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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 <propertalk.topic@ecunet.org><br>
Sent: Sat, Sep 15, 2018 8:02 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 19B: “Words and Toothpaste”<br>
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<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear
Friends,</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Words and Toothpaste” or “Take Up Your Cross and
Follow Jesus” and deals with all the lessons.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Here it is: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Do you remember the
story of the Sunday school teacher who wanted to be sure her little
kindergarten students really understood that Jesus was inside them, especially
after they had received Holy Communion?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>She
asked the children, “Where is Jesus?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One
replied, “In heaven.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Wonderful, said
the teacher, but that wasn’t exactly the answer she wanted so she asked again,
“Where is Jesus?”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“In my heart,”
answered a sweet little girl.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All this
time, little Johnny was frantically waving his hand.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Knowing better, the teacher called on
him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Where is Jesus, Johnny?” she
asked.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“In our bathroom!” answered
Johnny.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“In your bathroom?!” asked the
teacher.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Johnny, why in the world would
you say that Jesus is in your bathroom?”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>“That’s easy,” Johnny replied.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Every
morning when my big sister gets in the bathroom to do her hair and locks the
door, my father yells- “Good Lord!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are
you still in there?”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well, Jesus didn’t
ask where he was in our gospel lesson this morning.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He asked who he was.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As you recall, Jesus started by “testing the
waters” so to speak.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He asked his
disciples who everyone was saying he was.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>After the expected answers of “Elijah” and “John the Baptist” and maybe
one of the other prophets, Jesus turned the question on them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He got right down and personal by asking the
hard question- “Whom do YOU think I am?”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Good question- not just for them, but for us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Peter answered with amazing insight that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Jesus must have been encouraged, because he began to pour out his heart
and tell his beloved disciples how his calling was to suffer, be executed on a
cross, die, and then rise again on the third day.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Peter must have thought Jesus had lost it,
because he pulled him aside and basically told him to “get himself together and
not talk that way.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s when Jesus
told Peter to “Get thee behind me, Satan!”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Jesus went on to say that he was not the only one who would suffer, but
that all of his disciples were expected to “deny themselves and take up their
cross” and follow him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Just a reminder- I’m
sure you remember the difference between a cross and an affliction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An affliction is something (like my diabetes)
that is annoying, frustrating- but something over which I have no control.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A cross, on the other hand, is chosen.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, if for you, like Peter, Jesus is truly
your Lord as well as your Savior, how are you doing?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you obeying him by denying yourself and
taking up your cross, or do you tend to usually take the easy way?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you “put yourself out” for the church and
other people?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you make sacrificial
choices, or do you tend to choose only what you want to do, looking out for
number one?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you help whoever needs
it, or do you help only your family?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If
you find your choices are mostly for yourself and your family, Jesus says you are
missing out on real life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s what he
means when he says, “If you want to save your life, you will destroy it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But if you give up your life for me and for
the good news, you will save it” (Mark 8:35).</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">The Bible lessons for
today focus on one kind of cross Jesus expects us to bear, and you can guess
what it is by checking out the James lesson.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>James (possibly Jesus’ little brother) reminds us how dangerous an
out-of-control tongue is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Stop and think
how many lives have been damaged, and sometimes destroyed, by someone who “lets
it all hang out” and tells another person exactly what they think.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Often we do this trying to “help” the other
person (in other words to “teach” them a lesson), but what does James say about
teachers in today’s epistle (James 3:1)?<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>“My friends, we should not all try to become teachers. In fact, teachers
will be judged more strictly than others.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>And Jesus himself reminds us that we’d better take care of our own
problems before we presume to tell others what they should do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He tells us not to bother trying to take the
little speck out our neighbor’s eye when we have a huge log in our own eye
(Matthew 7:1-5).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you notice the
wisdom in the thought for the week?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“The
fastest horse cannot catch a word spoken in anger (Chinese proverb).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You know that’s true!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’ve got a question for you: what’s the same
about this tube of toothpaste and a bunch of words?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Squirt some toothpaste on a piece of paper
and show it.)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you see this toothpaste?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now, do you see this dollar bill?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This dollar bill goes to anyone who can put
the toothpaste back into the tube.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My
dollar is safe, isn’t it!?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If you think
it’s hard to get toothpaste back into the tube, try forcing words back into
your mouth after you’ve said something stupid or mean!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Who here hasn’t at some time said something
when you were mad, then wished with all your heart you could take it back, but (just
like the toothpaste) those words were out for all to hear?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Relationships have been destroyed, family feuds
started, jobs lost, fights, even murders and suicides- all due to what comes
out of our mouths in anger.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So maybe the
cross our Lord is asking you to carry is to learn to control your mouth and use
it for God’s glory instead of using it to spread the devil’s kingdom.</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">No one ever said being
a Christian is easy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It IS fulfilling,
exciting, a wonderful way to live, full of hope because we know where we’re
spending eternity; but not easy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’m
going to close with a story of a man who’d gotten a ticket for speeding, even
though he was sure he had been going the legal limit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because this man knew he was innocent, he decided
to contest his ticket even though all his friends said contesting it was
useless.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As he walked into the courtroom
and sat down, he saw a woman already before the judge trying to talk her way
out of a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“But your honor,” said the lady.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Before she could even finish her sentence,
the judge boomed- “Guilty!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’m fining
you $50 and costs!”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Jerk!” exclaimed
the woman under her breath.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“I heard
that!” said the judge.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“That’ll be an
extra $50.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The next person before the
judge was a man who had gone through a yellow light.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Without even giving him a chance to speak, the
judge proclaimed- “Guilty!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’m fining
you $100 and costs!”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Bozo!” exclaimed
the man softly- hoping the judge would not hear.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“I heard that!” said the judge.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“That’ll be an extra $100.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At that point, our friend who had just come
in started leafing through his wallet.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“What
are you doing?” the judge asked.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Just
checking, your honor. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I want to see if I
have enough money to tell you what I think of you.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></font></font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">My friends, telling
that judge off was going to be expensive, and that’s where the tie-in is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Living for Jesus is too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May God bless all of us as we daily do our
best to deny ourselves, sacrifice for others, and take up our cross and follow
our blessed Lord.</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3"><font color="#000000">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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/"><u><font color="#0000ff"></font></u></a><u><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u></font><font color="#000000" size="3">
.</font></font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Blessed
preaching,</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Judy
Boli</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">St.
Paul's Episcopal Church</font></div>
<div style="margin: 16px 0px; line-height: normal;"><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Saginaw,
Michigan</font></div>
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