[Propertalk] FW: Sermon Resources for October 14 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

 Sermons for Proper 23 

 

 Mark 10:17-31 - "What Must I DO to Receive Life?"

 

 Mark 10:17-31 - "L4G - Live for God" by Leonard Sweet

 

 Mark 10 .  the sermon title "What Must I DO to Receive Life?" 

I heard about an expert in diamonds who happened to be seated on an airplane
beside a woman with a huge diamond on her finger. Finally, the man
introduced himself and said, "I couldn't help but notice your beautiful
diamond. I am an expert in precious stones. Please tell me about that
stone." She replied, "That is the famous Klopman diamond, one of the largest
in the world. But there is a strange curse that comes with it." Now the man
was really interested. He asked, "What is the curse?" As he waited with
bated breath, she replied, "It is Mr. Klopman."

Some of you may wish to re-evaluate your diamonds on that basis. But
seriously the true curse of any kind of valuable possession is its capacity
to steal our hearts and souls. The rich young ruler is one of those unique
characters from the Bible that have come to represent greed. So unwilling
was he to part with earthly wealth that he sold his soul in order to keep
his money. He wanted to be saved but not at the expense of losing his
possessions. The first thing that impresses me when I read this story is
that the rich young ruler was so near to the Kingdom. He asked all the right
questions. He understood the Law and he understood Jesus' teaching. But in
the end love of money kept him out. We see him as a moral coward. 

But that conclusion is too simple...

The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001u15FGYs4lPP7C7ApEnbKfxEROCLh4SJUo76GIFWU3wi6
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_______________________

 

 Mark 10 for the sermon titled "L4G - Live for God" by Leonard Sweet 

The front of local markets have been crammed full of candy for the past two
weeks. [Get someone to take pictures of your specific local markets.]
Halloween "Trick or Treat" might not be until the end of this month. But
candy creators want us to stock-up and stock-pile. 

As a kid it was such a rush to come home after "making the rounds" of the
trick-or-treat neighborhood and ceremoniously dump out all that candy
crammed into our paper bag. Every piece would be inspected. Perhaps some
cautious trades made with siblings. Then each of us got our own bowl to keep
our "cavity central" separate from everyone else. 

Halloween candy is consumed according to two very different philosophies.
There are the "hogs" and there are the "hoarders." 

The "hogs" dive right into the bowl, scarf down all their favorites the
first night, eat until queasy, and then finish it up during lunchtime at
school the next day. 

The "hoarders" not only stretch out the life-span of their goodies until
Thanksgiving. They also allow themselves only one or two "favorites" per
day, mixing in the less desired goodies to fill out the daily ration.

There are obvious problems with both of these strategies. The "hogs" either
get horrible stomach aches, or suffer an out-of-control sugar rush that
leads them to harass little sister, drive the dog crazy, and get grounded by
a frustrated parent. 

The "hoarder" lords their "I still have candy" status over others for a
month. But eventually they end up with stale, rock-hard, break-your-teeth
"goodies" that really are not good (although they would never admit it). 

For both kids and adults it is hard to know how to deal with "wealth," with
"stuff" we have that others may not...

The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001u15FGYs4lPP7C7ApEnbKfxEROCLh4SJUo76GIFWU3wi6
VFOnrWNjoLEp_o1XOZZViNxIYdY2xCdMRQpn0SfnobyzMpeNIjwj2BFEOw5bRodyY_GasuENjJ2p
96fr2vo2> http://www.sermons.com/signup 

________________________

The Freedom to Sing 

 

 The French have a story about a millionaire in his palace who spent his
days counting his gold. Beside the palace was a poor cobbler who spent his
days singing as he repaired people's shoes. The joyful singing irritated the
rich man. One day he decided to give some gold coins to the cobbler. At
first the cobbler was overjoyed, and he took the coins and hid them. But
then he would be worried and go back to check if the coins were still there.
Then he would be worried in case someone had seen him, and he would move the
coins and hide them in another place. During all this, he ceased to sing.
Then one day he realized that he had ceased to sing because of the gold
coins. He took them back to the rich man and said, "take back your coins and
give me back my songs."

Gerry Pierse, Detachment and Freedom

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Shot in the Wallet 

 

The devil was on the prowl one day out to get the Christian. When he saw the
Christian he shot one of his fiery darts and it struck the Christian in the
chest. The Christian had on the breastplate of righteousness so he wasn't
harmed. The devil shot at the Christian's head but that was protected by the
helmet of salvation. The devil figured everyone has an Achilles' heel, so he
shot at the Christian's feet that were shod with the gospel of peace so no
harm was done. The Christian smirked and turned around to walk away. The
devil fired an arrow into the Christian's wallet and killed him. 

 

Beth Quick, Mission: Impossible

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