[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for June 24 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for Proper 7 
Mark 4:35-41 - "Calming of the Tempest"
Mark 4:35-41 - "Stand by Me" by Leonard Sweet
 


 
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Mark 4, the sermon title "Calming of the Tempest"  
 
Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to retie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the cannon was greater than the fury of the storm.

That is like human life. Storms of life may blow about us, but it is not these exterior storms that pose the gravest danger. It is the terrible corruption that can exist within us which can overwhelm us. The furious storm outside may be overwhelming but what is going on inside can pose the greater threat to our lives. Our only hope lies in conquering that wild enemy…


1. Storms Come Suddenly.
2. Storms Can Make You Lose Direction.
3. Our Fear of the Storm Has the Power to Paralyze.
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup
  


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The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com. Sign up today at: http://www.sermons.com/signup Or call: 1-800-777-7731.
 
Members: Mark 4 the sermon titled “Stand by Me" by Leonard Sweet   
 
As summer heats up it is important to always bring a sweater with you. 
 
Huh?! (Yes, I know a sweater is something your mother puts on you when she is cold!) 
 
Likewise if you head to Minnesota in mid-winter you would be wise to bring something lightweight and with short sleeves. 
 
Crazy?! 
 
These seemingly illogical suggestion are actually good ideas. Why? Because our culture is addicted to “climate control.” Air conditioning and central heating make it possible for us to create any kind of climate, any sort of indoor “weather,” we want. Since we still cannot control what kind of weather we encounter outside, in the real world, we over-compensate in our encapsulated climates — our homes, shopping malls, restaurants, office buildings, airplanes…
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup
  


 
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Unanswered Prayer
 
To someone like me, who was rescued from drowning in wind and wave, the imagery is very powerful without even descending to a symbolic level. I can recall being physically tossed about by powerful waves and buffeted by the cold wind; I know what it is like to be sinking in the sea for what seems to be the very last time, although in my case I didn’t have the benefit of a boat to slow my demise. I understand with absolute clarity how the disciples must have felt as disaster overtook them while their Master slept. 

I lived out this Bible story on March 12, 1967 in a very literal way. 

Since then, I have had several occasions to live it out in a metaphorical way, and I am ashamed that I still haven’t learned my lesson despite all these years. 

You know what I am talking about: there are times in your life when you know a great upheaval is coming. The wind rises ominously and the clouds don’t look right. People suddenly start doing and saying strange things and you know something is afoot. Relatives fall prey to strange persuasions; your health might even fail. The news on television starts sounding Biblical, and there are rumors the like of which you haven’t heard before. Your life is tossed upon the waves like a small ship on an angry sea. Panic sets in as you decide that the end of something is near; if not your family, if not your finances, if not your career, then maybe the whole world! 

“Master, Master,” you cry to God, “Don’t you even care that I am perishing?” 

And you sit in your quiet room and stare at the ceiling, as if all your prayers never got past that point, and the silence from heaven is deafening. At most points in your life, if you heard an audible voice in answer to your prayer, you’d smile and look for the person who’s playing a joke on you. Or perhaps you’d search the yellow pages for a good psychiatrist who specializes in auditory hallucinations; but today in your distress there is a part of you that demands to hear what you’ve never heard, to see what you’ve never seen, because you are scared to your innermost being and you need comfort and rescue, and you need it now. 

How impudent of God not to answer. Doesn’t He know what you’re going through? 

Kenneth W. Collins, 'Unanswered' Prayer? 
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