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<P>Fw: Sermon Resources for May 16<FONT face=Arial> - Part 2</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A Prayer for the Future</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">If we assume that Jesus did envision some kind
of future for his followers and if he really did have hope that the Father would
glorify him despite the dark events soon to descend upon him, then it makes
sense that Jesus would pray for the future wellbeing of his disciples and any
latter-day people who became associated with them on account of the witness of
those same disciples. In this sense, Jesus in the upper room on that particular
night was not unlike a father praying to God for the future safety and
flourishing of his own children and grandchildren. Far from an unlikely thing to
do, it’s actually a very natural thing for a person of love to do regarding
those whom he held dear. What parent, upon first laying eyes on a newborn child,
does not immediately feel welling up within him or her far-reaching desires for
this child to grow and be well and to flourish far into the future, including
into the years beyond the life of the parent?<BR> <BR>Scott Hoezee,
Comments and Observations<BR>__________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>Humor: Church Unity</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The wrong way to achieve unity in the church is
to try and appeal to everyone. The church humor magazine "The Door" facetiously
announced these newly formed churches seeking to do just that:</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Potluck Assembly</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Little Bit O'Bible Church</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Church of the Big P.A.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Short-Term Pastor Center</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Theology-Free Church</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Inaccurate Heart of Mary Catholic
Church</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Seldom United Church</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Bill Gates' Memorial Geek Orthodox</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">New Wife Fellowship</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Church of the Perpetual Building Program</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Comfortable Pew Family Center</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Clean Bathroom Bible Temple</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Better Than the Rest Believer's
Fellowship</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Legalist Bondage Assembly</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Church Where the Pastor's Family Runs
Everything</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The
Two-Or-More-But-Sometimes-Less-Depending-On-Who-Shows-Up Bible Church</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Feelgood Fellowship</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Twist-and-Shout Revival Center</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">John Green, "Newly Formed Churches," The Door,
March-April 2000, p. 15.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_________________________<BR><BR> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Reaping a Whirlwind</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We have sown a wind of secularism, modernism,
and shifting moral values. As a direct result, we are now reaping a whirlwind of
immorality, sexually transmitted disease, corruption, and violent crime. The
only hope that exists for our individual, national, spiritual and institutional
recovery is to return to the spiritual values that originally formed the
foundation of North American national life--the teaching of Jesus Christ, as
found in the Word of God.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Grant R. Jeffrey, Jesus – The Great Debate, p.
267. <BR><BR>__________________<BR><BR>The Universality of the Golden
Rule<BR><BR> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Despairing of the possibility of ever bringing
about religious unity through doctrinal, philosophical or theological dialogue,
a great many people have latched onto the Golden Rule as the ultimate expression
of their faith. It is provocative and inspiring to discover the remarkable
universality of this ethical principle. In Hinduism it is stated like this:
"Those gifted with intelligence should always treat others as they themselves
wish to be treated." The Shinto version is: "The suffering of others is my
suffering; the good of others is my good." In Buddhism it is: "A person can
minister to friends and familiars by ... treating them as he treats himself."
Taoists say: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain and regard your
neighbor's loss as your own loss." In Islam: "None of you is a believer until he
loves for his brother what he loves for himself." For Sikhs it is: "As thou deem
est thyself so deem others. Then shalt thou become a partner in heaven." In
Confucianism and Zoroastrianism the rule is stated in the same way as in the New
Testament except that it is couched in negative terms: "Do not unto others what
you would not they should do unto you." The Jewish equivalent in Leviticus 19:18
is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing
Company</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Humor: Are You a Believer?</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Max Lucado, tells the following story with wit
and style,<BR><BR>Some time ago I came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying
a Bible.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Are you a believer?" I asked him.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Yes," he said excitedly.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I've learned you can't be too careful.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Virgin birth?" I asked.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"I accept it."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Deity of Jesus?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"No doubt."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Death of Christ on the cross?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"He died for all people."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Could it be that I was face to face with a
Christian? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Status of man."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Sinner in need of grace."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Definition of grace."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"God doing for man what man can't do."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Return of Christ?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Imminent."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Bible?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"Inspired."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"The Church?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"The Body of Christ."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I started getting excited. "Conservative or
liberal?"</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">He was getting interested too.
"Conservative."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">My heart began to beat faster…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The conclusion to this illustration and for
many additional illustrations and sermons for the Easter 7 can be accessed at <A
title=http://www.sermons.com/ href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.</DIV>
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