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<DIV><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sermon
Resources for Proper 21: Part 1 of 2<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN class=style3><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Mark 9:38-50 -
</SPAN></B></SPAN><STRONG><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Be at Peace with One
Another</FONT></B></STRONG><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><BR></SPAN></B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Mark 9:38-50 <SPAN
class=style3> </SPAN>- Five Differences between a
Franchise Faith and an
Authentic </SPAN></B></SPAN></FONT><B><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Faith</SPAN></FONT></B><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</SPAN></FONT><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">- - - - -</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mark 9, the sermon titled “Be at Peace with One Another"
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">One person
armed with the Gospel of peace can change the world. Telemachus did. He was a
monk who lived in the 5th century. He felt God saying to him, "Go to
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Rome</st1:City></st1:place>." He was
in a cloistered monastery but he put his possessions in a sack and set out for
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Rome</st1:City></st1:place>. When he
arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the
excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be
fighting in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus. He thought to
himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for
enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to
Caesar, we die for Caesar" and he thought, "this isn't right." He jumped over
the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two
gladiators, and tried to stop them. The crowd became enraged and stoned the
peacemaker to death.<FONT color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">When the Emperor of Rome, Honorius, heard
about the monk he declared him a Christian martyr and put an end to the games.
Legend has it that the very last Gladiatorial game was the one in which
Telemachus died.<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"> <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">Jesus said, "Have salt in yourselves - be
at peace with each other." Sometimes it seems we have gladiatorial games going
on inside the church, inside our homes, at work? The games have been going on
for as long as we can remember! Who will be a Telemachus? Who will be the monk
who jumps into the arena, sacrifices himself, and brings peace? Peace can be
made but it sometimes comes at a heavy price.<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"> <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">My question this morning is why are we so
often at odds with one another? Why don't we have peace in our
lives?<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"> <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. We fight to protect our
turf.<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">2. We destroy the weak among
us.<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">3. We will not let go of that which
destroys us.<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 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">Mark 9, the sermon entitled ‘Five Differences between a
Franchise Faith and an Authentic Faith’ </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">A. J. Jacobs is an American journalist and guinea pig
who write books based on plunge experiences. Once he joined Mensa and read all
thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica to see what it would be like
to be “The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in
the World (2004). In another plunge experience he decided only to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about everything in life. That
project had the title I Think You’re Fat (2007), which kind of says it all about
how that project went. In another plunge experience, he decided to outsource
everything in his life to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>, including reading bed-time
stories to his kids and arguing with his wife. That project bore the title My
Outsourced Life (2005). To understand dating, he became a single woman (The
Guinea Pig Diaries [2009]). He may be the funniest non-fiction author writing
today.<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">But AJ Jacobs is now most famous for his The Year of
Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as
Possible (2007), which “chronicles his experiment to live for one year according
to all the moral codes expressed in the Bible, including stoning adulterers,
blowing a shofar at the beginning of every month, and refraining from trimming
the corners of his facial hair (which, he followed by not trimming his facial
hair at all).” You will soon be seeing this at the movies, as <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Paramount</st1:City></st1:place> has picked up the
screenplay rights.<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">One of the witticisms of Jacobs in this book has never
left me after I read it. He mentioned that part of his challenge in living as a
Jew, not just following the 10 Commandments but keeping all 613 Commandments
(248 Positive Commandments, 365 Negative Commandments) is that his relationship
to the Jewish faith was “about the same as that of Olive Garden to an Italian
restaurant.” <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">When I read that it stopped me flat: how many people are
Christian in about the same way that Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant? How
many churches are Christian in about the same way that Olive Garden is an
Italian restaurant, or Taco Bell is a Mexican restaurant, or Colonel Sanders is
a southern cooking restaurant?...<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><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">Changing the Signs<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">William Barclay, a British theologian, tells the
following story in his commentary on this Biblical text. He told a story about
someone changing signs. That is, at an intersection of the road, one sign would
point to the city of <st1:City w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City> and another sign
would point to the city of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Tacoma</st1:City></st1:place>. And the boy wondered to himself: How
many people could I send down the wrong road if I changed the signs? Your very
life is a sign post with a sign on it. Are you sending people down the wrong
road or the right road?<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">Edward F. Markquart,
Millstones<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></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>