[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for July 20 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

Better to Have Weeds than Nothing at All
 
I asked the people at my last church to imagine what would happen if we adopted a policy of weed-pulling, if we drew a circle around the little town of Wingate, North Carolina, and made a vow that no evil would cross that line, that no weeds would grow within that border. I said, "You know, you and I could spend the rest of our lives protecting that boundary, standing shoulder to shoulder with pitchforks and clubs, making sure that we kept drugs and alcohol and pornography and gambling safely on the other side. I think it would take all of our energy and most of our time. But what if we did it? What if we succeeded? What would we have? We would have a town characterized by the absence of evil, which is not the same as a town characterized by the presence of good. And maybe this is what Jesus was talking about all along, that it's better to have a wheat field with weeds in it than a field with nothing in it at all.

When a church in Wingate, North Carolina, began a ministry to the children of a nearby trailer park, they had to decide what kind of ministry it would be. They could have chosen to root out all the sources of evil in that place-to chase down the drug dealers and the deadbeat dads, to confiscate handguns and arrest child abusers. Instead, they chose to put up a basketball goal, to tell stories from the Bible, to put their arms around little children, and sing songs about Jesus. And two years after they started that ministry, two years of going out there Saturday after Saturday to do those things, the pastor got a note in his box at church with five words on it: "Adrian wants to be baptized." Adrian. The terror of the trailer park. That little girl who had made their work most difficult during the previous two years. Who would have guessed? Instead of pulling weeds in the field where she lived, they just tried hard to be wheat, and somehow Adrian saw that and fell in love with it and wanted it for herself. After she was baptized, there was a little more wheat in the field. And because she was there, soon, there was even more.

 James Somerville, A World Full of Weeds
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If You Are a Preacher of Grace 
 
How can you and I live our everyday lives with an awareness of the hiddenness of the good among the weeds, without getting unhealthy in our cynicism, without going crazy? Again Martin Luther offers a profound insight. He put it this way once in a letter to his friend, Philip Melanchthon:

"If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a pretended grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a pretended sin. God does not save people who are pretended sinners. Be a sinner and sin bravely, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more bravely...."

Mark Ellingsen, Jesus' Vision of a Fun, Free Life, Not Driven by Purpose, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.
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A Line Through Every Heart

I have colleagues who continually want to cull the field, making decisions on the basis of belief ... behavior ... even baptism. As many of you know, my wife is into genealogy. She's traced portions of her family back over 500 years. Just a few months ago, we learned that she had a relative who was burned at the stake in Switzerland. Why? Because he had the wrong understanding of baptism, that's why. They weeded him out. Then they burned him up.

As for me, I don't always know whether I am weed or wheat. Wasn't it Alexander Solzhenitsyn who said: "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being." Which, I suppose, includes my heart. For all I know, I may even be the weed in somebody else's garden. Perhaps in your garden.

Collected Sermons, William A. Ritter, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc.
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I Wrote My Books on Tuesdays
There was once a great Quaker leader by the name of Rufus Jones. Jones wrote and published one book a year for over fifty years. He did this while attending countless meetings, making frequent speeches, editing a magazine and taking care of countless other chores that his position required. Someone once asked him how under these circumstances he found the time to write so many books he answered, "I wrote my books on Tuesdays." Throughout his career he set aside Tuesdays as his one "free" day accepting no appointments that could be avoided. He began after breakfast and wrote until dark. He might be thinking about his next project all week long, but he did not put it on paper until Tuesday. By following that simple plan he left behind a great body of work.

You have heard it before because it is true: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Jesus talked about the foolishness of those who build towers without first sitting down and figuring the cost. Successful living requires that we give some thought to the future. We have a vision of the beautiful garden we hope to be. Now we sit down and make a plan. What would I have to do to make my dream a reality?

King Duncan, Getting Rid of the Weeds, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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You Need 100 Points
 
There is a story about a minister who had a strange dream. He dreamt that he had died and was trying to get into heaven. When he approached the pearly gates, St. Peter told him he needed 100 points to get in. Proudly the minister said, "Well, I was a pastor for 43 years." "Fine," said St. Peter, "That's worth one point." "One point? Is that all?" cried the minister. "Yes, that's it," said St. Peter.

"Well," said the pastor, "I visited lots of shut-ins." St. Peter responded, "That's worth one point." "I worked with young people," said the pastor. "That's worth one point," said St. Peter. "I developed a number of excellent Scout programs," said the minister. "That's worth one point," said St. Peter. "You have four points now. You need 96 more." "Oh no," said the minister in a panic. "I feel so helpless, so inadequate. Except for the grace of God, I don't have a chance." St. Peter smiled and said, "Grace of God--that counts for 96 points. Come on in!"

There will be a final judgment. God's justice and our freedom of choice demand it. Every person will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Our passport to heaven is simple. It's just a matter of saying to God sincerely, "I am a sinner for whom Jesus died. I claim him by faith as Savior and Lord." If you haven't taken that step in faith, do it today! Do it now! 

Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com 

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Clean the Glass Shade Daily
 
Pastor Cecil Williams tells of growing up in Texas. They didn't have electric lights in their house. They had two oil lamps with wicks that had to be lit daily. Once they were lit, a glass shade fit over the flame and they glowed.

Cecil's mother kept telling her children, "Ya'll clean the shade before you put it over the lamp. If you don't, you won't get as much light." Young Cecil didn't like cleaning the lampshades. It took a long time and lots of elbow grease to scour off the sticky, gray soot. But when the shade was clean, one lamp would be bright enough to light up the whole living room.

Back then, cleaning the lamp shades was Cecil's job…
Many additional illustrations, sermons, commentary, and worship aids for this Sunday and for each week of the year can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.


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