[Propertalk] FW: Sermon Resources for October 16

[Joe Parrish]

We Are Citizens of This World

In an invocation prayer at the United States Senate, Peter Marshall said,
"Lord Jesus, Thou who art the way, the truth, and the life, hear us as we
pray for the truth that shall make men free. Teach us that liberty is not
only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be
buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded. Make us to see that our
liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please
to do what is right."

It is unthinkable that a Christian would not vote! It is unthinkable that
Christians would not run for public office! It is unthinkable that
Christians would withdraw from the responsibility of taking part in public
life. The Christian has a responsibility to Caesar for all the privileges
which the rule of Caesar brings. We are citizens of this world and must be
good ones, if we are Christ's disciples.

Jerry L. Schmalenberger, When Christians Quarrel, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.

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Only One Top Priority

I have heard it argued from both pulpit and pew that Jesus' words "Give to
the emperor the things that are the emperor's" mean that a Christian is
duty-bound to love America, right or wrong. I'm sorry, but I cannot agree
with that. One Christian writer has said, "The greatest service Christians
can render to their country is to become actively concerned about the
destiny of the church." 

I have also heard it argued that "Give to the emperor the things that are
the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" implies a strict
separation of church and state, that Jesus is dividing life into two
separate and distinct parts - a spiritual part and a secular, or worldly,
part. Dedicated and committed Christians have been arguing for this
separation for centuries, and we probably won't settle the issue once and
for all today. Their argument has been that with these words Jesus is
telling us to obey God in the spiritual realm and to obey the government in
everything else. Now, that's a nice, neat little division, and it solves
many difficult problems. Politics is politics and religion is religion and
never the twain shall meet. Let the church take care of its own business and
keep their noses out of social and political issues. That would be fine if
it worked. You and I both know that it doesn't. Yes, there are obligations
we have to the governing autho rities, such as paying taxes, exercising our
right to vote, and obeying civil laws. But as followers of Jesus Christ, our
ultimate obligation is to "seek first the kingdom of God," and all other
obligations have to have a lower priority. There can only be one top
priority.

Johnny Dean, Another Tricky Question

________________________

Torn Apart by Legions of Loyalties


No one seriously denies that we all have legions of loyalties. Sometimes
there are too many for our own good. I remember watching a film a few years
ago in which a scene opened to show two puppeteers arguing over who would
control the strings tied to a marionette on the stage below them. As they
argued, one tried to wrest the strings from the other. The result was
predictable. The puppet was pulled and thrown this way and that across the
stage, as first one puppeteer and then the other pulled the string to an arm
or leg, hand or foot.

Our many loyalties and commitments can do the same to us. We may feel that
the strings of power and persuasion tied to us need only be tugged a bit,
and then we have to move as they direct. The company we work for, the
government we live under, the family we belong to, the possessions we own
(more so, the one's we're still paying for) - all these things exercise
varying degrees of control over our lives. To a large extent they determine
how we spend our time, our money, our energy, our being. It isn't rare at
all these days for people to be pulled in so many different directions that
they jump and jerk across the stage of life, often feeling helplessly out of
control.

Our problem is that there are too many Caesars before which we stand
accountable. It's impossible to please them all. Rendering to Caesar what is
Caesar's is more than some folk feel they can handle.

D. Wayne Burkette, Life in Heaven's Kingdom, CSS Publishing Company 

__________________________

What We the People Demand

President James Garfield's words from 1877 still ring true. "Now more than
ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress.
If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people
tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent,
brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to
represent them in the national legislature ... if the next centennial does
not find us a great nation ... it will be because those who represent the
enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in
controlling the political forces."

Stephen M. Crotts / George L. Murphy / Stan Purdum, Sermons for Sundays:
After Pentecost (Last Third): Rendering to God, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.

________________________

Committing to Christ

Tony Campolo, the Philadelphia sociologist, found himself seated beside the
Pennsylvania governor at a state prayer breakfast. In the course of
conversation the governor said that he was sympathetic toward Christianity
but not personally committed. Campolo asked, "Why not?" The governor
replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, no one ever invited me to commit."
Campolo said, "I'm inviting you." within five minutes that governor had
committed his life to Christ.

We have good news that is essential to every human being; it's a matter of
their eternal life or death. We may be the only conduits God has to certain
persons. We must help him reach them.

Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons,
<http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAgkFCQVSCEkDCAFKDAtXUVw%3D>
www.Sermons.com

____________________

"I have held many things in my hand, and have lost them all; but whatever I
have placed in God's hands that I still possess."

Martin Luther

____________________

Historical Background Information: Paying Caesar 

The poll tax mentioned in this passage was levied by the Romans against the
Jews beginning in A.D. 6 when Judea became a Roman province. When imposed
for the first time, it provoked the rebellion of Judas the Galilean recorded
in Acts 5:37 and discussed in more detail below. The Herodians favored the
tax, but the Zealots, Pharisees, and people resented it. The Pharisees and
the Herodians, though common adversaries in New Testament times on the very
issue of rendering obedience and taxes to the Roman Empire, found themselves
in common alliance in this instance to trap Christ in His words, trying to
impale him on the horns of a serious dilemma. Should the authority of Caesar
be recognized and the poll tax be paid to him? If Christ were to have
affirmed payment of the poll tax to Caesar, he would no doubt have pleased
the Herodians but would have made Himself an even greater enemy of the
Pharisee s and an enemy of the people who shared popular resentment to the
poll tax as an unlawful imposition by a heathen government. If, by contrast,
Christ were to have denied that the poll tax be paid, he would have made
Himself out to be an enemy of the state and possibly, subject Himself to the
charge of sedition.

David G. Hagopian, Render to All What Is Due Them: What Every Christian
Needs to Know about Honoring Civil Authority and Paying Taxes, Part 2.
Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 4, no. 4 (October 1995).

____________________

False Dichotomies

Let me ask you a few questions that I am sure you can answer:

Did you put on shoes this morning, or did you come to church in a car?
Do you eat cereal for breakfast, or don't you like football?
Are you Lutheran, or do you live in America?
Will you obey God, or will you pay taxes to Caesar?

Welcome to the world of false dichotomies-thing that are wrongly set against
each other, "either/or"s that really aren't. Can you wear shoes and come to
church in a car? Can you eat cereal and enjoy football? Can you be Lutheran
and live in America? Of course; in fact, you can be an American Lutheran who
wears shoes and eats cereal while enjoying football after you've traveled to
and from church in a car. None of these things are mutually exclusive.
Beware of the one who asks such questions, because there may well be an
agenda behind them. At the same time, rejoice! Such scheming is no match for
the crucified and risen 

Tim Pauls, Your Two-Kingdom Life 

___________________

It Depends On What Is Important to You

Two friends were walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the
noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking
their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing,
and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, one of them
said, "What an interesting place to hear a cricket."

His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a
cricket in all of this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," his friend said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said his friend.

The man, who thought he had heard a cricket, listened carefully for a
moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some
shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and
sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.

"That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have superhuman ears!"

"No," said the man who heard the cricket. "My ears are no different from
yours. It all depends on.

The conclusion to this illustration and many additional illustrations and
sermons for Proper 24 and the upcoming weeks can be accessed at
<http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAgkFCQVSCEkDCAFKDAtXUVw%3D>
www.Sermons.com.

 

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