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<div class=Section1>
<p><font size=3 color="#666666" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Resources
for Proper 15</span></font> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Matthew 15: (1-10) 21-28 - "Great Is Your
Faith"</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Matthew 15: (1-10) 21-28 - "Live and Learn"
by Leonard Sweet</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Matthew 15<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>,</span></font>
the sermon title “Great Is Your Faith"<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'> </span></font></span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>What would you think
if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph?
Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph--an
enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this
person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert
pianist the four words: "He was a failure," you could always say:
That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, “He was
a genius,” then you are apt to take the remark more seriously.<br>
<br>
There was a character in the Gospel who Jesus once described with four immortal
words: Great is your faith. She was a Canaanite woman who came from the country
to the north of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:City>,
a country hostile to the Jews. She was presumably married, she had at least one
child; but that’s all we know about her. We don't know whether she was a good
woman or a bad woman. We don’t know her name. All we know of her is that in
this single encounter with Jesus he spoke to her this four-word epitaph: Great
is your faith.<br>
<br>
Only four words but they are enough to make her immortal. We can trust these
words as being true because the expert on faith spoke them. Jesus searched for
faith, as a gem collector would fine jewels. He did not always find it in his
disciples. On no occasion that we know did he ever say of Peter, James, and
John: Great is your faith. More often the words he spoke to them: You of little
faith. On only one other occasion did Jesus praise a person for their faith.
Interestingly, that was a Roman soldier stationed in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Capernaum</st1:place></st1:City>.<br>
<br>
We regard this Canaanite woman with more than just an academic interest. She
awakens in us a feeling of admiration, perhaps even envy, because she stands
where most of us would like to stand. What faithful Christian would not like it
said of him or her: Great is your faith? Think of what it would mean if an
aspiring young artist had Picasso place his hand on his shoulder and say: You
have a great talent. How wonderful it would be then to a believer in God, if
Jesus would place his hand on our shoulder and say: You have a remarkable
talent for faith. But how does one qualify for this praise? What does one have
to do? To answer these questions let us take a closer look at her story.</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>1. Crossing Barriers</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>2. Refusing to Be Put
Off</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>3. Going in Faith and
Humility</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be
obtained by joining <a
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAgABDwNXRAMDBUsDAABWWg%3D%3D"><font
size=1 color=blue><span style='font-size:8.5pt;color:blue'>http://www.sermons.com/signup</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_______________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Matthew 15<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>,</span></font>
the sermon titled "Live and Learn" by Leonard Sweet<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'> </span></font></span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Is anyone's memory of study hall a fun one? </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Either you were the studious type, who really wanted to
use that hour of enforced peace and quiet to get some work done, or you were
the kid that was bored, trying to think of ways to sneak out, send notes, shoot
spit-wads, or otherwise somehow liven up that deadly hour. </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>But the shushings of study hall monitors and librarians
aren't common to all cultures. </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>At traditional Orthodox yeshivas, the bais midrash, the
study hall, is filled with noise. Not just noise, but debates and sweat, as
matched chavrusas - learning partners - verbally battle it out over how best to
interpret the texts and traditions of the Jewish faith. The "bais
midrash," the study hall or library that holds all the necessary reference
books for the yeshiva students, was NEVER quiet. </span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The traditional study of Talmud is with a partner, your
"chavrusas," with whom head-to-head, nose-to-nose debate, dialogue,
even shouting-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, is part of the learning process. These
face-to-face exercises, testing the depth and breadth of the students'
knowledge, is what the yeshiva call learning. In fact, a yeshiva student won't
ask, "What are you studying?" Rather, the appropriate question is
"What are you learning?" Studying infers a solitary, sedentary
ingestion of information. Learning is a social, active, expectorating exercise
- a dialogue that must necessarily engage two or more individuals in order for
true learning to be accomplished. In the Jewish tradition,
"learning" is a verb, a never-finished action. </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The apostle Paul, a learned Pharisee, well-schooled in the
Torah, in the learning traditions of the rabbis, bolding preached Christ's
imminent return throughout his early letters. Yet as time went by, as the
Christian message began to spread, as Christian churches were planted and began
to grow, and Jesus still did not return, Paul's learning curve began to deepen.
The communities he was now addressing had second, even third generation
Christians in their midst. The first believers began to pass away. Somewhere
between Paul's writing of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy, a span of about
fourteen years or so, the apostle gradually came to a new understanding. </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>In short, Paul changed his mind. Christ's return may NOT
be imminent, and Christians should be prepared to live and die as a faith
community without ever experiencing that event. </span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Yet changing one's mind has gotten nothing but bad press.
In the feeding-frenzy of political campaigns, any evidence that any candidate
re-positioned, re-thought, or simply re-considered their original views on any
given issue is lambasted as flip-flopping or wishy-washy. In the Main Stream
Media's (MSM) judgment, any adjustment of one's stand, or one's understanding,
over the course of twenty or thirty years is deemed a sign of weakness and used
as evidence of a morally and/or intellectually deficient mind. </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Learning, continually interacting with and challenging the
experiences and informational input that surrounds us, is a life-long process.
Gerontologists are now recommending that as we age we intentionally set up new,
unexpected circumstances or encounters for ourselves every single day, in order
to keep our brains fit and flexible. Such simple learning exercises as taking a
different route to the store, doing a crossword puzzle, planning and executing
a sewing, building, or other creative project, all help contribute to keeping
our neurons firing, our brains healthy, and strengthening our mind's ability to
learn. </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>In fact, there are really only two questions to ask
yourself. 1. Am I learning something? 2. Am I contributing something? If
the answer to either is no, then get out of there. If the answer to both
is yes, you're right where God wants you to be…</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Click here: <a
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAgABDwNSRAMDBUsDAABWWg%3D%3D"><font
size=1 color=blue><span style='font-size:8.5pt;color:blue'>http://www.sermons.com/signup</span></font></a>
or call 1-800-777-7731 to join.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_____________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Have Faith Anyway</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The place was a suburb of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Detroit</st1:place></st1:City>. The speaker, Nobel Peace Prize
winner Elie Wiesel. The subject: "After <st1:place w:st="on">Auschwitz</st1:place>,
Can We Still Believe!" Jews and Gentiles alike filled the great synagogue
to listen to the recollections of one who survived the furnaces of <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dachau</st1:place></st1:City>. Thin and fragile,
Wiesel stood at the podium for nearly an hour telling one story after another
of the horror and despair of those bleak days in the '30s. His stories were of
people confused with their imprisonment and sometimes destroyed with their
release.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Painfully, silently, the audience relived the events of
Wiesel's young life when he was the only surviving member of his family.
Finally the stories ceased. His eyes dropped to the floor. There was no sound
at all in that mammoth room for what seemed an agonizing eternity. Then he
repeated the question, "After <st1:place w:st="on">Auschwitz</st1:place>,
can we still believe?" He shook his head slowly, sadly, "No,
no,..." before concluding powerfully, "but we must!"</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Concerning whether or not to have faith, there is no
choice. There was none for that Canaanite mom, none for Elie Wiesel, there is
none for you and me. The message of this wonderful mother is "Chose to
believe anyway!" You may not feel you are allowed to have faith, have it
anyway. You may not feel God loves you, believe it anyway. You may come to
understand that you are not included, include yourself anyway. Even the dogs
get the crumbs that fall from the master's table.</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>David E. Leininger, Hang In There!</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-bottom:10.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_____________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The expectancy that hopes great things of God is the
passport to the kingdom.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>George Buttrick</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_________________________________</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>A Little Time Alone</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>John R. O'Neil, in his book <u>The
Paradox of Success</u> tells about a psychologist who was once summoned for a
delicate interview with a top executive who had been acting oddly. Every
Wednesday afternoon, this hard-charging company man would leave his office for
a 3:00 P.M. appointment and did not return. He never told anyone where he went,
but because he was observed entering a nearby apartment building, it was
assumed he must be visiting a mistress.<br>
<br>
Not so. The executive explained his habit to the psychologist quite easily.
Inside <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">Apartment</st1:Street> 2B</st1:address>
waited, not a luscious blonde, but a professional woodworking shop that he had
set up, where he labored happily to turn out furniture and knick-knacks. He
kept his special appointment with himself faithfully because it was his retreat
from the demands he fulfilled so carefully day in and day out. He needed this
chance to be alone with himself, engaged in an activity that took his mind far
from the job and focused his attention in a calming way. The psychologist
pronounced him eminently healthy. This was the man's retreat from pressing
responsibilities. <br>
<br>
You have to admire Jesus' commitment to maintaining balance in his life. The
Savior took time to go apart. Many of us could learn from him. We, too, need a
time apart. As someone has said, we need to go apart before we come apart. So
here Jesus is on retreat. And this woman will not leave him alone. Maybe it was
her timing.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>King Duncan, When You Need Help, Collected Sermons, <a
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAgABDwNQRAMDBUsDAABWWg%3D%3D"><font
size=1 color=purple><span style='font-size:8.5pt;color:purple'>www.Sermons.com</span></font></a>
</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_____________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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