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<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org><br>
To: propertalk.topic <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Apr 25, 2015 6:28 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 4B<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 “To Whom Are You Listening?” or “Do You Qualify?” and deals with Psalm 23 and the Gospel (John 10: [7-10], 11- 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: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">Does anyone remember to old hymn- “Jesus Calls Us,” by Cecil Alexander?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">It goes like this:</font></font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">“Jesus calls us over the tumult of our life’s wild, restless, sea;</font></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying, ‘Christian, follow Me!’”</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">We just finished reciting all the comforting promises in the 23</font><sup><font color="#000000">rd</font></sup><font color="#000000"> Psalm.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">We recite it at every funeral.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let’s say the King James Version of that beloved Psalm together: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”</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">There’s only one problem- true enough- these are wonderful promises, but- do you qualify?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Let me tell you a story that hopefully will clarify this question.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Until the terrible war and violence erupted all over the </font><font color="#000000">Middle East</font><font color="#000000">, I used to want to go to </font><font color="#000000">Israel</font><font color="#000000"> and walk on the very ground that Jesus trod.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">This story is about a traveler who actually made it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He truly had a chance to see sheep following their own particular shepherd.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“This tourist was traveling in the </font><font color="#000000">Middle East</font><font color="#000000">. He saw three shepherds whose flocks had intermingled while drinking water from a brook. One of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, ‘Manah. Manah. Manah.’ (Manah means, ‘follow me’ in Arabic.) Immediately his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Then one of the two remaining shepherds called out, ‘Manah. Manah.’ and his sheep left the common flock to follow him. The traveler then said to the third shepherd, ‘I would like to try that. Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep to follow me.’</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, ‘Manah. Manah.’ The sheep did not respond to the stranger's voice. Not one of them moved toward him. ‘Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?’ The traveler asked.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">‘Oh yes,’ the shepherd replied, ‘sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone.’” (John M. Braaten, </font><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><font color="#000000">The Greatest Wonder of All</font></i><font color="#000000">)</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></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">The answer to the question: “Do you qualify?” depends on you.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Who are you listening to?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">You know, we live in a sick, polluted culture of violence, greed, selfishness, and misuse of God’s precious gift of sex.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">American culture’s chief value can be summed up in four words: “It’s all about me!”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Have you been brainwashed by American culture’s values, or are you true to Jesus values?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Which shepherd do you follow?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Look at your actions- don’t bother to listen to your words, as you decide.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I’m about to meddle.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you courageously speak God’s truth to help a victim, or do you remain silent- afraid to be called a snitch.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Are you completely honest, or do you take what is not yours if you can get away with it?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you keep your promises- even if you don’t feel like it, or do you make excuses?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you help only yourself or those in your family, or do you lend a hand to anyone who needs it?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Are you loyal to your boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, fiancé, wife; or do you have affairs behind their back?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you come to church every Sunday, or only when it’s not too inconvenient?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you cheat to win and/or get good grades, or are you a person of honor?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you act like a devil behind the wheel, but then like a Christian in church, or do you respect others- even when no one knows who you are?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Do you follow your peers, or do you think for yourself?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">How do you act when you’re really angry or frustrated?</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">I can hear you now- “Oh, Rev. Judy!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">You don’t understand!”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If you’re thinking this, you need to know- I DO understand!</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I understand following Jesus as your shepherd requires love for God, dedication, and self-sacrifice.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The devil’s way starts out as the easy way.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">There’s an old thought for the week from some years ago that fits here: “How do you want to spend eternity- smoking or non-smoking?”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I intend to follow Jesus and not our sick culture; and I intend to attain God’s promises.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">What about you?</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Amen.</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"></font></u></a><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u><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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