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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Do All the Good<SPAN
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face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Henry Thoreau said, "Be not
merely good; be good for something." That was Jesus' challenge to the man who
wanted to know what he could do to inherit eternal life. He had been good at
making money, in being morally upright and keeping the commandments; but that is
not the ultimate good: he must also give of himself and what he has in behalf of
others. He needed to also realize that, "The gift without the giver is bare."
John Wesley proposed an excellent guide to goodness. He said, and he practiced
what he preached: </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Do all the good you can,
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>By all the means you can,
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>In all the ways you can,
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>At all the times you can,
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>As long as ever you can.
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Someone else has expressed
the ideal of goodness in a wonderful way, saying, "I expect to pass through this
world but once; any good thing therefore, that I can do, or any goodness that I
can show to my fellow creatures, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect
it, for I shall not pass this way again."<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Clement E. Lewis, When It's
Twilight Time, CSS Publishing Company</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>____________________________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Real Wealth -
Priorities<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>God creates us with a
variety of needs, desires, interests, talents, and opportunities. But these
things don't define what we'll be. They're like the bricks, lumber, wallboard,
shingles, and tiles we might see piled on the road near a construction site.
It's what we make from the raw elements of our personalities that defines who we
are; and this is where priorities and choices are crucial.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Jimmy Carter, Sources of
Strength, Random House, p. 230.</SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>____________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>The Failure that Looked
Like Success<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>More than forty years ago,
I heard a man describe two paintings he said he had at his home. I have never
forgotten them even though I never saw them. One was of the figure in Jesus'
story of the rich man whose crops produced so abundantly that he decided to pull
down his barns and build bigger ones, and he said to his soul, "Soul, eat,
drink, and have a great time, for tomorrow you die." The caption under this
painting said: "The Failure that Looked Like Success." The other painting, the
companion painting, was of Jesus dying on the cross, the crown of thorns on his
head, his chin drooping against his chest, the crude nails in his hands, and all
his friends off somewhere in hiding. The caption under this picture said: "The
Success that Looked Like Failure."</SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>We would all like to be
successful and fulfilled as persons; it is one of the dreams with which our
culture imbues us. But when we listen to Jesus, we realize that success and
fulfillment don't really come the way we often expect them to. They aren't the
direct result of anything we can do to attain them. Instead, they're a gift from
God and they simply happen when we are doing the right things with our lives. In
God's eyes it is a whole lot better to be a success that looks like failure than
a failure that looks like success.<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>John Killinger, The Real
Way to Personal Fulfillment</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>________________________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>The Success Syndrome<SPAN
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face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Harvard Medical School
psychologist Steven Berglas has written a book called The Success Syndrome. He
has found that individuals who in his word "suffer" from success have arrogance
and a sense of aloneness. Insider trader Dennis Levine was asked by his wife why
he needed the money from insider trading and he really had no answer. Levine
says that when his income was $100,000, he hungered for $200,000, and when he
was making $1 million, he hungered for $3 million. Berglas says that oddly
enough people who find that $200,000 did not make them happy never asked
themselves why they thought $300,000 would make them happy. Asked to prescribe a
cure for the success syndrome, Berglas said, "What's missing in these people
(Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, Leona Helmsley) is deep commitment or religious
activity that goes far beyond just writing a check to a charity."
<BR><BR></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>King Duncan, Collected
Sermons, www.Sermons.com</SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>______________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>We Want It Our Way<SPAN
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face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>The story of Faust by
Goethe has become part of our heritage. Faust was a man who longed for romance,
academic success, and wealth. Unable to find these on his own, he made a pact
with the devil. If he could be granted his wishes, have his true worth made
public and enjoy its fruits, then he would give his soul to the devil. Sure
enough, he enjoyed marvelous romances, fabulous successes, and much wealth.
Oddly enough, when the time came, he was unwilling to keep his part of the
bargain. I wonder if there is a parallel here. We put Jesus off, promising,
"Just one more of this and one more of that -- then I will be willing to go with
you, Jesus." Are we not like little Fausts, wanting to have it our way? After
all, we say, we deserve it! And what do we say to Jesus when he comes to claim
us?</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Thomas Peterson, The
Needle's Eye, CSS Publishing Company.</SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>_____________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Four Questions for Church
Membership<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>A seminary professor named
Stanley Hauerwas has a novel idea about how churches should receive new members.
A teacher of Christian ethics at Duke University, he has written about the
church's need for honesty and has called us to tell the truth as a "community of
character."</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>To this end, he has a
modest proposal. Whenever people join the church, Hauerwas thinks they should
stand and answer four questions: * Who is your Lord and Savior? The response:
"Jesus Christ." * Do you trust in him and seek to be his disciple? "I do." *
Will you be a faithful member of this congregation? The answer: "I will." *
Finally, one last question: What is your annual income?</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>You heard me correctly.
When people join the church, Dr. Hauerwas thinks they ought to name their Lord
and Savior and tell fellow church members how much money they make. It is
obvious Hauerwas does not serve as a pastor of a congregation. His idea just
wouldn't work, especially in the American church. Most church members believe
salary figures are more sacred than prayer, and would quickly tell an
inquisitive minister to snoop around somewhere else. What's more, parish
experience tempers the questions a minister asks of church members. Most pastors
quickly learn how to dance around the issue of money without ever naming
it.<SPAN class=289134515-09102012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>William G. Carter, No Box
Seats in the Kingdom, CSS Publishing. </SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>_______________________</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>Are We Rich?<SPAN
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face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN><SPAN
class=289134515-09102012> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>The curse of any kind of
valuable possession is its capacity to steal our hearts and souls. The heavier
the purse, the tighter the strings. Is it fair to call most of us rich?
According to our Methodist founder John Wesley, it is. He said that the word
"rich" in the Bible means to have the necessities of life (food, shelter, and
clothing) and then something left over. But here is part of the problem of us
rich folks...</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><SPAN>The rest of this
illustration, as well as many additional illustrations and sermons for the whole
year, can be accessed at <A
title=blocked::http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001u15FGYs4lPNogpeoc_WAdfTQL8LZpNGVRDkyh_auG092UwidIC-kCZXRRp-w9-ck1GIUAm7UO3S2SxqI1s_7dW6pvUgl1aaLvmjqpJ_GwnU=
href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001u15FGYs4lPNogpeoc_WAdfTQL8LZpNGVRDkyh_auG092UwidIC-kCZXRRp-w9-ck1GIUAm7UO3S2SxqI1s_7dW6pvUgl1aaLvmjqpJ_GwnU="
shape=rect target=_blank><SPAN
title=blocked::http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001u15FGYs4lPNogpeoc_WAdfTQL8LZpNGVRDkyh_auG092UwidIC-kCZXRRp-w9-ck1GIUAm7UO3S2SxqI1s_7dW6pvUgl1aaLvmjqpJ_GwnU=>www.Sermons.com</SPAN></A></SPAN><SPAN>. <SPAN
class=289134515-09102012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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