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<P><FONT size=5>Taking the money you would spend on a coffee drink once a day
for a month and giving it to a community food bank is a small save, but it can
mean the difference between feeling fed and cared for or hungry and abandoned
for a struggling family.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5><></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5>The following are SermonWriter materials for (July 26) Proper
12B. They focus on John 6:1-21, the story of the feeding of the five
thousand.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>Microsoft Word file: <BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/07-26Ty/John_6.1-21.doc</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=5>HTML file (web page): <BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/07-26Ty/John_6.1-21.htm</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=5>WordPerfect file: <BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.lectionary.org/SW/07-26Ty/John_6.1-21.wpd</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=5> <BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR><BR><></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5>Dick Donovan<BR><BR><BR>A THOUGHT ON PREACHING: (The
preacher's) words had power because they accorded with his thoughts; and his
thoughts had reality and depth because they harmonized with the life he had
always lived. It was not mere breath that this preacher uttered; they were the
words of life, because a life of good deeds and holy love was melted into them.
Pearls, pure and rich, had been dissolved into the precious draught. (Nathaniel
Hawthorne)<BR><BR><BR>TITLE: Little Things Mean a Lot<BR><BR><BR>SERMON IN
A SENTENCE: We wish we could make the grand gesture -- give the great gift
-- but Christ honors our gifts, large and small, and makes them
great.<BR><BR><BR><></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5>Psalm 107:23-30:<BR><BR>23Some went down to the sea in
ships,<BR> doing business on the mighty waters; <BR>24they saw the
deeds of the Lord,<BR> his wondrous works in the deep. <BR>25For he
commanded and raised the stormy wind,<BR> which lifted up the waves
of the sea. <BR>26They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the
depths;<BR> their courage melted away in their calamity; <BR>27they
reeled and staggered like drunkards,<BR> and were at their wits'
end. <BR>28Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,<BR> and he
brought them out from their distress; <BR>29he made the storm be
still,<BR> and the waves of the sea were hushed. <BR>30Then they
were glad because they had quiet,<BR> and he brought them to their
desired haven.<BR><BR><BR><><BR>SERMON:
<BR><BR>One of the big hits of 1954 was a song by Kitty Kallen entitled, "Little
Things Mean a Lot." Kitty had sung with some of the most famous big bands
in the 1940s -- Artie Shaw -- Jack Teagarden -- Jimmy Dorsey -- but she lost her
voice, bringing her singing career to a halt. She made a comeback in 1954
with the song, "Little Things Mean a Lot," which became the number one song on
the U.S. Billboard chart.<BR><BR><><BR> Blow
me a kiss from across the room.<BR> Say I look
nice when I'm not.<BR> Touch my hair as you pass
my chair.<BR> Little things mean a lot.<BR><BR>(To
hear Kitty sing the song, go to </FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nNk3ZlDsL8</FONT></A><FONT
size=5>)<BR><BR>It's a romantic song, of course. It reminds us that love
doesn't require grand gestures. It says, "Don't have to buy me diamonds,
or pearls, champagne, sables and such." It adds, "Give me your hand when
I've lost the way. Give me your shoulder to cry on." It ends with
the words, "Little things mean a lot" -- and so they do.<BR><BR><><BR>Some
years ago (Jan. 1989, "Points to Ponder"), there was a story in Reader's Digest
that caught my eye. I would like to share it with you. Gerda
Weissmann Klein spent six years in a Nazi death camp. Hollywood made a
documentary film -- "One Survivor Remembers" -- of her experience. The
film won an Oscar for the best documentary film. <BR><BR>NOTE: You can see
Gerda's acceptance speech at the award ceremony at:<BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zn-fPM4KS0</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=5>Gerda had this to say about those years. She
said:<BR><BR> "Most people think the Holocaust
camps were like snake pits -- <BR> that people
stepped on each other for survival. <BR> It
wasn't like that at all. <BR> There was
kindness, support, understanding."<BR><BR>She
continued:<BR><BR> "I often talk about a childhood
friend of mine, Ilse. <BR> She once found a
raspberry in the camp <BR> and carried it in her
pocket all day <BR> to present to me that night on
a leaf.<BR><BR> "Imagine a world in which your
entire possession is one raspberry, <BR> and you
give it to a friend. <BR> Those are the
moments I want to remember. <BR> People
behaved nobly under unspeakable circumstances."<BR><BR>(NOTE TO THE
PREACHER: A long quotation can make or break your sermon, depending on how
well you read it. Practice this quotation aloud until the words come
naturally to your mouth.)<BR><BR>"Imagine a world in which your entire
possession is one raspberry," Gerda says --."and you give it to a
friend."<BR><BR>Is there anyone here whose world is so poor that you don't have
more than one raspberry to offer Jesus? Is there anyone here who has so
little that they give something to help the poor? Is there anyone here who
cannot do something to help a friend? <BR><BR>Like the boy who gave his
lunch to Jesus, Ilse could have never imagined that her raspberry would mean
more than a moment's pleasure to a friend. But, by the grace of God, her
generosity was transformed into inspiration to millions of people around the
globe who have heard Gerda tell her story.<BR><BR><><BR>FOR MORE SERMONS
ON THIS TEXT, GO TO: <BR><BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04john.htm</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT
size=5>Scroll down to John 6. There are three sermons on this text posted
there.<BR><BR><BR>TRUE STORY: <BR><BR>See the story of "Little Things Mean
a Lot" and the Gerda Weissmann Klein story in the sermon
above.<BR><BR><BR>THOUGHT PROVOKERS: <BR><BR>In many of the families
I visited nothing was certain, nothing predictable, nothing totally safe.
Maybe there would be food tomorrow, maybe there would be work tomorrow, maybe
there would be peace tomorrow. Maybe, maybe not. But whatever is
given -- money, food, work, a handshake, a smile, a good word, or an embrace --
is a reason to rejoice and say gracias. What I claim as a right, my
friends in Bolivia and Peru received as a gift; what is obvious to me was a
joyful surprise to them; what I take for granted, they celebrate in
thanksgiving; what for me goes by unnoticed became for them a new occasion to
say thanks.<BR><BR>Henri J. M. Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American
Journal<BR><BR>* * * * * * * *
* *<BR><BR>One of the characteristics of truly great people is that they
can receive graciously. I know a very famous man in the academic world who
by no means always dresses like an academic. In a London railway station
he saw an old lady in difficulties and offered to carry her bag. When he had put
it in her carriage for her, she gave him sixpence -- which he gravely and
courteously received rather than embarrass the old lady who offered
it.<BR><BR>Jesus could receive. He could take a boy's picnic lunch because
it was all that the boy could offer -- and with it he could work a
miracle.<BR><BR>William Barclay, Everyday with William Barclay<BR><BR>*
* * * * * * * * *<BR><BR>To give
without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own. It is
like presents made for older people when you were a child. So much went
into them -- dreams and prayers and hours of knotted fingers and frozen effort
and there... only a dirty piece of knotted string came out of it. But you
knew, even if they didn't, that you were giving them something worthy of
them.<BR><BR>There is something of worship or prayer in laying down an offering
at someone's feet and then going away quickly. The nicest gifts are those
left, nameless and quiet, unburdened with love, or vanity, or the desire for
attention.<BR><BR>Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Flower and the
Nettle<BR><BR>* * * * * * * *
* *<BR><BR>The fragrance always stays <BR>in the hand that gives the
rose.<BR><BR>Hada Bejar,<BR>17th century British playwright<BR><BR>*
* * * * * * * * *<BR><BR>A
candle loses nothing <BR>by lighting another
candle.<BR><BR>Anonymous<BR><BR>* * * * * *
* * *
*<BR><BR><BR><><BR><BR>BIBLIOGRAPHY:<BR><BR>Barclay, William, The Daily
Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press,
1955)<BR><BR>Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A
(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)<BR><BR>Bromiley, Geoffrey (General Editor),
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three: K-P - Revised
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986)<BR><BR>Bruce, F.
F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1983).<BR><BR>Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and
Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the
NRSV--Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)<BR><BR>Carson, D.
A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).<BR><BR>Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.;
Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B
(Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)<BR><BR>Gossip, Arthur John and
Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon,
1952)<BR><BR>Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and
Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).<BR><BR>Hoyer, Robert J.,
Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Mark: Pentecost 1 (Minneapolis and
Philadelphia: Augsburg and Fortress Press, 1976)<BR><BR>Kostenberger, Andreas
J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2004)<BR><BR>Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament
Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (London: Continuum,
2005)<BR><BR>Lockyer, Herbert, Sr., Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)<BR><BR>Morris, Leon, The New
International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).<BR><BR>Myers, Allen C.,
The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1987)<BR><BR>O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)<BR><BR>Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John
Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)<BR><BR>Sloyan, Gerald, "John,"
Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)<BR><BR>Smith, D. Moody, Jr.,
Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon,
1999)<BR><BR></FONT><A href=""><FONT
size=5>www.sermonwriter.com</FONT></A><BR><BR><A href=""><FONT
size=5>www.lectionary.org</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT size=5><></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5> Richard Niell Donovan</FONT></P>
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