[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany- Last A

[joeparrish]

Forwarded Part 2: 


Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 2/25/17  9:12 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany- Last A 


Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “‘You Cannot Shake
Hands with a Clenched Fist.’ (Indira Gandhi)” and deals with the beginning of
Lent this Wednesday.  Here is Part 2: 

Each one of the Bible lessons
for today offers guidance in how to live this Lent- so by Easter we come to
God’s altar holier, more fulfilled, and living life to its fullest.  The Old Testament lesson tells about Moses
getting the Ten Commandments- good guides for us to follow.  Each of the commandments warns of a
particular kind of sin that will separate us from God.  (1) God first.  (2) No idols- not even money or family.  (3) Don’t treat God’s name lightly.  (4) Keep the Sabbath Day holy- i.e.100%
church attendance every Sunday unless you’re sick or working- and that doesn’t
count cooking or entertaining relatives. 
(5) Honor your parents and those in authority.  (6) No murder or hatred.  (7) No adultery- married means
off-limits.  Period!  (8) No stealing- not even “borrowing” because
they owe it to us.  (9) No lying about
someone or ruining another’s reputation with gossip.  (10) Don’t be jealous of something or someone
your neighbor has.  If you’re doing any
of those things- don’t be surprised if your life is a mess.  Did you hear about the grandmother who mailed
the family Bible to her son in another city? 
When she took the package to the post office, the clerk asked, “Anything
breakable in there?”  “Not really,”
replied the woman, just the Ten Commandments- and people don’t seem to follow
them anyway these days!”  Sin blocks us
from God and his blessings.  Follow
them.  Lent is a perfect time to shape up
and clean up our lives.

 

In
both the epistle and the Gospel lessons, we see Peter so amazed at his
experience of watching Jesus transfigured before his eyes- that he tries to
hold it forever by building altars.  His
understandable mistake offers excellent Lenten guidance for fullness of life-
don’t try to hold on to the past.  Live
in the present.  The only things that
don’t change are dead.  Choose life.  So check out your life:  What’s holding you back?  Any bad habits?  Any grudges, desires for revenge, negative
thought patterns?  Any negative
companions?  Are you using your time the
way you really want, or do you simply allow life to happen to you?  How much time do you spend hypnotized in
front of the TV set or half- aware because you’re into the alcohol or another
mind-blurring substance?  How much are
you shortening the gift of life God gave you with those cigarettes?  Get real. 
Claim life.  This Lent, see that
garbage for what it is and get rid of it.

 

So
this Wednesday is decision time.  Will it
be easy?  No!  Is it possible?  YES!  With
God, all things are possible.  Start this
Wednesday, then make a firm decision to stick with it all Lent through.  Every Sunday, bring your progress and defeats
to the altar.

 

In
closing, here’s a poem that sums up what’s possible as we strive to be the best
we can be:

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl;

The one was wise, and a cheery soul.

The other one took a gloomy view

And bade his friend a sad adieu.

Said the other frog with a merry grin,

"I can't get out, but I won't give
in;

I'll swim around till my strength is
spent,

Then I will die the more content."

And as he swam, though ever it seemed,

His struggling began to churn the cream

Until on top of pure butter he stopped,

And out of the bowl he quickly hopped.

The moral, you ask? Oh, it's easily
found!

If you can't get out, keep swimming
around.

 

In other words, don’t give up.  By God’s grace- we will overcome!

 

For anyone who is
interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are
posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan





-- 

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Propertalk" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to propertalk.topic+unsubscribe at ecunet.org.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20170225/d0c2a919/attachment.htm>