or a trash bird. But the high and holy festival of Easter -- a rodent?
 
How's that for a beginning to what is sometimes known as "Low Sunday?"
 
Okay, okay. Technically, no longer are rabbits classified as rodents. As of 1912, rabbits and hares went from being classified in the order Rodentia to a new order, Lagomorpha, which also includes pikas. But up until 1912 rabbits were rodents.
 
Most kids have rodents as pets at some point in their lives. Hamster? Gerbil? It might as well be a rat or a mouse. [At this point if you can showcase and storyboard one or more cages of pet hamsters or gerbils, and even get their "owners" to tell something about them, so much the better.]
 
As a one-time parent of a child with a pet rodent, I can testify to a middle-of-the-night sound that used to drive me crazy until I got used to it. This is the constant squeak and rattle of the running wheel in the rodent's cage. With no place to expend all their energy, they frantically race their way to nowhere inside that spinning wheel.
 
Can you think of a kinder invention ever devised for our furry captives than this clear plastic exercise ball? Safely ensconced in the ball the critter can't actually "escape" to anywhere. But at least there is a feeling of making "progress" to somewhere. The human version of a rodent's running wheel is a treadmill, a Stairmaster, or some other stationary exercise machine. Our bodies go through the motions of running or climbing or rowing - but we don't actually go anywhere. Fancier versions of these machines now take pity on the poor human-gerbil-in-the-wheel.
 
Many now come with a video screen. You can pick what kind of beautiful scenery you are not actually running through. You cannot really run along the beach. You cannot really run in the mountains. You cannot really run beside a pristine lake. You can look at real pretty fakery, but you are still getting nowhere. Getting nowhere faster than you did yesterday. But still getting nowhere.
 
One of the things that makes human beings unique is we can simultaneously live in three dimensions of time. Of course, don't ask what "time" is. St. Augustine confessed about time that "I know well enough what it is, provided nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled." So don't ask me what time is.
 
But let's try to describe it from our text this morning. Raymond Tallis, in The Kingdom of Infinite Space: A Fantastical Journey around Your Head (Atlantic Books, 2008), puts it like this: "animals live their lives, humans lead theirs." Only humans, he says, have an explicit concept or idea of the past, the present and the future: which is both a tremendous advantage and a terrible burden?
 
The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com
___________________________
 

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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:54:49 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:54:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11 - Part 2
Message-ID: <8CCA35C6BD7D689-124C-3A6@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


The Reputation of a Lifetime

Thomas found a Lord who dealt with him where he was, in his present circumstances but led him beyond the passing into the permanent. I think it is criminal to call him, "Doubting Thomas," for one brief moment of his life. We should remember him for the permanent affirmation Jesus evoked from him.

I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down the main street of Arlington, Kentucky, all the while singing at the top of his lungs the song, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" For the rest of his life he was known as "Hot Time." One night and a reputation for a lifetime! It wasn't fair to call him "Hot Time" all his life, nor is it fair to keep on saying, "Doubting Thomas" for one request on one night.
 
John Ewing Roberts, The Thomas in Us
________________________________________
 
No Evidence Necessary
 
When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. The notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two, not today and not 2,000 years ago, either. Modern scholars sometimes pet the disciples as such na bumpkins that they'd believe anything. Not so. They knew the dead stayed dead and this was not a fact you revised on a whim. So Thomas plays it safe but also then speculates aloud as to what it might take for him to believe this after all. As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. "My friends, I'd have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I'd need to touch those holes with my own finger. Better yet, I'd want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!" Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evidence that he thought he'd need to believe. His words seemed calculated to induce some eye-rolling.
 
Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates. To paraphrase a traditional aphorism, if you don't have faith, then there will never be evidence enough to convince you, and if you do have faith, no evidence is needed.
 
Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.
 
Scott Hoezee, comments and observations on John 20:19-31

 
____________________________________________
 
A Year of Rehearsals
 
I had a good friend back in Memphis years ago, one of my fellow rock-and-roll musicians, who only attended church on Easter Sunday. I asked him once why he didn't go to church more often than that, and I will never forget his reply. He said, "Johnny, you know how I hate rehearsals. Why should I sit through 51 rehearsals? I want to see the real thing, and that's what happens on Easter Sunday!" An interesting point of view, isn't it?
Think about it. Easter is without a doubt "show time" for the church! Church choirs spend months in preparation for that one Sunday when we celebrate what is for Christians the central event in the history of the world, the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the Sundays in the year can seem like rehearsals. But is that such a bad thing?

Johnny Dean, The Benefit of the Doubt, wwwSermons.com
_____________________________________________________
 
What's the Good Word?
 
A student from Korea was complaining about how difficult it is to learn the English language. He felt that American idioms were particularly difficult to comprehend. He said that he had studied English for nine years in preparation for attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On his first day at the school, as he was walking across the campus, an American student casually greeted him with, "Hi, What's the good word?" The Korean boy stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself: "I don't know the good word! You would have thought that after nine years of studying English, someone would have told me what "the good word' was!"

Later, trying to solve this puzzle, he decided to turn the tables and ask an American, "What's the good word?" and listen to his reply. So, approaching a fellow student, he repeated, "Hi! What's the good word?" The quick response was, "Oh, not much. How about you?"

 
It was obvious that neither of these students knew what the good word was. It's a rather plastic greeting. But I can tell you the good word for today: Christ the Lord is risen. That's the Good Word. And because it is; it says a great deal about our lives.

 
Brett Blair and King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________________________
 
A New Shalom
 
When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and light-hearted with no more significance than a passing greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. At Bethlehem God announced that peace would come through the gift of God's unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God and to order peace for the world.
 
Harry N. Huxhold, Which Way To Jesus?, CSS Publishing
____________________________

Peace Be With You...It Already Is!
 
Theologian Karl Barth once remarked that to say the old line from the creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" does not mean that we believe in the church. It means rather to believe that God is present and at work in the church, that "in this assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit takes place. ... We do not believe in the Church: but we do believe that in this congregation the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an event."
 
Barth's words rang true for me some years ago, when I was invited by a church in a nearby town to be the worship leader at a special evening communion service. The church staff had planned this service to be educational as well as worshipful. The idea was that, first, the congregation would gather in the sanctuary and I would give a brief talk about the meanings of the Lord's Supper. Then, we would go into the fellowship hall and be seated around tables for the service itself.
 
At each table there would be the flour and other ingredients to form the dough for the communion loaves. The plan called for each table to prepare a loaf and, while the loaves baked in the ovens of the church kitchen, the people at each table were to engage in various exercises designed to get them talking about their experiences in the faith.
 
It was a good idea, but like many well-planned events, things looked better on the drawing board than they turned out in reality. There were problems. Children at many tables began to play in the baking ingredients, and white clouds of flour floated around the room coating everybody and everything. There were delays in the kitchen, and the communion bread baked with agonizing slowness. Some of the tables ran out of things to say; children grew weary and fussy; the room was filled with commotion and restlessness. The planners had dreamed of an event of excitement, innovation, peak learning, and moving worship. What happened was noise, exhaustion, and people making the best of a difficult situation. In other words, despite the rosy plans, it was the real church worshipping down there in the church basement.
 
Finally, the service ended, and, with no little relief, I was able to pronounce the benediction. "The peace of Christ be with you all," I said, and just as I did, a child's voice from somewhere in the room called out strong and true, "It already is."
 
Just that -- "It already is" -- but with those words the service was transformed into an event of joy and holy mystery. That small voice captured what the Gospel of John is trying to say. In the midst of a church that can claim nothing for itself, a church of noise, confusion, weariness, and even fear, the risen Christ comes to give peace. The peace of Christ be with you? Because the risen Christ comes to inhabit our empty places, then, as the child said, "It already is," and the church with nothing becomes the church with everything.
 
Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing
_________________________

 
Honey...It's Me
 
Perhaps you've heard the story of the Yugoslavian judge who was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. No, I'm not cruel or weird, let me tell you the rest of the story. This guy?s poor wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and was placed in a preparation room under a crypt in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial.
 
Well, and this is the part I love, in the middle of the night, the judge came to. The judge looked around at his surroundings and suddenly realized where he was. He got pretty excited and rushed over to alert the guard. But instead of being any help, the guard was terrified and promptly ran off.
 
Fortunately, though, the guard returned with a friend, and they released the newly-revived judge. The judge's first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her that he really wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he got no farther than, "Honey... it's me," when his wife screamed and fainted.
 
So, he decided that the best course of action was to enlist some friends. He went to the houses of several friends; but because they all had heard the news from his distraught wife, they all doubted that he was really alive. They were all convinced he was a ghost.
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive.
 
That story almost sounds like one of the Gospel writers could have written it, doesn't it? It sure sounds like the passage from John this morning.
 
Traditional Story. We have not been able to verify the veracity of this story.
____________________
 
Just Because We Can't See It
 
A junior high school teacher was telling her class about evolution and how the way everything in the world was formed proved that God doesn't exist. She said, "Look out the window. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Look around you in this room. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Then our logical conclusion is that God doesn't exist, does He?" she asked at last, certain that she had won her audience over.
 
But one girl from the back of the classroom said, "Miss Smith, just because we can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist?.
 
 
The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 2 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 



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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 00:48:03 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:48:03 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for April 11
In-Reply-To: 104500
References: 104500
Message-ID: <8CCA35B7A0155B1-124C-39E@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Sermons for Easter 2: 
     John 20:19-31 ? ?Thomas? 
     Revelation 1:4-8 ? ?The God Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come? by Leonard Sweet
 _________________________________________
 
John 20:19-31, the sermon titled "Thomas" 
 
If I were to mention the names of certain disciples to you and ask you to write down the first word that comes into your mind, it is unlikely you would come up with the same words. If I were to mention the name of Judas many of you would write down the word "betray" but not all of you. If I were to mention Simon Peter, some of you would write down the word "faith," but not all of you. If I were to mention the names of James and John, some of you would write down the phrase "Sons of Thunder," but not all of you. But when I mention the word Thomas, there is little question about the word most everyone would write down. It would be the word doubt. Indeed, so closely have we associated Thomas with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe him: "Doubting Thomas."

You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description. 

When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: Then let us go so that we may die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.

Unfortunately history has remembered him for this scene where the resurrected Christ made an appearance to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem. Thomas was not present and when he heard about the event he refused to believe it. Maybe he was the forerunner of modern day cynicism. Maybe the news simply sounded too good to be true. Thomas said: Unless I feel the nail prints in his hands I will not believe.

Now I cannot help but notice that Thomas has separated himself from the disciples and therefore, in his solitude, missed the resurrection appearance. I think that john is suggesting to us that Christ appears most often within the community of believers that we call the church, and when we separate ourselves from the church we take a chance on missing his unique presence.

But the story doesn't end here. The second time Jesus made his appearance Thomas was present with the disciples and this time he too witnessed the event. This time he believed. What can we learn from the life of Thomas?
 
1. Jesus did not blame him.
2. The most endearing things in life can never be proven.
3. We must move beyond doubt to faith.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
_______________________
 
Revelation 1, the sermon titled ?The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come? 
 
It has always bothered me that the symbol for Easter is a rodent. It is bad enough that the symbol for Pentecost is a dove, a fancy name for a white pigeon, or a trash bird. But the high and holy festival of Easter -- a rodent?
 
How's that for a beginning to what is sometimes known as "Low Sunday?"
 
Okay, okay. Technically, no longer are rabbits classified as rodents. As of 1912, rabbits and hares went from being classified in the order Rodentia to a new order, Lagomorpha, which also includes pikas. But up until 1912 rabbits were rodents.
 
Most kids have rodents as pets at some point in their lives. Hamster? Gerbil? It might as well be a rat or a mouse. [At this point if you can showcase and storyboard one or more cages of pet hamsters or gerbils, and even get their "owners" to tell something about them, so much the better.]
 
As a one-time parent of a child with a pet rodent, I can testify to a middle-of-the-night sound that used to drive me crazy until I got used to it. This is the constant squeak and rattle of the running wheel in the rodent's cage. With no place to expend all their energy, they frantically race their way to nowhere inside that spinning wheel.
 
Can you think of a kinder invention ever devised for our furry captives than this clear plastic exercise ball? Safely ensconced in the ball the critter can't actually "escape" to anywhere. But at least there is a feeling of making "progress" to somewhere. The human version of a rodent's running wheel is a treadmill, a Stairmaster, or some other stationary exercise machine. Our bodies go through the motions of running or climbing or rowing - but we don't actually go anywhere. Fancier versions of these machines now take pity on the poor human-gerbil-in-the-wheel.
 
Many now come with a video screen. You can pick what kind of beautiful scenery you are not actually running through. You cannot really run along the beach. You cannot really run in the mountains. You cannot really run beside a pristine lake. You can look at real pretty fakery, but you are still getting nowhere. Getting nowhere faster than you did yesterday. But still getting nowhere.
 
One of the things that makes human beings unique is we can simultaneously live in three dimensions of time. Of course, don't ask what "time" is. St. Augustine confessed about time that "I know well enough what it is, provided nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled." So don't ask me what time is.
 
But let's try to describe it from our text this morning. Raymond Tallis, in The Kingdom of Infinite Space: A Fantastical Journey around Your Head (Atlantic Books, 2008), puts it like this: "animals live their lives, humans lead theirs." Only humans, he says, have an explicit concept or idea of the past, the present and the future: which is both a tremendous advantage and a terrible burden?
 
The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com
___________________________
 
The Reputation of a Lifetime

Thomas found a Lord who dealt with him where he was, in his present circumstances but led him beyond the passing into the permanent. I think it is criminal to call him, "Doubting Thomas," for one brief moment of his life. We should remember him for the permanent affirmation Jesus evoked from him.

I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down the main street of Arlington, Kentucky, all the while singing at the top of his lungs the song, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" For the rest of his life he was known as "Hot Time." One night and a reputation for a lifetime! It wasn't fair to call him "Hot Time" all his life, nor is it fair to keep on saying, "Doubting Thomas" for one request on one night.
 
John Ewing Roberts, The Thomas in Us
________________________________________
 
No Evidence Necessary
 
When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. The notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two, not today and not 2,000 years ago, either. Modern scholars sometimes pet the disciples as such na bumpkins that they'd believe anything. Not so. They knew the dead stayed dead and this was not a fact you revised on a whim. So Thomas plays it safe but also then speculates aloud as to what it might take for him to believe this after all. As he talks, his rhetoric gets more and more exaggerated. "My friends, I'd have to see with my own eyes the nail holes in his hands. No, tell you what, I'd need to touch those holes with my own finger. Better yet, I'd want to stick my whole hand right into his side where the sword pierced him!" Thomas kept mounting up an ever-larger heap of evidence that he thought he'd need to believe. His words seemed calculated to induce some eye-rolling.
 
Of course, once he does meet Jesus, all that evaporates. To paraphrase a traditional aphorism, if you don't have faith, then there will never be evidence enough to convince you, and if you do have faith, no evidence is needed.
 
Without faith, no evidence is sufficient; with faith, no evidence is necessary.
 
Scott Hoezee, comments and observations on John 20:19-31

 
____________________________________________
 
A Year of Rehearsals
 
I had a good friend back in Memphis years ago, one of my fellow rock-and-roll musicians, who only attended church on Easter Sunday. I asked him once why he didn't go to church more often than that, and I will never forget his reply. He said, "Johnny, you know how I hate rehearsals. Why should I sit through 51 rehearsals? I want to see the real thing, and that's what happens on Easter Sunday!" An interesting point of view, isn't it?
Think about it. Easter is without a doubt "show time" for the church! Church choirs spend months in preparation for that one Sunday when we celebrate what is for Christians the central event in the history of the world, the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the Sundays in the year can seem like rehearsals. But is that such a bad thing?

Johnny Dean, The Benefit of the Doubt, wwwSermons.com
_____________________________________________________
 
What's the Good Word?
 
A student from Korea was complaining about how difficult it is to learn the English language. He felt that American idioms were particularly difficult to comprehend. He said that he had studied English for nine years in preparation for attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On his first day at the school, as he was walking across the campus, an American student casually greeted him with, "Hi, What's the good word?" The Korean boy stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself: "I don't know the good word! You would have thought that after nine years of studying English, someone would have told me what "the good word' was!"

Later, trying to solve this puzzle, he decided to turn the tables and ask an American, "What's the good word?" and listen to his reply. So, approaching a fellow student, he repeated, "Hi! What's the good word?" The quick response was, "Oh, not much. How about you?"

 
It was obvious that neither of these students knew what the good word was. It's a rather plastic greeting. But I can tell you the good word for today: Christ the Lord is risen. That's the Good Word. And because it is; it says a great deal about our lives.

 
Brett Blair and King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________________________
 
A New Shalom
 
When Jesus appeared to the disciples, his greeting was, "Peace be unto you." The Hebrew word shalom, for "peace," is a most comprehensive word, covering the full realm of relationships in daily life and expressing an ideal state of life. The word suggests the fullness of well-being and harmony untouched by ill fortune. The word as a blessing is a prayer for the best that God can give to enable a person to complete one's life with happiness and a natural death. If the concept of shalom became all too casual and light-hearted with no more significance than a passing greeting, Jesus came to give it new meaning. At Bethlehem God announced that peace would come through the gift of God's unique Son. The mission and ministry of our Lord made it quite clear that Jesus had come to introduce the rule of God and to order peace for the world.
 
Harry N. Huxhold, Which Way To Jesus?, CSS Publishing
____________________________

Peace Be With You...It Already Is!
 
Theologian Karl Barth once remarked that to say the old line from the creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" does not mean that we believe in the church. It means rather to believe that God is present and at work in the church, that "in this assembly, the work of the Holy Spirit takes place. ... We do not believe in the Church: but we do believe that in this congregation the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an event."
 
Barth's words rang true for me some years ago, when I was invited by a church in a nearby town to be the worship leader at a special evening communion service. The church staff had planned this service to be educational as well as worshipful. The idea was that, first, the congregation would gather in the sanctuary and I would give a brief talk about the meanings of the Lord's Supper. Then, we would go into the fellowship hall and be seated around tables for the service itself.
 
At each table there would be the flour and other ingredients to form the dough for the communion loaves. The plan called for each table to prepare a loaf and, while the loaves baked in the ovens of the church kitchen, the people at each table were to engage in various exercises designed to get them talking about their experiences in the faith.
 
It was a good idea, but like many well-planned events, things looked better on the drawing board than they turned out in reality. There were problems. Children at many tables began to play in the baking ingredients, and white clouds of flour floated around the room coating everybody and everything. There were delays in the kitchen, and the communion bread baked with agonizing slowness. Some of the tables ran out of things to say; children grew weary and fussy; the room was filled with commotion and restlessness. The planners had dreamed of an event of excitement, innovation, peak learning, and moving worship. What happened was noise, exhaustion, and people making the best of a difficult situation. In other words, despite the rosy plans, it was the real church worshipping down there in the church basement.
 
Finally, the service ended, and, with no little relief, I was able to pronounce the benediction. "The peace of Christ be with you all," I said, and just as I did, a child's voice from somewhere in the room called out strong and true, "It already is."
 
Just that -- "It already is" -- but with those words the service was transformed into an event of joy and holy mystery. That small voice captured what the Gospel of John is trying to say. In the midst of a church that can claim nothing for itself, a church of noise, confusion, weariness, and even fear, the risen Christ comes to give peace. The peace of Christ be with you? Because the risen Christ comes to inhabit our empty places, then, as the child said, "It already is," and the church with nothing becomes the church with everything.
 
Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing
_________________________

 
Honey...It's Me
 
Perhaps you've heard the story of the Yugoslavian judge who was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. No, I'm not cruel or weird, let me tell you the rest of the story. This guy?s poor wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead and was placed in a preparation room under a crypt in the town cemetery for twenty-four hours before burial.
 
Well, and this is the part I love, in the middle of the night, the judge came to. The judge looked around at his surroundings and suddenly realized where he was. He got pretty excited and rushed over to alert the guard. But instead of being any help, the guard was terrified and promptly ran off.
 
Fortunately, though, the guard returned with a friend, and they released the newly-revived judge. The judge's first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her that he really wasn't dead. Unfortunately, he got no farther than, "Honey... it's me," when his wife screamed and fainted.
 
So, he decided that the best course of action was to enlist some friends. He went to the houses of several friends; but because they all had heard the news from his distraught wife, they all doubted that he was really alive. They were all convinced he was a ghost.
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive.
 
That story almost sounds like one of the Gospel writers could have written it, doesn't it? It sure sounds like the passage from John this morning.
 
Traditional Story. We have not been able to verify the veracity of this story.
____________________
 
Just Because We Can't See It
 
A junior high school teacher was telling her class about evolution and how the way everything in the world was formed proved that God doesn't exist. She said, "Look out the window. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Look around you in this room. You can't see God, can you?" The kids shook their heads. "Then our logical conclusion is that God doesn't exist, does He?" she asked at last, certain that she had won her audience over.
 
But one girl from the back of the classroom said, "Miss Smith, just because we can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist?.
 
 
The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 2 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Tue Apr  6 22:51:31 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 22:51:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Preaching Resource - John 20:19-31
In-Reply-To: 104831
References: 104831
Message-ID: <8CCA4145C4F01A5-124C-8A3@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

Theological Themes: John 20:19-31

It is difficult for me to read this text and not visualize the famous painting by Carravagio, "The Incredulity of Thomas" (A "Google images" search will turn it up, if you haven?t seen it.). In this picture, Jesus stands with several of his disciples, Thomas at the front of the group. Jesus is holding open his robe, baring his chest and showing the gash from the sword with which he was pierced on the cross (See Jn 19:34). With his left hand he guides Thomas? right index finger directly into the wound. With this gesture Carravagio draws the viewer?s attention so powerfully that she almost feels Jesus? flesh for herself as the tip of Thomas? finger disappears through the fold in Jesus? skin. All three disciples crane to see Thomas touch Jesus, and Thomas? own expression is a mixture of amazement, awe, and fear. It is an incredibly realistic scene: the sheer physicality of the men dominates with their faces creased and deeply lined and the nail mark visible on Jesus? left hand. 

It may be true, as Jesus says, that those who believe in Jesus even though they have not seen him are particularly blessed, but I do not mind saying that I find myself deeply sympathetic to Thomas in this scene. Like Thomas, I want to see Jesus, I want to touch Jesus, I want, like Mary, to wrap my arms around him and cling to him. I find Thomas? reaction entirely believable, and, for good or ill, I can imagine myself in Thomas? place demanding the same thing. There is, I think, a little of Thomas in all of us ? the nagging voice that whispers in our ear every now and then, "maybe it isn?t true," "maybe you?re wrong," "maybe this is all a waste of time." When we hear that voice we doubt our faith, we doubt ourselves, and we desperately wish for proof ? proof we can see, proof we can touch.
The truth is, however, that this "doubt" Thomas so vividly embodies is not something opposed to our faith, a sign that our faith is weak, or even something that years of church going and Bible reading can make disappear. Instead, doubt is something that goes hand-in-hand with faith, and is, in fact, an inextricable part of it. No one knew this better than the great 20th century master of existential anxiety, Paul Tillich. 

For Tillich, faith describes the experience of a finite being, an individual human being who is grasped by God, the Ultimate, the ground of all Being, the One who surpasses and exceeds every attempt at full comprehension and understanding. Even in the midst of this experience and this relationship, the radical gap, the infinite chasm between God and humanity always remains, standing as a constant reminder of human frailty, finitude, and fallenness. Thus, the very act of faith requires that we believe in someone we cannot fully know, someone who calls us to follow down paths whose ends we cannot see, and someone who demands of us an obedience and trust beyond anything we can conceive of in our daily lives. 

Tillich believed that if you take all this seriously you will realize that it is impossible to accept it all without some questions, some concerns, and some hesitation. Thus, Tillich writes: "Faith is certain in so far as it is an experience of the holy. [In other words, faith is reliable not because of what we are or what we do, but because of who God is, and what God does.] But faith is uncertain in so far as the infinite to which it is related is received by a finite being. This element of uncertainty in faith cannot be removed, it must be accepted."1 Thus, for Tillich, the very act of faith is a risk, and consequently, the very act of faith is inseparable from the doubt such a profound risk carries with it inherently. He writes, "The doubt which is implicit in every act of faith
is the doubt which accompanies every risk."2 As contrary as it might seem, as people of faith, we were, are, and will be subject to doubt. As long as we exist in this relationship with God, that doubt will be with us?whether we can put our finger in Jesus? side or not. 

Another way that Tillich articulates this reality of doubt is with the language of "in spite of." He says, "There is no faith without an intrinsic ?in spite of? and the courageous affirmation of oneself in the state of ultimate concern."3 What he means is that Christians affirm their faith "in spite of:" Christians affirm that God exists in spite of the fact that there is still so much evil in the world. Christians affirm that God loves us in spite of the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Christians affirm the fact that Jesus is risen in spite of the fact that death?s ravaging hand still comes to all, sometimes much, much too soon. I am a Christian and I believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The bottom line is that faith takes courage. It takes courage to affirm oneself as a person of faith when so many of our friends and family members have abandoned faith as an antiquated and irrelevant mode of being in the world. It takes courage to trust in God and the grace of God?s presence when life seems marked by death, despair, and misfortune. It takes courage to believe in what we cannot see, to trust in what we cannot touch, to affirm what we cannot prove. This courage does not rest on our strength alone, but on the same God who continually calls us, loves us, and redeems us, walking with us every step of the way. As Tillich says, "The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt."4

As this text reminds us, Jesus appeared to Thomas, even when Thomas? faith had all but vanished in his doubt and despair at seeing his savior crucified on the cross. Like Thomas, even in the midst of our disbelief and misgivings, God shows up, God is there for us, God doesn?t abandon us. Today and every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God still comes to us that we might believe and have life and life abundant in Jesus Christ. 

Kristin Johnston Largen

Notes

1. Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1957), 16.

2. Ibid., 20.

3. Ibid., 21.

4. Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be, (New Haven, CT: Yale Nota Bene, Yale University Press, 2000), 190, author?s italics.

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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Wed Apr  7 01:04:31 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 22:04:31 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 2 Easter c
Message-ID: <830738292.1270616671875.JavaMail.root@mp09>

On Sunday evening, when I should have known better, I put this together. Then on Monday I was given a book "The Message of the Qur'an" from which I append a paragraph from the preface as a footnote. I don't know if I'll use that quote, but it does tie in and is interesting.

Anyway, for reflection and revision here's what I have.

Happy Easter Week!


	?Don?t take MY word for it!?
	If there?s one thing that seems to split denominations, and religions, I think it?s the approach to questioning. To flirt with over-simplification and generalisation, what causes more people more anguish, I think, is whether or not we can know anything for certain, or whether or not we SHOULD believe that there ARE absolute certainties.
	Last night I went to bed, reasonably sure that the sun would be there at - when was it? - 6:15 this morning. If I drove my car through the red light at Queen and Elm on the way to this service this morning, and there had been a law enforcement office sitting in the Dairy Mart parking lot, I?m almost positive I?d have been pulled over. But what about, for instance, the statements we make in the Nicene Creed? What do I think about the Creator of the universe? What about the Third Person in the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - what do I feel about her? And Jesus - is it really pushing it to suggest that there might be questions about Jesus within such a short time from the repetition of our baptismal vows and our affirmation of support for Maya?
	Some in Christian society, some in Muslim society, some in religious communities of different backgrounds and systems argue quite fiercely that once one makes a commitment of the mind or the heart then there is no need to worry about questions. One simply accepts what one is told, or what one reads. The founder of the first Sharia-compliant bank in Britain, Junaid Bhatti, talked last week about those who began their religious education by reciting the word without absorbing the message.   He was describing how he began to absorb what was going on among his own classmates as he grew up in a faithful, observant Islamic family. That?s when HE began to question. What was the purpose behind reading or listening to the Qur?an if it was merely memorised and its implications weren?t explored? 
	And here we?re back to the issue of questioning. Not only do we have to wrestle with what a certain reading or speech might mean, how it might impact us tomorrow, or next week, or five years from now; not only do we have to deal with this, but we also have to consider whether or not we can question the person who wrote the text, or spoke it.
	I was listening to that interview with Junaid Bhatti, so I?ll bring up his opinion again, but it applies to ALL religious traditions, in ALL periods of time. When asked about terrorism, especially by those who claim religious authority for their actions and die with the name of God on their lips, Bhatti asked whether the issue is being tackled in the wrong way. He insisted that the only way to tackle terrorism is to quote back the same scripture and show that God CANNOT be seen as fickle, or violent, or destructive.
	I don?t want to make it seem that I?m talking only of Islamic behaviour and understanding. Behind Bhatti?s talk it was quite obvious to me that he felt that EVERY religious tradition had to address terrorism in the same way, and he also implied that there are many forms of such attacks. They can be social or economic - keeping those neighbours in their places; putting down certain people because they don?t meet our economic expectations when it comes to being a Christian. They can be emotional and psychological - raising a child to believe she or her cannot follow a certain vocation; suggesting that someone?s opinion or judgement isn?t valuable or of any worth.
	Terrorism takes many forms, and we can learn it at an early age, if we don?t ask questions.
	I find it somewhat amusing - and here I?m putting on my own judgemental mantle, albeit knowingly - I find it somewhat amusing to think that there are Christian congregations within every denomination, and whole Christian denominations, which say that if we express any idea about whether or not what someone said in a sermon is a load of codswallop, or what the B.A.C. voted to do is subject to investigation, that the questioner?s faith is weak or absent, and that person has to be treated with extreme suspicion; I find it somewhat amusing that there ARE congregations and denominations which act that way, yet still talk about Thomas. But then, HOW do they talk about Thomas?
	The usual approach is to say, ?Poor old Doubting Thomas?, and to be scornful and snotty, rather than heaving  a sigh of relief when we read, in the verses describing the events of Jesus? first and second appearance in that Upper Room, that Jesus didn?t destroy Thomas with a lightning bolt of some sort. To the contrary, Jesus spoke directly to Thomas? question. ?You said you wanted to see My wounds? O.K., look, touch, satisfy your curiosity.?
	Jesus wasn?t humouring Thomas. Jesus was making a personal appearance, to address a specific problem, at a particular period of time. This is PRECISELY why the resurrection matters. Jesus? compassionate exemplification and presentation of the Love of God didn?t vanish with the hideous execution - which in itself may be seen as an horrendously violent reaction to Someone who asked questions and who brought troubling doubt about their own behaviour and the things they held to be sacred cows. To be fair, the average Roman soldier, maybe even the average Roman Governor, HAD to swear that he would accept the word of the Senate and the Emperor without question. Otherwise not only would his job and livelihood be in jeopardy, his life would be in jeopardy. It?s quite possible that banishment would be too mild a response to such insubordination. And this raises the issue of blind loyalty to anything.
	But Jesus? death was NOT the END to questions. It was the BEGINNING.
	Yes, orthodox Christian Doctrine has formulated the Nicene Creed. Yes, we DO say it, practically every time we celebrate Eucharist. And, NO, I DON?T cross my fingers - as the old joke has it - whenever I say the Creed. I believe that WE believe what we say. But I believe also, very firmly, that we also reserve the right to cross examine Jesus, to cross examine the Holy Writings we call the Bible. And I believe, as firmly as I can possibly say to anyone, that God will bring me to whatever and whomever it takes for me to be comfortable - or UN-comfortable - with how I understand who Jesus is and what He?s accomplished for me.
	Thomas has a lot for which to answer. But then, so do you and I. We?re ALL commissioned as witnesses to the Love and Power of God to bring us to fulfillment as members of the family of God.


	So, please - DON?T take my word for it. Ask yourself if what I?m saying makes sense - and why. Ask yourself how what the Bible says came to be considered so valuable - what sort of a problem or what sort of a celebration prompted thinking and rethinking about humans? relationship with the Creator down through history.
	And we needn?t worry if we think people will be offended, and disturbed, and maybe even frightened by the questions and challenges we present, even to the members of our own family. When Jesus and Thomas got together by themselves in that corner of the Upper Room, Jesus was saying, ?Look! Whatever the world can throw at Me, it CAN?T stop Me talking to you, or encouraging you, or challenging you, as you deal with absolutely everything in life. Believe Me, I KNOW life can be a pain! But ask for whatever help, for whatever encouragement, for whatever proof you like. And God WILL provide. Maybe not the first time you ask. But God WILL provide.
	There is an incredible piece of music written in the 1970s by the British composer Gavin Bryars. He called it, ?Jesus? Blood Never Failed Me Yet?. Why did he give it that title? Because one day, when the composer was wandering around London, tape-recording songs and sounds as background for a film on which he was working, he heard this man who looked and sounded as if he?d experienced such an incredible amount of pain and ostracisation by society that he?d been compelled to live on the streets. And what did he hear from that man? He repeated, over and over again, to the same simple set of notes, the words, ?Jesus? Blood Never Failed Me Yet.? 
	And from that song, Bryars brought out his lengthy composition, in which the recording of that street person plays over, and over, and over again.
	Now THAT man seemed to have discovered a certainty. So maybe we can trust that HIS experience may be ours too.
	Let?s hear it for Thomas, then! Thank God for Thomas! Who wasn?t afraid to question anyone, especially someone who said, ?Trust me, I?m here to help you!?

FOOTNOTE: 

1 	Belief: Part 2. Tuesday 30th March, 2009. BBC Radio 3  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rpw9x

Quote:
	?It is axiomatic from the Islamic perspective that the Qur?an cannot be translated, because the form of God?s revelation, that is the Arabic itself, is note merely incidental to its meaning, but essential to it. The Arabic of the Qur?an does not, however, limit the Qur?an to one ?literal? interpretation, but by virtue of the power of its vocabulary allows for a depth of meaning that would be lost in any translation. A rendering into another language, therefore, is not and never can be the Qur?an as such but merely an interpretation of it.? 2

2	Hasan Gai Eaton: Prologue to ?The Message of the Qur?an: The full account of the revealed Arabic text accompanied by parallel transliteration?. Translated and explained by Muhammad Asad. ? 2003 The Book Foundation, Bristol, England. 

--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 09:54:38 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:54:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 11 (Easter 2C) John 20:19-31
Message-ID: <45AAE116366941149236C662F5368A35@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for Apr. 11 (Easter 2C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 20:19-31, the story of Jesus' disciples following 
his crucifixion.


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/John.20.19-31.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  Surely the preacher's greatest sin is to put people 
to sleep with the greatest story ever told. (Bruce W. Thielemann)


TITLE:  Breaking the Chains of Fear


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Our faith in the risen Christ and his promise of 
resurrection for us help us to break the chains of fear in our lives.


SCRIPTURE:  John 20:19-31
<>

FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm

Scroll down to John 20.  There are several sermons on this text posted 
there.


TRUE STORY:

Kurt Wallenda lived on top of the world. He thrilled crowds with his daring 
stunts on the high wire until the fateful day in 1978 when his show ended. 
Wallenda plunged 75 feet to his death before an audience of thousands in San 
Juan, Puerto Rico.

What happened? His widow explained that Kurt had never been one to know 
fear.  Confidence marked his style. But when he started worrying, little 
details of safety preoccupied his mind. He checked and double-checked the 
tightrope to make certain that everything was secure. This was a different 
Karl. For the first time his energies were not devoted to confidently 
walking the wire, but to not falling. From then on he was an accident just 
waiting to happen.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

We find ourselves listening still to a man
crowded with his disciples into a narrow room on a dead-end street,
saying quietly in the face of measureless defeat,
while the ghost of that fear which had stalked them there
began its chattering at the door,
"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Paul Scherer

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Someone has said that "Fear is faith in the thing we don't want to happen."
This produces a tension over that thing.
Then surrender that false faith in the wrong thing
and fasten that faith on God, your father.

E. Stanley Jones

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Given a strong hub,
a person can take a surprising number of shocks and bumps
on the outside rim
without sustaining permanent damage.

Oveta Culp Hobby

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

History shows that when religion wanes in any country,
it is not replaced by popular nationalist philosophy
that leads to universal happiness and peace....
The vacuum left by the waning of religion in western countries
has been filled by an army of superstitious cults and beliefs.
Perfect secularism by no means casts out fear.

David H.C. Read

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Faith is not the way around pain;
it is the way through pain.
Faith doesn't get rid of the opposition;
it invites it over for dinner.
Faith doesn't give you the winning point at the last second;
it ties the game and sends you into overtime.
Faith doesn't give you the solution;
it forces you to find it.
Faith doesn't teach you at the moment;
it teaches in retrospect.
Faith doesn't provide a net to fall into
when your fingers are about to give way
as you hang suspended over the cliff;
faith gives your fingers the strength to hang on just a little longer.
In other words, faith doesn't do anything
when it's doing something.

Mike Yaconelli

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

<>
HYMN STORY:  Open My Eyes

Psalm 119:18 is a prayer for spiritual insight.  It asks God, "Open my eyes, 
so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."  Reading that verse 
inspired Clara Scott to write the hymn "Open My Eyes."  The opening verse of 
the hymn asks, "Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for 
me."

But Clara was not satisfied to pray for open eyes.  She also wrote, "Open my 
ears, that I may hear voices of truth thou sendest clear."

And she was not satisfied to ask God to receive blessings.  She also prayed 
that God would make her a blessing by helping her to speak to others about 
what God had revealed to her.  She wrote, "Open my mouth, and let me bear 
gladly the warm truth everywhere."

Clara understood, and helped countless others to understand, that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive --and that we, as Christians, are called to 
share the good news that we have received.

Clara wrote a number of other hymns, and even published a book entitled, 
Truth in Song for Lovers of Truth -- but "Open My Eyes" is the hymn for 
which she is remembered today.

Clara published "Open My Eyes" in 1895.  Two years later, as she was riding 
in a carriage, her horse was spooked and began running crazily through the 
streets.  Clara was thrown from the carriage and killed.  Reflecting on 
that, one of her biographers commented that she never knew how popular her 
hymn, "Open My Eyes" had become.

But I believe that one of her heavenly blessings will be to know just how 
many people have been blessed by the hymn that she wrote so late in her 
life.

NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 09:56:54 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:56:54 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 11 (Easter 2C) Acts 5:27-32
Message-ID: <4AC4A7078CCE4D3EBF3808B577B2AAE6@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for April 11 
(Easter 2C), Acts 5:27-32.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.
<>

ACTS 5:27-32 (Easter 2C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-11as/Acts.05.27-32.wpd

A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.

www.lectionary.org

www.lectionary.org

<>

TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr  7 10:00:23 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 10:00:23 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Goodsermons] Free Preaching Resource - John
	20:19-31
Message-ID: <2BEF70A847F24E73B8D8D3B1A6BAD01E@YOUR264F1833C5>

A free preaching resource for this coming Sunday is below (Thomas and Tillich for the Second Sunday of Easter), but first we wanted to share with you that we are accepting one day, one half day, and evening registrations for the Festival of Homiletics. Go to Register at GoodPreacher .com

Theological Themes: John 20:19-31

It is difficult for me to read this text and not visualize the famous painting by Carravagio, "The Incredulity of Thomas" (A "Google images" search will turn it up, if you haven't seen it.). In this picture, Jesus stands with several of his disciples, Thomas at the front of the group. Jesus is holding open his robe, baring his chest and showing the gash from the sword with which he was pierced on the cross (See Jn 19:34). With his left hand he guides Thomas' right index finger directly into the wound. With this gesture Carravagio draws the viewer's attention so powerfully that she almost feels Jesus' flesh for herself as the tip of Thomas' finger disappears through the fold in Jesus' skin. All three disciples crane to see Thomas touch Jesus, and Thomas' own expression is a mixture of amazement, awe, and fear. It is an incredibly realistic scene: the sheer physicality of the men dominates with their faces creased and deeply lined and the nail mark visible on Jesus' left hand. 

It may be true, as Jesus says, that those who believe in Jesus even though they have not seen him are particularly blessed, but I do not mind saying that I find myself deeply sympathetic to Thomas in this scene. Like Thomas, I want to see Jesus, I want to touch Jesus, I want, like Mary, to wrap my arms around him and cling to him. I find Thomas' reaction entirely believable, and, for good or ill, I can imagine myself in Thomas' place demanding the same thing. There is, I think, a little of Thomas in all of us ? the nagging voice that whispers in our ear every now and then, "maybe it isn't true," "maybe you're wrong," "maybe this is all a waste of time." When we hear that voice we doubt our faith, we doubt ourselves, and we desperately wish for proof ? proof we can see, proof we can touch.
The truth is, however, that this "doubt" Thomas so vividly embodies is not something opposed to our faith, a sign that our faith is weak, or even something that years of church going and Bible reading can make disappear. Instead, doubt is something that goes hand-in-hand with faith, and is, in fact, an inextricable part of it. No one knew this better than the great 20th century master of existential anxiety, Paul Tillich. 

For Tillich, faith describes the experience of a finite being, an individual human being who is grasped by God, the Ultimate, the ground of all Being, the One who surpasses and exceeds every attempt at full comprehension and understanding. Even in the midst of this experience and this relationship, the radical gap, the infinite chasm between God and humanity always remains, standing as a constant reminder of human frailty, finitude, and fallenness. Thus, the very act of faith requires that we believe in someone we cannot fully know, someone who calls us to follow down paths whose ends we cannot see, and someone who demands of us an obedience and trust beyond anything we can conceive of in our daily lives. 

Tillich believed that if you take all this seriously you will realize that it is impossible to accept it all without some questions, some concerns, and some hesitation. Thus, Tillich writes: "Faith is certain in so far as it is an experience of the holy. [In other words, faith is reliable not because of what we are or what we do, but because of who God is, and what God does.] But faith is uncertain in so far as the infinite to which it is related is received by a finite being. This element of uncertainty in faith cannot be removed, it must be accepted."1 Thus, for Tillich, the very act of faith is a risk, and consequently, the very act of faith is inseparable from the doubt such a profound risk carries with it inherently. He writes, "The doubt which is implicit in every act of faith.is the doubt which accompanies every risk."2 As contrary as it might seem, as people of faith, we were, are, and will be subject to doubt. As long as we exist in this relationship with God, that doubt will be with us?whether we can put our finger in Jesus' side or not. 

Another way that Tillich articulates this reality of doubt is with the language of "in spite of." He says, "There is no faith without an intrinsic 'in spite of' and the courageous affirmation of oneself in the state of ultimate concern."3 What he means is that Christians affirm their faith "in spite of:" Christians affirm that God exists in spite of the fact that there is still so much evil in the world. Christians affirm that God loves us in spite of the fact that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Christians affirm the fact that Jesus is risen in spite of the fact that death's ravaging hand still comes to all, sometimes much, much too soon. I am a Christian and I believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The bottom line is that faith takes courage. It takes courage to affirm oneself as a person of faith when so many of our friends and family members have abandoned faith as an antiquated and irrelevant mode of being in the world. It takes courage to trust in God and the grace of God's presence when life seems marked by death, despair, and misfortune. It takes courage to believe in what we cannot see, to trust in what we cannot touch, to affirm what we cannot prove. This courage does not rest on our strength alone, but on the same God who continually calls us, loves us, and redeems us, walking with us every step of the way. As Tillich says, "The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt."4

As this text reminds us, Jesus appeared to Thomas, even when Thomas' faith had all but vanished in his doubt and despair at seeing his savior crucified on the cross. Like Thomas, even in the midst of our disbelief and misgivings, God shows up, God is there for us, God doesn't abandon us. Today and every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God still comes to us that we might believe and have life and life abundant in Jesus Christ. 

Kristin Johnston Largen

Notes

1. Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1957), 16.

2. Ibid., 20.

3. Ibid., 21.

4. Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be, (New Haven, CT: Yale Nota Bene, Yale University Press, 2000), 190, author's italics.


Check out James Howell's Preaching Journal at GoodPreacher.com.
Click on Quick Access To This Week's Resources to have more than 60 preaching resources (like the one above) per week on one screen.


Festival of Homiletics
PO Box 843
9179 Washington Street
Amelia, VA 23002


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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Thu Apr  8 14:29:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:29:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: And Jesus Will Be Our Friend - sermon for April 11
	based on gospel lesson
Message-ID: <93FD25A80D8A416B88EC17A83EE1A4BB@YOUR264F1833C5>

Forwarded:

Note #32873 from FRANK FISHER to PROPERTALK:


Here's my sermon for Sunday based on the Gospel lesson. The idea came from
my son explaining the resurrection to me.


__

Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
www.ffisher.net
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Kewanee, IL
Elmira United Presbyterian Church


Council Member of the Associaton of Presbyterian Interim Ministry
Specialists
www.apims.org

aka

Brother Oscar Romero
Oblate of St. Benedict's Abbey
Bartonville, IL
www.SBAbbey.com


"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so
that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."-Cherokee proverb


____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________

You're two months old
and you're being held securely
in your mother's arms.
She has to hold on to you
with a pretty good grip today
because you're not all that happy
about this starchy, white, outfit
she's crammed you into.
But no matter how much you squirm or protest
you're not getting out of it
because today
is the day of your Baptism.

You start to squirm
even harder
when your mother, and father
carry you down a long aisle
to a strange place
where you're surrounded
by strange people.

You've almost settled down
when they hand you over to a total stranger.
That doesn't suit you at all
and you open your mouth wide
to tell the world about it.
But your screech of fear's cut short
when the stranger begins to pour water
over your head.

Still sputtering
you're handed back
into the relative security
of your mother's familiar arms.
She cradles you snugly
and calms all your fears.
And although no one can see them,
you're now also held
 by another
 set of arms.

You're wrapped in the arms of a Friend
who will securely hold you.
The arms of a Friend
who will be with you
throughout every fear and terror
of your life.
The arms of a Friend
who will one day
carry you to where no fear or terror
 can ever follow.

You're ten years old.
You've had a pretty happy
and normal life.
That is
 you had
a pretty happy and normal life.
All that's been changed
 because things
 have been tense in your house lately.
Your mother and father
started arguing about a year ago.
About six months ago
the arguments got a lot worse.
It seemed like they couldn't even talk
to each other without screaming.
Last night
they told you
they're getting
 a divorce.

You pleaded with them
and cried your heart out,
but you couldn't change their minds.
Somehow you sensed
they weren't really even listening
to anything you said.
Sure,
they told you
 they'd always love you.
But that doesn't take away the pain.
And it doesn't change
the absolute terror
 you feel deep inside.

You cried all night
and most of the day.
Finally
 you couldn't take it anymore.
You had to talk to someone.
So you went to find the one person
you thought would listen.
Your Sunday School teacher.
She'd taught your class
for three years now.
And you knew
 she really cared about you.
You knew she'd really hear
what you had to say.

You looked into her eyes
as your teacher listened
to the whole story.
You could tell
she understood
and that she hurt with you.
But you also knew
there was nothing she could do
to change your parent's minds.
As you realized that
 you started to cry again.
Your teacher started to cry too,
and she put her arm around you
and hugged you.

It was her hug that did it.
Just from her arm around you
you could tell
you'd survive.
Sure,
 you still hurt,
But you now had what it takes
to make it through the bad times.
For the feel of that gentle pressure
told you
you had a friend.
A friend who would be there
when things got bad.

And in the relief
of this discovery
you somehow knew
both you
and your teacher
might have another Friend.
A Friend who will always be with you
and who'll hurt when you hurt.
A Friend who will never
 divorce or leave you.
A Friend that binds you
 and your teacher
 together into one family.
The family of God.

You're twenty-two years old,
and you've just started
what looks like it'll be
a great career in sales.
You're enjoying
 all the parts of your work.
But perhaps
there's some parts of it
you're starting to enjoy
a little too much.

For you've found
 you need to entertain your clients.
That means
 you spend a lot of time
drinking with them.
And now
 you've started to drink
even when you aren't with them.

Your work starts to slip
and so does the rest of your life.
Finally there comes a time
when your spouse lays
it on the line.
You can choose between your drinking
or your marriage.

One of your friends
 takes you to an AA meeting.
And afterwards he tells you his story.
He tells you the story
about his journey out of addiction.
And he tells you how his story
is all a part of another,
and greater story.
He reminds you of all
you  already knew
about the story of the person
named Jesus of Nazareth

And as he reminds you,
something seems to move
inside your heart.
It feels like a damn bursting inside
and opening a path;
a path showing you  the way
 to go on.
And you remember
something you've forgotten
for the past few years.
You remember
you have a Friend.
A Friend
who will be by your side
through your journey out of addiction.
A Friend
who will be with you
as you work
to save your marriage.
A Friend
who's reaching out to hold your hand
to lead you
though the rest of your life.

You're thirty-five years old.
You're happily married
with a loving spouse
and three wonderful children.
You have a great job,
a nice house,
and respect in your community.
Your life seems like
its working out just fine.
Well,
 it was working out fine,
before that call last night.
You knew something had to be wrong
when the phone rang at 3 A.M.

It was your sister.
She didn't even let you finish saying hello,
before she blurted out the news.
She said your mother and father
had been in an accident.
A drunken driver had
swerved over the center line
and stuck their car head on.
No one survived.

The phone fell to the floor.
You fell too.
With your spouse's arms tight around you
you knelt there and cried
for what seemed like hours.
You're still on that floor now,
kneeling where you fell last night.

There's a gentle touch
and you look up to see
your pastor's sitting beside you.
She doesn't say a word.
All she does is to look into your eyes
and let her hand
rest on your shoulder.
But that touch
 suddenly means the whole world to you.

It reminds you
 you're among friends.
And who she is
reminds you
you also have
an even greater Friend.
You have a Friend
 who will morn with you.
You have a Friend
who will help you find a way
to live with this pain.
And you have a Friend
who now holds your parents
securely
and lovingly
in the palm of a mighty hand.

You're forty-six years old
and you're laying on a cart
 in an emergency room.
An ambulance brought you here
 about four hours ago
after you fell on the ice.
They've given you a shot
to ease the pain.
The shot helped a little
but you still feel like there's a knife
sticking in your right knee.

Your doctor appears at the side of the cart.
He doesn't look real happy.
And when you hear his news
you're not real happy either.
You're going in for emergency surgery
in about an hour.
After the surgery
you're going to be in rehabilitation
for at least six months.
When the rehab's done
you'll be able to walk again.
But you'll always use a cane
and you'll always need help
where ever you go.

Just as the unfairness of this loss
begins to seep into your mind,
there are other people
standing by the side of your cart.
Its your spouse and your children.
They look down and smile at you.
Your children tell you
you helped them to learn to walk,
and they'll be happy to do the same for you.
And while your children are talking
you hear your spouse quietly breathing
a word of prayer.

That prayer reminds you of the Friend
who's always with you.
And the presence
of your spouse and children
remind you of that Friend's marvelous gifts.
The pain in your knee
is still there
but it doesn't seem to matter
so much anymore.
You look at your family
and look at your knee
and then look upwards
and you say,
"the Lord gives
 and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord."

You're fifty-seven years old
and living a life that finally seems
to have settled down.
All of your kids are in college
and you
and your spouse
are beginning to really enjoy decorating
 your new house.
You smile as you walk into
your office building,
and wave at your boss
who's standing by her desk.
Surprisingly
 she doesn't wave back,
but beckons you into her office instead.
There's a security guard
 standing by her desk.

Your boss tells you
the company has re-evaluated
its work force.
And in the re-evaluation
it's been decided
your job is now unnecessary.
She tells the security guard
to escort you to your office
and to watch you
while you clean out your desk.


After five months
you finally find another job.
You know you couldn't have
made it through those months
without your faith.
For even while you watched
 your life savings shrink
there was a feeling
of an arm
around your shoulders.
A feeling that no matter how bad things got
somehow
it was going to be ok.
A feeling that although this seemed like
the worst of times,
there was a Friend with you.
A friend who held you tightly,
when you didn't know
if you could go on.
A Friend who never strayed from your side
and who walked every step
 of this path with you.

You're sixty-eight years old
and last week you had another of
 those visits
with your doctors.
A visit
 where you did you best to convince them
heart surgery,
is not your idea
of a fun way to spend your time.

You didn't convince them,
and they were pretty convincing themselves.
They told you
straight out
if you wanted to have
a lot more years in this life,
you had to have this operation.

They've come to take you
 to the operating room now.
And you're scared.
More scared then you've ever been.
You turn to your pastor
who's been waiting in your room with you,
and you ask for a word of prayer.
She touches your head gently
and you hear words lifting up
your need for protection and health.
and you hear
words asking for guidance
for your surgeon's hands.

As the prayer gently finishes
your pastor traces a cross
 in oil
 on your forehead
and reminds  you
that the blessing of the Triune God
is with you.

And as she makes that cross
you sense there's another hand
on top of her's.
A hand offering a blessing
human hands could never bestow.
As you're wheeled away toward surgery,
that blessing
hovers over you
reminding you;
no matter what happens
there's a Friend with you.
A Friend
who's taking care of you
and who's not going to leave your side today.

You're ninety-five years old.
A person full of life.
Full of love for your grand children,
and brimming with love for your God.
You've been in good health,
but that's slipping now.
Today its slipped a little too far
and you know
your life on the face of this earth
is over.

Your sight begins to fade,
making your grand children's
faces disappear.
Your hearing starts to fade too
and their voices dim
and slip away.

Then suddenly
 you seem to feel
an arm around you.
An arm
 whose touch you seem to know
very well indeed.
A strong arm that lifts you up
until you see the face
 of your best Friend;
the one who's always been
a real and tangible presence with you
through every fear filled
moment of your life;
the One who never left your side;
the One who walked with you,
the One who cried with you,
and wiped away
every tear from your eyes;
the One who died
and was raised for you.

And you see
a new heaven
and a new earth.
Every tear
is wiped away
from our eyes.
Death is no more;
mourning and crying and pain
are banished from our lives.

All things
are made new.
And forever more

Jesus
 will be our Friend.

To God alone be glory.
Amen.

- - - - -




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 09:25:11 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:25:11 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] The little train that always can - Textweek
Message-ID: <33A3A125AABE48EAAA15FA9E043F0E96@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc2.htm
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 13:03:32 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:03:32 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: 2 Easter
In-Reply-To: 107031
References: 107031
Message-ID: <8CCA6E6E230ECE3-DC0-651@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

Forwarded:


-----Original Message-----
From: AFONTAINE <annfontaine at me.com>
To: SERMONSHOP 2010 04 11 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_11.topic at faithgroups.com>
Sent: Sat, Apr 10, 2010 11:47 am
Subject: 2 Easter


Note #3 from AFONTAINE to SERMONSHOP 2010 04 11:

y sermon thoughts are here
http://seashellseller.blogspot.com/2010/04/2-easter.html


The Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 20:31:10 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:31:10 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - John 20:19-31
Message-ID: <8B3887D31DF543668AA4ED5C02D2817B@YOUR264F1833C5>

Susan Sparks is a former trial lawyer who now serves as senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York, NY. 
Trust Jesus and Elvis
John 20:19-31
2nd Sunday of Easter - Year C
April 11, 2010
http://day1.org/1870-trust_jesus_and_elvis
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 22:27:48 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:27:48 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 1
Message-ID: <EA1BDAAAA10C4141AEF62C303001ADFD@YOUR264F1833C5>

There have been Elvis sightings all over the world--from a spa in Tokyo to a Burger King in Michigan.  There was even a woman who claimed that she found the image of Elvis in a taco shell.
If only we'd put even 1% of that kind of energy towards looking for Jesus, we might actually find him too.  Maybe we'd find him in the eyes of a little child or the downcast gaze of a homeless stranger.  Maybe we'd find him in the face of an enemy or the tears of a loved one with whom we are fighting.  If you believe he lives, you'll act like he lives.  You'll look for him and you'll find him.

http://day1.org/1870-trust_jesus_and_elvis

Susan Sparks
- - - - -

The first words Jesus offered were a gift: "Peace be with you."  He knew what was in their hearts; he knew why they had barred the door. He knew they weren't re-grouping, getting it together and deciding on their next move, how they were going to carry on Jesus' legacy or spread his teaching. They were scared and they were hiding out. 

http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-11-2010.html

Kathryn Matthews Huey
- - - - -

The wonderful thing about God is that we are met wherever we are on our journey in faith. God speaks to everyone regardless - the mystic who is seeking God in meditation and prayer, the Thomas who needs more proof, the unbelieving who live in faith nevertheless, those who are just born with an innate sense of belief, those who follow an ethical compassionate life regardless of belief systems. God is open to all.

http://seashellseller.blogspot.com/2010/04/2-easter.html

Ann Fontaine
- - - - -

Some things cannot be explained or seen or touched but must simply be accepted as mystery, truth that is beyond our understanding.  Sometimes we must trust in God's mercy rather than in our ability to figure everything out.

http://day1.org/1242-dealing_with_mystery

Laura S. Mendenhall, 2009 
- - - - -

 A diverse world demands more of us as Christian people. It forces us to examine our own motivations and our reasons for engaging otherness and difference in the world. We have a unique opportunity to embrace people from all over the world with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. The challenge of this engagement with otherness and difference is a significant one, because I'm convinced that you and I are now living in the century of the local church, the local congregation when it comes to the Christian engagement with the world.

http://day1.org/1095-on_chocolate_chip_cookies_and_dirty_water_and_being_church_in_a_shrinking_world

Rob Nash
- - - - -
Thomas had lost his Lord; he had witnessed the crucifixion of his savior! But he had survived that ordeal. In fact sometimes I wonder if, while the other disciples were hiding in the upper room at Christ's first appearance, Thomas was not out preparing to move on, to get on with the work of rebuilding his shattered life. No wonder, then, that when his friends share their joyous news, "We have seen the Lord," he reacts skeptically.

It is as if an AIDs patient, finally reconciled to his fate, is told of a new miracle cure; or a disillusioned spouse, who has finally accepted that her marriage is over, is told that her husband is really a "new man." Nothing, you see, is worse than getting cut again by one's broken dreams, and Thomas has bled enough.

http://day1.org/1082-realities_old_and_new

David Lose
- - - - -

Doubt is like a front porch. All of us go through it before we get into the house of faith.

http://day1.org/1038-doubtthe_prelude_to_faith

Bill Self 
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 23:12:40 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:12:40 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 2
Message-ID: <C2ECFF2E2D6A413BB4ED5FDC6F25F89A@YOUR264F1833C5>

In reality, it was the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus that turned skeptics into believers.  Easter Resurrection continued for days and to hundreds of people. There's something about death that is so final.  It's not the story that convinces people in the New Testament, it's the encounter with a living Savior that changes hearts.  
<>
Jesus was patient with all of them and He shared the same peace with Thomas.  

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=163&kennung=20070415en

James Mueller, 2007
- - - - -

Jesus came to them, and especially, Thomas, to chase away doubt and to restore faith. 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-8/060423-6-e.html

David Andrus
- - - - -

Trusting something or someone outside ourselves is not always easy. Physicians tell us that if a child doesn't bond with a parent or guardian in the early months of its life, it will have difficulty trusting others as it develops. And, in fact, if trust is not established early in the development stages, a fracture may occur in the child's spirit and affect its personality for life. 

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/bullock_4912.htm

Wyvetta Bullock, 2006 
- - - - -

Jesus says something even more shocking. He says, "if you forgive people, their sins are forgiven, and if you don't forgive them, their sins are not forgiven." What could it possibly mean to retain-or not to forgive sins! The church, in its need to be control taking, has often messed this all up. The concept of excommunication comes from this statement. If someone sins and does not repent, you can remove them from the Christian community. Historically, both the Eastern Church and the Western Church often held this threat over people's heads, from popes to kings to reformers to lowly rebellious types. However, Jesus, the one who held no grudges and who hired even those who denied him to follow him again, this Jesus seems never to have withheld or retained sins. And why would we, who have been forgiven so generously, even consider such a thing? If we refuse to forgive someone, of course we haven't forgiven them-- but why would we entertain such a thought! 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-7/050515-9-e.html

David Zersen, 2005
- - - - -

You've probably heard the phrase "Caesar's breath." It is science's way of reminding us that energy never dies or disappears. The molecules of Caesar's breath, 2,000 years ago, are still in our atmosphere today. They have scattered around the globe and we are breathing them with every breath we take. Christ's breath is still alive too. The breath he breathed into the disciples that day in the upper room - the spirit and power of God - is still circulating. And it is far more powerful than Caesar's breath. It's the reminder that God, whose spirit hovered over the face of the deep at creation, was still making the world through Christ and is still working on it today.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/killinger_4803.htm

John Killinger, 2004 
- - - - -

It was in China that I experienced that trust. On a mission team I shared with members of a congregation in Beijing, an elderly gentleman told his story of faith that included his congregation. When the Red Guard had taken power, the churches were closed and the pastors sent into the countryside to work in factories. The church buildings were used as warehouses. He and other members of their congregation had made an agreement to study the Scriptures in private and tithe during their forced absence from corporate worship. He said sadly, "We did not realize it would be 13 years of exile from worship." He said after those years of Bible study and fear, the churches reopened and on that first Sunday of worship, the people returned to the altar to pray and brought their tithes and offerings-all 13 years' worth. Indeed, blessed are those that have not seen and believed.

http://day1.org/467-can_i_get_a_witness

Jonathan Holston, 2004
- - - - -



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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 10 23:58:22 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:58:22 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 3
Message-ID: <48E3B9DA531A498BA4441C285AD7AABD@YOUR264F1833C5>

I once got a phone call from a retired minister who wanted an appointment with me. When we were together, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop, for the thing he had come for to reveal itself. Whatever it was, I knew it would be concrete -- an illness, a lapse, a fear, an alienated loved one. It might have been anything. And so we talked and I waited. Finally, as he was leaving, I understood. There was something concrete that had brought him to me. But I was totally unprepared for what it was. He never put it into words, but what he wanted was to open the locked door of his retirement by praying for a younger minister, someone who was doing each day the things that he used to do. He wanted to pray the power he had known in his own life of service, to share the commission, and so he knelt and took my hand and prayed for my ministry. With his words and his posture, it was as if he breathed on me a power that was neither his or mine. There was no one else in the room you would have been able to see had you looked in the window--just two followers, one old, one younger, but someone else was there giving both of us what we needed to serve him.

http://day1.org/518-handwitness_testimony

Catherine Taylor 
- - - - -

I discovered that Christians can become fixated on their Sunday school theology and not move beyond it; and I also discovered that a person can become fixated on their doubts and not move beyond them.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_thomas_the_doubter.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

Centuries ago, Copernicus doubted that the earth was the center of the universe and Christians round him were using the Bible and quoting the Bible to prove that the earth was the center of the universe. His doubt of their reading of the Bible lead him to a larger and deeper understanding of the Christian faith. 
Centuries ago, during the time of Columbus, certain Christians were using the Bible and quoting the Bible that the earth was flat and had edges and if you sailed too far, your boat would fall over the edge off the earth. Columbus doubted the Christianity he had been taught, and his doubts led to a deeper and larger faith. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_thomas_a_honest_doubter.htm

Edward F. Markquart
- - - - -

You see, peace is not simply the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of justice for all. No, you and I will not always agree on the way to peace, yet in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all sent into the violent world to be peacemakers.

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/hanson_4714.htm

Mark Hanson, 2004
- - - - -

Virginia was 19 years old and pregnant when she went to live with her 15th set of foster parents. Her case file read like a textbook example of neglect, abuse and bureaucratic failure. She sat silently in a chair, hands neatly clasped, staring into her lap. The foster parents, whose three children were in school, had been appraised of Virginia's story and promised that this placement would be "temporary". (Temporary was the story of Virginia's life.)
Finally, the foster mother said, "Are you frightened, Virginia?"

"Kinda," she replied without looking up. Then, "I've been in lots of homes."

"Well," the sympathetic woman tried to reassure the bewildered young mother-to-be, "Let's hope this time turns out for the best."

Virginia's reply is one of those statements that sticks to your soul -- it was flat, without change of tone and without Virginia even looking up -- "Hurts too much to hope."

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/pieces1.html

John Jewell, 2000
- - - - -

When we have left behind all objective probabilities about God and the Christ, and all subjective approximations to God and the Christ, when all preliminary certainties have disappeared, the ultimate certainty may appear to us. And in the power of this certainty, though never secure and never without temptation, we may walk from certainty to certainty.

http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=375&C=22

Paul Tillich, 1955 
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 11 00:52:08 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:52:08 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] John 20:19-31 commentaries - Part 4
Message-ID: <88343B67665C4C1F83C02C542487B53E@YOUR264F1833C5>

Madame C. J. Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove, in Delta, Louisiana, became America's first black millionaire. She defied the odds of her state of existence. She was illiterate but eventually developed a business that influenced the world's hair products. Madame  Walker's husband was killed when she was 20. As a single parent she raised her two-year old daughter. She could not read or write during this period of her life. At a point in her life she found herself going bald. She prayed to the Lord to save her hair. Ingredients to make a formula appeared to her in a dream. She understood her dream to be evidence that the Lord was alive in her experience and guiding her. Through her belief in the Lord's presence, she became successful.
Now, you may think that a silly thing to do: Pray for God to save your hair. But the Lord honored that simple belief. From that simple belief, Madame Walker experienced the reality of the Lord's aliveness in her life. Because of this experience, she went ahead to produce hair products and methods that contributed to the development of the whole hair product industry.

http://day1.org/633-experiencing_jesus_aliveness_through_believing

Isaiah Jones Jr., 2001
- - - - -

I believe that inside us all there is a spark of hope which, like a keyhole, allows us to peek out from behind our locked doors of doubt and fear and confusion to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Risen Lord. We find ourselves most able to identify with Thomas because doubt is the simplest door to lock and hide behind. 

http://day1.org/853-behind_closed_doors

Duane Steele, 1997 
- - - - -

To forgive is not a right to be jealously guarded, but an obligation to be exercised generously. We do not earn our own forgiveness by forgiving others.  Rather we manifest the generosity and implacability of God's forgiveness of us.

http://www.agreeley.com/hom10/apr11.htm

Andrew M. Greeley, 1999
- - - - -

To symbolize the giving of the Holy Spirit/Breath, Jesus "breathes on" (emphusao -- only occurrence in NT) the disciples (without Thomas!). The same word is used in Gn 2:7 (LXX) where God breathes the breath of life into the nostrils of the man and he becomes a living being. It is used in Ez 37:9 where the breath breathes on the slain [the dry bones], so that they may live. It is also used in Wisdom 15:11c where God "breathed a living spirit into them."
<>
"User Friendly Evaluation," by C. Jeff Woods... has a chapter called "Evaluation and Church Renewal." He defines church renewal as:
  Church renewal occurs when a distinct group of people expect the Spirit of God to challenge, direct, and empower them to reach their potential of being the church in today's world.

One of his four assumptions about church renewal is:

  the church does not renew itself. The Holy Spirit challenges, directs, and empowers the work of renewal. . . . The Spirit renews the church. Many church renewal resources coerce the pastoral leadership into feeling responsible for the church's state of renewal. That's simply not biblical. Pastoral leadership has a great deal to do with the activities in the congregation, but renewal results are the sole property of God's handiwork. Even Paul, who liked to tell churches that he had more to boast about than anyone else if he chose to do so, reminded the church, 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth' (1 Cor. 3:6). God is the one who provides growth and renewal for churches. Numerical growth. Common-bond growth. Growth in maturity. All kinds of growth. God is the source." [p. 49]

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19p.htm

Brian Stoffregen
- - - - -

For the fourth Gospel, the day of Pentecost is no tongues of fire or a bewildering, amazing, perplexing cacophony of voices, but the peace of one voice, the shepherd's voice, who bestows on his disciples the abiding presence of "I am." 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=5/11/2008&tab=4

Karoline Lewis, 2008
- - - - -

God is breathing the Spirit into us & the whole creation all the time. It is a collective gift rather than a private one. Here in the upper room Jesus breathes it upon those who have desperate need of Comfort & Assurance, of Courage. 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/marginallymark/MMKJN201931E2.html

Brian McGowan
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 11 03:46:59 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:46:59 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] "The Steps of Faith" based on John 20:19-31 for April
	11
Message-ID: <A819872F1C9047B69FFCEB371D56B219@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://tiny.cc/33d22 is a sermon on "The Steps of Faith" based on John 20:19-31 for April 11.
Peace and blessings,
Joe
St. John's, Elizabeth, NJ
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From charles.wohlers at verizon.net  Sun Apr 11 21:05:25 2010
From: charles.wohlers at verizon.net (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:05:25 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the THIRD SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <4D29308277F4427F90B93938A780EE32@cranmer>

The following are the readings for the Third Sunday of Easter, April 18, 
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, 
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All 
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the 
Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries 
are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <<http://satucket.com/lectionary>>, 
in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING:   Acts 9: 1 - 6 (7 - 20)   RCL)
                                  Acts 9: 1 - 20   (Can. BAS)

Acts 9:1 (NRSV) Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against 
the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for 
letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged 
to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as 
he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven 
flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The 
reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter 
the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7 The men who were 
traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no 
one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could 
see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 
For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Anani'as. The Lord said to him 
in a vision, "Anani'as." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11 The Lord said to 
him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas 
look for a man of Tar'sus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12 and 
he has seen in a vision a man named Anani'as come in and lay his hands on 
him so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Anani'as answered, "Lord, I 
have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your 
saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to 
bind all who invoke your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is 
an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings 
and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must 
suffer for the sake of my name." 17 So Anani'as went and entered the house. 
He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who 
appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your 
sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately something like 
scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and 
was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately 
he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of 
God."


Acts 5: 27b - 32, 40b - 41   (Roman Catholic)

Acts 5:27 (NRSV) The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, "We gave you 
strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem 
with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." 
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any 
human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had 
killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as 
Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of 
sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit 
whom God has given to those who obey him."

40  Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them 
go. 41 As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered 
worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.


PSALM 30   (RCL)
Psalm 30: 1, 3 - 5, 10 - 11a, 12b   (Roman Catholic)
Psalm 30: 4 - 12   (Can. BAS)

Psal 30:1 (NRSV) I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from She'ol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7 By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9 "What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Note Verse numbering in Roman Catholic Bibles is one higher than the above.


SECOND READING:   Revelation 5: 11 - 14   (all)

Reve 5:11 (NRSV) Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels 
surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they 
numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full 
voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!"
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth 
and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
"To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!"
14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and 
worshiped.


GOSPEL:   John 21: 1 - 19   (RCL)
                    John 21: 1 - 14 (15 - 19)   (Roman Catholic)
                    John 21: (1 - 14) 15 - 19   (Can. BAS)

John 21:1 (NRSV) After these things Jesus showed himself again to the 
disciples by the Sea of Tibe'rias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 
Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'ael 
of Ca'na in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples. 
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will 
go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they 
caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not 
know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, 
have you?" They answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the 
right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now 
they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That 
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter 
heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and 
jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging 
the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a 
hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on 
it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have 
just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full 
of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, 
the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now 
none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it 
was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did 
the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared 
to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son 
of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you 
know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 A second time 
he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, 
Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He 
said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt 
hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to 
him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to 
him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you 
used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you 
grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a 
belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." 19 (He said this 
to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he 
said to him, "Follow me."


Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu





From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Tue Apr 13 19:38:06 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:38:06 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 3 Easter c rcl - first draft
Message-ID: <1451450448.1271201886272.JavaMail.root@mp09>

Here's what developed from my thought about the opening story.

I hope it is at least a start 8 - )

I have a funeral on Friday and have a homily for that.

The XOXOXO in the text  is to remind me to add the name of next month's Outreach Project when I find my list!

Bob


THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	       THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER C RCL
ACTS 9:1-20			             18th APRIL, 2010
REVELATION 5:11-14			 PSALM 30
JOHN 21:1-19

	Remember Clara Peller? Her name ring a bell? What about, ?Where?s the beef??  Ms. Peller must have been about four feet tall. I don?t know that for sure, but she was usually matched with men or women almost double her size.
	For all her diminutive size, though, she had a voice that could carry ? and she used it well. The phrase is still with us although it?s been twenty six years since she repeated it, over, and over, and over again. Does it start to come back now?
	OK, then ? Where?re the women? ?Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples didn?t know that it was Jesus.? ?Where?re the women?? ?When they had gone ashore they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it.? ?Where?re the women??
	Maybe that?s enough ? we probably get the point! On Easter day we all heard about Peter and John racing to the tomb after women came to tell them that the stone had been rolled back. But Peter and John left, after a while, while Mary stayed in the garden, trying to make sense of things. That?s where she met Jesus. That?s where she was told to tell the others. That?s more than likely when the women started to ball rolling on getting the word passed from house to house among Jesus? friends ? ?He?s alive! He?s NOT dead! He said He?d meet up with us in Galilee!?
	So ? where ARE the women this day, when Jesus met up with them around the Sea of Galilee? Well, they probably went back, with Peter, and James, and John, and the others, to Galilee, but this meeting with Jesus was specifically about what to do with the baggage that Peter may have been carrying around with him.
	Have you ever been in a situation when you were reminded of something terribly embarrassing, or unhelpful, or stupid, maybe even dangerous, that you may have done?  I know I have. Maybe we said something without thinking through what we were saying, or to whom we were saying it. Maybe we were under a lot of stress already and something happened that demanded a quick response ? and we blurted out the first thing we thought would get us off the hook. Only it backfired, and offended someone, or crushed her or his spirit, or put them in some jeopardy.
	I think of some nightmarish situations in which I wish I could reach back into the past and yank that memory so hard I could eradicate it, and think, or speak, or act more sensibly, more thoughtfully, more compassionately. But that only works in movies. Maybe that?s why the disturbing nightmare returns again and again ? it?s never been exorcised from within us. And most of us know what THAT does. It stunts our development. It makes us uncertain about how to decide or act the next time. It prevents us from being able to encourage ourselves or others. So, somehow, we HAVE to be able to put the past behind us, better yet, we have to be able to let go of it, somehow, so that we CAN grow more and more into the people God hopes that we will be.
	And so, once again, Jesus tailored His Presence for a specific purpose. He wanted to make sure that those who were going to do His work were nourished, and saw the plentiful resources for nourishment all around therm. And He wanted to exorcise Peter.
	Peter, who would still have been shaking from the terror of having denied Jesus and how special He was to him, Peter needed Jesus to relieve him of his burden. So Jesus WAS there, not only just after He?d talked to Mary. Jesus was counting on Peter to accomplish great things. THAT?S why Jesus sought out Peter and directly asked him about the depth of his love and commitment.
	Three times Jesus dug deep into Peter?s wounded memory, to drege up the recollection of his denial of Jesus. And each time the denial surfaced, Jesus immediately commanded Peter physically, spiritually, emotionally to care for all whom Jesus called sister and brother.
	Three times that pain came to the surface, and three times it was soothed, until Peter COULD do the job to which God had called him.
	Sometimes we need the same intense surgery. Anyone who?s been through chemotherapy or radiation treatment has a pretty good idea of what Jesus did that day ? and offers to do for us today. Anyone who?s had a malignancy cut out of their bodies, and then been given a course of treatment to try to ensure that the twisted, amok-running-cells don?t return, knows how difficult it can be to accept the healing that Jesus offers.
	Sometimes it ISN?T easy or pretty. Sometimes it leaves one weak, perhaps because secretly in one way or another we?d been coming to terms with what was inside ourselves, Still, Jesus probes us, asking us if we DO love Him, if we DO trust Him, if we WILL follow Him and give whatever it takes on behalf of someone else. 
	Sometimes feeding Jesus? sheep takes a huge effort. But Jesus waits, patiently, looking deep into our eyes, and seeking our assent to our vocations.
	Notice, Jesus never said to Peter, ?Well, good, that was the answer for which I?d been hoping. Now, here?s a list of places I?d like you to visit, the people you need to see, the ships you need to take, the countries to which you have to travel before your energy and life are exhausted.? No, Jesus said something very simple. ?Feed my lambs.? Protect those who are vulnerable to every kind of preying, opportunistic adversary. ?Tend my sheep.? Make sure that the adults, too, are well-provided-for, ?Feed my sheep.? It?s necessary that everyone receives whatever care is necessary ? be it radical surgery or a common band-aid. Do what it takes ? and, the unspoken advice to Peter, remember that My sheep are all around you right now. You don?t have to go far to find them. They may even be listening at the doors and windows of this building right now.
	Jesus still heals. Jesus helps us to face all our deepest worries and fears. And once they?re addressed, Jesus sets them aside so that we can travel more lightly, with our concern how to find out what the lambs are up to, what the sheep need, what they eat that will nurture them.
	So, off we go. Not only the Peters, though. Yes, all of us have SOME burden to shed. However, some of us are already ahead of even Peter. Some, like those women ? remember them? ? some like those women are already going around this city and State, this nation and the world, not only speaking Good News but acting Good News, bringing food, bringing health care, bringing encouragement, bringing whatever resources they can to make Jesus? words real.
	Sometimes, what needs to be done is radical. Always what needs to be done is personal ? one-on-one, one street or community at a time. 
	 ?Beverly Bell, an activist and an expert on Haitian social movements,? has edited a book published recently, which ?brings together thirty-eight oral histories from a diverse group of Haitian women. The interviewees include, for example, a former prime minister, an illiterate poet, a leading feminist theologian, and a vodou dancer. Defying victim status despite gender- and state-based repression, they tell how Haiti's poor and dispossessed women have fought for their personal and collective survival.? 1 By giving these women?s stories greater visibility, Beverly Bell is making sure that fears and hurts are brought to the surface so that people may seem them, and then respond.
	Seemingly co-incidentally, last Tuesday, news sources reported that ?First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden (were) visiting Haiti to underscore to the Haitian people and the Haitian government the enduring U.S. commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild, especially as we enter the rainy and hurricane seasons,? . (The) White House statement (continued that the visit is additionally) ?to thank the women and men across the whole of the U.S. government for their extraordinary efforts in Haiti during the past three months. They will also reach out to the U.N. and international relief communities in recognition of the truly global effort underway to help Haiti.? 2
	This goes on all the time, of course. People need to be fed; they need gas for their cars and their generators; they need water to drink and to wash clothes ? they need clothes ? the list goes on and on. THAT?S how and where the Outreach Committee has specified that the undesignated money in our offering will be disbursed this morning. Episcopal Relief and Development will get the money to Haiti to try to act to feed Jesus? agnellian sisters and brothers before the rains hit in earnest.
	AND problems exist right here on our own doorstep also. Last month the money went to our participation in the meal programme at St. Mary?s. Next month it will go to XOXOXOX.  Sheep, it seems, are everywhere. Now that WE?VE been offered hope, and reconciliation, and renewal by Jesus, then, it?s time for us to move on.
	Maybe it wasn?t helpful for me to begin by asking ?Where?re the women? in the Gospel story this morning. Maybe we all need to be dwell for a little on just how many times Jesus offers to renew, and to reassure, and to re-energise us. But that?s never the end of the picture.
	Jesus could?ve patted Peter on the head and said, ?Good boy! Now, let?s see how the fishing will be tomorrow.? Jesus, as part of the same action of cleansing and strengthening, always charges people, always gives them something to do, something each one of us can at least start to do, even if we don?t know where we may end up.
	So when WE?VE been fed this morning at the Altar, when the Lamb of God has been placed in our hands and assumed into our bodies, we know that it?s become OUR turn to touch others.
	Whether we?re the women who went on ahead of Peter, and James, and John, or whether we?re Peter himself ? wherever we are, whatever our needs, Jesus addresses each one of us, then sends us out, so that we may be the means of bringing real, tangible hope ? to Helping Hands here, AND to the people of Haiti, who?re waiting to hear from us.
	Jesus stands all around this room, right now, repeating, ?Do YOU love Me?? On second thoughts, maybe Clara Peller?s slightly abrasive voice should be, ?Where are the sheep??

NOTES:
1 	?Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance? by Beverly Bell, foreword by Edwidge Danticat, paperback, 272 pages, c. 2001, $21. Cornell University Press 
 2 	New York Times. April 13, 2010  Michelle Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Haiti  By MARC LACEY
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/world/americas/14firstlady.html?hp  or http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na


--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 14 10:23:35 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:23:35 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon on Mark 10:46-52 [off lectionary]
Message-ID: <8CCA9F533A00402-1704-E58@angweb-usd003.sysops.aol.com>

Susan Sparks is a former trial lawyer who now serves as senior pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York, NY. 
The True Universal Health Care
Mark 10:46-52
Proper 25 - Year B
April 18, 2010



http://day1.org/1871-the_true_universal_health_care

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From chadwohl at satucket.com  Sun Apr 18 20:55:52 2010
From: chadwohl at satucket.com (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:55:52 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the FOURTH SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <6C65BB56554A4E729AB8B321D561B1BF@ThinkpadT60CCW>

The following are the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 25, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <http://satucket.com/lectionary>, in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING: Acts 9: 36 - 43 (RCL)

Acts 9:36 (NRSV) Now in Jop'pa there was a disciple whose name was Tab'itha, which in Greek is Dor'cas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lyd'da was near Jop'pa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay." 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dor'cas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tab'itha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Jop'pa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Jop'pa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner. 


Acts 13: 15 - 16, 26 - 33 (Can. BAS) 

Acts 13:15 (NRSV) After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it." 16 So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: 
"You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. 

26 "My brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. 28 Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead; 31 and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 
"You are my Son; 
today I have begotten you.' 


Acts 13: 14, 43 - 52 (Roman Catholic) 

Acts 13:14 (NRSV) but they went on from Per'ga and came to An'tioch in Pisid'ia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 

43 When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Ju'daism followed Paul and Bar'nabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 
44 The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. 46 Then both Paul and Bar'nabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 
"I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, 
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. 49 Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Bar'nabas, and drove them out of their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Ico'nium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. 


PSALM 23 (RCL) 

Psal 23:1 (NRSV) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; 
he leads me beside still waters; 
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths 
for his name's sake. 
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 
I fear no evil; 
for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff-- 
they comfort me. 
5 You prepare a table before me 
in the presence of my enemies; 
you anoint my head with oil; 
my cup overflows. 
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
all the days of my life, 
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD 
my whole life long. 

 
Psalm 100: 1 - 3, 5   (Roman Catholic) 

Psal 100:1 (NRSV) Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. 
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; 
come into his presence with singing. 
3 Know that the LORD is God. 
It is he that made us, and we are his; 
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 
and his courts with praise. 
Give thanks to him, bless his name. 
5 For the LORD is good; 
his steadfast love endures forever, 
and his faithfulness to all generations. 


SECOND READING: Revelation 7: 9 - 17 (all but Roman Catholic) 
                                      Revelation 7: 9, 14b - 17 (Roman Catholic) 

Reve 7:9 (NRSV) After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, 
"Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing, 
"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom 
and thanksgiving and honor 
and power and might 
be to our God forever and ever! Amen." 
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, 
and worship him day and night within his temple, 
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; 
the sun will not strike them, 
nor any scorching heat; 
17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, 
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, 
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." 


GOSPEL: John 10: 22 - 30 (all but Roman Catholic) 
                  John 10: 27 - 30 (Roman Catholic) 

John 10:22 (NRSV) At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one." 


Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, Vermont    USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 08:12:26 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:12:26 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Sacred Cows Make Great BBQ's
Message-ID: <DEA251EFABEC4FC6BA7A1AE3353C2CC0@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtNaZ_DIxP8&

by Dave Gilpin

What other sacred cows do we have?
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 10:57:07 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:57:07 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
Message-ID: <82B02DBDCD1D4AF9B02CBA59ADD50042@YOUR264F1833C5>

Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed at http://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Mon Apr 19 11:41:54 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:41:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
In-Reply-To: 112003
References: 112003
Message-ID: <8CCADEDF8CD2382-B30-25C@angweb-usm005.sysops.aol.com>


Hi Ann,
Hope you will add your thoughts on your blog anyway, Ann, as we look forward to them. We'll just 'circulate' them for you Sunday! Please do post a link if you do. 
Thanks!
Peace and blessings,
Joe


-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>; SERMONSHOP 2010 04 25 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_25.topic at faithgroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 11:03 am
Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C


Not preaching this week - sadly - as this is my favorite post  
esurrection story.


n Apr 19, 2010, at 7:57 AM, Joe Parrish wrote:
Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed  
thttp://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm



he Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Mon Apr 19 13:24:43 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:24:43 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
Message-ID: <948214992.1271697883278.JavaMail.root@mp10>

Ha!

I'm not preaching either! Our deacon is.

Bob


---- Joe Parrish <joeparrish at compuserve.com> wrote: 
> 
> Hi Ann,
> Hope you will add your thoughts on your blog anyway, Ann, as we look forward to them. We'll just 'circulate' them for you Sunday! Please do post a link if you do. 
> Thanks!
> Peace and blessings,
> Joe
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
> To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
> Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>; SERMONSHOP 2010 04 25 topic <SERMONSHOP_2010_04_25.topic at faithgroups.com>
> Sent: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 11:03 am
> Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Textweek for Easter 4C
> 
> 
> Not preaching this week - sadly - as this is my favorite post  
> esurrection story.
> 
> 
> n Apr 19, 2010, at 7:57 AM, Joe Parrish wrote:
> Basic updates for links to resources for Easter 4C have been completed  
> thttp://www.textweek.com/yearc/easterc4.htm
> 
> 
> 
> he Rev. Ann Fontaine
> ander, Wyoming
> 
> 
> 
> 

--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)




From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 23 22:56:01 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:56:01 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] John 10:22-30 - April 25, 2010
Message-ID: <8CCB170CE724EA3-388-1A6B@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>

The Rev. Dr. Royeese Stowe is senior pastor of Chamblee First United Methodist Church in Chamblee, GA. 
There Is Something About That Name
John 10:22-30
4th Sunday of Easter - Year C
April 25, 2010
http://day1.org/1892-there_is_something_about_that_name



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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:09:35 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:09:35 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <BBA01956DBC349B884A97FCDD8297493@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 4: 
     John 10:22-30 ? ?So Who Needs a Shepherd??
     John 10:22-30 ? ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? by Leonard Sweet

_________________________________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10:22-30, the sermon titled ?So Who Needs a Shepherd?" 

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, ?Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.? The stunned pastor replied, ?What on earth do you mean?? ?Well,? said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ?We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.? And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God?s flock.? Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards.  There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created.  Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse.  Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig? every Sunday morning.  So I?m not at all sure I want to co me to church and be called a sheep? any longer...even God?s sheep?.?

The man had a point.  But whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.  We are called ?God?s sheep.? The favorite psalm of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, ?The Lord is my shepherd...? And if ?the Lord is my shepherd,? then I am one of the Lord?s sheep.  Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: ?All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.? (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church.  One of the symbols of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd?s crook, that long staff with a hook on the end.  And ministers are often called ?pastors.? In the dictionary, one of the meanings of ?past or? is ?shepherd,? coming from a Latin word which means ?feeder.? At the end of the Fourth Gospel we have that final resurrection appearance of the Lord by the Sea of Galilee when He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three times that he did.  And Jesus said to Peter, ?Feed my sheep.?

The word ?pastor? is a common one used to refer to an ordained person who is in charge of a congregation.  Sometimes I wonder whether it is not a bit anachronistic, coming as it does from a rural, pastoral metaphor which seems rather out of date in our busy, urban, industrialized society?

1. Pastoral Language in a Modern World
2. The Messianic Claim of the Good Shepherd
3. Who Needs a Shepherd? We Do!

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

_______________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10, the sermon titled ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? 

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the ?driver?s license,? they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test.

It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last ? suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going!

For most drivers, the eye exam is nothing, takes virtually no time, and hardly registers as a ?test.? That is, until you reach a certain age. For older drivers the one exam they cannot study for, the one skill they cannot improve with practice, the one exam over which they have the least control, becomes the biggest obstacle to renewing their license. Degenerating eyesight, either because of cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or just increasing near- or far-sightedness, ends the driving careers of many older adults.

In driving, there comes a time when experience and insight don?t help. What is required is eyesight.

The problem with the old adage ?what you see is what you get? is that vision is surprisingly subjective. Ask any police officer trying to get eyewitness reports at the scene of an accident and they will confirm that ten witnesses will give ten very different versions of the event. They eye might be an amazing piece of biological equipment. The eye might be a remarkable camera. The eye might be a feat of unparalleled divine imagination. But the information behind the images the eye spies is processed by our whole being. Every ?picture? our eyes take is colored, clouded, focused, and framed, by a lifetime of experiences and expectations.

As Jesus strolled around the temple during the festival of Dedication, his image was at odds with the picture of a Messiah that the Jewish people had come to expect. The Festival of Dedication commemorated a military-religious triumph. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabee (aka ?Judah the Hammer?), the Syrians were sent packing. The so-called ?desolating sacrilege? (1 Maccabee 1:59) of a pagan altar constructed within the temple was torn down. A new altar was constructed and sanctified. The Jewish victors celebrated, confident that God?s presence had once again been established and ensconced within the temple.

Jesus did not look like any ?Judas the Hammer? or talk like one either. Jesus did not speak of running the Romans out of town on a rail. Jesus talked about being a ?Good Shepherd.? Jesus spoke of self-sacrifice. Jesus likened the faithful to ?sheep,? not mighty warriors. Jesus offered protection and presence, not triumph and glory.

To ?the Jews? who questioned his identity and challenged him to tell them ?plainly? if he were the Messiah, Jesus just didn?t look right or sound right. His words and images were not what they expected.

How could suffering bring salvation?
How could weakness bring strength?
How could a shepherd stand up against a soldier?
How could the presence of Almighty God reside in such a humble spirit as this Jesus?

These Jews failed their vision test...

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

______________________

Humor: The Trouble with Self-atonement

I share one of my favorite stories that I once clipped from the Readers' Digest. A gentleman wrote in and told of this real life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her the hammer came over to me and said, ''If only she had told me what she wanted the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.''"

Oh, the brokenness we bring into our lives when we try to do a self-atonement job and fix our fallen nature. 
 
Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com 
____________________________________
 
Confirming the Testimony

Some time ago I came across this short story called, "Whom Should You Ask?"
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?

The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
There is a sense that one cannot testify to one's self. When Mohammed Ali testified, "I am the greatest," that meant nothing until his works testified to that fact. In a sense, someone claiming, "I am a Christian" is invalid until there is someone or something else that confirms that testimony.

Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
____________________________________

Humor: Leading the Way

A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain's voice was heard over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers on the right side can, if they look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That shouldn't worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an ac ceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the progress of the plane from that lifeboat below."

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the ocean far below.

But the person in charge of our lives is not remote. He is our Shepherd and he is leading the way. Leading us; giving us eternal life; assuring us we will never perish; and, my friends, no one can snatch you out of his hands.

Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company

________________________________________

He Knows Our Names

There is an old story of a census taker who was making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish woman bending over her washtub. ?Lady, I am taking the census. What?s your name? How many children have you?? She replied, ?Well, let me see. My name is Mary. And then there?s Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and...? ?Never mind the names,? he broke in, ?just give me the numbers.? She straightened up, hands on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, ?I?ll have ye know, sir, we ain?t got into numberin? them yet. We ain?t run out of names!? The image of God as the Good Shepherd tells us that is the way it is with God. He knows us by name.

Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com
_____________________

Sheep Know Their Shepherd

In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. "It is the cattle ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely, their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right."

Sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd knows them.

He went on to say that "it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium."

Sheep & shepherds develop a language of their own.

Unknown Source

____________________

What Have You Heard?

A rabbi and his pupil were discussing God's Word:

Rabbi: Herschel, do you know the sacred scriptures?
Pupil: Yes, teacher, I have been studying them.
Rabbi: And, do you know the phrase, 'Thus have I heard?'
Pupil: Oh, yes, that is throughout the scriptures.
Rabbi: Herschel, what have you heard?

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com

_______________________________
  
Stability Zones

In his book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler explains how, in this modern world of rapid change, confusion and over-choice, we all need some kind of "stability zones" - regular habits, rituals, beliefs - whatever it is that gives us a stable point of reference. It would be difficult to deny the wisdom of Toffler's observation, or to miss its application to the role of religious faith in our lives. The grace of God as revealed in Jesus, the Christ, is surely our ultimate stability zone.

Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company

____________________________

What Is Unique About Christianity?

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, ?Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form.? Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, ?what's all this rumpus about?? Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, ?We're debating what's unique about Christianity.? ?Oh, that's easy,? answered Lewis?

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 4 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:15:05 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:15:05 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 25 (Easter 4C) John 10:22-30
Message-ID: <73485F70378046EAACE4F37F1C3D20EE@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for Apr. 25 (Easter 4C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 10:22-30, where Jesus says, "My sheep hear my 
voice, I know them, and they follow me."


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/John.10.22-30.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new 
ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique 
questions.  The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, 
because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence. (Helmut 
Thielicke)


TITLE:  Winter in Jerusalem


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:    We who have chosen to believe in Jesus are the 
sheep of his hand -- forevermore in his loving care.


SCRIPTURE:  John 10:22-30


<>
Note: "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" is a lovely song that 
would compliment the lesson.  Optional activity. For the words, go to:

http://www.angelfire.com/co/inspiration/byourlove.html


<>
As you know, the Chinese government has been quite hostile to religion --  
has made it difficult to believe.  But when Michael Card, a Christian 
musician, visited China this is what he found.  He says:

"Again and again in China I talked to people
who had never heard of Christianity,
never heard of Jesus,
never heard a single word from the Bible.
Yet through nature and their God-given conscience,
many believed in God.

Not only did they believe God existed,
they had derived some understanding about His loving character
because he provided food, water, and a beautiful world.

One old woman told me, 'I've known him for years.
I just didn't know his name'."

<>
Toward the end of his life, Victor Hugo, the French writer, reflected on the 
life that he had lived -- and the life that lay before him, yet to be lived. 
He spoke of life beyond the grave.  He said:

"I feel within me that future life.
I am like a forest that has been razed;
the new shoots are stronger and brighter."

Isn't that lovely imagery!  "I am like a forest that has been razed; the new 
shoots are stronger and brighter."  Most of us have seen a place where a 
forest has been cut or burned -- or where a field has been burned.  Places 
like that look ugly for awhile, but then new life begins to sprout -- and 
soon the new life takes over.

Hugo went on to say:

"I feel I haven't given utterance
to the thousandth part of what lies within me.
When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said,
'My day's work is done.'
But I cannot say, 'My life is done.'
My work will recommence the next morning.

The tomb is not a blind alley;
it is a thoroughfare.
It closes upon the twilight but opens upon the dawn."

<>

MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT:  For more sermons on this text, go to:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm


A TRUE STORY:

Anthony Flew was a well-known philosopher who was atheist for most of his 
life.  However, at the age of 81, he changed his mind -- and even wrote a 
book entitled, There Is a God:  How the World's Most Notorious Atheist 
Changed his Mind.

At some point, he came to the conclusion that it was impossible to explain 
"the DNA of the first reproducing species" by naturalistic means.

- He wrote, "A deity or a 'super-intelligence' (is) the only good 
explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature."

- He found a "growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted 
scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated 
complexity of the physical universe."

Flew never did become a Christian -- he described himself as a deist. 
Nevertheless, his conversion from disbelief to belief was encouraging.  It 
shows that a person with hardened disbelief can become a believer.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

Understanding is the reward of faith.
Therefore seek not to understand that thou may believe,
but believe that thou may understand.

Augustine

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Let the convinced Christian believe,
for that is the duty he has taken upon himself.
The non-Christian has forfeited the grace of faith.
(Perhaps he was cursed from birth
in not being able to believe
but only to know.)

Carl Gustav Jung, psychiatrist

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Men may believe what they cannot prove.
They may not be put to the proof
of their religious doctrines or beliefs.
Religious experiences which are as real as life to some
may be incomprehensible to others.

William O. Douglas, the late Supreme Court Justice

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Belief is not dependent on evidence and reason.
There is as much evidence that the miracles occurred
as that the Battle of Waterloo occurred.

George Bernard Shaw

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

There are two things to do about the Gospel --
believe it and behave it.

Susannah Wesley

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

<>
HYMN STORY:  Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

We don't know who wrote the words to "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us."  It 
first appeared in a children's hymnal compiled by Dorothy Thrupp in 1836, so 
some people think that Mrs. Thrupp wrote it -- but that is far from certain.

But it is clear enough what inspired the words.  Two scriptures come to 
mind.  The first is Psalm 23, which begins, "The Lord is my shepherd, I 
shall not want."  The second is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, 
where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd."

And we know who wrote the music.  His name is William Bradbury.  Bradbury 
was a gifted teenage music student in Boston when he met Lowell Mason at the 
Bowdoin Street Church.  Mason was a well-known musician who wrote the music 
for "Joy to the World" and a number of other hymns.  Mason took Bradbury 
under his wing, nurturing his musical abilities.  After finishing school, 
Bradbury moved to New York City, where he worked as a church musician 
specializing in children's music.  He wrote the music for what must be the 
favorite children's hymn of all time -- "Jesus Loves Me."  He intended 
"Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us" to be a children's hymn, but it turned out 
that adults enjoyed singing it too.

A story related to this hymn is told about Ira Stankey, a musician who 
worked closely with Dwight L. Moody.  On one occasion, Stankey sang this 
song, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" at a public gathering.  Afterwards, 
one of the guests pulled him aside and asked if Stankey had served on guard 
duty on a particular night in a particular place.  Stankey, who had served 
in the Union army, said that he had.  The other man said that he had served 
in the Confederate army.  On the evening in question, he had started to 
shoot a Union soldier when the Union soldier began to sing "Savior, Like a 
Shepherd Lead Me." The Confederate soldier, who had often heard his mother 
sing that song, couldn't do it.  Singing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" 
had saved Stankey's life.


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 20:16:33 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:16:33 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  Apr. 25 (Easter 4C) Acts 9:36-43
Message-ID: <4D1C07A2445246CE8F778CFA073E6D47@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for April 25 
(Easter 4C) for Acts 9:36-43.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.

OR YOU CAN USE YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD to access the files elsewhere on 
my web site.  See below for instructions.


ACTS 9:36-43 (Easter 4C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/04-25p3/Acts.9.36-43.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.

<>
www.lectionary.org


www.lectionary.org.

<>

TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 23:22:42 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:22:42 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Part 1] Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <C779B0FD05804DAD997BFA0BE86E6DC5@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 4: 
     John 10:22-30 ? ?So Who Needs a Shepherd??
     John 10:22-30 ? ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? by Leonard Sweet

_________________________________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10:22-30, the sermon titled ?So Who Needs a Shepherd?" 

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, ?Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.? The stunned pastor replied, ?What on earth do you mean?? ?Well,? said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ?We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.? And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God?s flock.? Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards.  There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created.  Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse.  Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig? every Sunday morning.  So I?m not at all sure I want to co me to church and be called a sheep? any longer...even God?s sheep?.?

The man had a point.  But whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament.  We are called ?God?s sheep.? The favorite psalm of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, ?The Lord is my shepherd...? And if ?the Lord is my shepherd,? then I am one of the Lord?s sheep.  Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: ?All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.? (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church.  One of the symbols of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd?s crook, that long staff with a hook on the end.  And ministers are often called ?pastors.? In the dictionary, one of the meanings of ?past or? is ?shepherd,? coming from a Latin word which means ?feeder.? At the end of the Fourth Gospel we have that final resurrection appearance of the Lord by the Sea of Galilee when He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three times that he did.  And Jesus said to Peter, ?Feed my sheep.?

The word ?pastor? is a common one used to refer to an ordained person who is in charge of a congregation.  Sometimes I wonder whether it is not a bit anachronistic, coming as it does from a rural, pastoral metaphor which seems rather out of date in our busy, urban, industrialized society?

1. Pastoral Language in a Modern World
2. The Messianic Claim of the Good Shepherd
3. Who Needs a Shepherd? We Do!

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

_______________________

The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.

John 10, the sermon titled ?The Color Wheel of Blindness? 

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the ?driver?s license,? they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test.

It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last ? suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going!

For most drivers, the eye exam is nothing, takes virtually no time, and hardly registers as a ?test.? That is, until you reach a certain age. For older drivers the one exam they cannot study for, the one skill they cannot improve with practice, the one exam over which they have the least control, becomes the biggest obstacle to renewing their license. Degenerating eyesight, either because of cataracts, glaucoma, astigmatisms, or just increasing near- or far-sightedness, ends the driving careers of many older adults.

In driving, there comes a time when experience and insight don?t help. What is required is eyesight.

The problem with the old adage ?what you see is what you get? is that vision is surprisingly subjective. Ask any police officer trying to get eyewitness reports at the scene of an accident and they will confirm that ten witnesses will give ten very different versions of the event. They eye might be an amazing piece of biological equipment. The eye might be a remarkable camera. The eye might be a feat of unparalleled divine imagination. But the information behind the images the eye spies is processed by our whole being. Every ?picture? our eyes take is colored, clouded, focused, and framed, by a lifetime of experiences and expectations.

As Jesus strolled around the temple during the festival of Dedication, his image was at odds with the picture of a Messiah that the Jewish people had come to expect. The Festival of Dedication commemorated a military-religious triumph. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabee (aka ?Judah the Hammer?), the Syrians were sent packing. The so-called ?desolating sacrilege? (1 Maccabee 1:59) of a pagan altar constructed within the temple was torn down. A new altar was constructed and sanctified. The Jewish victors celebrated, confident that God?s presence had once again been established and ensconced within the temple.

Jesus did not look like any ?Judas the Hammer? or talk like one either. Jesus did not speak of running the Romans out of town on a rail. Jesus talked about being a ?Good Shepherd.? Jesus spoke of self-sacrifice. Jesus likened the faithful to ?sheep,? not mighty warriors. Jesus offered protection and presence, not triumph and glory.

To ?the Jews? who questioned his identity and challenged him to tell them ?plainly? if he were the Messiah, Jesus just didn?t look right or sound right. His words and images were not what they expected.

How could suffering bring salvation?
How could weakness bring strength?
How could a shepherd stand up against a soldier?
How could the presence of Almighty God reside in such a humble spirit as this Jesus?

These Jews failed their vision test...

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

______________________

Humor: The Trouble with Self-atonement

I share one of my favorite stories that I once clipped from the Readers' Digest. A gentleman wrote in and told of this real life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her the hammer came over to me and said, ''If only she had told me what she wanted the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.''"

Oh, the brokenness we bring into our lives when we try to do a self-atonement job and fix our fallen nature. 
 
Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com 
____________________________________
 
Confirming the Testimony

Some time ago I came across this short story called, "Whom Should You Ask?"
An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?

The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
There is a sense that one cannot testify to one's self. When Mohammed Ali testified, "I am the greatest," that meant nothing until his works testified to that fact. In a sense, someone claiming, "I am a Christian" is invalid until there is someone or something else that confirms that testimony.

Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes
____________________________________
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sat Apr 24 23:23:28 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:23:28 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: [Part 2] Sermon Resources for April 25
Message-ID: <067BF9FA7EA34F5FBFBCA2E49039986F@YOUR264F1833C5>

Humor: Leading the Way

A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain's voice was heard over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers on the right side can, if they look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That shouldn't worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn't worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an acceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn't worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the progress of the plane from that lifeboat below."

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the ocean far below.

But the person in charge of our lives is not remote. He is our Shepherd and he is leading the way. Leading us; giving us eternal life; assuring us we will never perish; and, my friends, no one can snatch you out of his hands.

Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company

________________________________________

He Knows Our Names

There is an old story of a census taker who was making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish woman bending over her washtub. "Lady, I am taking the census. What's your name? How many children have you?" She replied, "Well, let me see. My name is Mary. And then there's Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and..." "Never mind the names," he broke in, "just give me the numbers." She straightened up, hands on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, "I'll have ye know, sir, we ain't got into numberin' them yet. We ain't run out of names!" The image of God as the Good Shepherd tells us that is the way it is with God. He knows us by name.

Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com
_____________________

Sheep Know Their Shepherd

In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. "It is the cattle ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely, their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right."

Sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd knows them.

He went on to say that "it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium."

Sheep & shepherds develop a language of their own.

Unknown Source

____________________

What Have You Heard?

A rabbi and his pupil were discussing God's Word:

Rabbi: Herschel, do you know the sacred scriptures?
Pupil: Yes, teacher, I have been studying them.
Rabbi: And, do you know the phrase, 'Thus have I heard?'
Pupil: Oh, yes, that is throughout the scriptures.
Rabbi: Herschel, what have you heard?

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com

_______________________________
  
Stability Zones

In his book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler explains how, in this modern world of rapid change, confusion and over-choice, we all need some kind of "stability zones" - regular habits, rituals, beliefs - whatever it is that gives us a stable point of reference. It would be difficult to deny the wisdom of Toffler's observation, or to miss its application to the role of religious faith in our lives. The grace of God as revealed in Jesus, the Christ, is surely our ultimate stability zone.

Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company

____________________________

What Is Unique About Christianity?

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, "what's all this rumpus about?" Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, "We're debating what's unique about Christianity." "Oh, that's easy," answered Lewis.

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 4 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Sun Apr 25 01:03:23 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 01:03:23 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Hearing the Voice of God, John 10:22-30, for 4 Easter
Message-ID: <566D95D739B84D2EA69FC9A24AAAC9B7@YOUR264F1833C5>

http://tiny.cc/90jn9 is a note on Hearing the Voice of God, for 4 Easter, based on John 10:22-30.
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe 
St. John's Episcopal Church
Elizabeth, NJ
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From charles.wohlers at verizon.net  Sun Apr 25 21:27:38 2010
From: charles.wohlers at verizon.net (Charles Wohlers)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:27:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] READINGS for the FIFTH SUNDAY of EASTER
Message-ID: <E257AA76471C4E57B795DF27C4AAC8F8@cranmer>

The following are the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 2, 
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, 
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All 
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the 
Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries 
are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <http://satucket.com/lectionary>, 
in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



FIRST READING: Acts 11: 1 - 18 (RCL)

Acts 11:1 (NRSV) Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard 
that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up 
to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, "Why did 
you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?" 4 Then Peter began to 
explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5 "I was in the city of Jop'pa 
praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large 
sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it 
came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, 
beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice 
saying to me, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I replied, "By no means, 
Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But a 
second time the voice answered from heaven, "What God has made clean, you 
must not call profane.' 10 This happened three times; then everything was 
pulled up again to heaven. 11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from 
Caesare'a, arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go 
with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six 
brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 He told us 
how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, "Send to Jop'pa 
and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which 
you and your entire household will be saved.' 15 And as I began to speak, 
the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 
And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, "John baptized with 
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave 
them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" 18 When they heard this, they 
were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the 
Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."


Acts 14: 21b - 27 (Roman Catholic)

Acts 14:21 (NRSV) [T]hey returned to Lys'tra, then on to Ico'nium and 
An'tioch. 22 There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and 
encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, "It is through many 
persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." 23 And after they had
appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they 
entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe. 24 Then they 
passed through Pisid'ia and came to Pamphyl'ia. 25 When they had spoken the 
word in Per'ga, they went down to Attali'a. 26 From there they sailed back 
to An'tioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work 
that they had completed. 27 When they arrived, they called the church 
together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened 
a door of faith for the Gentiles.


Acts 14: 8 - 18 (Can. BAS)

Acts 14:8 (NRSV) In Lys'tra there was a man sitting who could not use his 
feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. 9 He 
listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and 
seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said in a loud voice, "Stand 
upright on your feet." And the man sprang up and began to walk. 11 When the 
crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycao'nian language, "The 
gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Bar'nabas they called Zeus, and 
Paul they called Her'mes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of 
Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to 
the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. 14 When the apostles 
Bar'nabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into 
the crowd, shouting, 15 "Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals 
just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these 
worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and 
the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the 
nations to follow their own ways; 17 yet he has not left himself without a 
witness in doing good--giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, 
and filling you with food and your hearts with joy." 18 Even with these 
words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.


PSALM 148 (RCL)

Psal 148:1 (NRSV) Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!


Psalm 145: 8 - 13, R. v. 1 (Roman Catholic)
Psalm 145: 14 - 21 (Can. BAS)

Psal 145:1 (NRSV) I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Note: verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above.


SECOND READING: Revelation 21: 1 - 6 (RCL, Can. BAS)
                                      Revelation 21: 1 - 5a (Roman Catholic)

Reve 21:1 (NRSV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first 
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I 
saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from 
the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all 
things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and 
true." 6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the 
beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the 
spring of the water of life.


GOSPEL: John 13: 31 - 35 (RCL, Can. BAS)
                  John 13: 31 - 33a, 34 - 35 (Roman Catholic)

John 13:31 (NRSV) When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has 
been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been 
glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him 
at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will 
look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am 
going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one 
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By 
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one 
another."



Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu




From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 28 16:34:44 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:34:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18
Message-ID: <8CCB5295EF2F7E9-388-10D5@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>



Dr. Jan Love is the dean and professor of Christianity and World Politics for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Encountering Other Religions
Acts 11:1-18
5th Sunday of Easter - Year C
May 02, 2010
http://day1.org/1940-encountering_other_religions


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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Wed Apr 28 16:49:26 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:49:26 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18
In-Reply-To: 117301
References: 117301
Message-ID: <8CCB52B6C55F040-388-10E4@angweb-usd004.sysops.aol.com>


Many thanks, Ann!
Peace and Easter blessings,
Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Fontaine <annfontaine at me.com>
To: Joe Parrish <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
Cc: Propertalk <Propertalk at stsams.org>
Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 4:45 pm
Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Day1 Sermon - 5th Sunday of Easter - Acts 11:1-18


http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/world_religions/separate_truths_religions_are.html
another article on other faiths.

n Apr 28, 2010, at 1:34 PM, Joe Parrish wrote:

r. Jan Love is the dean and professor of Christianity and World  
olitics for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in  
tlanta, GA.
ncountering Other Religions Acts 11:1-18 5th Sunday of Easter - Year  
 May 02, 2010http://day1.org/1940-encountering_other_religions
______________________________________________
ropertalk mailing list
ropertalk at stsams.org
ttp://mail.stsams.org/mailman/listinfo/propertalk_stsams.org



he Rev. Ann Fontaine
ander, Wyoming




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From robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com  Wed Apr 28 17:26:34 2010
From: robertpmorrison at charterinternet.com (Robert P Morrison)
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:26:34 -0700
Subject: [Propertalk] 5 Easter c rcl
Message-ID: <576617222.1272489995251.JavaMail.root@mp10>

This may be revised and even take another direrction before Sunday. But here's what I have set down so far for the coming weekend.

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	 THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER C RCL
ACTS 11:1-18	                  2nd MAY, 2010
REVELATION 21:1-6	                  PSALM 148
JOHN 13:31-35

	What would you change ? if you could? I mean, anything is fair game ? nothing is off the table. What would you do? Would you try to do whatever you could, from your perspective, to make sure that relationships with others are richer and more fulfilling? Would you make a point of calling the relative with whom you may feel at odds right now? Or the neighbour across the street with the annoying habit that wakes you up in the middle of the night? Or the City official who never seems to understand that what you say and think is important?
	What about the things around and in the congregation here. I won?t even suggest anything for fear of bringing up something of which you haven?t thought, in case it adds one more bone of contention! However, if we?re like every other congregation on earth, there are already things that at least make us sigh, if not squirmy.
	What happens when we think of these things? What happens when we mention these things ? to our family member or friend? to the editor of the Gazette-Herald? to the mayor and city council? What about the Bishop? We DO have a Bishop now, in case you hadn?t heard. Bishop Michael will be here in Albany with us on Tuesday 11th from 11 till 2 pm. Are you planning on coming? What might you and say to him ? about this congregation, and city, and Diocese?
	Oh, just one thing ? it HAS to be tied in, somehow, to the Gospel ? how we understand it, how it troubles us, how it encourages us and reassures us, how it enthuses us.
	That should really be one of those ?no-brainers?. Everything we do should be a development from what we hear Jesus saying in the Gospel, and what the early Christian leaders wrote and said to the first congregations. Everything ? from how we interact with the person from whom we?re buying our food to the person who?s just interrupted our dinner to ask us for a contribution to some social or political cause.
	NOT thinking about this just won?t do. We don?t ever have to agree, but we ALWAYS have to respect the other individual as a child of God, no matter how misguided or crazy we may feel that she or he is.
	Is this easy? Is it second nature to us? I can?t speak for you, but I know that no matter how long I may have felt I?ve made a commitment to live as Jesus? friend and follower, no matter how long or how many congregations I?ve been a part of, no matter how many times I?ve read or heard the Gospel, never mind the rest of the Bible, it?s STILL not second nature. It?s STILL not an easy way to live. So I have to be on my guard, constantly. In act, usually, just when I think I have everything down pat, when I think I know where God is trying to lead me, I discover that I?m off base.
	Does this make me nervous, though? Does this mean that I?m a second-, or a third-, or a fiftieth-rate Christian? No, not at all. It simply means that I?m the same track as the disciples. It means that I have to learn to be open every day of my life ? open to discovering that just when I thought I?d got some clue as to what God sounds like and how God directs me, I discover that God has many more voices, God has many more situations which I?m supposed to address. And this holds true even when I DO accept what last week?s Gospel asserted was Jesus? assurance that His sheep recognize his voice.
	This doesn?t ? or usually doesn?t ? make me nervous, though. Jesus as given us the assurance that when He or God speak we WILL be able to understand ? if we make the effort, if we?re open to the fact that things keep changing in life. This is true in terms of the people we meet walking down the same streets at the same time of day as it is of the land forms of the earth which are constantly moving, and erupting, and swaying, and settling.  All that Jesus asks is that we move with Him; that we listen for Him; that we be willing to hang loose every now and again.
	That?s why Jesus spoke to the disciples as He did on that night on which He?d gathered folk together to celebrate the remembrance of God?s protection and leadership. He reminded them of all that God had meant to their ancestors, all the ways in which God had been there for them. He talked about the way in which the community of faith was being formed, and then He interjected that He had something new, something radical to bring to their ways of living.
	It wasn?t enough that He simply might reinforce everything they?d heard up to that point in time. He said that that had to take a new direction ? they had to live as if utterly consumed by love.
	Thank back to the time when you recognized that there was some one person who was ? and, I hope, remains ? incredibly special to you. Think of the moment when that first dawned on you. Think about how you felt when you became caught up in that relationship of love, and commitment, and dedication. Try to recapture that moment.
	I wonder if you can. For some, it may be possible to enter that special place again and again. For many of us, though, what we have is the memory of how elated we felt, how we discovered that we were focussed on the sharing of life and desires with that one person. This doesn?t mean that we love the person any less. It doesn?t mean that the commitment is shallower or weaker. Often it?s the opposite. There?s an added depth to it because we?ve shared life with that person for a number of years and have grown emotionally and spiritually with that person as we?ve gone through both joy and struggle together.
	THAT?S how Jesus wanted the disciples to feel at that moment. At that particular instant, He wanted each one of them to experience the incredible attention they were being given by Him, and the seemingly simple command that each should wash others? feet, should show complete devotion to others, without exception.
	On the face of it, it seems relatively simple. ?Do this in remembrance of me.? Jesus said that, more than once. We obey, we remember Him as we feed from His Body and His Blood at the altar, of course. But DO we remember that just before He took the bread, and passed the cup, He took off his robe, he took up a towel, and a basin and a jug of water, and He took their tired feet in His hands, and He said ? BEFORE the Bread and Wine ? He said, ?Do this in remembrance of Me.? The verses we heard this morning are a part of the whole description of Jesus? conversation with His followers, a conversation that began around the table just before Passover.
	There?s no way of knowing with how many people Jesus celebrated that ancient rite in that room. Our minds tend to jump to the number twelve, and the twelve were, undoubtedly, there. But chances are there were at least several more than that. So how many feet DID Jesus wash? What DID He say we had to do? How many feet do WE have to wash? And how often do WE have to do it?
	I can speak for myself ? you have to speak for yourselves ? too often I?ve tried to convince myself that I?ve done enough ? enough sweaty feet, enough confused minds, enough whining or sad voices, enough ? enough changes asked of me. ?When, God, is enough enough? Isn?t it enough to stick to this congregation, to this Diocese, to this denomination, to this ? God, why is it NEVER enough? Why should love, and respect, and compassion, and all forms of caring ? why should they never end. ISN?T it enough that we keep our resources for those whom we know to be going through difficult times right here??
	But then, just when we?re tired, when we feel that we?re doing our best with perhaps somewhat limited resources, God speaks to us in some sort of a way and says, kindly yet forcefully, ?Look at what ELSE there is. Look at the resources you?ve never considered. Look at the people whom you haven?t asked to help tell the story of the Gospel. Look at the people whom you?ve never asked if THEY needed help.
	To use the movie title, the vocation to which every one of us is called is ?The Neverending Story?. It doesn?t stop when we feel that we?ve exhausted ourselves, and our talents and resources. It simply changes gears. It may involve different people, folk of whom we may seldom have given a second thought because they always seem indifferent to us and to the Love of Jesus. It may involve different situations and circumstances, when we come up against what we feel are terminal road blocks in our ministry. It may involve people or situations which annoy and frighten us because they represent views or approaches which are radically different from our own. Heaven forbid, it may involve things of which we?ve never thought before!
	However, the sheet of God?s bounty is immeasurably immense. As that familiar hymn puts it, ?EACH little flower that opens, EACH tiny bird that sings ? the Lord God made them ALL.?
	No matter how many feet we may have washed already, how many hands held up till now, how many times we?ve simply sat in silence with someone who?s scared or grieving ? no matter what we?ve done, God says, ?There are yet more to whom I send you. There are opportunities of which you?ve not yet dreamed. And there are resources available for you which WILL be there WHEN you need them.?
	It?s a matter of trust, and of whom we trust. If we thought that the foot at which we knelt was going to kick us in the face, would we wash it? If we thought that the hand to which we reach out in compassion is going to slap us, do we still hold it? If we thought that the mind which we try to comfort would produce all sorts of threats of endangerment, will we sit there?
	What WOULD Jesus do? What WOULD Peter do? What ARE we to do?
	Change gears for a moment. A mother hears that her child has been arrested by an occupying-force police, and is being held incommunicado. She knows that the authorities have a track record of brutality. She knows that she seems powerless. What does she do? Does she stop loving? Does she try to gather friends and neighbours to effect the release of her child? Does she, even if no one else will move, does she go by herself and put herself in jeopardy, as well as the child? Does it tear her in pieces to rationalise and say, ?I have other children. I can?t jeopardize them. If the one dies, perhaps the others will live.?? Does a mother say that? Or does a mother say, ?THAT is my child. I MUST do whatever it takes to help?
	What did Mary do? What do her daughters and her sons do today?
What do women ? and men ? do today when their children are picked up as they come home from school ? all over the world ? and are abused, or tortured, or even killed? What do WE do when our neighbours are not protected from indignity and danger? What do WE do when they need above all else to know that God loves them?
	It seems clear to me that I have to face some tension in my life. While there is certainty of God?s love for me and of me, there is at the same time UNcertainty about where that love may take me. I simply have to take on trust, not that GOD?S mind changes, but that my perception of God?s mind, and of how God?s mind impacts my life and vocation, is and MUST ALWAYS be changing.
	I don?t know whom I shall meet tomorrow, never mind this afternoon. However, I CAN be sure that there WILL be feet to be washed by me. And I can be sure that those feet may belong to people with whom I never imagined I?d have contact. AND I can be sure that my goal will be to bring comfort and acceptance to whomever has these feet. But I can also be sure that the means to care for the feet of the world will be there for me, if I can only set aside my prejudices, and my fears, and my desire to stick only to what I know right now.
	If I ? if YOU ? can take this chance for Jesus, and never try to confine where, and why, and how, and through whom God may minister, then ?all will know that (we) are (Jesus?) disciples?. And all will see who Jesus is, and what He does. This is the promise of Jesus.
--
Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)



From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:20:58 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:20:58 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  May 2 (Easter 5C) John 13:31-35
Message-ID: <A4FC4B4B015947D8BE5285E41F0CFEF1@YOUR264F1833C5>

The following are SermonWriter materials for May 2 (Easter 5C). They focus 
on the Gospel lesson, John 13:31-35, where Jesus says, "I give you a new 
commandment, that you love one another."


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If 
clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or 
click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/John.13.31-35.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want 
to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like 
on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu. 
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that. 
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


<>
TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  If preaching is not your main business, you have no 
business preaching.  (Zan Holmes, quoting Black Elders)


TITLE:  The Sign that You Are a Christian


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Christ calls us to love one another as he has loved 
us so that the world might experience Christ's love through us.


SCRIPTURE:  John 13:31-35


<>

SERMON QUOTES:

In his book, Why Not the Best? Jimmy Carter tells about sitting in a pew in 
his Plains, Georgia Baptist church.  He says that he can't remember a word 
of the sermon that morning, but he couldn't quit thinking about the title of 
the sermon, which was "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would 
there be enough evidence to convict you?"

That's a pretty long sermon title, isn't, but it's the kind of provocative 
statement that comes back at odd hours to haunt you.  "If you were arrested 
for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

That question caused Jimmy Carter to take stock.  There was a good deal of 
evidence to prove that he was a Christian.  He was a member of the largest 
church in town.  He was a deacon in the church and taught Sunday school.  He 
talked openly about his faith, and even wrote about it.  But then he 
concluded:

"I finally decided that if arrested
and charged with being a committed follower of God,
I could probably talk my way out of it!"

<>
A few years ago, I read a story that illustrates how this works.  Albert 
DiBartolomeo was a report for the Philadelphia Inquirer.  He had gone to a 
Catholic school as a child, and many years later wrote an article in which 
he talked about one of the nuns there.  He said that her nickname was 
Bulldog -- and he described her as a "seraphic Frankenstein monster."  Wow! 
That's tough talk!  Mean talk!  Angry talk!

After the article hit the streets, DiBartolomeo received a phone call from a 
nun -- Sister Maria.  You can probably imagine how that conversation went --  
an angry nun shouting at DiBartolomeo and demanding a public apology.

But that isn't how the conversation went at all.  Sister Maria did say, 
"You've done a big disservice to sisters," but she said it in a kindly 
voice.  There was no shouting -- no recriminations -- no demands for 
retractions -- just a simple statement of fact, "You've done a big 
disservice to sisters," spoken in a soft and kindly voice.

DiBartolomeo felt a bit guilty when they finished their conversation and he 
hung up his phone -- but he assumed that was the end of it.  But it wasn't 
the end of it at all.  Sister Maria began to send him notes.  When his 
stepfather became ill, she sent a note assuring him that he was in her 
prayers.  When his stepfather died, she sent a pamphlet entitled, "Dealing 
with Grief."

DiBartolomeo was grieving.  He was heartbroken at his stepfather's death. 
Finally, he reached out to the one person who had shown real concern.  He 
wrote a long letter to Sister Maria, pouring out his heart.  She responded 
compassionately, telling of her own struggles and inviting him to visit, 
saying, "It would be so good to meet and really cement this friendship that 
I think was a gift from God" She sent him a rosary that she had used in the 
hospital while recovering from a heart condition.

Finally, after more than a year, DiBartolomeo met with Sister Maria at a 
Catholic retreat house on the Jersey shore.  As they sat by the sea, he gave 
her a present -- a beautiful handmade wooden box filled with postage stamps. 
Bit he said, "What Sister Maria gave me that day was a moment of insight, a 
gift far greater than the wooden box I had brought her."

Even after Sister Maria had to go to a nursing home, they continued to 
correspond.  DiBartolomeo said, "Like sunshine and salt breezes on a 
summer's day by the sea, her words still nourish my soul."

Sister Maria obeyed Christ's commandment.  "Love one another," Christ had 
said.  "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."  Sister 
Maria did that, and Albert DiBartolomeo caught a glimpse of Christ.  No 
preaching or logic could have drawn him to that religious retreat center, 
but the kind words of an elderly woman broke through the locked door of his 
heart.

<>

There's a lovely song that expresses what I am talking about.  It says, "We 
are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord" -- and it prays that "all 
unity may one day be restored.  It talks about how we work together "side by 
side" -- and how we" guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride." 
Then the chorus concludes by saying:

"And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."

<>

FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm

Scroll down to John 13.  There are several sermons on this text posted 
there.


TRUE STORY:

See the story of Albert DiBartolomeo and Sister Maria in the sermon above.


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

Lucy came up behind Schroeder as Schroeder was playing the piano.  She said, 
"Guess What?  I am going to hold my breath and turn blue in the face if you 
don't tell me you love me."

Schroeder quit playing the piano for a moment, and turned to face Lucy. 
"Withdrawal in children is quite a phenomenon," he said.  "It can have a 
metabolic basis.  What you really need is forty milligrams of Vitamin B6. 
Eat plenty of bananas and avocados and beef liver."

Lucy says, "I asked for love, and I got beef liver."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Because we cannot see Christ,
we cannot express our love to him;
but our neighbors we can always see,
and we can do to them what, if we saw him,
we would like to do to Christ..
Here in the slums, in the broken body, in the children,
we see Christ and we touch him.

Mother Teresa

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Love cures.
It cures not only those who receive it,
but it cures those who give it.

Dr. Karl Menninger, the eminent psychiatrist

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The reigning cliche of the day
is that in order to love others
one must first learn to love oneself.
This formulation -- love thyself, then thy neighbor --
is a license for unremitting self-indulgence,
because the quest for self-love is endless.
By the time you have finally learned to love yourself,
you'll find yourself playing golf at Leisure World.

Charles Krauthammer

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

We can risk loving as passionately as God loves.
For we know that the love God makes possible
is no scarce resource that must be hoarded
so that it can be distributed in dribs and drabs --
a little here and a little there.
Love is not a rare commodity;
rather, the more we love with the intense particularity of God's love,
the more we discover that we have the capacity to love.

Stanley Hauerwas

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


<>
HYMN STORY:  Blest Be the Tie That Binds

John Fawcett was born into a poor family in Yorkshire, England, and was 
orphaned at age 12.  To survive, he accepted a lengthy apprenticeship to a 
tailor.  Then, while still in his teens, he heard the great George Whitfield 
preach and became a Christian.

While serving his apprenticeship, Fawcett became active in a Baptist church 
and was often asked to speak.  Then at age 25 (and newly married) he was 
invited to serve as pastor of a small church at Wainsgate.  The poor people 
of that little village were able to pay very little, and much of Fawcett's 
pay came as potatoes and other produce.  Once his wife, Mary, began having 
children, they found it difficult to survive.

Then Fawcett learned that the pastor of a large Baptist church in London was 
retiring, and he let the church know that he would be interested in serving 
them.  They called him to be their pastor at a much larger salary, so John 
and Mary packed their household and prepared to move.  But then, as the 
story is told, Mary told John that she didn't think that she could leave 
these people whom they had both learned to love -- and John allowed that he 
shared her sentiment -- so the two of them unpacked the wagon and let the 
London church know that they wouldn't be coming.

Then Fawcett, who wrote a number of hymns during his lifetime, wrote this 
hymn, "Blest Be the Tie," to convey his sentiments and those of his wife to 
the poor people among whom they had chosen to live.  Fawcett served that 
little church for the rest of his life -- 54 years in all.


NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm


<>
www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:22:34 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:22:34 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter:  May 2 (Easter 5C) Acts 11:1-18
Message-ID: <EE33FB27A9CB48AF9A9E3FF5AAABF754@YOUR264F1833C5>

THE FOLLOWING ARE LINKS to materials for the FIRST READING for May 2 (Easter 
5C) for Acts 11:1-18.

NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no 
password.
To access those files, you MUST use the following links.

IF CLICKING ON THE LINK FAILS TO WORK, copy the link and paste it in the 
address window near the top of your browser.
Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.

<>
ACTS 11:1-18 (Easter 5C):

These materials include the exegesis + a link to one sermon + a hymn list:

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/05-02oi/Acts.11.1-18.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and 
see what happens.
That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or 
save it.
Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.
Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of them.  Click on that.
Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


www.lectionary.org


www.lectionary.org

<>
TELL YOUR FRIENDS:  Your colleagues are looking for good resources too. 
Please mention SermonWriter to them.  Thanks!

Dick Donovan




From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:25:16 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:25:16 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2 - Part 1
Message-ID: <1141CA93BF8A4E2696432242EE0AC27E@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 5:

     John 13:31-35 ? ?Love One Another? 
     Revelation 21:1-6 ? ?Time to Get Wet? by Leonard Sweet

John 13, the sermon titled ?Love One Another" 

A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, she stepped back, lifted her baton and with a great flourish brought it down. Lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence.

Sometimes we in the church are like that junior high band, unsure of our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to trumpet forth the music of faith that God desires of us. And that's because we have trouble deciding what's most important.

An incident a couple of summers ago in San Antonio, Texas, illustrates what I'm talking about. It was a hot, 99-degree August day when a ten-month-old baby girl was accidentally locked in a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and the aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. The infant was bawling at the top of its lungs, beginning to turn purple and foam from the mouth, a combination of anxiety and the intense heat inside the car.

It had quickly become a life-and-death situation when Fred Arriola, a tow-truck driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer from his truck and smashed the back side window of the car to free the baby. Was he heralded a hero? Not so. According to an article in the San Antonio Tribune, he is quoted as saying, "The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, 'What's more important -- a baby or a window?' "

Most of the choices we make in life are not between what is trivial and what is important. Rather, most of the choices we make are usually between what is important and what is more important. This morning's Gospel reading is so timely for us because it shows us what is most important.

1. The Greatest Blessing We Have is God?s Love
2. Our Love in Action
3. May God Help Us Love

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

_______________________ 

Revelation 21, the sermon titled "Time to Get Wet"]

The governor of Washington state just signed a new series of "sin taxes" into effect. The items being taxed include the usual suspects: tobacco products and beer (though NOT beer produced by micro-breweries). But there is a new sinful category: you can now add "snack food" to the roster of iniquity. 

But the most anticipated money raiser for the state is the "sin tax" on -- are you ready for this? -- bottled water. From now on if you want to indulge in guzzling a bottle of H2O, it?s going to cost you. Just over the state line in Idaho, eager shop owners are creating water bottle pyramids next to their cartons of Camels, anticipating a stream of thirsty Washingtonians.

Every savvy entrepreneur knows that water is a sure fire way to attract people. Is there any mall in America that doesn?t have a fountain or a pool full of pennies in it somewhere? Hotel lobbies, office complexes, libraries, county courthouses, all spurt water, inviting people in and making them feel welcome. Can you find a doctor's office nowadays without an aquarium? 

Human beings crave closeness to water. That's why most of the earth's population hugs the shorelines of its continents. Maybe it is because we are made almost entirely of water. Maybe it is because we started our life in water, living in it and breathing it for our first nine months of life. Maybe it is because almost none of us get the recommended daily 60-70 ounces of water we need to be optimally hydrated, so that whether we recognize it or not, our bodies are constantly thirsty.

Water is life. Disney's Earth Day release of "Oceans," a 103 minute special breathtaking in every way, reminded us that we live on the only blue planet in the galaxy and it is that azure which animates us. Is it any wonder then that, in this week?s text from Revelation when John receives his vision of "the new heaven and the new earth," the first thing God does is to offer water to all who are thirsty? And because this is the beginning of a new creation, a new living relationship, whole and healed, between all the peoples of the world and God, this can only be called "living water."

Living water comes freely and fully from God?

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

___________________________

Loving as Jesus Loved Us

Some years back neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote a fascinating vignette of an intriguing neurological difficulty. As some of you know, Tourette's Syndrome is a bizarre mental disorder that causes victims to have any number of physical and verbal tics. Some Tourettic people have constant facial twitches, others find themselves uncontrollably uttering verbal whoops, beeps, and sometimes also raunchy swear words. One man with Tourette's whom Dr. Sacks knew was given to deep, lunging bows toward the ground, a few verbal shouts, and also an obsessive-compulsive type adjusting and readjusting of his glasses. The kicker is that the man is a skilled surgeon! Somehow and for some unknown reason, when he dons mask and gown and enters the operating room, all of his tics disappear for the duration of the surgery. He loses himself in that role and he does so totally. When the surgery is finished, he returns to his odd quirks of glasses adjustment, shouts, and bows.
 
Sacks did not make any spiritual comments on this, of course, yet I find this doctor a very intriguing example of what it can mean to "lose yourself" in a role. There really can be a great transformation of your life when you are focused on just one thing--focused to the point that bad traits disappear even as the performing of normal tasks becomes all the more meaningful and remarkable.
 
Something like that is our Christian goal as we travel with Jesus. Our desire is to love one another?to love the whole world finally, I suppose?as Jesus loved us. To do that, we need an infusion of a kind of love that does not arise naturally from the context of the world as we know it. So as we lose ourselves in Jesus and in being his disciples, we find even our ordinary day-to-day activities infused with deep meaning as a love from another place fills our hearts. Because if sacredness happens to us at all, it happens among the pots and pans of the everyday and not just on Sundays when we feel particularly jolted by worship or on Tuesdays when we volunteer for some service project (vital though those things are, too). If we are to love as Jesus loved us, this becomes for us a daily reality that is possible if and only when the love of Christ fills us to the brim.
 
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
________________________________________

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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:25:41 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:25:41 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2 - Part 2
Message-ID: <8354616A821143E4AF253D608E52171F@YOUR264F1833C5>

How Do You Know My Name?

I've always loved the little story about the boy who's trying to learn the Lord's Prayer, and one night as he knelt by his bed, these words came out:
 
Our Father, who are in heaven 
How do you know my name?
 
Such individualized affection will always remain a mystery to us mortals, and at the same time, let us never forget we're made in the image of that extraordinary love. And doing what Jesus did in loving each one he ever met as if there were none other in all the world is at least an ideal toward which we can reach even if it always remains utterly beyond our complete grasp.
 
John R. Claypool, Loving as Jesus Loved
___________________________________________


Closer to Christ

God never intended God's boundaries to be less than the whole world. Therefore, none of us have a monopoly on God's love. We may feel like we do when we look down on someone different than we are, or when we snicker at someone's misfortune, or when we say, "Thank you, Lord, that I am not like them," or when we say, "It's too bad they do not believe as we believe." But woe be unto us whenever we reek of such arrogance! For when we try to restrict God's grace to ourselves, we cut ourselves off from that very grace. Why? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have said it best, "It is impossible to love Christ without loving others, and it is impossible to love others without moving nearer to Christ."

John K. Bergland, Love without Limits, One Heaven of a Party: Year C Sermons on the First Readings, CSS Publishing Company
_______________________

A Sympathetic Gesture

Edgar Guest, a renowned American poet at the turn of the century, tells of a neighbor by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would pass his neighbor and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But it was a mere casual relationship.

Then came that tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first born child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to go to the drug store run by his neighbor, and when he entered Jim Potter motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need for me to do anything, you can count on me."

Many years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books. This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way--a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget it--never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset."

[Suggestion for follow-up on this story]
I have wondered how it is that I want people to remember me when I come to end of life's journey.

But I really don't care if someone remembers me for that. I really don't.

I do hope that people are able to say of me at the end of my life's pilgrimage: When we were sick he came to us; when we needed help, he was there; when I was down, he lifted me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered for simple acts of kindness. For if that is the case, then my life would have been worth it and I might have come close to fulfilling the greatest commandment in life: Love God and love your neighbor.

Brett Blair and Staff, www.eSermons.com 

___________________
  
Didn't Look Like an Elephant

There is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking.

A neighbor asked, "How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?"

The man answered, "I just chipped away everything that didn't look like an elephant!"

If you have anything in your life right now that doesn't look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that doesn't look like compassion or mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have hatred or prejudice or vengeance or envy in your heart, for God's sake, and the for the other person's sake, and for your sake, get rid of it! Let God chip everything out of your life that doesn't look like tenderheartedness.

James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Nashville: Dimensions, 1994, p. 32.

___________________

The Law of the Spirit

We need our laws. Laws tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. To be sure, society will fail if its people reject law. But law can only go so far. It can dictate to us what we can and cannot do but it is powerless to dictate to us what we think and what we feel. When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you," I want you to hear those words within the context of community law. When the disciples, or the Jews, talked about Commandments they were discussing laws for acceptable behavior in society. Now, I want you to hear how utterly strange these words really are, "A new COMMANDMENT I give to you: LOVE one another."

Did you catch it? A law telling us, no, commanding us to love. Rev. Richard Daggett says, this law invades the very depths of our beings; this law presumes to have jurisdiction over the way we think, the way we feel, over our opinions, our prejudices and biases, our concepts of superiority, over the way every fiber of our being, both inward and outward, responds to the world around us.

And then Richard says this: This law clarifies to us that while religion and law may exercise lordship over our actions, over the way we live, Christ wants lordship over everything we are. It is the law of the spirit and not simply the law of the letter.

And to whom does this new law apply? My brothers and sisters in Christ. It is to us.

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Richard Dagget statements adapted from Minister's Manual, 1995, p. 188.

___________________

A Lie

Now I want to tell you a lie. Hate is an emotion we can't help. Hate is a feeling we cannot overcome. If we hate someone, it is because we just can't help ourselves. We're human. We have no choice but to hate. That is a lie. Unfortunately, it is a lie many people believe. They believe this lie in order to excuse their hatred. After all, if we can't help but hate, if hate is a feeling we simply cannot help, then hatred is never our fault, is it? 

But we can help it. Hatred is a choice. We choose to hate, just as we choose to love. Oh, I know, there are people out there who believe love isn't a choice, that love is primarily an emotion, a feeling, a stirring in the loins. These are the same people who stay married for six months, then divorce. These are the people who love the idea of love but seem unable to stay in it. Love is a matter of the will - something we decide to do. Love is a choice.

Philip Gulley, For Everything a Season, Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, p. 204

___________________


We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a hard-boiled egg.

Traditional

___________________

A Great Inheritance

One of the great preachers of our time is Dr. Fred Craddock. Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." He didn't want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"Oklahoma," Craddock answered.

"Splendid state, I hear, although I've never been there," the stranger said."What do you do for a living?"

"I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly and thought to himself, "Oh, no! Here comes another preacher story! It seems like everybody has at least one."

The man stuck out his hand. "I'm Ben Hooper," he said.

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 5 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 10:12:38 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:12:38 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2
Message-ID: <EFE64AD2D77E450DB590C8B6027779E9@YOUR264F1833C5>

Sermons for Easter 5:

     John 13:31-35 ? ?Love One Another? 
     Revelation 21:1-6 ? ?Time to Get Wet? by Leonard Sweet

John 13, the sermon titled ?Love One Another" 

A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, she stepped back, lifted her baton and with a great flourish brought it down. Lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence.

Sometimes we in the church are like that junior high band, unsure of our parts, tentative in our roles, reluctant to trumpet forth the music of faith that God desires of us. And that's because we have trouble deciding what's most important.

An incident a couple of summers ago in San Antonio, Texas, illustrates what I'm talking about. It was a hot, 99-degree August day when a ten-month-old baby girl was accidentally locked in a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and the aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. The infant was bawling at the top of its lungs, beginning to turn purple and foam from the mouth, a combination of anxiety and the intense heat inside the car.

It had quickly become a life-and-death situation when Fred Arriola, a tow-truck driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer from his truck and smashed the back side window of the car to free the baby. Was he heralded a hero? Not so. According to an article in the San Antonio Tribune, he is quoted as saying, "The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, 'What's more important -- a baby or a window?' "

Most of the choices we make in life are not between what is trivial and what is important. Rather, most of the choices we make are usually between what is important and what is more important. This morning's Gospel reading is so timely for us because it shows us what is most important.

1. The Greatest Blessing We Have is God?s Love
2. Our Love in Action
3. May God Help Us Love

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

_______________________ 

Revelation 21, the sermon titled "Time to Get Wet"]

The governor of Washington state just signed a new series of "sin taxes" into effect. The items being taxed include the usual suspects: tobacco products and beer (though NOT beer produced by micro-breweries). But there is a new sinful category: you can now add "snack food" to the roster of iniquity. 

But the most anticipated money raiser for the state is the "sin tax" on -- are you ready for this? -- bottled water. From now on if you want to indulge in guzzling a bottle of H2O, it?s going to cost you. Just over the state line in Idaho, eager shop owners are creating water bottle pyramids next to their cartons of Camels, anticipating a stream of thirsty Washingtonians.

Every savvy entrepreneur knows that water is a sure fire way to attract people. Is there any mall in America that doesn?t have a fountain or a pool full of pennies in it somewhere? Hotel lobbies, office complexes, libraries, county courthouses, all spurt water, inviting people in and making them feel welcome. Can you find a doctor's office nowadays without an aquarium? 

Human beings crave closeness to water. That's why most of the earth's population hugs the shorelines of its continents. Maybe it is because we are made almost entirely of water. Maybe it is because we started our life in water, living in it and breathing it for our first nine months of life. Maybe it is because almost none of us get the recommended daily 60-70 ounces of water we need to be optimally hydrated, so that whether we recognize it or not, our bodies are constantly thirsty.

Water is life. Disney's Earth Day release of "Oceans," a 103 minute special breathtaking in every way, reminded us that we live on the only blue planet in the galaxy and it is that azure which animates us. Is it any wonder then that, in this week?s text from Revelation when John receives his vision of "the new heaven and the new earth," the first thing God does is to offer water to all who are thirsty? And because this is the beginning of a new creation, a new living relationship, whole and healed, between all the peoples of the world and God, this can only be called "living water."

Living water comes freely and fully from God?

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

___________________________

Loving as Jesus Loved Us

Some years back neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote a fascinating vignette of an intriguing neurological difficulty. As some of you know, Tourette's Syndrome is a bizarre mental disorder that causes victims to have any number of physical and verbal tics. Some Tourettic people have constant facial twitches, others find themselves uncontrollably uttering verbal whoops, beeps, and sometimes also raunchy swear words. One man with Tourette's whom Dr. Sacks knew was given to deep, lunging bows toward the ground, a few verbal shouts, and also an obsessive-compulsive type adjusting and readjusting of his glasses. The kicker is that the man is a skilled surgeon! Somehow and for some unknown reason, when he dons mask and gown and enters the operating room, all of his tics disappear for the duration of the surgery. He loses himself in that role and he does so totally. When the surgery is finished, he returns to his odd quirks of glasses adjustment, shouts, and bows.
 
Sacks did not make any spiritual comments on this, of course, yet I find this doctor a very intriguing example of what it can mean to "lose yourself" in a role. There really can be a great transformation of your life when you are focused on just one thing--focused to the point that bad traits disappear even as the performing of normal tasks becomes all the more meaningful and remarkable.
 
Something like that is our Christian goal as we travel with Jesus. Our desire is to love one another?to love the whole world finally, I suppose?as Jesus loved us. To do that, we need an infusion of a kind of love that does not arise naturally from the context of the world as we know it. So as we lose ourselves in Jesus and in being his disciples, we find even our ordinary day-to-day activities infused with deep meaning as a love from another place fills our hearts. Because if sacredness happens to us at all, it happens among the pots and pans of the everyday and not just on Sundays when we feel particularly jolted by worship or on Tuesdays when we volunteer for some service project (vital though those things are, too). If we are to love as Jesus loved us, this becomes for us a daily reality that is possible if and only when the love of Christ fills us to the brim.
 
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
________________________________________


How Do You Know My Name?

I've always loved the little story about the boy who's trying to learn the Lord's Prayer, and one night as he knelt by his bed, these words came out:
 
Our Father, who are in heaven 
How do you know my name?
 
Such individualized affection will always remain a mystery to us mortals, and at the same time, let us never forget we're made in the image of that extraordinary love. And doing what Jesus did in loving each one he ever met as if there were none other in all the world is at least an ideal toward which we can reach even if it always remains utterly beyond our complete grasp.
 
John R. Claypool, Loving as Jesus Loved
___________________________________________


Closer to Christ

God never intended God's boundaries to be less than the whole world. Therefore, none of us have a monopoly on God's love. We may feel like we do when we look down on someone different than we are, or when we snicker at someone's misfortune, or when we say, "Thank you, Lord, that I am not like them," or when we say, "It's too bad they do not believe as we believe." But woe be unto us whenever we reek of such arrogance! For when we try to restrict God's grace to ourselves, we cut ourselves off from that very grace. Why? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have said it best, "It is impossible to love Christ without loving others, and it is impossible to love others without moving nearer to Christ."

John K. Bergland, Love without Limits, One Heaven of a Party: Year C Sermons on the First Readings, CSS Publishing Company
_______________________

A Sympathetic Gesture

Edgar Guest, a renowned American poet at the turn of the century, tells of a neighbor by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would pass his neighbor and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But it was a mere casual relationship.

Then came that tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first born child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to go to the drug store run by his neighbor, and when he entered Jim Potter motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need for me to do anything, you can count on me."

Many years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books. This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way--a passing acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget it--never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a lonely tree against a crimson sunset."

[Suggestion for follow-up on this story]
I have wondered how it is that I want people to remember me when I come to end of life's journey.

But I really don't care if someone remembers me for that. I really don't.

I do hope that people are able to say of me at the end of my life's pilgrimage: When we were sick he came to us; when we needed help, he was there; when I was down, he lifted me up. In short, I hope that my ministry is remembered for simple acts of kindness. For if that is the case, then my life would have been worth it and I might have come close to fulfilling the greatest commandment in life: Love God and love your neighbor.

Brett Blair and Staff, www.eSermons.com 

___________________
  
Didn't Look Like an Elephant

There is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking.

A neighbor asked, "How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?"

The man answered, "I just chipped away everything that didn't look like an elephant!"

If you have anything in your life right now that doesn't look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that doesn't look like compassion or mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have hatred or prejudice or vengeance or envy in your heart, for God's sake, and the for the other person's sake, and for your sake, get rid of it! Let God chip everything out of your life that doesn't look like tenderheartedness.

James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Nashville: Dimensions, 1994, p. 32.

___________________

The Law of the Spirit

We need our laws. Laws tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. To be sure, society will fail if its people reject law. But law can only go so far. It can dictate to us what we can and cannot do but it is powerless to dictate to us what we think and what we feel. When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you," I want you to hear those words within the context of community law. When the disciples, or the Jews, talked about Commandments they were discussing laws for acceptable behavior in society. Now, I want you to hear how utterly strange these words really are, "A new COMMANDMENT I give to you: LOVE one another."

Did you catch it? A law telling us, no, commanding us to love. Rev. Richard Daggett says, this law invades the very depths of our beings; this law presumes to have jurisdiction over the way we think, the way we feel, over our opinions, our prejudices and biases, our concepts of superiority, over the way every fiber of our being, both inward and outward, responds to the world around us.

And then Richard says this: This law clarifies to us that while religion and law may exercise lordship over our actions, over the way we live, Christ wants lordship over everything we are. It is the law of the spirit and not simply the law of the letter.

And to whom does this new law apply? My brothers and sisters in Christ. It is to us.

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Richard Dagget statements adapted from Minister's Manual, 1995, p. 188.

___________________

A Lie

Now I want to tell you a lie. Hate is an emotion we can't help. Hate is a feeling we cannot overcome. If we hate someone, it is because we just can't help ourselves. We're human. We have no choice but to hate. That is a lie. Unfortunately, it is a lie many people believe. They believe this lie in order to excuse their hatred. After all, if we can't help but hate, if hate is a feeling we simply cannot help, then hatred is never our fault, is it? 

But we can help it. Hatred is a choice. We choose to hate, just as we choose to love. Oh, I know, there are people out there who believe love isn't a choice, that love is primarily an emotion, a feeling, a stirring in the loins. These are the same people who stay married for six months, then divorce. These are the people who love the idea of love but seem unable to stay in it. Love is a matter of the will - something we decide to do. Love is a choice.

Philip Gulley, For Everything a Season, Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, p. 204

___________________


We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a hard-boiled egg.

Traditional

___________________

A Great Inheritance

One of the great preachers of our time is Dr. Fred Craddock. Craddock tells a story about vacationing with his wife one summer in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One night they found a quiet little restaurant, where they looked forward to a private meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. Craddock leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn?t come over here." He didn?t want anyone intruding on their privacy. But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"Oklahoma," Craddock answered.

"Splendid state, I hear, although I?ve never been there," the stranger said."What do you do for a living?"

"I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University," Craddock replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I?ve got a story to tell you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.

Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly and thought to himself, "Oh, no! Here comes another preacher story! It seems like everybody has at least one."

The man stuck out his hand. "I?m Ben Hooper," he said?

The conclusion to this illustration and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Easter 5 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
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From joeparrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 12:24:08 2010
From: joeparrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:24:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for Mother's Day
In-Reply-To: 118140
References: 118140
Message-ID: <8CCB698B1C8E947-B30-18C8@angweb-usm005.sysops.aol.com>



Sermons for Mother?s Day: 
     John 14:23-29 ? ?Love and Obey? 
     Romans 16 ? ?Mother?s Day?
 
John 14 the sermon titled ?Love and Obey" 
 
Welcome on this Mother?s Day. Someone has made a list of nine things a Mother would never say. See if your Mom would ever say these things:
 
1. ?How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?? Anybody?
2. ?Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too.?
3. ?Just leave all the lights on . . . it makes the house look more cheery.?
4. ?Let me smell that shirt--Yeah, it?s good for another week.?
5. ?Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I?ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.?
6. ?Well, if Timmy?s mom says it?s OK, that?s good enough for me.? 
7. ?The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It?s not like I?m running a prison around here.?
8. ?I don?t have a tissue with me . . . just use your sleeve.?
9. ?Don?t bother wearing a jacket--the wind-chill is bound to improve.? 
 
Well, someone has to make sure we all survive childhood. And usually that task falls to Mom.
 
I can?t imagine a better lesson for Mother?s Day than one that begins like this: ?If anyone loves me, he will obey . . .? That is what Christ says to us in our text for the day. Jesus said to his disciples, ?If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . .? 
 
Obedience is important to our spiritual lives. However, obedience is also an important part of helping a family run smoothly.
 
A professor was giving a lecture on company slogans and was asking his students if they were familiar with them. ?Joe,? he asked, ?which company has the slogan ?Fly the Friendly Skies??? Joe answered with the correct airline. ?Brenda, can you tell me which company has the slogan ?Don?t Leave Home Without It??? Brenda answered quickly with the correct credit card company. ?Now John, tell me which company bears the slogan ?Just Do It??? ?That?s easy,? John answered, ?It?s my Mom.? The shoe company surely stole their motto from someone?s Mom: ?Just Do It??? Why? ?BECAUSE I SAID SO!?
 
Jesus said to his disciples, ?If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . .?
 
There is an undeniable link between love and obedience. We can threaten a child to be obedient. We can punish an act of willful defiance. But the only way that our children will internalize the values we want for them will be if they know they are connected to us by a bond of love that cannot be broken. So it is in our relationship with God?
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com.
 _______________________ 
 
Romans 16, the sermon titled "Mother?s Day" 
 
Sermon Opener - Mother's Day ? Romans 16
 
I must candidly confess that when I was in seminary the 16th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans didn?t do much for me. It struck me as being boring nothing more than a long presentation of people?s names, most of whom I could not pronounce; I usually skimmed over that part so I could get to what I considered to be the real Gospel. Over the years I have greatly changed my attitude about this particular chapter and I have discovered that there is much more to it than I had first imagined. For example, it is interesting to note that of the twenty-six people who Paul singles out for his personal greeting, six were women. Now that strikes me as being rather interesting, since Paul has frequently gotten a bum rap for being a male chauvinist. I think it also shows us the tremendous influence that women had in the early church. In the male oriented first century Palestine, it is tellin g that Paul could not describe the church without mentioning the significant role of women.
 
Verse 13 of chapter 16 is particularly interesting and it is one that scholars have struggled with over the centuries. Paul writes: "Give my greetings to Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." Now this statement could be taken two ways. It could mean that Paul had two distinct women in mind--the mother of Rufus and his own personal mother. Or, he could be saying: "I salute Rufus and his mother, who is like a mother to me." If that is what he meant, and most Biblical scholars agree that that is indeed what he meant, then it raises some interesting speculation. When and where did Paul meet Rufus? mother? Did she nurse him through some serious illness?  
 
Did she receive him into her home for an extended stay during his missionary journeys? How did this woman and Paul form such a close bond that he refers to her fondly as being like his mother? Mark tells us that Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried Jesus cross, had two sons: Alexander and Rufus. Was this the same Rufus to whom Paul was speaking? If that is true, his mother would be Simon of Syrene?s wife. No one knows for sure who this remarkable woman was who served as a mother figure for the great Paul. But it really makes no difference, because what he writes makes an excellent springboard for a Mother?s Day sermon.
 
Some people ridicule Mother?s Day as a lot of sentimental drivel. They say that it is nothing more than the creation of the greeting card companies and the florists. And, to be perfectly candid, there are many ministers who shun this day because, they say, it is not a religious holiday. Furthermore, they preach from the lectionary, which has an assigned scriptural reading each week, and therefore mother?s day is left out.
 
Well, of course, we must admit that there is sentiment to this day, but what is wrong with that? Seems to me that a little bit of sentiment is healthy.  True enough, there are some women in the Bible, such as Jezebel and the vindictive Herodias, who had John the Baptist beheaded, who tarnish the institution of motherhood. There are women today who abandon, abuse, and corrupt their children and who create a poor model, but I like to think that these are the exceptions. Most mothers do the right thing and deserve recognition. So this morning I would like to join Paul and salute all of the mothers who are with us.
 
1. First, mothers should be saluted for their tenacious love.
2. Secondly, mothers should be saluted for the tremendous impact they have.
3. Third, mothers should be saluted because where they are, that is where home is.
 
Click  http://www.sermons.com/signup or call 1-800-777-7731 to join.
 
___________________________
 
If They Are Going to Get You?
 
Author, speaker and sports enthusiast Pat Williams, in his book A Lifetime of Success, give one of the best examples I know of a mother?s love.
 
He tells of attending a very special Atlanta Braves? baseball home opener on April 8, 1974. It was a night game against the Dodgers and it was a complete sellout. Williams looked around to see that, seated immediately behind him was singer Pearl Bailey. Up at the plate: the immortal Henry Aaron. On the line: Babe Ruth?s record of 714 career home runs. Aaron had tied the record and tonight he was aiming to break it.
 
Understand that this was nearly 40 years ago. An African?American player was about to topple the great Babe Ruth--and a lot of people in the country didn?t like it. Aaron got a lot of mail that year--more than 930,000 letters in all, far more than any other person in the country. Most were fan letters--but about 100,000 of them were hate letters, some containing death threats. 
 
Williams says he was on the edge of his seat when Dodgers pitcher Al Downing hurled the ball toward the plate. Aaron swung and connected. The crack of his bat echoed through the stands. The ball was gone. Home run. Babe Ruth?s record was shattered. The ballpark went nuts.
 
?As Aaron rounded second base,? says Williams, ?a couple of teenagers--both white--jumped over the retaining wall and ran onto the field, chasing Aaron. For a moment, no one knew what they had in mind, but then it became clear: they were celebrating and cheering Aaron on. As Aaron crossed the plate, the dugout emptied as the Braves streamed onto the field to surround him, cheering and whooping it up. But amid all those ballplayers around Aaron was a short, sixty-eight?year?old black woman. She latched onto Aaron and wouldn?t let go of him.
 
?Henry Aaron turned and said to her, ?Mom! What are you doing here??
 
??Baby,? said the mother of the new home?run king, ?if they?re gonna get you,? (thinking of the death threats Aaron had received) ?they?ve gotta get me first!?? 
 
That is love only a mother could have for her child. ?If they?re gonna get you, they?ve gotta get me first!?
Pat Williams, A Lifetime of Success, (Grand Rapids. MI: Fleming H. Revell, 2000), pp. 109-110, adapted by King Duncan
___________________
The Most Important Job in the World
 
Dr. Tony Campolo is a well-known and highly-respected, inspirational speaker. Over the last several years, Tony Campolo has spent much of his time traveling around the world on speaking tours.
 
Meanwhile, his wife, Peggy, has chosen to stay home and give herself and all that she has to the "Bringing Up" of their two children, Bart and Lisa. On those rare occasions when Peggy does travel with Tony, she finds herself engaged in conversations with some of the most accomplished, impressive, influential, sophisticated people in the world. 
 
After one such trip, Peggy told Tony that sometimes as she visits with these powerful people? she finds herself feeling intimidated and sometimes even questioning her own self-worth. Tony said to her: "Well, honey, why don't you come up with something you could say when you meet people that will let them know that you strongly value what you do and you feel that it is dramatically, urgent and crucial and important.
 
Well, not long after that, Tony and Peggy Campolo were at a party? when a woman said to Peggy in a rather condescending tone, "Well, my dear, what do you do?" Tony Campolo heard his wife say:
 
"I am nurturing two Homo Sapiens into the dominant values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition in order that they might become instruments for the transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia God envisioned from the beginning of time." 
And the other woman said:
"O, my, I'm just a lawyer."
 
I like that story because it reminds us that there are a lot of important jobs in the world today but not one of them is more important than the job of being a mother. 
 
Tony Campolo adapted by James Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
 
___________________________________
 
What?s a Good Mother Like?
 
Judith Viorst once wrote an essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was ?What?s a good mother like??
 
Viorst reports that the children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. ?She has to,? said Ted, ?or she?ll faint from holding it in.? 
 
?But it?s best to remember,? said Randy, ?that when your mother starts to act real weird, you have to look scared and serious. Don?t giggle. When mommies are mad, they get madder if you giggle.?
 
?My mommy got so mad,? said Megan, ?that she yanked the plate off the table and all the mashed potatoes flew into the air.? ?And why,? Viorst asked, pretending she?d never heard of such shocking behavior, ?why would a mother do a thing like that?? 
?Well,? said Megan, ?she told my older brother, Mike, he?s 11 years old, to eat the potatoes on his plate and he said ?Later.? And then she told him again to eat the potatoes and Mike said ?Soon.? And then she told him he had better eat those potatoes right now and he said, ?In a minute.? And then she stood up and Mike finally took a bite and told her, ?How can I eat them? They?re cold!?? 
 
It?s not easy being a Mom. 
 
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com, adapting Judith Viorst, All in the Family
________________________
 
Job Description: Mother
 
I found this job description circulating on the Internet this past week. Anyone interested? [You may want/need to shorten this.] 
 
WANTED: Mom
 
JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
 
RESPONSIBILITIES: Must provide on-the-site training in basic life skills, such as nose blowing. Must have strong skills in negotiating, conflict resolution and crisis management. Ability to suture flesh wounds a plus. Must be able to think out of the box but not lose track of the box, because you most likely will need it for a school project. Must reconcile petty cash disbursements and be proficient in managing budgets and resources fairly, unless you want to hear, "He got more than me!" for the rest of your life. Also, must be able to drive motor vehicles safely under loud and adverse conditions while simultaneously practicing above-mentioned skills in conflict resolution. Must be able to choose your battles and stick to your guns. Must be able to withstand criticism, such as "You don't know anything." Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $ 5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name. Must have a diverse knowledge base, so as to answer questions such as "What makes the wind move?" on the fly. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
 
ADVANCEMENT/PROMOTION POSSIBILITIES: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
 
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
 
WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
 
BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
 
Every mother here this morning knows that mothering brings more joy and love and fulfillment than seem possible.
 
Adapted by Leonard Sweet 
_________________________________
 
Unconventional Mother?s Day Gifts
 
This Mother?s Day take a moment to think of all the mothers in the world who are in need. There are millions of women in the world living on less than a dollar a day. There are women in this country who are wondering how they are going to feed or diaper their children from day to day. There are children who need medical attention that their parents may not be able to afford. Anyone who has ever had to worry about such things can deeply sympathize. For those of us who have escaped such worries, we can only imagine the level of instinctive stress that uncertainty can provoke.
 
There are many ways to celebrate Mother?s Day, but here are a few unconventional suggestions that will prove to your own mother that she did a good job raising you. How about dropping off a box of diapers and/or a case of formula to a local food bank or women?s shelter? If you have some baby furniture or clothing that your own children have outgrown, how about donating that stuff to a local charity? Does our local hospital have a fund for children who need care? Are there doctors in our community or city who volunteer in clinics overseas who might need supplies? There are countless ways to help support Moms locally and globally. Let your own Mom know that you were thinking about her and all of the many things she provided for you along the way?and that you did a good deed in honor of her. It will make her proud.
 
www.esermons.com 
________________________________
 
Worse-Case Scenarios
 
If moms are to be faulted, it is because they love their children so much that they get irrational about it. For instance, in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin approaches his mother
 
Calvin: "Can Hobbes and I go play in the rain, Mom? 
Mom: "No." 
Calvin: "Why not?" 
Mom: "You'll get soaked." 
Calvin: "What's wrong with that?"   
Mom: "You could catch pneumonia, run up a terrible hospital bill, linger a few months, and die." 
Calvin, looking out the window at the rain: "I always forget. If you ask a mom, you get a worse-case scenario."   
Hobbes: "I had no idea these little showers were so dangerous." 
 
Bill Watterson, The Essential Calvin & Hobbes, p. 130.
 
__________________
 
 
The Truest Friend
 
A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. 


Washington Irving (1783-1859)
__________________________
 
Why God Made Moms?
 
"Why God made moms" answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.   
 
Why did God make mothers? 
 
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.   
2. Mostly to clean the house. 
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. 
 
How did God make mothers? 
 
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.   
 
What ingredients are mothers made of? 
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.   
 
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? 
1. We're related. 
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.   
 
What kind of little girl was your mom? 
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff. 
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy. 
3. They say she used to be nice.   
 
The rest of this list and many additional illustrations and sermons for Mother?s Day can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 

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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 20:45:14 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:45:14 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 1
Message-ID: <083BC65878FB4D448B4126343889747E@YOUR264F1833C5>

...this is one of those times when the answer may not be just give them whatever it is they think they want. Any alcoholic will tell you that just giving a desperate person what they want is not always the loving thing to do. 

http://www.laughingbird.net/ComingWeeks.html
(in Sermons, Post 4.)

Nathan Nettleton, 2007
- - - - -

A story is told about a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten
students put his boots on. 

   He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him
   pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on.  When the second boot
   was on, she had worked up a sweat.  She almost whimpered when the
   little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the  wrong feet."  She looked
   and sure enough, they were. 

   It wasn't any  easier pulling the boots off then it was putting them
   on.  She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the
   boots back on - this time on the right feet.  He then announced,
   "These aren't my boots."  She bit her tongue rather than get right
   in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. 

   Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. 
   He then said,"They're my brother's boots.  My Mom made me wear
   them." 

   She didn't know  if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the
   grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again.  She said, "Now, where
   are your mittens?"  He  said, "I  stuffed them in the toes of my
   boots..."

http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/c-ea05su.php

Richard J. Fairchild 
- - - - -

...a late night comedian quips, "It's a good thing love hurts, otherwise all the country songs would have to be about root canals."

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/giftlove.html

John Jewell 
- - - - -

In a lovely little book called Chicken Soup for the Soul, there's a story about a man who came out right after Christmas from his office and when he got out to his car he found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at this new vehicle. The little boy said, "Does this car belong to you?"
And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I've just gotten it." With that the little boy's eyes widened.

He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it? That it came without any strings attached?"

And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift."

With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..."

And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother."

http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/claypool_3919.htm

John Claypool, 1996 
- - - - -
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 23:03:48 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:03:48 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 2
Message-ID: <9BF980D05D4C4E96ADF90B48B66EC1EB@YOUR264F1833C5>

...Fritz ...had been a refugee from Germany after World War II. He came to the United States and became a steel worker in Indiana. But more than this, he was the most tireless advocate for the world's hungry people that I have ever known. A common layman, he didn't have a high school education. His own schooling in Germany had been cut short by the war, and after the war he lived for months outdoors with his friends, stealing potatoes from farmers' fields and trying not to get shot in the process. After he became established in the United States, he began working with his own congregation volunteering, organizing them, and then going to other congregations to organize and challenge them to raise money for the poor, urging, coaxing, cajoling them to look beyond their own needs and to join in God's holy labor of giving life and hope to the poor around the world. Single-handedly, over the course of 25 years, Fritz was instrumental in raising millions of dollars to feed the hungry in dozens of countries. 

http://day1.org/630-sermon_for_the_5th_sunday_in_easter

David Miller, 2001 
- - - - -

"Exactly how did this one, who became what we are so we could understand more fully who God is, actually and realistically love?" 
St. Augustine has given me two clues to such a question. He once observed that Jesus loved each one he had ever met as if there were none other in all the world to love. In other words, Jesus radically individualized the affection he acted out toward others. 
<>
The second clue St. Augustine offers is that Jesus loved all as he loved each. The way he loved was not only individualized, but it was also incredibly universal. 

http://day1.org/464-loving_as_jesus_loved

John R. Claypool, 2004 
- - - - -

Some years ago, Albert Schweitzer, who served Christ by bringing medical skills to Africa, visited Chicago.  A group of reporters cornered him on a railroad platform, seeking an interview about his self-effacing work in Africa. As they spoke, an elderly lady walked by, struggling with a heavy suitcase.  Schweitzer excused himself for a moment, gently took the woman's suitcase and accompanied her to her railway car.  When Schweitzer returned to where he had left the reporters, not a single one of them was still standing there.  They were each trying to find some elderly lady whose suitcase they could carry.

http://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/

David Rogne
- - - - -

Mother Teresa used to say that "we can do no great things -- only small things with great love."

http://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/

Randy R. Quinn
- - - - -

I sat with an elderly man in hospital yesterday. He was talking about going to heaven. I asked him how long he had been a Christian. "For 45 years," he replied. Then he told me how he had sat through revival meetings almost every night for one month and heard the gospel. "It went in one ear and out the other," he continued. On the final Thursday night one of the evangelists sang a song and through one line of that song God really spoke to him. I asked, "What were the words?" He recited them with all the strength that his weak frame could muster, "When you pass the last milestone on earth, where will your soul be?" That night he stayed back and asked Jesus to forgive him and to come into his life. He's nearing the last milestone but he knows where his soul will be when he ends his journey here.

http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/pmol/webapr23.htm

Philip McAlister, 2006
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The movie and the play, GODSPELL, certainly picks up the mood of this scene well. GODSPELL shows the twelve disciples saying goodbye to Jesus. The scene is very touching. In the play and movie, there was a clown named, Pip. Jesus was saying goodbye to each of his disciples, one at a time. There were the traditional, expected, emotional hugs. Jesus finally came to Pip, the clown. Pip put out his arms to hug Jesus and say farewell, but then Pip unexpectedly turned away. Pip walked away from Jesus. Jesus stood there. Pip turned towards him but then looked away again. One more time, Pip looked at Jesus and after putting on a solid, stoic front of coolness, Pip finally broke down and ran to hug Jesus and say goodbye. It was a very touching and emotional scene. This scene was well done in GODSPELL. It was tough to say goodbye.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_it_is_hard_to_say_goodbye.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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From JoeParrish at compuserve.com  Fri Apr 30 23:58:28 2010
From: JoeParrish at compuserve.com (Joe Parrish)
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:58:28 -0400
Subject: [Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 3
Message-ID: <ED4992A677904185ACB7EA0E4F11D433@YOUR264F1833C5>

So let's say we're going to read the whole Bible in one year; that is 66 books, 1189 chapters, and at three chapters a day, five minutes per each chapter, that totals 92 hours of reading.  So I want you to summarize the whole Bible, the 66 books, the 1189 chapters, the 92 hours of reading.  What would you say?  How would you summarize the whole Bible? With a tangled history of the Jews?  With a tangled list of theologies that appeal to?  How would you summarize all your reading?  Jesus summarizes the whole Bible with eight words:  "Love one another as I have loved you."  Eight words to summarize 66 books, 1189 chapters and 92 hours of reading.  

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_love_can_be_so_simple.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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...a quotation by Morris Niedenthal, who teaches and preaches at the University of Chicago. He says that Jesus accepted people just the way they were, but he never left people just the way they were because he loved them  . Jesus always made them better. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_i_love_you_charlie_brown.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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Notice Jesus' arms at the top of the painting, by Salvador Dali, the Spanish genius, that his arms are stretched out, that his forgiveness is for all people in the world. "This is my blood shed FOR YOU and for ALL people." 

This gift is both personal and universal at the same time. This gift of forgiveness is FOR YOU PERSONALLY and for EVERYBODY. 

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_a_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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