<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body><div>Forwarded Part 2: </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="composer_signature"><div style="font-size:85%;color:#575757" dir="auto">Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device</div></div><div><br></div><div style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><!-- originalMessage --><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: Judy <judy_boli@ecunet.org> </div><div>Date: 1/27/17 10:59 AM (GMT-10:00) </div><div>To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org> </div><div>Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Epiphany 4A </div><div><br></div></div><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 “God’s Way to
Happiness” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 5:1-12).<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"> (Part 2)</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">6: “God blesses those people who want to obey
him more than to eat or drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will
be given what they want!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the
beatitude that really can get to many of us, because we really like to
eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anybody else like that- you can
tell what time it is by what our stomach is saying?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God needs to come even before food and
drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t be a “convenience
Christian”- someone who comes to church if it isn’t too hot, too cold, too
early, too late, too inconvenient because they need to cook, they were up late
and need to sleep, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put God first if
you truly want to be happy.</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">7: “God blesses those people who are
merciful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will be treated with
mercy!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s “what goes around comes
around.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t expect God to forgive you
if you refuse to forgive your enemy</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">8: “God blesses those people whose hearts are
pure. They will see him!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s the opposite
of pure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think in terms of food?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The opposite of pure is poisoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What poisons the human heart?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bitterness, anger, jealousy- all those
negatives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we realize this, it’s
easy to see why a poisoned heart can’t see God- they’d never recognize him- not
in a neighbor, not in the Bible or in Holy Communion, not even in a
miracle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d be too busy criticizing the neighbor,
the Bible, the church service, and they’d think the miracle was an accident!</font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman">9: “God blesses those people who make
peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will be called his
children!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing to say here- love (in
other words- want what’s best for) your enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></font></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">10: “God blesses those people who are treated
badly for doing right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They belong to
the kingdom of heaven.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alexander
Hamilton (one of our country’s founding patriots) said: “Those who stand for
nothing will fall for anything.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
know what’s right- live it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing so may
not be easy, may not make you popular, but you’ll have a clear conscience;
you’ll be able to sleep at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have
the courage to stand up for what you know is right.</font></span></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"> </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">If
you do all these things, what’s in it for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Day by day, a better life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
closing, listen to the words Mahatma Gandhi (one of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s mentors):</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">“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become
your words.</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 size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep your words
positive because your words become your behaviors.</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 size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep your behaviors
positive because your behaviors become your habits.</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 size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep your habits
positive because your habits become your values.</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 size="3"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep your values
positive because your values become your destiny.”</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>
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