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-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org><br>
To: propertalk.topic <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Apr 4, 2015 6:00 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter<br>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Dear Friends,</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Easter- Claim Life!” and deals with the gospel (John 20: 1-18).</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Here it is: </font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Happy Easter!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Did anyone get a chocolate bunny yet today?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">A chocolate egg?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">A chocolate ANYTHING?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Did you hear the story of the little girl who visited her friend’s house the day before Easter?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">She and her friend decided they’d try to find the Easter candy ahead of time. </font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They found some and ate it, but it really tasted strange.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Later at home, she confessed to her mother what she had done and said, “Mommy”, I do have one question I need to ask you.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“What, dear?” asked her mother.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Can chocolates walk?” asked the child.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“No, dear,” her mother says. “Of course not.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Oh-oh!,” the child exclaimed, “I guess I’d better go brush my teeth, because I think I just ate a cockroach.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Don’t settle for the fake Easter- the one with chocolate bunnies and cream eggs and jelly beans and baskets.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Enjoy that one, but claim the real thing, the Easter with resurrection power!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let’s look at what happened.</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">We are all aware of how atrociously painful Jesus’ last days were, but- if you think about it, his friends had also lived in crisis.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The entire week had been unbelievably bad for all of Jesus’ friends- actually going from terrible to worse.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">They’d watched everyone turn against him; with even his disciples leaving him to face his worst times alone. They saw the trial, the beatings, the mocking, the torture, his execution, and his burial.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Worse yet, because the Sabbath was approaching, they couldn’t even give Jesus a proper burial- his body had to be just quickly placed in the grave and locked in with a huge stone. </font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Early Sunday morning, the women went to anoint the body of Jesus.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When they got there, the stone was rolled away, the body was gone, and the risen Christ appeared to the very first disciple- Mary Magdaline!</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">That’s what happened.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What’s it to you?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let me tell you what Easter means to me.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It’s not just the door to the tomb that’s open- LIFE is open!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Check it out. From the word “OPEN: </font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">“O”- I have an open door to heaven!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’ll see Fr. Bill again!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Thank you Jesus!</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">“P”- I have power for living and loving and overcoming now!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Thank you Jesus!</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">“E”- EVERYONE!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Jesus’ overcoming death and offering full, meaningful life is for everyone- just accept Him. Thank you Jesus!</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">“N”- Negatives can’t overwhelm me- can’t keep me stuck!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">By the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we CAN OVERCOME! </font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">So, are you an Easter person yet?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If not, why not become one!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Wishing won’t do it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Living in the past won’t do it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Making a decision to live as Jesus’ Easter people will.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Did you hear the story of the depressed man and his friend who tried to cheer him up?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The man said to his friend: “Say, you look depressed. What are you thinking about?”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“My future,” was the quick answer.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“What makes it look so hopeless?”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“My past.” </font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">There- did I get you thinking?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">WE’RE NOT HOPELESS!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let me close with a final story that perhaps will allow this Easter to become a turning point in your life, because if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’m going to share with you a story I haven’t told since 2012, but its message fits our Easter focus- </font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">living life to its fullest under God.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It’s the goldfish story.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Remember what happened to Clarence Harvey (Congress of 1988) when he was young?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">This is how he tells it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“When I was a little kid, I had a pet goldfish.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">One summer as I was packing to spend three months with relatives at the lake up north, my dad said, ‘Take this goldfish with you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I don't want to take care of it this summer.’</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">One day after we got up to the lake, I decided to become a liberator.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I went down to the dock with my fishbowl and gave my fish a little talk.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">‘I am going to throw you in this lake,’ I said.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">‘You will be free.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">You can eat well here and grow up to be a big fish.’</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">But when I put the goldfish in the water at the end of the dock, it stayed right there.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I backed off, thinking the fish was attracted to my shadow.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">But when I moved back to be sure it was gone, it was still right there.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I even threw a stone into the water to scare it away, but that goldfish just swam around it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">When I came back after lunch, the goldfish was still there, swimming in the same spot.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I sat down and thought, ‘That fish should be free.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It's got the whole lake to swim in.’ Suddenly, I saw a big ripple in the water - a huge ripple.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Whop!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">A big bass swallowed my little goldfish.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Later in life someone told me that a goldfish, once it has lived in a circumference of a certain size, has been conditioned to think small.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It will stay there until it dies - swimming around in that small circle.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Easter offers a new perspective.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Uncondition yourself!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Don’t let life swallow you up!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">In the name of the living Christ- break free!</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">One of our thoughts for the week said, “Life’s not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The way you cope with it is what makes the difference” (Anonymous).</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">My friends- don’t let your past determine your future!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Your past is the diving board, God’s Easter power is the spring in the springboard to your future.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Easter power reminds us that the future belongs to God and you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Think BIG!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If you can conceive it, and God wants you to do it, the sky’s the limit; and the Risen Christ can give you the power to overcome!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Jesus rose, so make Easter choices and follow Him.</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: </font><a target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</font></u></a><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> .</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Blessed preaching,</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Judy Boli</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Saginaw, Michigan</font></span></div>
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