[Propertalk] SermonWriter materials for Jan. 24 (Epiphany 3C) - focus on Luke 4:14-21

[Joe Parrish]

The following are SermonWriter materials for Jan. 24 (Epiphany 3C). They focus on Luke 4:14-21, the first part of the story of Jesus' visit to the Nazareth synagogue.


NO PASSWORD REQUIREMENT: We are posting these materials on the web with no password.  To access those files, you MUST use the following links.  If clicking on the link fails to work, copy the link and paste it in the address window near the top of your browser.  Then hit the ENTER key or click GO.

Microsoft Word file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.doc

HTML file (web page):
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.htm

WordPerfect file:
http://www.lectionary.org/SW/01-24pz/Luke.4.14-21.wpd


A TIP: If you want the Word or WordPerfect files, LEFT-CLICK on the link and see what happens.  That should bring up a dialog box that asks if you want to open the file or save it.  Choose OPEN.  Then save it wherever you like on your hard drive.

If that doesn't work, RIGHT-CLICK on the link.  You should get a sub-menu.  Hopefully, "Save Target As" will be one of the options.  Click on that.  Then save the file wherever you want on your hard drive.


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Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  The preacher is constantly at work trying to unarrange minds and lives. (Eduard Riegert -- courtesy of Fr. Charles Hoffacker)


TITLE:  The Impossible Takes a Little Longer


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Christ came to bring good news to the poor and to help the vulnerable -- and he calls us to follow in his footsteps.


SCRIPTURE:  Luke 4:14-21


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FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:
http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT03luke.htm

Scroll down to the correct chapter and verse.


TRUE STORY:

Max DePree was an amazing man.  I say "was" because I have been unable to determine whether he is still living.  He served in Europe during World War II, so he would be quite elderly by now.  He served as CEO of the Herman Miller office furniture company for a number of years, and has published several books -- particularly on the subject of leadership.  He is a Christian, and is quite open about his faith.

In his book, Leadership Jazz, DePree wrote about his granddaughter, Zoe, who was born prematurely, weighing only one pound.  She had a very small chance of survival -- but there was a chance.  DePree wanted desperately to help, but what could he do?  A wise nurse gave him this advice. She said:

"For the next several months, at least,
you're the surrogate father.
I want you to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe,
and when you come,
I want you to rub her body and her legs and arms
with the tip of your finger.

While you're caressing her,
you should tell her over and over how much you love her,
because she has to be able to connect your voice to your touch."


THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

Bread for myself is a material question;
bread for my neighbor is a spiritual question.

Jacques Maritain

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Christianity for the first time made charity a rudimentary virtue....
It effected a complete revolution in this sphere,
by regarding the poor as the special representatives of the Christian Founder
and thus making the love of Christ rather than the love of man
the principle of charity.

W.E.H. Lecky

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Why all this apparatus of temples and meeting-houses
to save men from perdition in a world which is to come,
while never a helping hand stretched out
to save them from the inferno of their present life?

William Booth

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

We could probably prove that throughout history
those Christians  who have accomplished the most practical benefit in this world
are those who have believed most fervently in the next.

Gordon W. Allport, psychologist

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

In this life no man reaches the point at which
he can be excused from practical service.

Meister Eckhart

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

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HYMN STORY:  Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

This hymn is often used during services for the dedication of church buildings, but it has nothing to do with churches built of brick and stone.  It talks instead about "the Church," which is built of flesh and bone.  The church, you see, is not a building where we come to worship.  We are the church -- you and I -- the people of God.

The first verse of this hymn talks about Christ as the foundation and the cornerstone of the church.  This is language from the New Testament (Eph. 2:19-20; 1 Peter 2:5).  Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of the church.  Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of our lives.

The second verse (or third verse -- check your hymnal) speaks of us as a temple, which is also New Testament language (1 Cor. 3:16).  We, the church, are God's temple -- the place where God dwells -- and this hymn asks God to "Shed within its walls alway" -- which is another way of saying, "Dwell within us always."

In the last verse, the hymn reminds us that we will live with God forevermore.

This is an ancient Latin hymn, written in the seventh or eighth century.  It was translated into English by John Mason Neale, a 19th century Anglican clergyman and Latin scholar.  Neale was an unlikely man to do anything significant.  As a young man, health problems caused him to leave active service as a clergyman, and he became the administrator for a home for elderly people.  When he tried to revitalize the chapel services there, he was rebuked by the bishop and forbidden to conduct services.  When he tried to simplify funeral services, he provoked a riot that required police to bring the mob under control.  He clearly lacked the common touch.

Nevertheless, Neale labored long and happily in his study -- poring over old, musty Latin documents -- and was therefore able to give us such hymns as "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" -- and "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" -- and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" -- and a host of others.  He reminds us once again that God often chooses unlikely people to be the vehicles for his blessings.

NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm

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