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<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Sermon Resources for August 16 - Part 1 of 3</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sermon Resources for Proper
15:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <SPAN class=style3><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Ephesians 5:15-20 -
</SPAN></B></SPAN><STRONG><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Be Careful How
You Live</FONT></B></STRONG><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><BR><SPAN
class=style3> </SPAN>Ephesians 5:15-20 <SPAN
class=style3> </SPAN>- Wise, Worshipful, and Wonderfully
Wayward<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#1f497d size=2 face=Calibri><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Calibri; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT
size=2 face=Calibri><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Calibri; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">by
Leonard Sweet<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ephesians 5, the sermon titled “Be Careful How You Live"
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There are two birds that fly over our nation’s deserts:
One is the hummingbird and the other is the vulture. The vultures find the
rotting meat of the desert, because that is what they look for. They thrive on
that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead,
they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what
was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But
hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with
freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all
do.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=black size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">That is the essence of Paul’s teaching: In
life, there are two birds. The one bird looks for foolishness and stupidity, the
other looks for wisdom. The vultures seek to fill themselves with the rotting
flesh of drunkenness and debauchery, the hummingbird sobriety, freshness, and
the Spirit. In the desert of this world you have your scavengers who are angry
and ungrateful, but you also have those who hum a grateful hymn of thanksgiving.
The irony is that you find what you are looking
for.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=black size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In the fifth chapter of Ephesians Paul
outlines proper behavior for good living. In our short passage he admonishes his
readers to be careful how they live. He is brief and to the point. Three things
we must do: Be wise, be sober, and be thankful. It’s a short list but if we can
orient our daily lives around these three—be wise, be sober, be thankful—we will
transform not only our lives but also the lives of our family, friends, church,
and neighbors. Paul then offers these admonitions:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">1. Be Careful How You Live: Be Wise<BR>2.
Be Careful How You Live: Be Sober<BR>3. Be Careful How You Live: Be
Thankful<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The rest of this sermon
following the outline above can be obtained by joining <A
title=blocked::www.eSermons.com
href="www.eSermons.com">www.eSermons.com</A>.<FONT color=#1f497d><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d"><BR></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">__________________________________<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Second Sermon by Len Sweet<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=#1f497d size=2 face=Calibri><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Calibri; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ephesians 5, the sermon entitled “Wise, Worshipful and
Wonderfully Wayward" </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We used to tell these people, “Get off your high horse.”
I never knew what that meant literally, for they weren’t on any horse, high or
low. But we all knew what the expression meant. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Is there anyone more annoying, more off-putting, more
“fur-rubbed-the-wrong-way,” than someone who is convinced they are “better” than
you? Whether they are richer, or smarter, or prettier, or stronger, there are
those who love going around “on their high horse.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In junior highs and high schools “cliques” rule the
world. Every possible grouping of people gets its own label. Every pack has its
own indelible identity. There are “jocks” and “cheerleaders.” There are “Goths”
and “Geeks.” There are “Nerds” and “Freaks.” How ironic that it is in school —
the place we are primed and prepared for the expansive possibilities of the
future that everyone is so tightly pigeon-holed and securely marked.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Jesus failed to fit into any of the preconceived plans
people had for a Messiah, for a Leader, for a Savior. And so did the first
generations of Jesus’ disciples fail to fit into any of the cultural conceptions
of what was a “religion” or a “community.” These “Christians” weren’t Jews.
These “Christians” weren’t Gentiles. These Christians performed rites and
rituals that sounded salacious and suspicious — what about all this drinking the
blood and eating the body of a dead guy? Isn’t that cannibalism? And this
rhetoric about everyone loving one another? Isn’t that the codeword for orgies?
And these Christians kiss one another whenever they get together, regardless of
social rank or color or economic status. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The truth was these Christians came together to sing and
pray and talk and give thanks. When Christians “celebrated” the wine did not
flow and the moral boundaries did not disappear. In a world where religious
ecstasy, mysterious secret rites, and sexual excess were the “norms,”
these new “kids on the block,” these “Christians” weren’t “worse,” they weren’t
“better.” They were just really, really “different.” So “different” that it was
hard finding any category to place them in. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If you’ve survived grades 1-12, and it looks like many
of you have, you know that being tagged as “different” is never a good thing.
Even though Jesus tried to keep a low profile, being “different” got Jesus in
big trouble with the Jewish religious hierarchy, who then quickly passed him on
to the Roman political hierarchy, where he got in more trouble.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Being “different” paved Jesus’ path to the
cross.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Embodying Jesus’ “differentness” got the first
Christians in trouble too. They didn’t fit within Judaism. Yet they stood
completely outside the pagan, cultic traditions. The first century religious
world didn’t know what to do with these disciples of a crucified criminal.
Eventually Judaism, which was already on the “suspect” list of the <st1:place
w:st="on">Roman Empire</st1:place>, chose to put its head down,
“hunker-in-the-bunker” and distance itself from these Christians. Eventually
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Rome</st1:City></st1:place> found
Christians made excellent fall-guys and fodder for the Coliseum carnage.
Christians vs. Lions was a game with a predictable out-come. But many found it
fun to watch, and cities competed with one another as to who could build the
biggest and best stadium where these games could take place.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">How did it happen that Christians now have a
“holier-than-thou,” “better-than-you” reputation? Being “Christian” has never
been about being “better” than others. Being “Christian” has always been about
being “different.” Living “differently” than the world. Seeing different
solutions to the problems of humanity. Celebrating a very “different” kind of
victory — a victory that starts with a death on a cross and whose end was not
yet come. The gospel is less about “better” than “different.” Disciples of Jesus
are not just called to be “better” but to be “different.” A Christian’s motto
might be “I beg to differ.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Being different, living different — that is the
life-blood which keeps the circulation of the body alive and separated from the
rest of the world, even while living in its midst. The Ephesians writer in
today’s text looked at three ways these Christians were “different.”
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">First, they were wise.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Second, they were
worshipful.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Third, they were wondrously
wayward.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by
joining <A title=blocked::www.eSermons.com
href="www.eSermons.com">www.eSermons.com</A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Click here: <A
title=blocked::http://www.esermons.com/signup
href="http://www.esermons.com/signup">http://www.esermons.com/signup</A> or call
1-800-777-7731 to join.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">________________________________
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
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