<font color='black' size='4' face='Times New Roman, Times, serif'><FONT size=4>Forwarded:</FONT><br>
<br>
<br>
<div style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org><br>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Mar 17, 2012 9:25 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 4B<br>
<br>
<div id=AOLMsgPart_0_bafa095d-b7e2-4ef4-86ba-d2bdf573ee7b style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: #000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff"><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT>Dear Friends,
Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Don’t Lose Your ‘Attitude of
Gratitude!’” and deals with the Old Testament lesson (Numbers 21: 4-
9) and the gospel. (John 3:14- 21). Here it is:
So far this Lent, we’ve looked at what the Bible says to us about
temptation- how vulnerable we are to wanting anything we’re not
supposed to have or to doing anything we’re not supposed to do. As
you know, one of our offertory hymns for this Lent is “Yield Not to
Temptation for Yielding is Sin.” We’ve considered one of our chief
temptations- to avoid the cross that Jesus expects us to carry.
Remember, he said, “Take up your cross and follow me”- and he wasn’t
talking about jewelry on a gold chain; he was talking about a chosen
sacrifice for him. Last week we examined where yielding to temptation
leads us- SIN, and we saw that the middle letter of sin is “I”!
Actually, self-centeredness (i.e. original sin) is like a beautiful
apple with a rotten core. Today I’d like us to think through one of
the dangerous symptoms of sin- a poisoned spirit. Did you hear of the
mother who called the poison control center, seriously worried that
her two-year-old daughter had poisoned herself by eating ants? The
nurse who answered the phone calmly reassured the anxious mother that,
although eating ants sounds nasty and you hate the thought of your
precious child eating them- they’re not poisonous. “Oh, I’m so
relieved!” said the mother. “If I had known that ants weren’t
poisonous, I wouldn’t have made her eat all that ant poison!” “You
made her eat ant poison?” asked the nurse. “Absolutely”, answered the
mother. “I wanted to be sure all the ants in her stomach were
killed.” “Look lady,” shouted the nurse. “Bring the child in RIGHT
AWAY!” We know what’s poisoning that precious two-year-old, but I’d
like us to look at the snakes that were poisoning the Israelites and
then think about if anything is poisoning you.
The Israelites were in the desert- picture their situation. God had
worked a mighty miracle delivering them from slavery in Egypt and then
topped it off with their miraculous escape through the Red Sea. They
saw God’s mighty hand when Moses encountered the living God on the
mountaintop and came back down with the Ten Commandments. God led
them through the desert in the fire by night and the cloud by day- on
their way to the Promised Land. When they began to hunger, God began
sending manna. Every morning when they woke up, there was this bread-
like substance on the ground- enough for one day’s food for everyone
(two days before the Sabbath so they wouldn’t break the fourth
commandment). Manna, plus the occasional quail that foolishly landed
where they could be caught, made an amazingly nutritious diet. Their
feet did not blister and their sandals did not wear out throughout the
entire trip. What wonderful provisions from God! How truly blessed
they were! Wouldn’t you think that would have been enough for any
human being? Yet all we heard in today’s Old Testament reading was
complaining! Why? Because they were bored with the same old “same-
old.” Sounds like when I was a little girl. We were very poor, but
my mother always saw that I had all my necessities met. Occasionally
she would find me in front of the refrigerator with the door open.
When she would ask what I was doing, I would complain- “I’m hungry,
but there’s nothing to eat!” She would tell me to close the door and
remind me that I must not really be very hungry. You know why?
Because the refrigerator was full of food- just nothing special,
nothing fancy- just the same old “same-old.” You see, I was truly
blessed- but instead of an attitude of gratitude, I had a complaining
spirit- just like the Israelites did. You heard what happened to
them. God allowed them to stumble into a bed of snakes with burning,
poisonous venom. Whether God actually made this happen or whether
they took a wrong turn due to their negative attitude and then blamed
the problem on God- who knows. Whichever- the problem did what
problems frequently do- it shaped up their bitter attitude and got
them down on their knees in a hurry! They went running to Moses who
prayed. We heard how God told Moses to erect a bronze snake on a
pole. God said that anyone who looked at the snake would be healed.
That’s what happened. Now- what’s in it for us? What Bible wisdom
can we extract from this ancient story to help us in our lives today?
FIRST, THEY WERE IN A SPIRITUALLY VULNERABLE POSITION. They had
repeatedly experienced great victories won for them by the Lord. What
frequently happens after a woman has gloriously experienced the
amazing miracle of giving birth to a longed-for child? Sure-
depression hits. What happened after the prophet Elijah won his
mighty victory over the prophets of Baal? Same thing- depression.
What other factors predisposed them to being vulnerable? Exhaustion-
mentally and physically; the “sameness” of their lives that must have
had them thinking- “Is this all there is to life- walking, work,
boring food and water- over and over again?” Do you want to avoid
their mistake? Watch out after a marvelous event. Watch yourself
when you are exhausted, mentally or physically. Take care of your
physical health.
SECOND, THEY LOST THEIR ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. Instead of focusing on
their blessings, they found themselves focusing more and more on the
negatives. Just as I should have been thankful for all the food in
our home refrigerator, I focused not on what WAS there but on what
WASN’T there. Before you go to bed every evening, count your
blessings and thank God for every last one of them.
THIRD, DON’T BLAME GOD IF YOU MAKE A WRONG TURN IN LIFE. Simply do as
Moses did. Pray and ask for guidance. Did you notice that God didn’t
make the snakes go away? He simply told his beloved people what to do
if they got bitten by one. He’ll do the same for you. Your problems
won’t necessarily go away, but you will be given the wisdom to handle
them in a way that turns them into a blessing for you. I’ve got a
question for you. Have you ever wondered why the person had to look
at the snake to be healed? In other words, why didn’t God
automatically heal anyone who was bitten? Think about it- because God
never forces us to come to him. The person who was bitten had to
choose to look. Healing was then and is now a choice. When have you
ever had the experience that God MADE you come to church on Sunday
morning? And yet, it is God’s will that you worship Him and receive
Holy Communion every Sunday morning unless you are sick, working, or
engaged in some other pressing ministry. Don’t presume on God. Ask
God for help.
FINALLY- THE SNAKE ON THE POLE: remember the snake that tempted Eve
in the Garden of Eden? Can’t you just picture the lovely belt or
shoes or handbag he would make? Yet- when that snake is all curled up,
what’s at the very center? I’ll tell you what- a head, complete with
a venomous mouth, almost camouflaged from view. That’s how sin is,
which is why we’re so vulnerable to temptation, especially at weak
points in our lives. It often looks so inviting, so beautiful, so
harmless. But watch out- the poison is right there. Please look at
the thought for the week: “It is unlikely there’ll be a reduction in
the wages of sin” (Anonymous). Does anyone remember what Paul says
the wages of sin are? (“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord”- Romans 6:23.)
John 3: 16-17 reminds us that when Jesus was lifted up on the cross
for our sins, it wasn’t to condemn us but to save us and gift us with
eternal life- fullness of life that will last forever and begins at
our baptisms. So, what’s poisoning your life?
Do you have a health problem? Enjoy what you can do and the life
you have. Don’t waste the life God has given you worried about what
might happen.
Are your children becoming a frustrating heartache? They’re God’s
kids, not yours. Give them to God, do the best you possibly can with
them, and enjoy them whenever you can. Have an attitude of gratitude,
not a complaining pity-party.
Do you have a relationship problem? Is there someone in your life
who is really hard to deal with, perhaps even hard to live with? Once
again- remember the happy times you had with this person, forgive
them, and don’t let them impose their negatives on your attitude.
Are addictive substances wrecking your life? Look to Jesus, claim
his power, get into a program if necessary, and get yourself healed.
Do you have money problems, housing problems, car problems, job
problems? Put God first in your life, consult with someone you trust,
pray about it, and give them to God. Don’t let them wreck your
present life.
In closing, let’s bow our heads and sing our prayer: “Thank you,
Lord.”
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements are posted on our parish web site. The address is:
<A href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com/" target=_blank>http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</A> .
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan
</TT></PRE></div>
<!-- end of AOLMsgPart_0_bafa095d-b7e2-4ef4-86ba-d2bdf573ee7b --></div>
</font>