[Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter materials for July 18 (Proper 11C) - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

THE FOLLOWING are SermonWriter materials for July 18 (Proper 11C). They focus on the Gospel lesson, Luke 10:38-42, the story of Martha and Mary.

      THOUGHT PROVOKERS:   



      This age will die, not from sin, 

      but from lack of passion!



      Soren Kierkegaard



      *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *



      Little things come daily, hourly, within our reach, 

      and they are not less calculated to set forward our growth in holiness 

      than are the greater occasions which occur but rarely.  



      Moreover, fidelity in trifles, 

      and an earnest seeking to please God in little matters, 

      is a test of real devotion and love.  



      Let our aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little things, 

      and to attain a spirit of childlike simplicity and dependence.



      Jean Nicolas Grou



      *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *



      Fire is the chosen symbol of heaven for moral passion.  

      God is love; God is fire.  The two are one.  

      The Holy Spirit baptizes in fire.  

      Spirit-filled souls are ablaze for God.  

      They love with a love that glows.  

      They believe with a faith that kindles.  

      They serve with a devotion that consumes.  

      They hate sin with a fierceness that burns.  

      They rejoice with a joy that radiates.  

      Love is perfected in the fire of God.



      Samuel Chadwick



      *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *



      Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ.  

      The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for him.



      Oswald Chambers



      *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *



      The most holy practice, the nearest to daily life, 

      and the most essential for the spiritual life, 

      is the practice of the presence of God, 

      that is to find joy in his divine company 

      and to make it a habit of life, 

      speaking humbly and conversing lovingly with him 

      at all times, every moment, 

      without rule or restriction, 

      above all at times of temptation, distress, dryness, and revulsion, 

      and even of faithlessness and sin.



      Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
     

HYMN STORY:  Take Time to Be Holy 

This hymn is a good example of the Lord making more of our work than we could have expected. 

The man who wrote the words to "Take Time to Be Holy" was neither a pastor nor a songwriter.  William Longstaff was an English businessman -- a Christian layman who took his faith seriously. 

Hearing a sermon on the text, "Be ye holy, for I am holy," Longstaff was inspired to write a poem, "Take Time to Be Holy."  Being a good businessman, Longstaff had a practical mind.  That is reflected in this hymn, which offers many practical suggestions for becoming holy.  

· He says, "Take time to be holy," which reflects his understanding that holiness, like every virtue, requires time and attention to develop it.  

· He says, "Speak oft with the Lord," reflecting his personal experience that prayer deepens faith.  

· He says, "Take time to be holy; Be calm in your soul; Each thought and each motive, Beneath His control," telling us that we can face adversity calmly if we look to Christ for guidance. 

Longstaff managed to get his poem published in a Christian newspaper, but that was the end of it -- or so it seemed.  But as it turned out, George Stebbins, a Christian musician, had seen the poem and had clipped and filed it.  Years later, needing a hymn on the subject of holy living, he remembered the poem and set it to music.  It has been a favorite now for more than a century. 

I don't know whether Longstaff ever knew that Stebbins had set his poem to music.  I don't know that he ever heard it sung.  I know only that he felt called to write the poem -- and that God took it from there.  When we do something good -- something for God -- we might never know the full measure of good that we have accomplished.  We can only know that God will take what we offer, great or small, and make of it a treasure. 

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



www.sermonwriter.com

www.lectionary.org

Richard Niell Donovan
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