<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body ><div>Forwarded:</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-size:8px;color:#575757">From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.</div></div><br><br>-------- Original message --------<br>From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org> <br>Date:09/03/2016 9:06 PM (GMT-06:00) <br>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> <br>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 18C <br><br><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Choose Life” or “Are
You a Thermometer or a Thermostat?” and deals with all the lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it is: </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">If you
knew today was the last day you would ever see your loved ones again, and if
they were all gathered around you, listening for your advice, you can imagine
that the ideas you shared would be your most important thoughts, from the
bottom of your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well this was the
situation with Moses and the children of Israel in our Old Testament Bible
reading this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard Moses’
last words to the children of Israel,
those beloved (and frustrating) people he had led from Egypt through
the desert for forty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
remembered some of their terrible, self-destructive choices- worshipping the
golden calf when they got tired of waiting for him to come down the mountain
with the Ten Commandments, complaining about God, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worst was- they never seemed to learn
from their mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sinned,
suffered the consequences, and turned right around and committed the same sin
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is probably why he implores
his beloved people to “Choose life,” and this is the message that comes down to
us through the ages from the Bible readings- CHOOSE LIFE!</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Choose life- get your priorities right- God
first.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, Jesus said, “I am
the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
today’s gospel he spells out how to live life to its fullest- by getting our
priorities right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus reminds us to
put God first- not family, not possessions, not even self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you think about it, his advice makes
sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we put ourselves or anything
that we consider “ours” first, it’s so easy to be possessed by those things-
protecting them, focusing too narrowly on them, making them better than anyone
else’s “stuff,” that they will own us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You have seen the results when parents put their children above God, so
they don’t allow others in authority to discipline them- after all, they are
“mine.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All too often the world
disciplines their beloved children when they are grown much more harshly than
neighbors, teachers, principals, etc. ever would have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Popularity, possessions, honor, family, even
our own selves are wonderful gifts from God, when thankfully accepted in that
way, but they make terrible idols- terrible masters.</font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Choose life- think for yourself.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember the Psalm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t follow the evil advice of other people-
that’s the contribution of today’s Psalm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wisely reminds us that, “Most Christians are
thermometers that record or register the temperature of majority opinion,
rather than thermostats that transform and regulate the temperature of
society.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t make any difference
what anyone else thinks or does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
know what’s right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it loving God and
putting God first?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it loving your
neighbor and doing what needs to be done to help him or her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t be a thermometer and follow peer
pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be a thermostat, live Jesus’
values, and affect peer values.</font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Choose life- don’t be paralyzed by your present circumstances.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many people let sickness, poverty, misuse
by other people, the death of a loved one, age, etc. give them a depressed or
angry attitude, thus making them powerless for the Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St.
Paul was in prison when he had to figure out how to
help the runaway slave, Onesimus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sounded like a hopeless situation- but God doesn’t even know the meaning of
“hopeless” and neither should we.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
know the poem about the donut and the hole: </font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">As you go through life you will have no cares</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">If you watch the lines and not the squares.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">As you go through life, make this your goal</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 0.5in; line-height: normal; mso-add-space: auto;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Watch the donut, and not the hole.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">So, don’t look at the
hole- look at the donut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t look at
what you can’t do- figure a way to do what you can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m telling you this story with
permission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some years ago, our dear
sister, Ms. Ellen Williams, had to tell her beloved adult son Thomas that he
probably wasn’t going to get better from his cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thomas’ answer- “That’s all right,
mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I intend to live until I die,”
and he did!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His friends would come by
for him in their car, and he and his medical equipment would get in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His advice is good for all of us- don’t focus
at what you can’t do, do what you can, and live until you die.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Choose life- don’t be paralyzed by your
past.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the epistle, Onesimus
started out as a slave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he escaped,
it seems very probable that he also stole from his master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he had to face that same master, but this
time with a letter from Paul commending him as a brother in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How easy it would have been to keep
running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Onesimus did not let this
difficult past diminish his future, and there is a good chance this runaway
slave ended up as a first century bishop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember- to Jesus- it’s not where you’ve been that’s important, it’s
where you’re going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many people do
you know who let an embarrassing, sinful, frustrating, or unjust past interfere
with their future?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re still blaming
their mother for their problems while they’re in their thirties or forties or
beyond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use your past as a launching
pad, not a sinkhole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s an example
of a little boy who learned the hard way about the potential slavery of the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His name was Johnny; and he and
his sister were visiting their grandparents for the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While he was there, he received his first
slingshot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Johnny practiced in the
woods, but he could never hit his target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The
stone hit, and the duck fell dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
boy panicked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Desperately he hid the
dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sally had seen it all, but she said
nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch that day, Grandma
said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn't you, Johnny?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she whispered to him, “Remember the
duck!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Johnny did the dishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to
go fishing, Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make
supper."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sally smiled and said,
"That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again she whispered, "Remember the
duck."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Johnny stayed while Sally
went fishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After several days of
Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the
duck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I know, Johnny," she
said, giving him a hug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I was
standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wondered how long you would let
Sally make a slave of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Richard
Hoefler, “Will Daylight Come?”)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
let your past enslave your future.</font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">So-
CHOOSE LIFE- put God first, and everything else will fall into place.</font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">CHOOSE
LIFE- think for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">CHOOSE
LIFE- don’t be paralyzed by your present circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">CHOOSE
LIFE- don’t be paralyzed by your past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal; mso-mirror-indents: yes;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p 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></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>
<p></p>
-- <br>
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Propertalk" group.<br>
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to <a href="mailto:propertalk.topic+unsubscribe@ecunet.org">propertalk.topic+unsubscribe@ecunet.org</a>.<br>
</body>