[Propertalk] Fw: Sermon Resources for May 2 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

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
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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
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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 

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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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