[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for October 31 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for Proper 26 and All Saints Day: 
 Luke 19:1-10  – “Who You Gonna’ Vote For?”
 Luke 6:20-31  – “WWE Raw, Jesus Style” by Leonard Sweet

Luke 19 the sermon titled "Who You Gonna’ Vote For?"  
 
They say “politics and religion don't mix,” but politicians can’t stop talking about religion. They say “separation of church and state.” I say politicians have sure been preaching a lot of sermons lately. Some of them preachin’ political sermons in the churches, right up there where the preacher ought to be. You might be able to separate the state from the church but you sure can’t separate the politician from the pulpit. They say, “I’m not going to force my values on others.” I say, what is faith without values?
 
And so I ask you: What is the state without the church? What is a politician without visible values? What is life without faith? To borrow the words of Paul, “It is nothing.” It is a resounding gong, a clanging symbol. Zacchaeus recognized this. He could not be in the presence of Jesus and not be moved. Moved to right the wrong in his life. He was a tax collector who taken advantage of many people. Lied to them. Swindled them. Skimmed off the top of his collections. And beyond all this, he had ignored the poor.
 
Now it’s Tuesday morning for old Zacchaeus and he has to walk in the election booth and pull the lever. He is either going to vote for the state or for the faith. He is either going to vote for himself of for those he has defrauded. He will either cast his vote for Rome or for Christ. Come Election Day, who is he gonna’ vote for?
 
1. He Could Vote for the Tax Collectors.
2. He Could Vote for the Poor.
3. He Could Vote for Christ.
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
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Luke 18 the sermon titled “License to Steal” by Leonard Sweet] 
 
 
Sermon for All Saints Day
 
Sermon Opener: WWE Raw, Jesus Style - Luke 6:20-31 by Leonard Sweet 
 
When pop culture transforms a “holy day” into a “holiday,” it almost always manages to focus on the wrong side of the equation. 
 
For example: 
 
*The number of shopping days left til Christmas is NOT as important as the 12 day period between the Christmas day miracle and the season of Epiphany. 
 
*A huge party, Mardi Gras, on “Fat Tuesday” is NOT as important as the forty days of Lent that follow. 
 
*Eating all your chocolate bunnies before breakfast on Easter morning is NOT as important as rejoicing over living a resurrection faith on Easter afternoon. 
 
*Tonight, while the world is preparing to throw itself a spooky, kooky All Hallows Eve party, “Halloween” is NOT as important as is the celebrations it fronts for — All Saints Day and All Soul’s Day. 
 
Outwitting spooky spirits on Halloween is not essential to Christian discipleship. But remembering the “saints” is. Celebrating our ancestors in the faith, those men and women, some unknown, some esteemed, who lived and died furthering the Christian faith, that is the “holy day” the church needs to hold up to the world.
 
The Roman Catholic Church calendar still establishes a two day series of special masses and prayers that follow All Hallows Eve — All Saints Day on November 1 and All Soul’s Day on November 2. All Saints Day commemorates the faithful who, according to the church, have achieved heavenly status. All Soul’s Day is a day to pray for family members and the unsung saints of the world. 
 
There is a historical argument that can be made for All Saints Day and All Soul’s Day being the most under-celebrated church holiday in the post-Reformation church. Before the Reformation some overzealous fundraisers in the church gladly granted what was called a “plenary indulgence” to those who attended church services on All Saint’s and All Soul’s day. According to medieval theology this meant that if you attended church on those days your presence automatically released one soul from purgatory. 
 
The problem was that eventually the church ended up with a revolving door of visitors. It was the theological equivalent of buying a fistful of lottery tickets instead of betting on just one number. Better odds. People with lots of dead relatives would enter the church, offer the name of their deceased loved one, exit the church, and then turn around and do it all again, theologically assured that each time they re-entered the church that day they were freeing another Purgatory prisoner. Those with few relatives would simply draw up lists of historical figures they liked and hoped to chalk up heavenly credit to liberate them.
 
This kind of incentive for church attendance is questionable, though it did work. But the eagerness of living generations to stay connected to past generations, both in prayers and in practices, is admirable. For medieval Christians, the dead were still an active part of the living, and past generations still had something to offer the present generations. 
 
It is hard for some of us to make that kind of connection anymore…
 
The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com 
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We Don’t Play the Full Scale 
 
One of the most famous composers had a rebellious son who used to come in late at night after his mother and father had gone to bed. And before going to his own room, this rebellious son would go to his father’s piano and slowly, spitefully… and loudly would play a simple scale, all but the final note. He would play, “Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti…” and then he wouldn’t strike that final “Do.” Then leaving the scale unfinished, he would retire to his room.

Meanwhile, his father (great musician that he was) hearing the scale minus the final note,… would twist and turn and writhe on his bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale was not finished.

Finally, not able to stand it any longer, the father would crawl out of bed, stumble down the stairs and strike that final note of the scale. Only then could he relax and be at peace.

Now, that’s an interesting parable because it reminds me of the way we so often treat God. We play around with some of the notes of faith, but we don’t play the full scale…

- We forgive, but not completely.
- We love, but not completely.
- We serve, but not completely.
- We accept Christ, but not completely.
- We live the Christian life-style but not completely.
- We commit our lives to God, but not completely.

But then, even when we treat God shabbily, in his infinite patience and amazing grace, he continues to reach out to us and he continues to love us.

James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Didn’t You Hear the Bells?
 
One time a blind man was invited to attend the wedding of a friend. The couple had chosen to be married in a village church that was known for its picturesque qualities. As the couple left the chapel, the mother of the groom said to the blind man, “What a pity that you couldn’t see the
chapel. It really is so lovely. And such a pretty garden.” She later repeated this to some mutual friends at the reception. The blind man just shrugged his shoulders each time and changed the subject. He thought to himself, “didn’t she hear the bells?” For him, the bells that had rung before and after the ceremony had been magnificent. He was astonished at their tones and the patterns that they made. For him they had created an atmosphere of joy and sacredness. The blind man finally concluded that the mother of the groom may have seen the lovely chapel but she missed the sound of the bells. With all her senses she had only experienced part of the beauty.

Zacchaeus was blinded by his selfishness, but that did not keep Jesus from seeing him as a whole person. Jesus wanted to stay with Zacchaeus. To miss this part of the story is to remain in the dark. Jesus had to go to his house because this represented what Jesus was all about; giving grace toward those who are lost. In the gospel of Luke, Zacchaeus became the symbolic recipient of the grace of God toward lost humanity. There is no limit to God’s grace. There is even hope for the greedy and powerful. By staying with Zacchaeus, Jesus demonstrated that the grace of God extends to everyone, especially the lost.

Keith Wagner, Little Guy, Big Gift
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