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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: Fri, Mar 15, 2019 6:43 pm<br>
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 2CL “Who’s King (or Queen) of Your Hill?”<br>
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<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Dear Friends,</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Who’s (or What) Is
Your God?” or “Who’s King (or Queen) of Your Hill?” and is based on all the
lessons.<span> </span>Here it is: <span> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Did you hear the story of the man who died and had to
face St. Peter at the Pearly Gates?<span>
</span>Peter told him, “Before you meet with God, I thought I should tell you-
we've looked at your life, and you really didn't do anything particularly good
or bad. We're not at all sure what to do with you. Can you tell us anything you
did that can help us make a decision?”<span>
</span>The newly arrived soul thought for a moment and replied, “Yeah, once I
was driving along and came upon a woman who was being harassed by a group of bikers.
So I pulled over, got out my tire iron, and went up to the leader of the
bikers. He was a big, muscular, hairy guy with tattoos all over his body and a
ring pierced through his nose. Well, I tore the nose ring out of his nose, and
told him he and his gang had better stop bothering the woman or they would have
to deal with me!”<span> </span>“I'm impressed,” St.
Peter responded, “When did this happen?”<span>
</span>“About two minutes ago,” came the reply (JokesWareHouse.com Joke of the
Day).<span> </span>I hate to tell you, but beating up
a gang of bikers to save a poor defenseless lady isn’t really going to help
much getting you into heaven.<span> </span>Did you
hear St. Paul’s statement to the Philippians (3:18-19)?<span> </span>“I often warned you that many people are
living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn
you again that they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and brag
about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of
this world.”<span> </span>Another translation says,
“Their god is their belly!”<span> </span>My question
to you this morning is- who or what is your god?<span> </span>Do you remember the childhood game called
“King (or Queen) of the Hill?”<span> </span>Out of
everything you like and love in your life, who or what is “top dog?”<span> </span>Who or what is in competition to be lord of
your life?<span> </span>The answer to this question
is really important, because it determines the success of your present life as
well as your future destiny.<span> </span>Each of our
four Bible lessons today has a candidate for king/queen of your life- i.e. top
idol.</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Paul’s warning to the Philippians about the god of the
belly is a warning we should all take to heart, because he’s talking about
physical loves.<span> </span>Is there anyone else in
our congregation this morning who loves to eat?<span>
</span>Did you give some kind of food up for Lent and then find you’ve already
slipped?<span> </span>Be careful- who’s on the top of
the hill of your life- God or food?<span> </span>Now
before the rest of us start to feel superior, answer this.<span> </span>What about sleeping?<span> </span>Is there anyone who sometimes sleeps in on
Sunday in spite of the commandment that says, “Honor the Sabbath Day and keep
it holy”?<span> </span>Then there are the usual
addictions of nicotine, alcohol, money, sex, gambling, TV, houses, clothes,
cars, and who knows what else?<span> </span>If one of
these physical loves is moving up too high on the hill of your life, Lent is
the perfect time to knock it down to size.</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">In today’s Old Testament lesson, we hear Abraham
worrying about life in general.<span> </span>He still
isn’t sure about the land God has promised him and he still doesn’t have a son to
inherit this land he’s supposed to inherit.<span>
</span>Maybe worry and emotional negatives are struggling to be King or Queen
of your life.<span> </span>Learn from Abraham- give
your worries to God.<span> </span>If negative
thoughts persist, don’t be too proud to talk to me or your doctor or a
counselor. Whatever you do, don’t let emotional problems ruin your life.</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The Psalm reminds us of another unlikely King or Queen
of our life- interpersonal resentments.<span>
</span>How many adults do you know who are still blaming their parents for
what’s happening in their lives right now?<span>
</span>Don’t let resentments and bitterness rule your life.<span> </span>Give them to God.<span> </span>Forgive your enemies and claim freedom in
Christ.</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Finally- in today’s Gospel (Luke 13:31-35), we hear
how some of the Pharisees were warning Jesus about King Herod and we wonder
about their motives.<span> </span>It occurs that
perhaps they really liked Jesus but were just too easily influenced by peer
pressure to outwardly follow Him.<span> </span>Remember,
Nicodemus (who was a Pharisee) came to Jesus by night.<span> </span>Do your friends rule your life?<span> </span>Is what they think more important to you than
what God thinks?</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">May God bless us as we reclaim the top of the hill of
our lives for Jesus.</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">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: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a> .</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Blessed preaching,</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Judy Boli</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">St. Paul's Episcopal Church</span></div>
<div style="line-height:normal;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Saginaw, Michigan</span></div>
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