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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Give It to Me in a Nutshell</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">"Give
it to me in a nutshell" –– an old saying –– it means, Tell me what I
need to know, but keep it short. Don't bother me with unnecessary
detail. Don't bore me with a long, technical explanation. Just get to
the bottom line.<br>
<br>
We like things short and sweet. Network television news has time only
to hit the high spots and to show us a few pictures, but it gives us the
big picture in a few minutes. We like that.<br>
<br>
I used to have to sit through weekly staff meetings. Sometimes they
would go on for two hours, because everyone wanted to have their say.
Then we got a new boss who limited each of us to one overhead slide.
Each slide had about ten lines, so each person could show us the status
of ten programs –– max. We had to code each program green, yellow, or
red. Green meant that everything was o.k. Yellow meant that there was a
problem. Red meant, "The sky is falling!" Furthermore, we weren't to
ramble. Stand up! Speak up! Shut up! Sit down! I loved it, because
we got through the meetings quickly, and I could get back to work.<br>
<br>
Give it to me in a nutshell!<br>
<br>
That's what the lawyer said to Jesus –– Give it to me in a nutshell. At
least, we think that's what he meant. "Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest? Do you know, or should I call Pew Research?"<br>
<br>
Richard Niell Donovan, In a Nutshell<br>
______________________________________<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Defining Love</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">What
does the word Love mean today? How do we define it? In answer to my
question, Sherry, my son's wife, sent me the results of a
question-and-answer session held by a group of professional people with
an bunch of 4 to 8-year olds, where they asked them, "What does love
mean?" Some of the answers I selected will both amuse and startle you.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><br>
Karl, age 5, says: "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving lotion and they go out and smell each other."<br>
Elaine, age 5, says: "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer then Robert Redford."<br>
Mary Ann, age 4, says: "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."<br>
Tommy, age 6, says: "Love is like a little old man and a little old
woman who are still friends even after they know each other so well."<br>
Bobby, age 5, says: "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."<br>
Jenny, age 7, says: "There are two kinds of love. God's love. Our love. But God makes both kinds."<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">That
last answer is worthy of a philosopher. Maybe we should listen to
children more than we do. They see the world around them with clear,
fresh eyes, and interpret it with clear, fresh minds.<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Frank G. Adams</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">Love is not blind. Love is the only thing that sees.</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">Frank Crane</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">The Right Kind of Devotion</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
order that we may know how to love ourselves, an end has been
established for us to which we are to refer all our action, so that we
may attain to bliss. For if we love ourselves, our one wish is to
achieve blessedness. Now this end is to cling to God. Thus, if we know
how to love ourselves, the commandant to love our neighbor bids us to do
all we can to bring our neighbor to love God. This is the worship of
God; this is true religion; this is the right kind of devotion; this is
the service which is owed to God alone.</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">Augustine, City of God</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">The Love That Conquers the 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">The
love for equals is a human thing--of friend for friend, brother for
brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.</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
love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing--the love for those
who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the
unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the 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">The
love for the more fortunate is a rare thing--to love those who succeed
where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love
of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world
is always bewildered by its saints.</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">And
then there is the love for the enemy--love for the one who does not
love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured's love
for the torturer. This is God's love. It conquers the 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">Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat</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">Just a Person across the Way</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">Edgar
Guest, a renowned American poet at the turn of the century, tells of a
neighbor by the name of Jim Potter. Mr. Potter ran the drug store in the
small town where Edgar Guest lived. Guest recalled that daily he would
pass his neighbor and how they would smile and exchange greetings. But
it was a mere casual relationship.</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
came that tragic night in the life of Edgar Guest when his first born
child died. He felt lonely and defeated. These were grim days for him
and he was overcome with grief. Several days later Guest had reason to
go to the drug store run by his neighbor, and when he entered Jim Potter
motioned for him to come behind the counter. "Eddie," he said, "I
really can't express to you the great sympathy that I have for you at
this time. All I can say is that I am terribly sorry, and if you need
for me to do anything, you can count on me."</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">Many
years later Edgar Guest wrote of that encounter in one of his books.
This is how he worded it: "Just a person across the way--a passing
acquaintance. Jim Potter may have long since forgotten that moment when
he extended his hand to me in sympathy, but I shall never forget
it--never in all my life. To me it stands out like the silhouette of a
lonely tree against a crimson sunset."</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">[Suggestion for follow-up on this story]</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">I have wondered how it is that I want people to remember me when</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">I come to end of my life's journey.</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"><span style="font-size: 12pt">But I really don't care if someone remembers me for that. I really don't.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">I
do hope that people are able to say of me at the end of my life's
pilgrimage: When we were sick he came to us; when we needed help, he was
there; when I was down, he lifted me up. In short, I hope that my
ministry is remembered for simple acts of kindness. For if that is the
case, then my life would have been worth it and I might have come close
to fulfilling the greatest commandment in life: Love God and love your
neighbor.</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">Brett Blair, <a __removedlink__1898360460__href="http://www.eSermons.com" target="_blank">www.eSermons.com</a></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">Love Is More than We Can See</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">A
man once observed a young boy out in a field flying a kite. He noticed
that there was something odd about the way the boy was standing and
holding on to the string. He walked up to the boy and then learned that
the boy was blind. He said, "Do you like flying kites?"</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 boy said, "I sure do."</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">This piqued the man's curiosity and he asked, "How is that when you cannot see it?"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">The boy answered, "I may not be able to see it but I can feel it tugging'!"</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">We
may not always be able to identify the love of God in this world. Like
the little boy, we may not be able to see love but it has a tug that
let's us know its there.</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">Brett Blair, <a target="_blank" __removedlink__1898360460__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAwUFAAVRDkkDCABKDAtXUVw%3D"><font color="#0000ff">www.eSermons.com</font></a> </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">"By loving the unlovable, You made me lovable."</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">Augustine to God</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">Chip It 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">There
is a story about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He
grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so
he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art.
He went to work on it with hammer and chisel, and chipped away at the
huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he
finished, it was gorgeous, breath-taking.</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">A neighbor asked, "How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">The man answered, "I just chipped away everything that didn't look like an elephant!"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">If you have anything in your life right now that doesn't look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it 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
conclusion to this illustration and many additional illustrations and
sermons for Proper 25 and the upcoming weeks can be accessed at <a target="_blank" __removedlink__1898360460__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GAwUFAAVRDEkDCABKDAtXUVw%3D">www.Sermons.com</a>.</span></div>
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