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<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sermons for Proper 20:</SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> Luke 16:1-13 – </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“Increasing Our Standard of
Giving”</SPAN></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> 1 Timothy 2:1-7 – <STRONG>“Peace and
Quiet”</STRONG> by Leonard Sweet</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Luke 16, the sermon titled "Increasing Our Standard of
Giving" </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Before John Wesley became the founder of the Methodist
Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700’s. When he began
his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His
living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The next year his income doubled - but he still managed
to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90
pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds -
lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1,400
pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1,400
pounds.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Wesley felt that with increasing income, what should
rise is not the Christian’s standard of living but the standard of giving.
Increasing our standard of giving. What a great Christian man and what a great
lesson he taught us. It is the same lesson found in the parable for today. Let’s
take a look. The Pharisees are standing off to the side watching Jesus as was
their custom. Jesus’ disciples are listening intently as he tells his story.
Probably on this occasion there were more than just the 12. A large number of
followers are gathered around. He tells them about a steward who handled all the
business affairs of a wealthy man. But the steward has squandered his master’s
money; he was reckless and wasteful. Notice that this story follows another
story about a reckless young man who squandered his father’s wealth, the
prodigal son. But in this story the reckless y oung man does not come to his
senses in time and he is fired from his job.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Then he does something so shrewd and conniving. As he is
cleaning out his desk and clearing out his things he calls in his master’s
debtors, those who had outstanding accounts, and cut those debts in half. You
owe 800 gallons of olive oil? Write me check for 400 and we will call it even.
You owe a thousand bushels of wheat? Write me a check for 800 and we’ll call it
even. He forgives the debts that are not his to forgive, and he gains friends in
the process. As a result his master commends him.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">So what is Jesus’ point? Well, there’s not just one
point there are a few. Let’s take a look. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">1. First, He Explains the Wise Use of Worldly
Wealth.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">2. Second, Trustworthiness Is Measured by
Character.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">3. Third, Our Service Must Be Singular.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The rest of this sermon following the outline above can
be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">1 Timothy 2, the sermon titled “Peace and Quiet” by
Leonard Sweet </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">When you check into a Sheraton hotel room these days you
have a new message you can hang on your doorknob to keep the housekeeper away.
Instead of “Do Not Disturb” the message now reads “Peace and Quiet.” The sign at
Sheraton’s more upscale sister, The Westin, simply reads “Peace.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">People are not just looking to keep disruptions and
disturbances at bay. They are looking to find something positive. They are
searching in life for some “peace and quiet.” Or if “quiet” is too much to ask,
just some “Peace.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Russian Orthodox church introduced a word which is
now quite popular in a variety of Christian circles. The Russian word is
poustinia, and it refers to a remote cabin or place for prayer, even a hermit’s
hut in the woods where you can encounter God in silence, serenity and peace. Who
doesn’t want one of these “poustinia,” . . . . with bath and shower, of course,
. . . . with hot meals available every day cooked by someone else, of course, .
. . with the possibility of walking down daisy-strewn paths, maintained, of
course, by someone else, . . . . where you can attend worship presided over by
someone else, of course. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It is doubtful you’ll find your “peace and quiet”
poustinia in a sterile hotel room surrounded by the sounds of hundreds of other
guests, electronics, elevators, street noises, and airplanes on their approach
path. But the quest for somewhere and something that offers poustinia, that
offers “peace and quiet” on demand is a dream that seems harder and harder to
realize in a TGIF world. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">TGIF: that is, a Twitter, Google, iPhone, Facebook
culture. All those wonderful electronic connections that make it possible for us
to stay in touch, stay on top, stay informed, stay current 24/7 also make it
almost impossible to encounter “peace and quiet.” </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">When you made your summer vacation plans, how important
was it that wherever you were headed there was wi-fi available? Is there
anything more pitiful than watching your teenage daughter discover she has left
her cell phone re-charging at home? A dropped cell phone connection is now the
direct cause of spikes in blood pressure.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The most endangered of our planet’s great gifts is not
the polar ice caps. It is not rare species like the black rhino or the big leaf
mahogany. It is not a pristine aquifer or wilderness area. The most endangered
gift the twenty-first century is eroding? It’s the existence of “peace and
quiet.” It is precisely this promise of “Peace and Quiet” that the pastoral
epistle of First Timothy promises. If you follow Jesus, you will find a way to
“lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But what does “Peace and Quiet” really mean for the
Christian? …</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The rest of Leonard Sweet's sermon can be obtained by
joining www.Sermons.com </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">________________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Making Choices</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In our society thousands of people are losing their
homes because of foreclosures. They can’t pay their mortgage rates which are
higher now than when they first obtained a loan. Some banks show no mercy while
others are going out of their way to help people keep their homes. The last
thing a bank wants to have is to have thousands of empty houses with no buyers.
They rely on those monthly mortgage payments to underwrite their
investments.<BR><BR>I believe this story is about making choices. The manager
had to decide whether or not to make it easier for debtors to pay their bills
and risk losing his job, or resign and do nothing. Remember that this story
follows the story of the elder brother of the prodigal son who didn’t want to go
to his “forgiveness party.” He was choosing to stay away because, “right was
right.” He didn’t want to have any part in a celebration where incompetent
behavior was rewarded with mercy.<BR><BR>Here, the master showed mercy for his
manager. The manager was incompetent but at least he acted. He made a decision
and he was merciful to the debtors. Whether or not he got to keep his job we
don’t know. Neither do we know if the debtors actually paid their bills. What we
do know is that Jesus used this story to confront the stingy behavior of the
Pharisees.<BR><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Notice that in the following verses it says that “The
Pharisees were lovers of money…and God knows what is in their
hearts.”<BR><BR>Keith Wagner, Living With our
Choices<BR>_______________________________________<BR><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The End of the Value of Money</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In his book, How to Preach a Parable, Eugene Lowry says
that in order to understand a parable we must look for the itch before we can
feel the scratch. We must sense the tension before we can receive relief from
the tension. We must place ourselves in the puzzling setting before we can see
the resolution to the puzzle. Lowry calls this "finding the focus of the
story."<BR><BR>All this talk about participation and finding the focus
notwithstanding, what do we do with the steward who is a rascal, making deals
with shady debtors and a master who commends the shrewdness of his steward for
the deals he makes? What's the sharp point Jesus is trying to make?<BR><BR>The
sharp point of this parable is that the master commends the use of money for
people, instead of for pride, power, position, and possessions. In other words,
the value of money and possession comes to a dead end when we die. The sharp
point of this parable is that money and possessions will do us no good when we
arrive at eternity and face the judgment of God.<BR><BR>Ron Lavin, Sermons for
Sundays After Pentecost (Middle Third): Only the Lonely, CSS Publishing Company,
Inc.<BR>___________________________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Like Running a Business</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There was an interesting legal question posed in The
Saturday Evening Post recently. It seems that one lovely Sunday when the sermon
was overlong, the congregation rushed, as usual, from its pews on the first
syllable of "Amen!" Faithful Abigail, the only worshiper held entranced by the
sermon, moved slowly and was trampled. She sued the church and its officials for
damages. <BR><BR>"Those in charge of the church knew that most of the
congregation stampedes after long sermons," Abigail argued. "They should have
recognized the danger in the situation. Not being prepared to cope with it, they
were negligent." <BR><BR>The church's attorney argued like this in response: "A
church is a nonprofit organization manned for the most part by volunteers. No
one has a right to expect it to be run with the smart efficiency of a business
concern. Abigail, therefore, has no real claim." <BR><BR>If you were the judge,
asks the writer, would you award damages to Abigail? <BR><BR>What I found
interesting in this hypothetical situation was the characterization of the
church. "A church is a nonprofit organization manned for the most part by
volunteers. . . No one has a right to expect it to be run with the smart
efficiency of a business. . . ." <BR><BR>Why not? What if we were as good at
what we do as McDonald's is at what they do, or Coca Cola or Microsoft? What if
we were as committed to spreading the good news of the kingdom of God as
American business is to winning new customers? This is the point Jesus is trying
to make. He wants people who bear his name to not only be nice people but to be
people who make a difference in the world. <BR><BR>King Duncan, Collected
Sermons, <A href="http://www.esermons.com/">www.eSermons.com</A> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">_______________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">God’s Grace</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The grace of God is like the man who went into the
clothing store to buy a suit and was shown a blue one. "No," the customer said,
"That won't do. I want a green suit." So the clerk called out to his partner,
"Turn on the green light, Joe, the man wants a green suit!" It is not that
things are changed. But we see them differently. In Christ we are given
spectacles which give us a kingdom perspective. We see ourselves in a heavenly
light; through God's eyes. We see how things really are. We need no longer
suffer from the stigma that "sinner" - forgiven or otherwise - denotes. We can
see ourselves as "heirs" with Christ of the Divine inheritance. The world is not
changed, but we see it and ourselves in a new light; a kingdom
light.<BR><BR>Robert McClelland, Fire in the Hole, CSS Publishing Company
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>________________________________________<BR><BR></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>