tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34245335984947166922024-03-13T01:09:56.649-07:00...And The Lion's DenDanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-80324310978733613032017-03-27T11:57:00.000-07:002017-03-27T11:57:36.345-07:00Who sinned: this man or his parents? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmFIBvAIdn96rZlTdC6IRH3ON-o2m-TvK4qhy1F2HkcVVBSiQS3sls6nIPQtfuI-paOG6uMRYNFknuK4BnzIsWmpu2yTygxMfWkFVBMhSufcePc5crjGSTZ4XpY9IECpeu4vHHTCtYOYz/s1600/Jesus-heals-a-blind-man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnmFIBvAIdn96rZlTdC6IRH3ON-o2m-TvK4qhy1F2HkcVVBSiQS3sls6nIPQtfuI-paOG6uMRYNFknuK4BnzIsWmpu2yTygxMfWkFVBMhSufcePc5crjGSTZ4XpY9IECpeu4vHHTCtYOYz/s320/Jesus-heals-a-blind-man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grace and Peace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rabbi, who sinned this
man or his parents?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">There was a man born
blind</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In two small verses, John tells us how Jesus took dust, spat on it, and put this on his eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s 2 verses. The
other 38 verses of this story are a trial to determine whose sin is most
present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The miracle takes up
this much type.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The inquisition of sin
takes up the rest.</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It makes you wonder if
this gospel is the prototype for our newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This much good news</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
this much of crime, revenge, and problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let this be a note- if
your gospel, the one you write every day has this much good news, and this much
bad news, you need a new editor!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we editorialize
this text together, let us take notice that the miracle is considered an
insignificant subject for discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everyone wants to know
who sinned- this man or his parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As in, he is blind,
therefore someone must have done something to make God angry and strike him
blind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And, since he was born
that way, either his parents made God angry or the boy somehow ticked off the
man upstairs while still in his mother’s womb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And what gets to me is
who asks this question- the disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who sinned? Them or
him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now the pastor in me
wants to tell you that your children cannot suffer from your sins. Your sins
are wiped clean through the blood of the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world. You are forgiven and that is that. Your sins do not transfer to your
next of kin, period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the preacher in me
can’t stop there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your sins are
forgiven, but not </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">forgotten on
this earth. Our children inherit or sins and will have to pay for them.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Biologists have
discovered that changes in behavior in our lifetime works on our genetic code
and can affect the DNA that we pass along to our children. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">That means if we are
angry or addicted it changes the owner’s manual in our body that gets passed
along to our children’s children. We have abused our bodies and pushed them
over the limit of what is healthy.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other than ourselves,
we give our children this Earth. Except our sins of greed and selfishness have
made the planet arguably worse than when we got here. We’ve used up a lot of natural
resources. We’ve made the air and water quality harder to sustain life. We’ve
cut down the rainforest to raise more cattle for our inflated diets. And
reports are coming out now that we waste over half of the food we produce. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which is curious since over half the world goes hungry. We’ve taken the oil,
diamonds and gold and killed each other over it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’ve used nuclear
bombs other warfare that has harmed the land and the people in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other than ourselves,
and the world we inherited, we leave them our debts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States">Which comes with aprice tag for our children to the tune of 19.8 trillion which is 108% of theGross Domestic Product.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Think let’s imagine that you make 100k a year, imagine that you owe 108k, and growing
every year. The government- which really means us and our children- have
a rising debt so much that every now and then we have to vote to borrow more
money to pay the bills of the money we already owe. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">Somebody call Dave Ramsey.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our kids are on the
hook for our spending. For the sins of their parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s a good thing we
didn’t leave them anything else, like racism, sexism, classism, distrust of
leadership, insolvent social security, homophobia, Islamaphobia, rising sea
levels, a shrinking church, or reality television, because that would be too much if we left those things behind as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh wait, we left them
all that too?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shoot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They might not thank
us for what we have bequeathed them. They might not want to pay for the sins of
previous generations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>But they will. Because
of the sins of their parents, they will pay.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So today we have a
message that isn’t one thing or the other. We might have to sit in the
uncomfortable place of both/and. Are sins have been forgiven. We have been
saved. But who will save our children?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These questions keep
Ashley and Me up at night sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We wanted to bring our
children into a world full of possibility and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not a world full of
sin, selfishness, and social anxiety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>But you can’t have one
without the other, can you? </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I find myself more and
more talking to our confirmation students about how the world desperately needs
them to be faith leaders, to be world formers, to be equality fighters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ultimately, the
story of the man born blind isn’t about the miracle, but the conversation about
sin, where the word ‘sin’ shows up 8 times in these 40 verses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The question the boy’s
sin, the parent’s sin, Jesus sin for healing on the Sabbath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And as goes the nature
of sin, each character- including the boy’s parents- point the finger at the
next character in a sort of witch-hunt for the sinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He did it- ask him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s hard to imagine
that anyone thinks a person is born blind because of sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet, doesn’t Jesus say
if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, for it is better to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into “Hell”, or if your
right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, so that your whole body doesn’t burn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How many of us could
raise our right hand- raise it high if you’ve not sinned with it. Yeah, that's what I thought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does God really want us to lose our eyes and hands because of our sins? Does God want us to pay?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or maybe, what God
wants most, <b>if for us to become aware of
our sin.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe God’s purpose
for that statement regarding our eyes, is so we open them to see the beauty and
miracle of what God has done in this world. That we find the gospel in the two
verses, in the newspaper, in our schools, and in our children. Maybe the point
of the miracle is that those who were blind can now see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And maybe God’s
purpose for the statement regarding our hands, is not to cut them off, but to
open them. To extend a hand up to those in need. To greet our enemies and make
peace with them. To hold those who need to be held and pat on the back those
who need encouragement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We should not be
surprised by the presence of sin in our world. And nor should we ignore it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first story of
Adam and Eve is one where God created them out of clay. He breathed into them
and they became animated, in his image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the problem with
being mortal is worshipping mortality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trusting in ourselves
instead of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we use up the world’s resources at an alarming rate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our mortality
when we take what is ours with little thought to who we took it from<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we’d rather go to war than live on less<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we give our children problems because we are too busy or proud
to solve them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we are willing to waste the food that fall from our table while
others deal with empty bellies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we make weapons to destroy the planet and threaten others to do
the same<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship our
mortality when we pass the buck, point the finger, blame the next person for
sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It has never been
God’s plan for us to worship our mortal life. The slivers of gospel that we
receive give us a hope that does not disappoint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I met probably the
coolest Lutheran pastor I’ll ever meet this last week in California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He tan, preaches at
the beaches, and teaches surf camp, all in San Diego. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pastor Dave told me
that he has seen an uptick in young adults from the area that show up for Ash
Wednesday for the past few years. He says he thinks it is because people like
to remember that their lives are but an instant, and then we go back to dust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it should come to
no surprise then, that Jesus uses mud, dust mixed with water, to heal the man,
and then sends him on his way, a common scene in John for someone who has been
given new life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus sends away the
blind man the same what he did the Woman at the Well, with fire in their hearts
and hope in their eyes. He sends them with the promise of Eternal life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal life
when we give just as easily as we receive <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal
life when we consider the consequences of our actions and change our behavior <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal
life when we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal life
when we take the long road, the high road, the road less traveled <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal
life when we stand up for the needs of others instead of standing on our
foolish pride<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal
life when we acknowledge God’s great abundance instead of our lie of scarcity <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal life when we take two lines
of text and let the miracle make the headline. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We worship eternal
life when we take God’s work in our world seriously, God’ forgiveness
seriously, when we take God seriously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We must remember that
we are dust, we started out as dust, and without God’s breath, we are nothing
but dust. And to dust we shall return.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sisters and brothers.
Our world desperately needs you to care about the sins of our time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We cannot continue to
walk in darkness when we have seen a great light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God has done great
things for us that we need to pass on to our children and our children’s
children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let us pass on the faith, not just our fears.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rather than asking who
else sinned, this man or his parents, let us confess our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let us walk and talk
in the promise of eternal life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don’t know what the
future holds, but I do know that only God can help us deal with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tis grace that brought us safe this far, and
grace will lead us home. </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-43413101236326148812016-11-07T13:39:00.003-08:002016-11-07T13:39:34.069-08:00New Children's Christmas Play, "On this Dirt" <div class="WordSection1">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On This Dirt<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A New-Age Christmas
Program<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Rev. Daniel Pugh Jr<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Setting: The land of
Bethlehem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="WordSection2">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: tour guide <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: tour guide <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah: Wise owner of
the land <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14 kings <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Samuel <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesse <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7 sons <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">David <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sheep <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angel <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joseph <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inkeeper <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shepherds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Travelers,
tourists and parents who are here to take video of their adorable children that
you will never watch again, everyone gather around. Welcome to Bethlehem. My
name Luke and I am an official tour guide to this dirt. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: I thought we
agreed to not call ourselves 'official'.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: No, I agreed
that you are not official. I tell an orderly account of the facts, which makes
me official. You, Matthew, tell the story all wrong. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: There
are lots of people who prefer my version of this dirt better. Ever
heard of Godspell? If you get to be the official tour guide of this dirt,
then I'll ask that you kindly refer to me as Saint Matthew, the expert. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Yeah, like anybody
is ever going to call you a saint for what you stole from Mark. Saint Matthew,
patron saint of plagiarism.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: How about we
let these people decide. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Decide
what? </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: Decide whose
story is better. My story about Kings, family, royalty, and attempted
murder. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Or my story,
about underdogs, Angels, shepherds and a star so bright</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: It all
started with-</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: It all started
with-</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew and Luke: HEY!</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah: What is going
on here? What are you two squabbling about on MY dirt?</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: I’m sorry,
Mr. Isaiah, we didn’t mean to disturb you, we are grateful that you let us
bring tours to your dirt. We were just fighting because we were both giving a
tour at the same time.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah: Well, it’s
fine, kids, I’m not in it for the profit. Get it? Isaiah, not in it for the
profit?</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke and Matthew stare
at each other.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah: You’re too
young. So, both of you are trying to tell the same story, but differently, is
that what I understand? Well, how’s this. I happen to know a lot about the
story of this dirt. It is, after all, my family’s dirt and I was writing about
this dirt for 300 years before you two were born. And I predicted what would
happen. So you, Matthew, you have a good Jewish name, I’ll let you go first.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: Well, the
story of this dirt begins with Abraham. Abraham begat Issac, and Isaac begat
Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers. Judah begat Perez.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: How long is this
going to take?</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: The story
takes 28 generations. (14 kids line up wearing hats, then switch to crowns.)14
generations from Abraham to David, and 14 from David to Jesus.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Boring! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: These are
leaders and Kings, and it all happened here.. Abraham lived on this dirt and
Issac and David and Joseph and Mary. You see, Jesus was born here, too,
and he descended from Kings….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sing “What Child is This” </span>(2 verses)</b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: Thanks for the
history lesson, Professor. Now here’s a story about David that you left out. David
started out with humble beginnings. Before he was a king he was a runt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew: A runt? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: A runt, the
youngest of 8 sons of Jesse. One day the prophet Samuel came by Jesse’s house
to find the next King. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah: I know that
prophet Samuel, great guy. We play racketball together on Thursdays. He is a
good honest man who listens to God’s voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: So Samuel comes
to visit Jesse because God told him to. And Jesse lines up his oldest 7 sons (7
kids line up in order of height, Jesse stands proudly by him. Samuel checks
them out) Samuel examined each one and determined that God was not calling any
of them. Samuel asks Jesse- Do you have any more sons? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Samuel: Jesse, do you
have any more sons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: And Jesse says,
not really. I have my son David, but he is outside with the sheep. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesse: Not really, I
have my son David, but he is outside with the sheep. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(David stands petting
someone dressed as a sheep) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke: He is the
smallest of my sons and he smells. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesse: He is the
smallest of my sons and he smells. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matthew: Objection, King David did not smell. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Isaiah: If the boy slept with the sheep, he probably
smelled. I’ll allow it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luke: And Samuel called the boy over (David leaves the sheep
and goes over to Samuel) and looked him up and down. Then he took out his oil
and anointed the boy. And he said, the Lord expects great things from you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Samuel: The Lord expects great things from you! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luke: And that story took place on this same dirt. You see,
Mary and Joseph had to come back to this place because there was a census. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matthew: A census? What is that? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luke: A census is when all the people are counted from where
they are from. So everyone had to go back to their home town, including Joseph
and Mary. And their son, Jesus, was a decendent of David, the shepherd, so it
was actually perfect that he was born on the same dirt. It’s like the family
tree was underground and under this dirt it lie dormant. But some day, the
prophesy said that a new branch shall come out of the roots of Jesse. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matthew: You’re making that up. Who said that? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: I SAID THAT! A shoot
shall come out from the stock of Jesse,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and a branch shall grow out of
his roots. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
the spirit of wisdom and
understanding,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
the spirit of counsel and
might,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
the spirit of knowledge and
the fear of the Lord. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The young girl will give birth and he will be called, Emmanuel, God
with us. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sing: “O COME, O COME, Emmanuel.”
(2 verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: You said all that? You mean, you predicted that a messiah
would come to save us? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: You didn’t think yours is the only story of this dirt, did you?
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: I guess I hadn’t thought about it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: We Jews have been telling stories of this dirt for over a
thousand years. God has been faithful to our people Israel even though we
didn’t always listen to him or his messengers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: Like angels? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: Yes, like his angels.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: So it’s my turn. When Mary and Joseph got to this dirt, an
Angel came to visit Joseph (An angel and Joseph come on stage, joseph sits in
the chair, the angel behind him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: What? The angel came to
Mary, not Joseph. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: You’re crazy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: Children, children, if it’s Gabriel we’re talking about, he
probably visited both. He leaves no stone unturned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: It was Gabriel! How did you know? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: He is the one who was prophesied to herald in the Messiah, and
the one who will declare that the end of the world. Let me ask you this, did he
tell you to fear not? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: Yes, like every time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: That’s because Daniel prophesied that he would show up at the
end of the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: Let me guess, Daniel is another prophet like you and Samuel? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: Yes. Great guy, Daniel. We play in a band together on Fridays.
He can really blow that horn.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: So back to my story. Joseph was confused because he and Mary
weren’t married and he didn’t know if he was ready to be a dad. But the Angel said
to Joseph- You will be a great dad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: You will be a great dad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: And he explained that his son will be the King of Kings, just
like his ancestor, KING David. And when Jesus was born, the angels sang, “Glory
to the Newborn King” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sing “HARK, THE HEROLD ANGELS
SING” (2 verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: I am beginning to see that our stories are very similar, but told
a different way. In my version of the story the angel doesn’t go to Joseph,
because the story is really about Mary. (Joseph gets out of the chair and Mary
sits down) And the angel Gabriel comes to tell her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: You shall bear a child, and his name shall be Jesus, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: You shall bear a child, and his name shall be Jeuss. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: And he will be called the son of the Most High.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: And he will be called the son of the Most High. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: And Mary wondered, How can this be? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mary: How can this be? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: And the Angel said- The spirit of the Lord is upon you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: The spirit of the Lord is upon you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: That sounds familiar. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: Have you heard that before?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: I should think so. I wrote it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: I had no idea! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: It’s OK, it’s flattering. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: And just like the angel
foretold, Mary did have a baby boy and named him Jesus. And the angels began
singing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sing “Angels we have heard on
High” (2 verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: So, after the prophesy, Mary and Joseph headed to Bethlehem, they
need a place to sleep. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(Mary and Joseph not on the door and the innkeeper answers) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Joseph asks- Is there any room in the Inn? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Joseph: Is there any room in the inn? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(Innkeeper shakes head, points to a barn.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: But there was no room. So they settle into a barn, where the
animials sleep, because the animals were out in the fields, with the shepherds.
And while they were there, it came time for Mary to give birth. And on that
night, a star appeared over the stable where the baby was born. And guess who
saw it- the shepherds!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: SHEPHERDS! You’re going to let smelly old shepherds into the
story of the birth of a king! That night a star appeared so bright that KINGS
saw it from a long way off and it took two years for them to get there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: Shepherds saw the star because David was a shepherd. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: David was a king! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: Children, children. Why do you insist on fighting? Can’t both
be there. In a 100 years, you watch, no one will care that Luke talks about
shepherds and Matthew talks about Kings. I bet in a 100 years, people will
forget which is which and just have a story of all of them together. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: All of them together? Kings and shepherds? No way!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: That will never happen, Isaiah. People won’t want to just make up
another story of Christmas, like it’s a pageant. They will always remember who
wrote what. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: This is coming from two children who have been using my words
in their stories without even knowing it! Children, it is ok if people put your
stories together sometimes. They are both good stories. Now, let me hear about
the shepherds from you, Luke, and then you, Matthew, can tell me about Kings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: So the Shepherds are watching their flock by night (Shepherds,
sheep, and angel take the stage opposite Mary and Joseph) when the angel
Gabriel comes to them. And when they see him, and the glory of the Lord shines
around them, and they are terrified. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shepherds: We are Terrified!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: But the angel Gabriel says- Fear not!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: FEAR NOT!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: For I bring you good tidings of great joy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: For I bring you good tidings of great joy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: For unto you, in the city of David, a savior is born, who is
Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you, you will find the baby wrapped in
strips of cloth and lying in a manger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angel: For unto you- what he said! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luke: So the shepherds took
their sheep and went to see the baby, and sure enough, they found him in a
manger, which reminds us that Jesus will grow up to feed people by the
thousands, and his last supper will show us the way of communion, which reminds
us that our sins are forgiven. And after the shepherds meet the baby they go
out telling everyone- that Jesus Christ is born. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sing “Go tell it on the
mountain” (2 verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isaiah: That is a good story about this dirt, from David on down to
Mary, and Gabriel, and the Shepherds. Thank you, Luke, for telling it. You are
an excellent tour guide. Now Matthew, you have been waiting patiently. Tell me
about the kings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: I’d be happy to. So there was an evil king named Herod, and he
wanted to hurt Jesus. So the three kings from the Orient came and followed the
star to Bethlehem, (the kings enter on the side opposite the shepherds and Mary
and Joseph) and they brought him gifts they had reserved for the king. They
said these are gifts for a king<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King 1: These are gifts for a king<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: We didn’t give them to Herod<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King 2: We didn’t give to Herod. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: You are the true king, the one who was prophesied. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King 3: You are the true king, the one who was prophesied. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matthew: We brought you gold <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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King 1: We brought you gold <o:p></o:p></div>
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Matthew: Frankincense<o:p></o:p></div>
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King 2: Frankincense<o:p></o:p></div>
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Matthew: And Myrrh <o:p></o:p></div>
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King 3: And Myrrh. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Matthew: Gold was a traditional gift for a king. Frankincense was for a
king to make his house smell nice, and myrrh was a gift that could be used as
medicine. All three gifts were the best gifts that could have been given for
that first Christmas. Gifts from kings to the King of Kings<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Sing “WE THREE KINGS” (2 verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Isaiah: Matthew, thank you for your story of this dirt- of the family
line from Abraham to King David to Jesus. You told the story of how the Kings
from far away came to this place, and how they went past the bad king Herod in
order to find their one, true king. So this Jesus, does he ever become king? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Matthew: Yes, but in a new way, he is still the king of us all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Isaiah: And does he ever become a shepherd? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Luke: Yes, but in a new way, he is the Good Shepherd of us all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Isaiah: Well, let us celebrate the stories of this dirt, and the God of
us all. I am excited to see what God will do next. You all who are here today,
on this tour, bear witness to God’s great and abundant mercy. Let us all search
in our own lives, for the one whom I have prophesied will come, <o:p></o:p></div>
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For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the kingdom will
be on his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And all God’s people say, AMEN! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Sing “JOY TO THE WORLD” (2
verses)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-48526305577978727212016-07-25T12:07:00.002-07:002016-07-26T11:04:08.318-07:00Teachers, Learning styles, and the Lord's Prayer <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">This is the unabridged version. <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/podcast/tenth-sunday-after-pentecost-4/">You can listen to the audio version </a>here. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">The gospel and other texts are </span><a href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/wp_print_all.aspx?lectionary_calendar_id=653&print_type=text&is_spanish=0" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">here</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">--------------------------------------------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our lord and savior Jesus Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">There is so much to be said about today's gospel regarding the Lord's prayer. It is, after all, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYv8F3EBsyfop0SwauI7rmSHtQ_6oSkiRT_fnIh49GjREVeXNyTJ4d93S43vH5Trc2TRx9BXyT-p7e7gsThIr4Bmc-zXDf9sjZ5TKmnHKbNVQU6N3ZFHi2isoMj9YUpXXtAwDNQQNANHAk/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYv8F3EBsyfop0SwauI7rmSHtQ_6oSkiRT_fnIh49GjREVeXNyTJ4d93S43vH5Trc2TRx9BXyT-p7e7gsThIr4Bmc-zXDf9sjZ5TKmnHKbNVQU6N3ZFHi2isoMj9YUpXXtAwDNQQNANHAk/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">the greatest teaching of all time taught by the greatest Teacher of all time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And we cannot take that lightly because there are so many great teachers in our world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">I've been thinking a lot about teachers this week. Great teachers that I have had, great teachers my children have had. I would venture to guess that many of us have chosen careers based on the advice of some good teachers who inspired is in a particular way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">I think about my children’s teachers to come, how in another month our sweet Thomas will enter kindergarten for the first time. Jacob is going into 3</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 30.6667px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">rd</span><span style="font-size: 26.6667px;"> grade and will continue to grow and be molded by great teachers whose impact will last much longer than a school year. Great teachers sow seeds that take a lifetime to develop. Which is why teachers never stop teaching. Even now in the middle of summer teachers minds are preparing new curriculum, want to make the learning experience as accessible and fun as possible. </span></sup></div>
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<sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 30.6667px;"><span style="font-size: 26.6667px;">And I think about Avery and I've already started praying for the teacher who has given her time to teach two-year-olds who have endless questions. </span></sup></div>
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<sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 26.6667px; line-height: 30.6667px;">In my prayer time regarding teachers, I think about their impossible task to </sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And I think about all teachers who balance trying to support individual growth and achievement with managing a class with twenty or thirty students at a time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">I don’t view going back to school as something to dread. No complaints here. School is good for my kids and they love it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Teachers work their tails off for us and for our children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Teachers come in all kinds, petagogys and styles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And it seems to me that when I think of the teachers I have had, they tend to teach in two fundamental ways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">There are some teachers who teach facts and systems. These teachers take the established methods of teaching and develop a syllabus to follow the best practices from over the years. These teachers tend to teach certain subjects that go easily with a straight-forward approach. Subjects so exact that the answers can be predicted and tested, and even published in the back of the book. They value order and rules of the trade and they have high expectations that others can work within the proven systems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">There there is another gaggle of teachers (what do you call a group of teachers? A flock? A hoard? I like gaggle!) who teach with a style full of creativity and critical thinking. Here, answers aren't given. What is expected is for the student to respond from their own self. These teachers a less inclined to apply established practices than they are to ask open-ended questions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">So, what does this have to do with the gospel text about the Lord's prayer? I'm glad that you asked! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">The Lord's prayer is taught to us, as I said, by the greatest teacher of all time. In fact, Jesus is called Teacher more than he is called anything else in the gospels. Even after he has died and risen he appears first to Mary Magdeline who doesn't know who he is. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYQ5x_bIRujo61GVS13LFJoM1D5l6jMMwaaMdn1UTRiscJXAyIgeiTB_tlUF0rqZRBh8zUubL2fBRxY_9C5HCgder5ViNAZCpdQ0O1qiuL5WxYc3p7sQ4QKYiwWI7U_I5F5wsmD0iSpF1/s1600/jesus-in-the-garden-with-mary-297x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYQ5x_bIRujo61GVS13LFJoM1D5l6jMMwaaMdn1UTRiscJXAyIgeiTB_tlUF0rqZRBh8zUubL2fBRxY_9C5HCgder5ViNAZCpdQ0O1qiuL5WxYc3p7sQ4QKYiwWI7U_I5F5wsmD0iSpF1/s1600/jesus-in-the-garden-with-mary-297x300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">But Jesus calls on her, his student, and says, "Mary" and she responds, "Rabboni" which means "Teacher" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Like all the best teachers, Jesus inspired others to learn from him and follow him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">So the Lord's prayer is taught to us in both Matthew and Luke, and both gospels teach it a bit differently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">In for the sake of transparency, those who study with me already know that I have an affinity for Luke's teaching style. Luke has Jesus teaching around food, more informal learning setting, but nonetheless powerful. Luke tells more parables than the other gospels combined. Parables, that, by the way, aren’t driving at one particular point, but are spoken in order to open your mind, not to close it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Matthew works within the established rules of Judaism and their practices, Jesus in Matthew talks a lot about Kosher laws and applying them to people- and there is a lot of talk about separating, which is a kosher law. Kosher is about keeping things separate. Milk and meat use separate containers. So Matthew talks about separating the wheat from the chaff and the sheep from the goats. It’s very rule based. For people who like rules and order, Matthew hits the nail on the head. Those rules are there for a reason. They have been refined over centuries and following the established best practices is the best way to a relationship with God.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjk0sLAofKcHbO5sjMV7IpJzCGEPc2UPi3Zbl8rUXHbhUgihgC5YCnuB7S2S5qKzo4VdmyU28QQGag1B1SON4Gzovjctx4b8bvRW89btC2gaRgev5Is3NLYUzxpnxPJ0QZZe0qF9Wwt_Z/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjk0sLAofKcHbO5sjMV7IpJzCGEPc2UPi3Zbl8rUXHbhUgihgC5YCnuB7S2S5qKzo4VdmyU28QQGag1B1SON4Gzovjctx4b8bvRW89btC2gaRgev5Is3NLYUzxpnxPJ0QZZe0qF9Wwt_Z/s1600/download.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">If that sounds like you, listen to what Jesus has to say about the Lord’s prayer in Matthew. He introduces it this way in Matthew 6- "Don’t heap up empty phrases like the Gentiles, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">When you pray, say, “Our father, who art in heaven.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Matthew seems to tell us to stick to the script. Don't make up your own long prayers. Stick to the rules and facts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Matthew seems to suggest that the disciples already know how to pray. It suggests that prayer is already part of their daily life- that as good Jews, they understand that prayer is simply a best practice for their lives. He doesn’t have to offer commentary to the rule-followers because they know how to follow the rules. Giving them directions about praying would be preaching to the choir. He even has to tell them that when they pray to do so in quiet, not on the streets to show others how prayerful you are. The disciples in Matthew are like those of you who read Christ in our Home as Pastor Trexler referenced last week with the Children’s message. If that works for you, then you probably don’t need a reminder to pray in this sermon. Keep the path that you are on. Plan your work and work your plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Yet I am sure that there are others who often don’t find comfort in a conversation or sermon about prayer. Some of you don’t sit down to balance your checkbook, let alone open the devotional book and sit down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">In Luke, the disciples start the conversation after watching their teacher pray. So they ask, "Lord, teach us to pray" And Jesus does. Then Jesus goes into a parable about a man who needs help and doesn't get it until he is persistent. Luke loves to tell parables because their meaning is more of the open-ended type of teaching style. Jesus tells more parables in Luke than the other gospels combined. By attaching a parable to the teaching of the Lord's prayer, followed by Ask, seek, knock, Jesus suggests that we pray with our hearts, not merely from a script. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">So, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">some people look at Jesus and see a teacher of rules and facts and others see tolerance</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;"> and ideals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And this is a good reminder to us that all people learn differently, and therefore we pray differently. And the Lord's prayer is perfectly suited for those who like the structure of an organized prayer- the greatest teaching of all time- and it also opens the mind to a bevy of deeper conversation and meditation for God's work through us, his children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">No matter which gospel you read, Jesus is a masterful teacher who seeks to inspire in his students a passion that is unparalleled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Soren Kierkegaard wrote a lot about God and was a student of theology. He agonized over whether or not God existed at all until he came to this conclusion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Part of the confusion, he says, is that there are two kinds of teachers, Socrates and Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Kierkegaard says Socrates wanted his students to focus on truths in the world. Which is to say, you were to focus on the teachings not the teacher. And when you study with Socrates you are meant to learn the subject being taught- whether it’s philosophy or math or 18th-century<sup></sup> British lit- the goal of the teaching is the subject.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">But then there are teachers like Jesus where the subject cannot be learned apart from the teacher. When you study Jesus, the ultimate goal is not to know some new </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">truth, such a new commandment to love one another or "Blessed are the poor" or 'The Good Samaritan" or The Prodigal Son', or 'Forgive them father for they know not what they do', the goal is to know Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">To study Jesus is to be known by Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;"><b>Jesus is the kind of teacher whose words tell the story of who he is and to follow him we do not just recite his words, we live as he lives.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">There have been countless others who have tried to paint Jesus as a great thinker like Socrates, whose sayings can be used as inspiration alongside Gandi or Mya Angelou. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 26.6667px; line-height: 30.6667px;">There are those like Thomas Jefferson, who is known for his Jeffersonian Bible, which was little more than the collection of things Jesus taught. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 26.6667px; line-height: 30.6667px;">But to study Jesus without following him is to miss Kierkegaard's point. <u>Because Jesus didn't just teach us to help- he taught us to pray.</u> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">So Matthew is right that we are not to pray empty words- we are supposed to mean them. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Jesus teaches us how to pray using these holy and glorious words that our lips may guide our hearts to be like the teacher, not just learn his subject.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 26.6667px; line-height: 30.6667px;">And let's admit it- a</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">t times, prayer is difficult.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Even for pastors, we get asked to pray for everything and sometimes the words just don’t come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">About a month ago I was having lunch with Bishop Smith and when I offered to pray before the meal he said, “O thank goodness, I love to listen to a prayer someone else gives once in a while”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Prayer takes time and concentration which are two things that our society isn’t too fond of. We run around pushing our bodies and minds and souls to their limit, and for all of that busyness, we rarely concentrate on anything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">One of the things I like about yoga is that I don’t have to sit still, but I can still meditate, that's my 21st adaptation to prayerful meditation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">I love the Lord's prayer so much that I teach it more than any other subject. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">For the past four years, I have taught it to my 7th-grade confirmation classes. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">when I teach confirmation. Each of my students hears me say that more than learning the words of the Lord’s prayer, the world needs them to live the words of the Lord’s prayer. The world needs them to submit to God’s kingdom, pray that it come to earth, t</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">he world needs them to forgive as they are forgiven, and to actively avoid temptation. The world needs them to pray the prayer that Jesus taught them to pray.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTzDKGwa_zq66blCKkzytx5PVoI3Jt8bh2cemIHm4qTJxfIFizPlOXf1h1EGLdAZPIAw0Xfw8CpxoqDo_aKwEsnhYDN1ZXwaGnbSkFtnVyXBCC-5A0apLoKVfQy52PsgZlukhrZwLYgUW/s1600/Child-Praying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTzDKGwa_zq66blCKkzytx5PVoI3Jt8bh2cemIHm4qTJxfIFizPlOXf1h1EGLdAZPIAw0Xfw8CpxoqDo_aKwEsnhYDN1ZXwaGnbSkFtnVyXBCC-5A0apLoKVfQy52PsgZlukhrZwLYgUW/s320/Child-Praying.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">My brother is an education who always reminds me that the best learning happens at home. Which is why e</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">very when we tuck the kids into bed we pray the Lord’s prayer, because greatest prayer ever written. We said it to Jacob every night until his little lips adopted the phrasing and cadence. Thomas learned it right after we moved to Winston-Salem, and as I laid with him on his bed in our old house I remember him starting the prayer, “other father, who art in heaven.” I have never corrected him because it's just too perfect. He is praying to his "other father" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Now Avery is learning it. She can say nearly the whole thing. She doesn’t know her whole name, but she knows who she is in the Lord’s prayer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">So for you, sisters and brothers. Some of you know how to pray and what works for you and I say keep up the good work. Others of you don’t make time to sit down and pray because you never sit down for anything. If that’s you, then let me say I understand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">Kierkegaard is right- Jesus cannot be separated from his teachings, so to pray as he teaches is to pray like he prays, and in it we are connected to Jesus the great teacher because by praying like him, we become like him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And because of him we no long address the prayer to some diety in the sky. When we pray like Jesus we say, “Our Father.” <i>Abba</i>. Our daddy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">To learn to speak like Jesus it to learn the ease at which we call his dad our dad. Or as Thomas says, “other Father”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And I know that the greatest modeling I can do is to teach my son about his "other father" in heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 30.6667px;">And watching your children say and live those words, is about all a dad can ask for. Amen. </span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-80464477363261289432016-06-15T12:00:00.001-07:002016-06-16T07:52:48.986-07:00"Our Dancing Has Turned to Mourning"<span style="font-size: large;">All I can think about is this quote from Lamentations. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllLibMK2g3QH29EvnnyRSL1PsynYpBWs-uWCnHnukF6NjFLQlSYXLt87xtjq-qWPc7y7QPP5hYyQ3EothYe61uySHb4qW-qsvnlXZCXXMr1VeBtmyJBLYegtD62z8nr_InNKogFOKu_c-/s1600/7cdaf6d0f5b49e27cf7124b6037950d2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllLibMK2g3QH29EvnnyRSL1PsynYpBWs-uWCnHnukF6NjFLQlSYXLt87xtjq-qWPc7y7QPP5hYyQ3EothYe61uySHb4qW-qsvnlXZCXXMr1VeBtmyJBLYegtD62z8nr_InNKogFOKu_c-/s640/7cdaf6d0f5b49e27cf7124b6037950d2.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Hundreds of men were dancing on </span><span style="font-size: large;">Saturday, June 11th, 2016, when terror struck. </span><span style="font-size: large;">One witness said at first he thought the sound of gunshots was part of the dance track.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/health/orlando-trauma-surgeons/index.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">But then there were just too many shots.</a> <span style="font-size: large;">Now Joy is gone from their hearts. Now their dancing has turned into mourning. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I don't have a bold new position on this issue. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Others have already parsed out issues related to identity, tribalism, weapons, and religion. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Others have rebuffed the prayers of religious communities as shallow talk. And maybe it is. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">So I look for another way to say that I am affected by you, that something connects us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, on behalf of my brothers and sisters whose dancing has turned to mourning, I took time to read Lamentations: </span><br />
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Streams of tears<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-20403BS" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-20403BS" title="See cross-reference BS">BS</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> flow from my eyes</div>
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<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-3-48" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">because my people are destroyed.</span></span></div>
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My eyes will flow unceasingly,</div>
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<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-3-49" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">without relief,</span></span></div>
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"> </span><span class="text Lam-3-50" id="en-NIV-20405" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; text-align: center; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span></span><br />
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<span class="text Lam-3-50" id="en-NIV-20405" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">until the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> looks down</span></div>
<span class="text Lam-3-50" id="en-NIV-20405" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"> </span><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-3-50" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">from heaven and sees.</span></div>
</span><span class="text Lam-3-51" id="en-NIV-20406" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; text-align: center; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><div style="text-align: center;">
What I see brings grief to my soul</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sadness and rage stir within these words, waiting for the Lord to look down to see us crying. Starting from a place of anger and outrage toward God, other people, and other people's problems seems as normal as anything can following a tragedy. </span><a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Anger is a stage of grief.</a> <i>What I see brings grief to my soul. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Three days after the attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando last Saturday, I do not feel anger, just sadness. As details surfaced, I began to see</span><span style="font-size: large;"> a hurting person who hurt people.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">The men inside were part of a group. The person who opened fire on people dancing was part of another. In my belief system, all were created by God. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Jew or Christian, Muslim or Mormon: our God is a God of creation. </span><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/1-1.htm" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">We all</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1:3" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">can</span> </a><a href="http://quran.com/23/12-14" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #93c47d;">agree</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/moses/3.5?lang=eng#4" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">on that</span>. </a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">And being created by God is a big deal. It means that we have a sameness and a common ancestry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Created in the image of God means that each other is sacred. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">We often defend our tribe and our scripture by giving them human qualities. We say our scripture is <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-inspired.html" target="_blank">"divinely </a><a href="http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-inspired.html" target="_blank"><span class="" style="color: black;">inspired,"</span></a></span> <span style="color: #93c47d;"><a class="" href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/23-2.htm" target="_blank">"</a><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/23-2.htm" target="_blank">From the mouth of God"</a></span> and <a href="http://biblehub.com/2_timothy/3-16.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">"God-breathed"</span></a>. Shouldn't we use those words to discuss each other, rather than words on a page? Isn't DNA <i>God-breathed? </i>And isn't our existence <i>divinely inspired? </i>Shouldn't our lives be focused on our commonality in God? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Whether or not I have opinions on the issues, it is perhaps more true that I'm lamenting the loss of sacred lives.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: center;">Arise, cry out in the night,</span></div>
<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
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<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-2-19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">as the watches of the night begin;</span></span></div>
<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Lam-2-19" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; position: relative;"></span><br />
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<span class="text Lam-2-19" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">pour out your heart<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-20352BZ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-20352BZ" title="See cross-reference BZ">BZ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> like water</span></div>
<span class="text Lam-2-19" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; position: relative;"> </span><span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-2-19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">in the presence of the Lord.</span></div>
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Lift up your hands<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-20352CB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-20352CB" title="See cross-reference CB">CB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to him</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Lam-2-19" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">for the lives of your children</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Somebody first wrote these words in a time of great sadness. Their sanctuary was taken from them. Their people were destroyed. Their feelings of safety were forever gone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These words continue to help me express sadness and outrage. Not toward God, or one person or a group of people, but for the human condition. We <i>pour out our hearts like water. </i>We <i>cry out in the night. </i>We <i>lift up our hands to God for the lives of our children. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Children of the same God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-21251175013077676122016-01-04T12:32:00.005-08:002016-01-04T12:44:38.767-08:00...yet the world did not know Him. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/podcast/second-sunday-of-christmas-2/" target="_blank">The audio for this sermon can be found here.</a> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ came into the world- and the world did not know him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grace and Peace to you from God of father and our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKwDwTiNK6cTbJOW3aD2ruAq2EdWVGOxEB49I_8v3PAySgrakRv86WzpkiPBvxfXtu5KNMOCRvCPeSI1TqrUckGz6LfBBnHpNDgfR09ro-XwVip6q1vpENsT17WjJ-H-Nta0S7xJh2w00/s1600/tcs_word_gospel_of_john_031908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKwDwTiNK6cTbJOW3aD2ruAq2EdWVGOxEB49I_8v3PAySgrakRv86WzpkiPBvxfXtu5KNMOCRvCPeSI1TqrUckGz6LfBBnHpNDgfR09ro-XwVip6q1vpENsT17WjJ-H-Nta0S7xJh2w00/s320/tcs_word_gospel_of_john_031908.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And let’s begin the new year with a moment of honesty- the world still does not know Christ. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You see, each of the gospels ends the same- with Jesus rising from the dead- but each starts differently, which means that the framework for the gospel has changed. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the resurrection is the answer- then each gospel writer has to invent the question. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take Matthew for instance starts with the lineage because the main question to be answered is how will God continue his promises to the long-suffering Jewish people. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But John begins in the beginning- reminding of of Genesis, and claiming that the word- the being we know as Jesus Christ, was there in the beginning, and came into the world because the world did not know him.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the world still does not know Christ. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrUiajLENJHO42NgGCxflWTM_LKBjAxA8yak9DZ2sRVwERSY-AEZ-am8mMpzJ4ZkFkD62NI7EIH7u882_itqkfS4PJi84TtIOfiI8XJMU_MlpEYjufhWzzUd2_Gxabf5FhZzD3WXJFGiZ/s1600/255837224_09d7ad6b8c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrUiajLENJHO42NgGCxflWTM_LKBjAxA8yak9DZ2sRVwERSY-AEZ-am8mMpzJ4ZkFkD62NI7EIH7u882_itqkfS4PJi84TtIOfiI8XJMU_MlpEYjufhWzzUd2_Gxabf5FhZzD3WXJFGiZ/s320/255837224_09d7ad6b8c_o.jpg" width="235" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me explain. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I has been said that Dante has had more of an impact of American Christianity that Jesus Christ has. Dante, famous for writing the divine comedy which includes the Inferno, whereby the author travels to the seven circles of hell, and torments and disgusts his readers with the torture, irony, and horrible conditions of hell- invented by Dante. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And today we live in a culture preoccupied with the saving of souls, which Jesus never talks about. Jesus talks about loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus talks about how to give to the poor, visit the sick and imprisoned, Jesus talks about dealing in honesty and integrity, about how the last shall be first and how the lowly will be lifted up and the mighty will be brought down. Jesus talk about eternal life that starts today eternal life is understanding that God created you out of love and that should change the way you live and move and have your being. Jesus talks about transformation. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luther’s life was transformed by the gospel, it changed his trajectory and he devoted his life to it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luther thought too that the issue was that people hadn’t yet heard the gospel and was convinced that if non-christians heard the words of Jesus of Nazareth and understood the gospel that they would want to convert. And he became angry and bitter when others didn’t come running to church when faced with what he thought were obvious truths about creation and new creation that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we seek Christ, we seek transformation, not inspiration. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This has been in my prayer time this week. I’m praying in the new year that things that are so obviously good for us might be realized. That Christ can be made known to us and it transforms us. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Thiemann is a pastor I knew out in Northern California who now is the director of Portico, which is the ELCA’s health insurance and retirement fund.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every late December tries to rally the troops -all of us doey overweight pastors to take better care of ourselves in the new year. He trots out facts and figures, explains how time spent in meditation and exercise is actually beneficial for our congregations. He threatens that healthcare will become so expensive that our churches will buckle under the pressure. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He said that the leading prescriptions for our pastors are medicine for hypertension, followed by depression and anxiety, followed by cholesterol medicine.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I wonder: will this year be any better?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will the very people who preach transformation be transformed? John says that Jesus came so that we may have life, and life abundantly. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I pray for our pastors that they/we may come to know Christ and follow him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like Luther I am perhaps naïve to think that if sermons were well enough preached, or if good-natured Christians made enough push that we could get people to see that they are displaying destructive behavior, and if they knew that, they would change. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But most leaders of business don’t consider their negative impacts on other or the world and therefore don’t give a flying fig about anything much more than the bottom line.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ashley and I were sitting down to do our budget for 2016 and I looked at the books about budgeting, and nearly all of them start from the place of not spending more money that you can afford, more than you bring in.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not, how much should someone in your circumstance live on, but how much comes in and goes out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And it leads me to a much concern for our culture: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how can we get deeper answers if we continue to ask shallow questions?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes, in darker moments, hearing the way business deals are done, the way the government makes logjams for itself, the way poor people are referred to as numbers, the way churches are known for bigotry and small-mindedness, it feels as if Jesus never came.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or that he did come, and the world still does not know him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have friends who move away from religion because they deny Hell fire and hatred room in their lives. But their days are still filled with struggle, their souls still longing for peace, their houses still filled with laughter joy and love, their culture still riddled with selfishness. They just enjoy life without a church family. They just suffer affliction without pastors and hard times without community. Sure they have friends, but if you’ve ever felt the support of a religious community in your time of struggle you know we offer than friendship. We offer to those in grief and pain compassion and integrity, caring and service. We rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. We believe that Christ is transformational- not just for those in the pews, but for the whole world. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKXktT_T7CHupcckNCCLyQrAW34aux7yIwU5TGitdxa5mDe4cSt9XMAnGygfSKtENQ0aVXY5f_VapU4Vy4u7mGH-LnNSDbhyKothnc6shJ-BeORVna9TxxjHajtvdOD1Gr_7BigQi-8Wt/s1600/faith-without-works-is-dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKXktT_T7CHupcckNCCLyQrAW34aux7yIwU5TGitdxa5mDe4cSt9XMAnGygfSKtENQ0aVXY5f_VapU4Vy4u7mGH-LnNSDbhyKothnc6shJ-BeORVna9TxxjHajtvdOD1Gr_7BigQi-8Wt/s320/faith-without-works-is-dead.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s this book in the bible called James, and James says that faith without action is dead. Now he is where I really start to get worked up. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luther hated the book of James because it sounded like if you do good works you can get into heaven, even though that’s not what James was saying. James says that transformation in Christ leads to good works, but Luther couldn’t preach that because people were buying indulgences to avoid hell because the catholic church told them they had to. The Catholic church was preoccupied with heaven hell and purgatory- despite the fact that Jesus never talked about salvation in those terms, but because Dante did. Dante, and Italian, whose family had close roots with the papacy, it is Dante who practically invented the modern notions of heaven hell and purgatory. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfacXiAXijMJNOmDucTT-g_lw31bJ8alDFhqWT20iQaRR_YCgvzRi6f2guK1Axc5dYOQOtFVIq62ReerqGfPphzjAigFvNk_8-AkPhNoyKxfKeFyoW71m8AGPbOSTS0HN1Yfg6gbYTFVY/s1600/df20050817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfacXiAXijMJNOmDucTT-g_lw31bJ8alDFhqWT20iQaRR_YCgvzRi6f2guK1Axc5dYOQOtFVIq62ReerqGfPphzjAigFvNk_8-AkPhNoyKxfKeFyoW71m8AGPbOSTS0HN1Yfg6gbYTFVY/s400/df20050817.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So Luther wanted the book of James thrown out of the bible, not because the book was inherently wrong, but because people weren’t capable of appreciating that faith leads to works- not for salvation but because we have already been saved. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today Luther’s worst fears are realized because the notion that we earn our way to heaven or out of hell is exactly what American Christianity predominantly believes. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To follow Christ is to die and rise each day. To follow Christ means to risk your life for his sake. To follow christ is to risk transformation. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have read recently something that helps put this in perspective. That as humans we have evolved over the past 200,000 years.The lifespan of our species is fairly young. In fact, scientists estimate that our species is now entering adolescence.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfvFHcAWuDEelOZ3dci0_A2VpQIsjTnNaIIfXUecHKSRaoBDzHH4BfSQ7L-r07GGoCWuQivKrd-AtHQowwkgducMeI1ZzpxcmrA1bdvyLjZyqmqGLEZBPtcpKIuxhdumdPtr6F3-znCZy/s1600/2002-04-21C.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfvFHcAWuDEelOZ3dci0_A2VpQIsjTnNaIIfXUecHKSRaoBDzHH4BfSQ7L-r07GGoCWuQivKrd-AtHQowwkgducMeI1ZzpxcmrA1bdvyLjZyqmqGLEZBPtcpKIuxhdumdPtr6F3-znCZy/s640/2002-04-21C.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; vertical-align: baseline;">Our race is on the cusp of adulthood and we see this playing out right now. Candidates for leadership are often like 9</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14.4px; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; vertical-align: baseline;"> graders running for student council- but with larger budgets. </span>The prevailing thought is that whoever spends more money in American politics will win the day. Not the one with better ideas, but the one who buys more ads on television, the vast majority of which are negative for the sake of being negative. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have lots of other problems- women on TV are 85% women age 18-45, childbearing years, despite representing only 19% of the female population.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our military spends $577 billion every year, or more than the next 16 countries combined, many of whom are allies.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet many times over, this planet- you know, the one we need to survive</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The US wasted 131 billion LBS of food last year, which doesn’t include the food we all ate above and beyond our recommended dietary needs of which 7 out of 10 adults are overweight or obese., despite the fact that 15% of households in America are Food Insecure.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Millions will trot out diets and exercise routines and turn to scripture for some inspiration. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s it, isn’t it. Too often we seek inspiration because we don’t want transformation. We know what we need for better lives, so we try to squeeze goodness into a life of overindulgence. We begin with ourselves and look for inspiration, rather than begin with creation and seek transformation. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we want to be a christian nation, we sure don’t act like it. And it’s kind of comical to think that we could get to heaven with our good works. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today we rejoice because we have the gospel that is given to us. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like John’s gospel proclaims, the biggest problem facing us today is that the world does not know Christ. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now it’s your turn in 2016 to tell your gospel. Will you chose transformation or inspiration? If your gospel ends with Christ’s resurrection, how does it begin? If Christ is the answer, what’s your question? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRyBGvqfn7K1DPXJ4XaFSQH3S_kDEGTJ9vWG4WO1Vl_6FrWe67dkbaF7sQYKMkWVuN595yby6ZqktWaeX6OW8y8O5KtYSe8IQtFfNBceuwHNNhpOaMsqallobS8zBXy2nuwZymc03MdZR/s1600/Transformation-in-text-webpage-711x200.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRyBGvqfn7K1DPXJ4XaFSQH3S_kDEGTJ9vWG4WO1Vl_6FrWe67dkbaF7sQYKMkWVuN595yby6ZqktWaeX6OW8y8O5KtYSe8IQtFfNBceuwHNNhpOaMsqallobS8zBXy2nuwZymc03MdZR/s640/Transformation-in-text-webpage-711x200.jpg.png" width="640" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amen.</span></div>
<br />DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-9816058252154713792015-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:002015-09-22T11:52:53.755-07:00A Sermon for our People <div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sermon for Our People <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">At Augsburg
Lutheran Church, Winston-Salem NC by Rev. Daniel Pugh <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSDee-uJvN4wVHKhYLWXPTjPuphggOXvCAwQBJDwhmIJUnfq944xheUcItHasa8OEXdtfzRPRPhDaoF7GfSwfd_XCRaUBFOSCnwMx2ucv3xKJm3YIwXD7wbSxzfC4YN0ww6YrYHNlPzA5/s1600/blogger-image--100864241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSDee-uJvN4wVHKhYLWXPTjPuphggOXvCAwQBJDwhmIJUnfq944xheUcItHasa8OEXdtfzRPRPhDaoF7GfSwfd_XCRaUBFOSCnwMx2ucv3xKJm3YIwXD7wbSxzfC4YN0ww6YrYHNlPzA5/s400/blogger-image--100864241.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The following sermon
was given on the day that Augsburg Lutheran Church voted in favor of allowing same-sex
marriages 236 to 150. <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/seventeenth-sunday-after-pentecost-3/" target="_blank">The audio can be found here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grace and Peace to you
from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many of you have been
relaying your vote to me over the last several weeks, wondering where I will
stand today. Of course I’m talking about if I preach from the pulpit or the
center, what were you thinking about? And I’ve politely told many of you that you
don’t get to decide where a pastor should stand. Why are you laughing? I’m
sorry, that’s how I feel. Here I stand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve been immersing
myself in Luther’s writings I’ve been trying to get into his mind, to find
something that would help today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And here’s the God’s
honest truth- if Luther were 500 years younger, if he were 32 years old today,
would he be for same-sex marriage? I genuinely don’t know. None of us do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I bet he’d be against
it in 1515, given his late-medieval setting and their understanding of anthropology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But I cannot say that
Luther would be for or against same-sex marriage if he were born in 1983
instead of 1483, because cultures evolve. But I can tell you that he was a
pioneer of marriage equality in his day, insisting that Priests be afforded the
right to marry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paul writes in 1 Corinthians
7 that it is better to stay unmarried unless you are burning with Passion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The catholic
church was basing their tradition to not allow Priests to marry on Paul’s
example to stay chaste and thus, no one should get married.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luther points out that
Paul here admits this opinion that it is better not to get married comes from
him, not God, and that marriage should be seen as a “concession” not a
“command”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paul separates his
opinion on the subject from God’s command. How many of us can?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luther easily makes
the claim that forcing priests to remain unmarried, against their will, even
when they are burning with passion, is a bad idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I read this to Pastor
Rinn because it’s classic Luther.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luther says that a priest
can have 100 mistresses, and remain a priest. <a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>But marriage- Luther says
sarcastically-in-cheek- is “The greater sin”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luther, obviously, did
marry, and he encouraged others who were burning with desire to marry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many priests were
already in committed relationships, many priests had children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But because their
marriages weren’t accepted by the church, the priest’s lover and children were
forced to live a life a life quietly and in the shadows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here I am immensely
grateful for Luther standing up for marriage reform, as I can’t imagine leaving
my wife and kids in the shadows, and we know my kids don’t stay quiet very
well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today’s debate is
quite different from the one Luther dealt with 500 years ago, but a compelling
discussion is where Luther would stand, if he were born 500 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some of you are
convinced that Luther 500 years ago or 500 years from now would stand by <i>solo scriptura</i>, even despite the amount
of biblical scholarship that have moved beyond inerrancy since Luther’s
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And based on that
reading of the authority of the bible, you would be convinced that Luther would
remain against same-sex marriage in any age, including in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Others of you view
Luther as a mover and a shaker, and can easily see how marriage reform in his
day builds a bridge for us to permit marriage to all who “burn with
desire” in our day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the truth is- we
will never know how a modern-day Luther would feel about this topic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We will always live in
that mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But if Luther were
here, preaching to you, I’m most confident that he’d sink his teeth into this
gospel lesson about who is the greatest,<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> and deliver a rousing
sermon about what happens when we think of ourselves too highly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luther- not me- would
rebuke you all for poor behavior over the last weeks. He’d call you to repent
from slander, for your abuse of community, repent from name-calling,
grand-standing, anger and hostility on both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">We all fall short of
the glory of God, Luther would say. He’d rebuke the pastors too, I’d think, for
allowing such </span><span style="font-size: 21.3333px;">dissension</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> to emanate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And he’d quote
scripture extensively to make the point,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe 1 Corinthians
1:10 “</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">I appeal to you,
brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among
you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Or use Romans 12 “For
by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself
more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. <b><sup>4 </sup></b>For
just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all
have the same function, <b><sup>5 </sup></b>so in Christ we, though
many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">If Luther would here,
his sermon would start with something like that.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Pastor Rinn and I have
prayed over you all, for this congregation, and for the Holy Spirit to give us
a sense of its peace.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">And last Sunday night,
we both received that peace with the same realization- this whole matter is in
God’s hands.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Pope John Paul was
famous for saying after a long day- something like, “God this is your church,
not mine. And I’m going to sleep.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">This is God’s church.
Not ours. If God wants to bless same-sex marriages, he will. If he doesn’t, he
won’t.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">So we can relax from
thinking we are in charge. If Augsburg’s pastors cannot perform same-sex
marriages, then someone else will. Our vote will likely have zero effect on the
number of same-sex marriages performed, nor on the number of same-sex marriages
that God blesses.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Moreover, I know lots of
people who were married by a judge, and not in a church, and I think God can
find a way to bless those, if he so chooses, whether officiated by a justice of
the peace, a sea captain, a friend who got ordained for $20 online, or even a
guy who kind of looks like Elvis. If God wants to bless something, or not to
bless something, there is really nothing we can do about it. We simply voted on
whether or not most of us want to bless these unions, and we will never have
unanimity, <b>but</b> the church doesn’t thrive on unanimity nearly
as much as it thrives on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">The disciples are
seemingly never unanimous about anything other than being in fear. They bicker
behind Jesus’ back because they are afraid of Jesus and what he will say next. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last person to speak up was Peter, and
Jesus snapped back with the greatest rebuke ever uttered, “Get behind me Satan.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus had said that
the road ahead is long, and it involves submission, subjugation, and even
crucifixion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That can’t be the way-
Peter says. And Jesus tells him to shut-up and fall in line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And since that rebuke
at Peter, none of them dare speak up to Jesus. Their fear is palpable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And here’s what I’ve
brought back from my study and meditation on this text.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fear is the opposite
of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s true- the
opposite of faith isn’t doubt- faith and doubt are dance partners- the opposite
of faith is fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faith is an action to
act like Christ. Fear is the self-made state of emergency that leaves us
paralyzed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This happens over and
over again- in the calming of the storm, Jesus asks the disciples: “Why are you
afraid? Have you still no faith?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And to Jarius who’s
daughter has died he says, “</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;"> “Do
not fear; just have faith” “</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faith is to act like
Christ. Fear is the self-made state of emergency that leaves us paralyzed.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have never seen fear
like I did as a chaplain for AIDS care alliance. AIDS is a terrible
disease. And the fear that people around AIDS victims made it all the worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A pastor friend of
mine in California during the AIDS epidemic, was leading communion using a
common cup, and saw people refusing the wine out of fear of getting the disease.
So the next week the pastor gave everyone communion first, and she would be
communed last. She’d drink after everyone else to show that you can’t get AIDS
from communion. The last will be first, and the first will be last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">…So I began to work
with people with AIDS who were broke from the expensive medication- out of work
from the side effects- and shunned by society who feared what they didn’t
understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was assigned to Mr.
Lewis because I was the white chaplain, and Mr. Lewis was popular in the
African American community. And his church didn’t know he had aids. If they
found out, he’d be banned from attending there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent the summer
making visits to Mr. Lewis as the last part of my week, on Friday afternoons.
I’d help him in the house, and we’d laugh about how young I was and how white
people look funny singing gospel music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mr. Lewis’ son was 18
and had just graduated from high school. He came home one day and while he was
coming to through the door, Mr. Lewis told me- “he doesn’t know.” If he asks,
you’re with the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I said a prayer with
Mr Lewis and his son, who then went upstairs to his room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daniel, I’m dying.
It’s aids that’s killing me, but my son thinks it’s my lungs. My son doesn’t
know because he don’t need to know about my “lifestyle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent the summer
watching him die slowly without the help of his family and faith community,
from whom he had to hide his “lifestyle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since his church
couldn’t accept him, I was there to be his chaplain. To walk him to death. To
lead him to grace. To show him that death doesn’t have the final word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I was mad- people
shouldn’t have just any pastor at their bedside- they should have THEIR pastor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I vowed to insure
that there was a place for everyone in God’s church, as equally sinners in
search for God’s grace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Watching someone lying
there at the end of life, you realize how frail we are, and with such a short
span of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Mr. Lewis’ bedside,
I found myself letting go of my disappointment in his church for not accepting
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Life is too short for
anger. I’ve seen the end, and I’m here to tell you, fear and anger in <b>life</b> leads to fear, anger, and regret
at the <b>end of life</b>. If you don’t want to spend your last days that way, <u>don’t spend any
days that way</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s going to be OK. God
is good. All the time. All the time, God is good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is making the
slow walk to his death. And the disciples are scared to talk to him. They fear
that Jesus is the kind of guy who punishes those who aren’t worthy, that Jesus
does not suffer fools. The disciples fear that Jesus comes to bring
condemnation and anger and vengeance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They don’t know that
Like all fears, these are unfounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They don’t know that
Jesus’ life is too short for anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They don’t know that
the Cross is not the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They don’t know that
Jesus stands for love. For perfect, unconditional love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What they don’t know
can fill a warehouse. But God’s love can fill the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God’s love always
wins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had the second
reading changed for the first time in 3 years. Because we need to hear these
words from Paul about boasting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paul writes, on my own
behalf I will not boast, except in my weakness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“So, I will boast all
the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. For
the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our greatest strength
is in our self-emptying. When we feel half empty, that is when God can fill us
up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the children sing, they
are weak and He is strong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And perhaps the
greatest view of the cross is from on our knees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If Luther were here,
after asking for our sins to be confessed and forgiven, he’d make sure to
preach about grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In his Heidelberg
Disputation, on theology, Luther writes, “the person who believes that he can
obtain grace by doing what is in him add sin to sin and he becomes doubly
guilty. He seeks himself in everything.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He continues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now you ask, “what
then shall we do? Shall we go our way with indifference because we can do
nothing but sin? By no means. <b>Fall down
and pray for grace</b> and <b>place your
hope</b> in Christ in whom is our <b>salvation,
life, and resurrection</b>. Through the law comes knowledge of sin. Through
knowledge of sin, comes humility, and through humility, grace is acquired.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen brother Martin.
Grace upon Grace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’m assuming that
since there’s 1 service, that I get double the time to preach, is that right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’m almost done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If the vote doesn’t go
the way you voted, there are a few of you who are considering leaving this
church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If that is your
context, and you want to find more like-minded people, be careful not to
insulate yourself with others who don’t challenge you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise me, promise
yourself that you won’t leave because of a bad policy, and trade it for bad
theology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise me, promise
yourself, that you’ll find a church that preaches law and gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that preaches inclusion in the body of Christ, and that
offers communion to all, as Jesus says, “this cup is the new covenant in my
blood, shed for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of sin. Not just
those who think like you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself not
to be lead into the drowning waters of fear, instead of the baptismal waters of
faith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that preaches sin and grace. And shows extra attention to
say no matter your measure of sin, your measure of grace is greater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that follows the creeds that tie us to the ancient
church- <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that reads a diverse array of scriptures, and not just what
sounds good or is comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that honors baptism and communion as the two sacraments
that follow a life of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promise yourself that
you’ll find a church that challenges you to action, pushes you to serve others,
and embodies the gospel in a broken world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And most of all,
promise yourself that you’ll find a church that boldly proclaims that we are
united with Christ crucified, united in death, and united in resurrection with
Christ who holds to Romans 8- “There is nothing that can separate us from the
love of God.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if you can’t find
that, just come back home. If Luther were here, that’s exactly what he’d do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Know you are always
welcome back here with your pastors. The bond that brought us together in
Christ is stronger than any policy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To borrow a line from
the wedding liturgy, “What God has put together, let no one separate.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" height="1" src="file:///C:/Users/PASTOR~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="1" /><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
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<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Luther, Martin. "Commentary of 1
Corinthians 7." <i>Luther's Works</i>. Ed. Hilton C. Oswalkd. Vol.
28. Saint Louis: Concordia House, 1973. 24. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Gospel for the
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B is Mark 9:30-37. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> NIV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Romans 12:1-4NIV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Faley, Roland J. <i>Footprints on the
Mountain: Preaching and Teaching the Sunday Readings</i>. New York: Paulist,
1994. 423. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ‘Fruits of the
Spirit’: see Galatians 5:22-23. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2 Corinthians 12:1-10,
NRSV.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Luther, Martin, and Timothy F. Lull.
"Heidelberg Disputation." <i>Martin Luther's Basic Theological
Writings</i>. Second ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989. 54. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> NRSV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/pastor%20pugh/Documents/Sermons/Sermon%20for%20Our%20People.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Evangelical Lutheran Worship</i>. Pew ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress,
2006. 288. Print.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-1351633724195040112015-06-30T11:51:00.002-07:002015-06-30T11:51:47.011-07:00A Sermon about Privledge, Loss, Uncertainty, and Healing Touch<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/fifth-sunday-after-pentecost-3/" target="_blank">The audio for this sermon can be found here. </a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The has been a lot of news in the past two weeks. Charleston,
the trial, the flag, the funeral, and same-sex marriage decision in the supreme
court, and two murders who escaped from prison, and shark bites on the Carolina
coast. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I told a friend that Neil Armstrong could walk on Mars and I’m
not sure it would make the evening news.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We live in a world where things are coming at us quickly, fragments of life, death, truth, inspiration, fear, and change, and there are tensions and complications everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when I look at the world Jesus walked into, I see a
similar amount of chaos. People living side-by-side who didn’t get along. Jews
and Gentiles; people who spoke Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. Romans who occupied,
and commoners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when Mark writes his gospel, rather than writing it think
about him compiling a bunch of stories- miracle stories and sayings about Jesus
and the passion narrative, and imagine that he is putting them together in a
collage to tell one narrative. And the way he does this shows us the chaos of
the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For instance, one of the stories he tells is that Jesus had to
go from the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee to the Gentile side. And every
time he crosses the lake from the Jewish side to the Gentile side, there
is a mighty storm. But on the way home,
there is smooth sailing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is how this story begins for us today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus went to the other side and now that he’s back, many people
have gathered looking for healing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When there are a lot of people in need in any civilization in
need, the ones with money and privilege move to the front of the line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One such man was Jairus, who was a leader of the synagogue and
he had a daughter who was sick. He falls on his knees before Jesus and begs him
to lay hands on her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He believes that Jesus can heal her before she dies, he can save
her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then on the way to Jairus’ house, another story happens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcENWbwCY8VKtFb9wLFSUR_PH-8eR4QqBHE4rrWBNgRtFYkMkX0M42FvwCZenUSRzOhswu_7Q-5lCdcKtrA2b-RFyzC9ywcUxM25BU1aWMXJnd7tDZaf-5vNqxBFyaeHztvfId97Rw7bND/s1600/touch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcENWbwCY8VKtFb9wLFSUR_PH-8eR4QqBHE4rrWBNgRtFYkMkX0M42FvwCZenUSRzOhswu_7Q-5lCdcKtrA2b-RFyzC9ywcUxM25BU1aWMXJnd7tDZaf-5vNqxBFyaeHztvfId97Rw7bND/s320/touch.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He asks who touched me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She falls on her knees and confesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus says Daughter, rise and go, your faith has healed you. As
soon as he heals her, news spreads that Jairus’ daughter is dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdjrLxmJBgiZmvJd0iWXi5gomqEAev50W3ir4w9S4tyacX6ryWRt1ADcw_5062cETRgGaRBLqypKpTol2jJ8CvIdAAczTueIy8Za_-iN_dn-BwhEyTsx9_k3hT0PU618kmFvyWD9gJ0Y1/s1600/WakeMed+Updated+Photo+AO3C5987+-+11-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdjrLxmJBgiZmvJd0iWXi5gomqEAev50W3ir4w9S4tyacX6ryWRt1ADcw_5062cETRgGaRBLqypKpTol2jJ8CvIdAAczTueIy8Za_-iN_dn-BwhEyTsx9_k3hT0PU618kmFvyWD9gJ0Y1/s320/WakeMed+Updated+Photo+AO3C5987+-+11-10.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When I was a chaplain at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh we would
be on call for 12-24 hours. And when I was rolling off of duty and another person
was coming on, we would go around together and hand-off the patients and
families in need of pastoral care. This particular night my friend, we will
call him Eddie, was becoming the chaplain so we went around and met the
families he’d be sitting with and holding their hands. Eddie was a great guy.
Smart, kind, and compassionate. Eddie was tall and thin with perfect teeth. He
had very dark skin and I noticed that some families were uncomfortable around
him because of the color of his skin while others seemed to prefer him because
he was dark-skinned. We were walking around the hospital when the pager went
off and we were called to the Pediatric ED, so we went. A mountain of a man, who I
would guess had an accent from the islands, came walking toward us, looked at
both of us and made a B-line straight for Eddie. He took Eddie by the shoulders
and slammed him up against the wall and said, “I know you are a healer. Bring
my daughter back” </span>Fortunately<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> there were guards close by who got everyone to
calm down and after a while, Eddie was sitting with the family in their grief.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0JgdKRBuBhNd1HgUxVDdFkmlbWsPSIokLJNnWKIwXPjRsbnbUhfKnBXxHMJva4bwoi-lo_vNgNOyFdKZIRgtrb0sL9_Fl4kiIrqVshcrkSjrAh8M0aYT-7h-cmrCb73S7GyZWyAvRjxC/s1600/82138395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0JgdKRBuBhNd1HgUxVDdFkmlbWsPSIokLJNnWKIwXPjRsbnbUhfKnBXxHMJva4bwoi-lo_vNgNOyFdKZIRgtrb0sL9_Fl4kiIrqVshcrkSjrAh8M0aYT-7h-cmrCb73S7GyZWyAvRjxC/s320/82138395.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think of that story when I imagine what Jairus must be
thinking knowing his little girl was gone. Going through the stages of grief,
he’d hit anger pretty quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The time spent with this poor woman, has cost the privileged man
to lose his daughter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is the point of having privilege if you can’t use it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even though the girl is dead, Jesus goes anyway-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He goes into the bedroom with just the parents and some choice
disciples, he took the little girl by the hand and said little girl, get up!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaKc-xXW9HHD-VaT_CmtLHRAUHpjgLaCqVlQcOe1Rokv1HIh2297F7j98GoKhUFY0EBgd1dghyphenhyphenGsxAKwN39G1Pxr0WJXuaCrHwUPfjr7ZVAVu09jH5LYbLKJaCAZqEFMZanWIPqLWNOUr/s1600/healingtouch001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaKc-xXW9HHD-VaT_CmtLHRAUHpjgLaCqVlQcOe1Rokv1HIh2297F7j98GoKhUFY0EBgd1dghyphenhyphenGsxAKwN39G1Pxr0WJXuaCrHwUPfjr7ZVAVu09jH5LYbLKJaCAZqEFMZanWIPqLWNOUr/s320/healingtouch001.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pastor Rinn showed me on my first day how to lay hands. Every
hospital visit we went on, he would touch the person in the bed, hold his hand
and stroke her hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is incredible research out there on the healing power of
touch, stories of babies in the NICU who thrived when being massaged, research
about people who stroke a cat or dog live longer, research those unconscious
having improved vital signs after being touched,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But wait: there’s more! better marriages, lower blood pressure,
lower anxiety, higher quality of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzXPvnzL1T9gz0ikbUYPsFH7v_aHcEGJo5WAL10vNOUdHCQk9w_EtLVcWpEqCtFZrdTLsTqQ7dX0H_LOzRvGFi3k46UcjkfZZMRZwaW_TFWsEF10sfuEohosQKVzMeALxvAiSK5Z8kAk5/s1600/Jacques-Jazz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzXPvnzL1T9gz0ikbUYPsFH7v_aHcEGJo5WAL10vNOUdHCQk9w_EtLVcWpEqCtFZrdTLsTqQ7dX0H_LOzRvGFi3k46UcjkfZZMRZwaW_TFWsEF10sfuEohosQKVzMeALxvAiSK5Z8kAk5/s320/Jacques-Jazz.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These two stories of Jesus healing touch are woven together on
purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mark is sending us a hidden message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Think about it- he could have told one and then the other. Two
women- one young and one old, Jesus heals both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One who will never have kids because she died at 12 one
who can’t have kids because she’s been bleeding for 12 years. Jesus heals them
both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One has a family of privilege, one doesn’t. Jesus heals them
both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One has an advocate that falls on his knees and pleads, the
other falls on her own knees. Jesus heals both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One is dead, one is good as dead. Jesus heals both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both are ritually unclean. Both are untouchable. Jesus touches
and heals them both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe the point of the story is that the stories are meant to be
read together because our stories are interwoven. We don’t live side-by-side
with people different from us- we live with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rich or poor, jew or greek, male or female, gay or straight,
black or white, we all fall on our knees before Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We all bleed. And we all die. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are united in our need for Jesus’ healing touch in our lives,
and if we are called to anything in the chaos of the world around us it is
this: to be the healing hands of God in a world desperate for healing touch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I saw Eddie the next day, I asked him how it went. He said
he sat with that family for six hours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Did you bring the daughter back to life? "No," he said. "But there
was much healing."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-19210451543557755072015-02-19T08:52:00.002-08:002015-02-19T11:04:02.724-08:00Sanctuary Renovations<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Another pastor came to our church about a month ago for a meeting.
He was early, and asked if he could walk the halls and explore our building.
When he came back, he said, "I bet I can guess the age of every one of
your Adult Sunday School classes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was intrigued. "Let's hear it" I offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"This class over here" he pointed to a large room with
lots of chairs facing one direction and a podium at the front, "this is
your oldest Sunday School class." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">One-for-one so far. More on this later. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"These rooms" three classes with chairs and tables
fashioned together "are your people in their 40s though 65. Working
professionals, they usually like to debate and discuss." <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"That big room upstairs with all the comfy couches and nice
chairs, that's your baby-boomer's class isn't it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Wow. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then he talked about two rooms where there were only chairs
sitting around in a circle. "Those are your youngest classes, right?"
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Right.</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> He also noticed how one of those rooms shared a wall with
the nursery which was another dead giveaway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I've been thinking about his comments for three weeks straight,
trying to figure why the furniture is so predicable of our church culture and
what it all means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Our church is also considering updating our worship space. Built
in the 1920s, Augsburg’s Sanctuary has a great harmony of earth tones and
divine elements. The outside of the
building is carefully masoned stone on stone, reminds us both of the fragility
of the individual and the strength of the community, with Christ as our
cornerstone. The interior is also earthy- with intersecting hardwood beams that
conjure God’s promise of shelter to the ancient Israelites. The space also has
an ethereal aesthetic with prominent stained-glass windows and the melody of a baroque
style pipe organ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The sanctuary needs some work from leaks and cracks and old
carpet. So we thought this would be a great time to invest in the future of the
church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">You might not be surprised that there were many reactions to the
idea of changing God's building that were deeply personal. One person spoke of
being baptized, confirmed, and married there, and every time she sees this
church exactly the way it is and has been, she is reminded of that. Another
spoke of the cost of changes as unnecessary; sort of a "if it's broke, fix
it; if it isn't broke, don't fix it" approach. This seems to be a popular
opinion. Whether or not this is what the church ultimately decides to do, as a
pastor I am compelled to ask that we consider the future parishioners into our
worship space, including those who have been baptized in our midst but do not yet
have a voice or vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Back to our visiting pastor's guessing-game. When the sanctuary
was built, 85 years ago, the pastor was considered an expert. There were three
great professions dating back to the origination of this country: Lawyer,
Doctor, Priest. All three were educated, all three were pillars in the
community, and all three were experts whose voices ought to be listened to as
someone who knows better. Everyone faced forward because there was one expert
to listen to. As my pastor friend pointed out, our oldest Sunday school class
still follows this model, only now they rotate who the expert is from week to
week. (They even invited me in to be the expert for a month back in 2012.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Think for a moment about the power structures at play within this
architecture in a sanctuary. We all pray in one direction, where the pastor is
closest to the altar, and therefore closest to God. As if the prayer took on
special significance to God's ears if spoken by the pastor rather than a
parishioner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Fast forward almost a century and imagine the world we live in. A
pastor is almost never the most educated person in any room (not even at home!).
We are the ones who have taken vows to live a life of Christ, but the thing I
say the most is not, "listen and take notes" but "this is the
body of Christ, given for you." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Not just on Sundays, but the world is changing all over. The world
is moving away from the one-expert model more and more each day. When I go to
the doctor I tell him what my blood pressure has been measuring, the research
I've done on medicines, and the way my wife (who is a dietitian) has been
suggesting I eat. Like more and more Americans, I do my own taxes, I'm learning
a foreign language from my phone so that others don't have to translate for me,
and my toothbrush is so advanced my dentist says I'm cleaning as well as he
can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">You see where I am going with this. In many great ways, the age of
experts is diminishing. No I haven't given up on my doctor, dentist, tax
professionals or teachers; and I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>like</i> being
your pastor, but I'm sure I field more questions on the use of biblical Greek
and my dentists sees better teeth than our counterparts did 50 years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If we use the progression of Sunday school spaces as a model for
the future, we can plainly see that more and more we study God <i>in the round. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The youngest groups that meet for Sunday school don't have much in
the way of furniture because circling up gives us <i>community</i> to imagine God <i>collectively
</i>in and to continue to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>evolve<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i> in our faith together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Also consider this: despite serving as pastor of the congregation
for nearly three years, outside of the youngest Sunday School class, I have not
been asked my thoughts on sanctuary renovations one time. Not by a single
parishioner. You might think this is because mine isn't a valued opinion (<i>which is what I thought at first)</i>. I
have come to realize that it is much more because we've been trying to answer
the question, "What do we want the future sanctuary to look like?"
This question, properly framed, doesn't include the opinion of the <i>youngish newish</i> pastor. It doesn't
include the opinion of anyone other than ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This question is not a good one for the future of the church. This
question is the one that makes the church to lose its luster, its power and its
potency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Church culture is changing all around us. Augsburg has avoided
many of the pitfalls of less fortunate congregations in decline. In order to
not follow in their footsteps, it would be prudent of us to find the right
question to ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I think of giving my children a gift, I do not first ask,
“what do I want?” and work from there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But better to ask the question, "In the future church, who do
we hope will worship God in this sanctuary? How might they want to worship?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The answer may be around the altar, not facing forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’ve attached some pictures from my dear friend, Bishop Gordy of
Southeastern Synod of a healthy church that recently underwent this change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-85115371178732769982014-11-24T07:59:00.003-08:002014-11-24T08:02:35.088-08:00Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Meditation <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace and Peace to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanksgiving memories conjure up a lot of memorable stories.
Not all good, not all bad, but all memorable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to tell you a bit about my grandfather. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I almost never talk about him, and people who know me
well may never hear this story<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fu6Iehy_X9zTfNbtqOs3PIvtiPMmBkGU-yTSzhaqzFpBmi3j-lmdE0U9b59NhnmDDqjeFVBgvPggRCiG7kxtk2xy_Vhy04mxkVBJuj34BzulJctQYq_jXr-wDFEie_cCYo_Wsikx_Nw1/s1600/Thanksgiving-Hero-A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fu6Iehy_X9zTfNbtqOs3PIvtiPMmBkGU-yTSzhaqzFpBmi3j-lmdE0U9b59NhnmDDqjeFVBgvPggRCiG7kxtk2xy_Vhy04mxkVBJuj34BzulJctQYq_jXr-wDFEie_cCYo_Wsikx_Nw1/s1600/Thanksgiving-Hero-A.jpeg" height="183" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the man loved Thanksgiving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My grandfather struggled with alcoholism and so we
didn’t see him very much. I remember the last time I saw him, I was about 7 or
8, and it was Thanksgiving. He picked me up, told me how big I was getting, tussled
my hair and gave me a kiss. His breath was terrible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the car my parents argued about how he had
promised to be on good behavior and he broke those promises. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next year he wasn’t there, but he bought the
turkey and all the fixings so that we would have a nice meal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soon after that we learned that he had ruined the
family business and was living off of food stamps. He called my mom, broke, alone and
crying, saying that he was sorry, and that he was going to buy the turkey and
have it shipped to us. We forgot about it, shrugged it off, knowing that he was
full of promises that often went unfulfilled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFIL4K0_MYBN07-JNMa6gAw6jXG6xeact1TotNOXj0xIghICnzojatjBZnyXW9GdVaZPsI-amvkiuVzbnhLwh_1LWVJVKEbNiQDfpbiGjXnSjRzG3qw4AlqxMT9SJWRWrKwE3My-ycfEX/s1600/Im+Thankful+For+You+Printable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFIL4K0_MYBN07-JNMa6gAw6jXG6xeact1TotNOXj0xIghICnzojatjBZnyXW9GdVaZPsI-amvkiuVzbnhLwh_1LWVJVKEbNiQDfpbiGjXnSjRzG3qw4AlqxMT9SJWRWrKwE3My-ycfEX/s1600/Im+Thankful+For+You+Printable.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But three days before thanksgiving we received a
package from him. It wasn’t big enough for a turkey. But inside were a month’s
worth of food stamps with a note that said, “I’m thankful for you”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know how he spent that thanksgiving, but I
do know that it was his last. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Families, man. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t be
thankful without them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I went back and forth on whether or not to share
this story of my Grandfather with this room of strangers and I decided to for two
reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some
people find holidays a difficult time and might appreciate such a story and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Life
is messy! And even when we’re not perfect, or even passable, we’re in it
together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyL1pHyqk-aNcUofr4SJkiCgzbIbXTKU71ZXhxUdtVJYzC2o9NFZqVHqoiEyf97fs2oGRMpWtVbTlpUt5S7BhDYbGBRQjsd6cAFgpVveGdYdseMU9dT3xEIscArvK4xGGUi-CVbK9fWOf/s1600/fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyL1pHyqk-aNcUofr4SJkiCgzbIbXTKU71ZXhxUdtVJYzC2o9NFZqVHqoiEyf97fs2oGRMpWtVbTlpUt5S7BhDYbGBRQjsd6cAFgpVveGdYdseMU9dT3xEIscArvK4xGGUi-CVbK9fWOf/s1600/fall.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I think- actually I know- that the reason he loved
Thanksgiving was that for one day- one grand gesture, he could be in
relationship with us, and be thankful for what was good, even if just that one
day. For one day, he lived the life he always wanted for himself and us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For one day, he could tussle our hair, hold our
hands, and give thanks to his creator for a life full of blessings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For one day, he could send the message to his family
that he loved them and cared for them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And we heard that message, and that one day
reverberates in my head on the fourth Thursday of November each year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There’s a story in the Gospel of Luke about 10
lepers who are healed by Jesus and only 1 returns to give thanks <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s about right. Not one in 10 people, but I’d
say we’re all usually 1/10<sup>th</sup> as thankful as we should
be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For my grandfather his 1/10th was one huge gesture, but
for others, it’s simply the act of regular worship. CS Lewis said that worship is
the most perfect thing we could do as imperfect people and I think that’s
right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In our worship we have an order of confession and
forgiveness in the beginning of the service, and a Eucharist- which means thanksgiving-
at the end and it serves as a reminder that being forgiveness naturally leads
us to giving thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have forgiven my grandfather as I hope others have
forgiven me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So this week, I pray that you have a memorable thanksgiving.
Not good, not bad, but memorable. I pray that you do so with people you’re
thankful for, and I pray that those who have gone before us continue to teach
us life’s most valuable lesson: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Life
is short, and yet full of thanksgiving.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-61693707237669010822014-11-06T13:15:00.005-08:002014-11-06T13:15:57.321-08:00Reformation Day Sermon: Make room for the best part<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reformation
Day 2014
Pastor Daniel Pugh<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grace
and Peace to you- and Happy Reformation Day.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/reformation-sunday-2/" target="_blank">The audio can be found here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I
have been in the minds of geniuses this week, and not just Pastors Rinn and Goeres. I've been studying these scripture passages, people who were reforming theology ahead of their time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jeremiah-
500 years before Jesus is born, preaches that a day is coming when God will
give us a new covenant that we don’t earn- <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">That
God will write his truth on our hearts and all shall know God from the least to
the greatest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">And
the key of this covenant is that God will forgive our sins and remember them no
more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">A
few years later another Genius, whoever is the psalmist of #46 writes while
being a prisoner of war, in Babylonian captivity- the psalmist writes, “God is
our refuge and strength” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRunnVxn2xa8WZQaClA02loXRAcgDA-OtBV0Gp1H5umuwc7ZyhWteRS0SV1UOLziTIuFUh0mIyjQq8dqWSDuJjFoVKzyEadshSQ0eCgvnW0V0podyf9LwmvMGFXNmYjYHDVxUF_3fGtwWT/s1600/9bacfd7905af5832d0f9158fa08c766a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19.0909080505371px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRunnVxn2xa8WZQaClA02loXRAcgDA-OtBV0Gp1H5umuwc7ZyhWteRS0SV1UOLziTIuFUh0mIyjQq8dqWSDuJjFoVKzyEadshSQ0eCgvnW0V0podyf9LwmvMGFXNmYjYHDVxUF_3fGtwWT/s1600/9bacfd7905af5832d0f9158fa08c766a.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">A
message so strong that it resonates in the mind of Martin Luther who composes a
hymn, #504 in our hymnal and #1 in our hearts, “A Mighty Fortress” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then
there’s Paul, a genius in his own right, who before a single gospel is written,
bridges the story of the Old Testament to the recent events surrounding the
resurrection. Paul writes that the law and the prophets show us that we cannot
earn salvation, but that God redeems us from our sin. That we all sin and fall
short of the Glory of God. But God, in the way only God can, redeems us. Paul calls
it Grace. In this way Romans is an
evolved theological opinion from the Old Testament ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jeremiah
is setting forth a dream of a future where people know God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Psalm
48 suggests that however we are saved will be in the refuge of a God who
protects us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Romans
3 tells us that what we need most protecting from is ourselves; that our sin is
the thing holding us most captive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then
John shows a conversation between the old world order, the Jewish authorities,
and Jesus who is decidedly different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus
offers freedom for those willing to accept the truth that he is the son of God.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Jews in the story deny that they need to be saved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">This
is the hardest thing to convince people of. We need God. We are sinners, ever
digging a ditch with no way out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">When
I was a kid I got chicken pox really badly. I still have scars all over from
the ones I scratched. You can’t tell a kid not to scratch when they itch. My
mom would tell me not to, she even taped oven mitts to my hand while I slept.
But I kept scratching all night, and in the morning, I couldn’t open my eyes
because they were swollen shut. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trying
to get out sin ourselves is like saying that we will forever resist the urge to
scratch the itch. When our guard is down we scratch, and by morning our sin has
made us blind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">We
say that we can do it ourselves. That we can right the ship regardless of the
storm. We want so badly to believe that we’ve got it all taken care of that we
live in the lie of lies, that we don’t need God, or at least not very much.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">What’s so convoluted
is when we claim that freedom is saying no to God<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Not letting God help- we say that freedom is
going it alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">My
son, Thomas, was convinced that he was going to dress himself for school. He
didn’t care if we were late, he was going to wear whatever he wanted to wear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">But
a big problem arose when he couldn’t open his drawers to see inside. He could
only reach the bottom two. So he put on shorts and a t-shirt two sizes too
small. He couldn’t wear his usual shoes because he couldn’t tie it, so he put
on church shoes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I
stopped him when he decided to go outside in a fuzzy pink jacket that belonged
to his little sister. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s
easy to see in this instance of a 3 year old going it alone isn’t the best path
toward freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">But
are we so different?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Do you sell yourself short in the name of self-inflicted “freedom?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://qbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/prison-cell-bars-gate1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://qbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/prison-cell-bars-gate1.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
In
John 8 the Jews deny needing to be freed from anything, claiming that they have
no master. Like a door that locks only on the inside, they choose to remain trapped in their own prison. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus
says anyone who doesn’t listen to gospel lives in sin because the Gospel offers
freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I
wanted to find the most Lutheran thing I could do for this sermon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">So
I went to the Church’s library and looked up a sermon that Martin Luther
Preached on this gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Luther
says in his sermon on John 8 that, “If you want to be free, it must be your
first concern to be rid of sin. For so long as sin remains, it is impossible to
be free. If I do not want to abstain from sin and become pious, I may strive to
be a master, but to no avail. You must first think of being freed from that
which holds you in the firmest of bonds, that is, from sin… Such a fate will
also overtake us. We commit sin and are laves to sin. We want to do as we
please and whatever serves the devil. We want to be free to do whatever we
desire. Few devote themselves to the real problem: how to get rid of sin. The
majority are content to be free from the pope; but they are not concerned about
serving Christ and being delivered from sin.” (Luther’s Works, Volume 23,
samples from pages 399-407)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">I’ve
been in the mind of a genius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Like the metaphorical
Jews that Jesus is arguing with, like Thomas faced with logic; we too love to
argue with Jesus. We love to wrestle with the gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">We reject it. We hide
from it. We lock ourselves in the prison and call it freedom <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">What
if I told you that this passage is the only one in John that deals with the
word freedom, and the word in Greek is <i>eleuther</i>-</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> = "free." That's right, you can’t spell freedom without
Luther!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">True freedom is saying yes to God’s grace!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">One more quote from ML,
as it is Reformation Day, this comes from Luther’s works, Volume 48 and I bet
you’ve heard it before. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64osZMvd7sTdrY0y8axJHDnZSr5zCB-0UVCFgN7xoZymGT2DcFcLa2B6HatEe9tTwZ-K8LAQW8FgdI1nXE-cYfSZd1tnnbQbyoJSOZuX4gFAMWslorkJ7DyosBDvnHobitYSuEewq1o_t/s1600/images+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19.0909080505371px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64osZMvd7sTdrY0y8axJHDnZSr5zCB-0UVCFgN7xoZymGT2DcFcLa2B6HatEe9tTwZ-K8LAQW8FgdI1nXE-cYfSZd1tnnbQbyoJSOZuX4gFAMWslorkJ7DyosBDvnHobitYSuEewq1o_t/s1600/images+(1).jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">“If you are a preacher
of Grace, then preach a true, and ot a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you
must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are
only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in
Christ even more Boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.
As long as we are here [in this world] we have sin…It is enough that by the
riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of
the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit
fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Pray boldly- you too are a
mighty sinner.” (Luther’s Works Volume 48, 281-2).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The genius of Luther is
his reading of Paul who is reading the signs following the resurrection. God
has some power- something huge and unstoppable. God’s power trumps the largest
of enemies of people- SIN- which ruins us from the inside; and DEATH- which is
the fate of all sinners. If Sin and Death are powerful forces, God’s strength
is mightier. Paul called God’s power to defeat sin and death Grace. Even
sinning 1000 times a day- which is sinning boldly- does not make god flinch.
His resolve to love us despite our insistence to go it alone is too strong. God
wins in our hearts every time we let him in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus’ final words to
the Jews is, “my word has no place in you”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5rddMG-gUwteHqSN1EyeLApB1bWlpZtzGefF8V7iUNIs35nWH6Zyh5I4f-ZMYWYkW-ZmgCGT6bAKGxJSMIG3gGfmWeDYzFBvzX_faTXiVuXmx-PwkJ8d9c9X8HzRrPy3OSKFEwuqVjhw/s1600/Thanksgiving-Dinner-Menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19.0909080505371px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5rddMG-gUwteHqSN1EyeLApB1bWlpZtzGefF8V7iUNIs35nWH6Zyh5I4f-ZMYWYkW-ZmgCGT6bAKGxJSMIG3gGfmWeDYzFBvzX_faTXiVuXmx-PwkJ8d9c9X8HzRrPy3OSKFEwuqVjhw/s1600/Thanksgiving-Dinner-Menu.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whenever there is a big meal, I try to have a little
of everything. Turkey, cranberries, stuffing, mash potatoes with cheese, sweet
potatoes. But I stop short of filling up. I always make room on my plate, in my
stomach, and in my life for the best part. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We Lutherans have a rich history. Luther pointed to
the greatest gift- the best part, and he called it grace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace
is the dessert- the sweetest part and the final word.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Having
grace at the centerpiece of our theology is like having dessert every day of
the week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Learning
to live in grace is to not be fixated on doing things our own way, but to pray
that God’s will be done. You’ll be amazed at how much doing God’s will looks
like true freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Learning
to live in grace is not just to be in the minds of genius, but to live in the
heart of God” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MigpyHwUFTQj5xK8RdDK0nUAaj57Qc6QiFK5sruZL25av-6Qo4X1_P7T3COwvucCQGtgdF7KBGUS_qOq8O-5mA9fD_DMFVvNpk5zF3AysJwJ4K6KlceuaE-qXDwPh-tmvGU5l6rqCghH/s1600/leave-room-for-jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19.0909080505371px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MigpyHwUFTQj5xK8RdDK0nUAaj57Qc6QiFK5sruZL25av-6Qo4X1_P7T3COwvucCQGtgdF7KBGUS_qOq8O-5mA9fD_DMFVvNpk5zF3AysJwJ4K6KlceuaE-qXDwPh-tmvGU5l6rqCghH/s1600/leave-room-for-jesus.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-46352846955316330682014-10-27T11:34:00.005-07:002014-10-27T11:34:56.384-07:00Five Prophetic Dreams for Augsburg's Future <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Below is a speech
written for the Past, Present, and Future of Augsburg Event sponsored by the
WELCA on Saturday October 25th, 2014. As the Keynote, I was asked to envision
the church of the Future and share some ideas for Augsburg.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Below is a transcript</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">---</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Asking a Pastor to
discuss the future of the church is dangerous business.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">If I say too little,
there would be good reason to question my vision and spiritual leadership. But
if I say too much, people may become fearful that their church of the future
may become unrecognizable. For this reason, prophets are rarely acclaimed in
their own time. So then, we can say that inspirational speaking has a ‘sweet
spot’ to push a little but not too far.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I’m going to go out on a
limb today, if you promise not to cut the branch while I’m on it. Deal? Good.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I have been Lutheran all
my life. My parents were that perfect mix of catholic and Baptist, which
inevitable leads to Lutheranism.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">We loved the Lutheran
church because they were just like us- mild mannered but not dull; kind-hearted
but not unreasonable, intelligent but not snobbish, moved to justice work but
not at the risk of losing sight of worship.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I am confident that the
future of the church will be full of mild-mannered, intelligent, reasonable,
kind-hearted, worshipful disciples working for justice.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">We are a stable church.
Steadfast in worship, generous with our time, strong in our assets. We have had
stability for a very long time and have come to own considerable amount of
property and are currently debt free. These strengths are due to faithful
people for 125 years, and as we project the next 125 years, we can honor the
past by remaining faithful to Jesus’ mission to worship God and serve the needs
of our community.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">It goes without saying
that following Jesus mission for us will require change over time.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Pastor Rinn once told me
that people did not want to change- then he showed me a list of changes that had
been made during his tenure.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Change is a part of
life. The church did not achieve perfection in 1517. Nor has it in 2014.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">With that in mind, I
have five prophetic dreams for the church, much like my namesake, Daniel had in
the court of the king of Babylon.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Prophetic dream #1: Environmental
Concern</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">When Pastor Goeres was
vicar Goeres, he was given a piece of paper where Augsburg checked boxes about
the type of ministry he was to encounter here.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 23.6363639831543px;">Inter-generational</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> ministry? Yes.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Urban ministry?
Definitely.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There was only one box
left unchecked on the list of 20 or so. The box left unchecked was
environmental ministry. My dream for our future is that we engage this
discussion whole-heartidly, in order to be </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 23.6363639831543px;">consistent</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> to the biblical
tradition of being good stewards of the earth.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">The most common noun in
the entire bible is tree. We are the caretakers of God’s creation and we are
simply failing at it as a global society, as a nation, and as a church.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Environmentalists use
the saying “reduce reuse and recycle” and we typically don’t realize the
hierarchy in that order. Environmental care is best taken when we reduce-
reduce the amount of paper and Styrofoam we use, reduce electricity
usage, reduce waste. The second best environmental tool is to reuse. Once
we already have something on hand, be it a cup or a sheet of paper, we ought to
reuse what we have. If that does not work then and only then should we utilize
recycling. Simply looking toward recycling is to doing “C+” environmental work
at best. Yet our building, as vast as it is, has only one standing recycling
bin. There is one recycling bin in the entire church. Of the other churches in
our city that are the size of ours that I have visited, we are dead last in
environmental care or concern. Of the other Lutheran churches in our synod,
again I would say we are dead last. My vision for the future is that we take
creation care seriously. This is a calling from God, the first calling he gave
humanity, in fact. The status quo is not up to this task: we can dream a better
dream.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Prophetic Dream # 2:
More Arts at Augsburg.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I think you’re going to
like this one:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">More music! More
theatre! More art! Some of us have a dream of Augsburg opening a music school.
Dr. Olsen is a professor of Organ. Mr. Tippette is a up-and-coming composer who
teaches several different instruments. Emily has taught guitar lessons and Suzie
Perkins taught violin to half of our youth. Jan Wall named her vineyard and
winery after a musical expression even! Our cup overflows in the music
department and expansion seems like a bright vision for the future. But why
stop there?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Cary Stevens and Joanna
Britt are amazing artists, among many. We have a group of photographers, poets,
and writers.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">As you know, I write
plays in my spare time. I have a degree in theatre and believe that walking in
someone else’s shoes is the key to seeing another’s point of view. Wouldn't it
be great if they knew we were Christian by our Art?!? We can dream a better
dream.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Prophetic dream #3 :
Tolerance gives way to Acceptance.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> We have a lot of
different people in our church who have to hide their true selves to feel safe.
Tolerance is when we put up with people and allow them to be around. Acceptance
is when we embrace them no matter what. I don’t think I have to tell you which
one Jesus would have us do. We have mothers afraid that their children are not
fit for worship; men who are sneered at for wearing shorts; grown adults who
have to hide their private life, who they love from the church; youth who no
longer feel welcome at Young Life, which operates on our property. Tolerance
is not good enough when we can dream a better dream. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Prophetic Dream #4:
Adult Education</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">The average person walks
around with a fourth grade biblical education.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">My bible study on
Wednesdays averages anywhere from 5 people to 40, and Pastor Rinn’s have
similar numbers. But when you think about a nearly 900 member church, this is
not a good number. We Lutherans believe in reformation of the church. That
cannot happen (better: should not happen) without an educated populous. Delving
into God’s inspiration and understanding how centuries of faithful people
followed God is the foundation of moving forward into the future God has given
us. We can dream a better dream.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Prophetic Dream #5:
Welcome the Stranger</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">We have a very welcoming
church, and on Sunday mornings we have visitors each and every week, often
between 10-20. Regularly new members will say that the extension of friendship
in the sanctuary was the key to making them feel at home. But Christ
rarely spoke to people in the synagogue, preferring the marketplaces and the
roads to encounter people. We already do this with our various outreach
ministries , including our homeless shelter, which operates every night in our
family life center for four months out of the year.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">In the Spring of 2015 we
will work on two houses for Habitat, as we partner with the down-town churches
to build community.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I have a dream of
another ministry of one that has lain dormant for many years: a
refugee ministry.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Refugees are different
from immigrants. Refugees are people who come from a part of the world that
leaving their homes was the only option to survive. Refugees never get
deported. They live here until they gain </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 23.6363639831543px;">permanent</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> citizenship, which usually
takes 5 years.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">This dream involves a
piece of property. There is a property on 5th street, an old house from the
civil war era, that was part of millionaires row. Joyce Holton and I went in it
a few weeks ago and saw all the beauty of a 1860s Victorian mansion, covered by
decades of dust and neglect. The church council has agreed to get an appraisal
of this property to see what it would cost. It’s a dream, sure. But all good
things start there.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">There was a Lutheran
minister in the 1890s who wanted to start a different kind off church downtown,
a mission start for people unlike any Moravian church around.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Pastor Lutz, knocked on
doors and started a church plant for a Lutheran church. And he called it
Augsburg.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">During the 1920s our
church relocated to this spot and built our Sanctuary. But in the economic
downtown of the great depression, the Moravian church gave us an interest-free
loan. We owe our survival in part to the dreams of those who came before us,
who were willing to try something new, who saw a vision of something that did
not exist, and who remained steadfast in the vision that Christ has put in
their hearts.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">I see an Augsburg that
has a bright future to be sure. Where kind-hearted Lutheran tackle deficiencies
in the church and build on long-standing strengths. Where we embrace change
with full knowledge that the future is never the same as the past.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">There is a saying in the
waiting room at my children’s pediatricians’ office. It’s from India and it
says, “We do not inherit this land from our ancestors. We borrow it from our
children.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Children are full of
dreams. They are also the ones whose faith Jesus tells us to exemplify. It is
our job to help this faith and these dreams be realized.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">Let us pray.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">God of the Future, draw
us to you. Lead us on your paths to learn your ways. Enable us to be leaders
that believe in things unseen, with the guidance of our forebears, let us
be workers for the new Kingdom of God. Amen.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-1608081886811788982014-08-12T12:22:00.003-07:002014-08-12T12:22:36.709-07:00"Ye of Little Faith"A Sermon on Small faith in Moments of Crisis<br />
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<a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/ninth-sunday-after-pentecost-2/" target="_blank">The audio version of this sermon can be found here.</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/ninth-sunday-after-pentecost-2/" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFpw5IJUsoDt-133Aw2QckXmYjATV5jB-vgFsOC7eXGbBUQtjwe1iDJHKOl29T_Tg_IpqN47obBXlhE-qHtW9D9dUYsDTIRKTNbC7SQQmyD8qclWpxl7gE3P66PCksoEJUPMZILUgVmEt/s1600/anchored-row-boat-looking-out-to-sea-randall-nyhof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFpw5IJUsoDt-133Aw2QckXmYjATV5jB-vgFsOC7eXGbBUQtjwe1iDJHKOl29T_Tg_IpqN47obBXlhE-qHtW9D9dUYsDTIRKTNbC7SQQmyD8qclWpxl7gE3P66PCksoEJUPMZILUgVmEt/s1600/anchored-row-boat-looking-out-to-sea-randall-nyhof.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.<br />
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“Ye of Little Faith” </div>
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The words of Jesus, more than any others, would bring tears
to the eyes of his disciples. </div>
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The 12 have good reason to have lessened in faith. In fact,
in Mark’s Gospel, they have accused of having no faith at all. </div>
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But it is clear that fear has gripped them. What started as
small worries have grown in their minds to full-blown fear. </div>
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I asked my son Jacob this week what he thought fear was. </div>
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He said, “It’s like being in a store and you don’t know
where your parents are.” </div>
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Fear is not only a sense of loss, but also the feeling that
things are going to get worse.</div>
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With this, most basic definition, we could say that fear is
the antithesis if hope- which is a good feeling about the future. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVMfgrq7C6Mx0Hx7C8SBfZwvwJinf_P41A3o3kpQ9Loa-xeV_kSPgrgLx87AM-TaHEqjCZ8uPshDgPy74daQRdCQ_Inn_aqDvubA4tvfV5MeCkiI8iP8SqkfaXi2c8DOuS_R6kq7fCm_f/s1600/F-In-Whom-I-Will-Show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVMfgrq7C6Mx0Hx7C8SBfZwvwJinf_P41A3o3kpQ9Loa-xeV_kSPgrgLx87AM-TaHEqjCZ8uPshDgPy74daQRdCQ_Inn_aqDvubA4tvfV5MeCkiI8iP8SqkfaXi2c8DOuS_R6kq7fCm_f/s1600/F-In-Whom-I-Will-Show.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a>It is amazing about fear- that a small amount of it, if
unchecked, can grow into something big even when there is little evidence that
things are actually getting worse. </div>
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The disciples have been running the gamut of fear and hope
all day long. They woke up this morning with the news that Jon the Baptist has
been executed on a whim, and Jesus is in mourning. If John was killed, they
have good reason to fear for their lives. Then, the number of followers doubled
over night as the followers of John flocked to a new Shepherd in Jesus. Fear
returns for the disciples. There are too many people to take care of, and they
beg Jesus to send the people into the towns to eat. But Jesus being Jesus makes
the food last, and the disciples faith and hope are restored. But it fades
again. </div>
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Case and point: So after the feeding of the 5k Jesus sends
the disciples to get started on the journey across the lake. By midnight Peter
and the other disciples are in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. It’s
nighttime- not a great time for sailing. All they have as they bail out water
is the dim light of their lamp. And they cannot see the shore. The winds pick
up, and the sea churns. The disciples are fearful of their lives. They have
been in this situation before. </div>
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In Mt 8 the disciples are again at sea and the story starts
terrorizing the boat. But this time Jesus is there, asleep. They wake him up
and he says, “Ye of Little faith” to them, and then calms the sea. And the
disciples ask each other- who is this guy- who even the seas and the wind obey
him? Remember that question- we’ll come back to it. </div>
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That was then- and this is now. And where is Jesus? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMpH93YLRJl16s362CvldUwbxIKPiEI-UBh218KJxoJ5jBQKirq8h9txfX4RL1fYEaXDYoVTcjPn1_J0eayGU1iDsribywKq1Ss_kmp0AYFhYFi1rT_sgQS8MW-SgfeiidMsQIzgwdt7/s1600/SunsetPrayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMpH93YLRJl16s362CvldUwbxIKPiEI-UBh218KJxoJ5jBQKirq8h9txfX4RL1fYEaXDYoVTcjPn1_J0eayGU1iDsribywKq1Ss_kmp0AYFhYFi1rT_sgQS8MW-SgfeiidMsQIzgwdt7/s1600/SunsetPrayer.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a>Jesus
has been trying to get some alone time for 3 chapters. His mentor John is dead,
and he goes to the mountain top to pray and be alone.</div>
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We all know that feeling of finally getting some peace and
quiet. For me it was sitting on the couch after the kids go down and before the
first one of them wakes up, Ashley and I listening to the crickets. </div>
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Jesus’ time on the mountain doesn’t last long. He probably
feels the wind whipping up. He thinks of his followers who are probably feeling
abandoned and scared. </div>
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So he descends the mountain in search of them. </div>
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The disciples are losing hope and replacing it with fear. They
feared for their lives this morning in the abstract, but now it seems likely.
If the Mountain is where you go to get close to heaven, the sea is where you
are closest to hell. They are reminded of the superstitions of their day. Many
believed that the sea was the refuge of the damned. That all those lost souls
that died at sea and were not given a proper burial were haunting the place. They
believed that the sea below led straight to Sheol or Hades. And the waves would
take your life in a storm and remain indifferent to whether you live or die.</div>
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So when they see a figure in the dim light reflecting from
their lamp on the water, they assume there is only one thing it could be: A
ghost there to take them down through the depths of the water, and down to the
land of the dead. </div>
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Jesus approaches and says, “It is I, do not be afraid” but
really the greek tells us that he says, “I am” not ‘It is I’” which the Hebrew
word for God. </div>
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But while he’s still a way off, Peter asks to join him
walking on the water. </div>
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Peter, who is the curious George of the New Testament, says,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you.” </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj5fktjt2Gk56eD1w4USNPhFlhKrUMTxuoNEiS89tL-xtgSCbyqN-isueLKqRbcBDTU0Ug7JsNjeLA4nNbYnZ1Fq7sNnMTPBVsNZEzW_Ee15Y2QW5B_PFFjmoJj3r_QMWB67j5jSlShpB/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj5fktjt2Gk56eD1w4USNPhFlhKrUMTxuoNEiS89tL-xtgSCbyqN-isueLKqRbcBDTU0Ug7JsNjeLA4nNbYnZ1Fq7sNnMTPBVsNZEzW_Ee15Y2QW5B_PFFjmoJj3r_QMWB67j5jSlShpB/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>What is Peter thinking? A second ago he was convinced that
he was going to his watery grave, but he sees Jesus and now wants to get out of
the boat? </div>
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Whatever the reason he starts out of the boat. But then the
fear comes back. Notice that the wind does not increase, but rather he notices
the wind more. </div>
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He says, “Lord, save me”</div>
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Jesus reaches out his hand and grabs his friend and they
make it back to the boat. He calls the wind and says those words, “ye of little
faith” did you know that Jesus says this 6 times in all of the gospels and 5 of
them are here in Matthew. And all six are directed to Jesus’ disciples. Not tax
collectors or Pharisees, but to the very people who should know better, having
seen all the miracles. </div>
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Little faith seems like a good qualifier for it, when the
bonfire of their faith has been reduced to a flame the size of a pilot light.</div>
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It reminds me of a story of a young monk who was supposed to
be a lawyer but for some reason decided to become a monk and get that terrible
haircut. In the solitude of his room at night- the fear of life and death
overcame him. Feeling that he was unworthy- that the sea of his sin was going
to drown him. Any noise he heard made his fear worse- any shadow became the devil.
Since he was keeping others awake at night his mentor, a man by the name of Staupitz.
</div>
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Staupitz came into the monk’s room and said, “Martin, why
are you shouting?” </div>
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Luther, exhausted by his own fearful imagination turned to
his mentor and explained that he was nearly out of hope and full of fear. He
told him that the sins were too many, that his errors to great, and that God could
not and should not save him.</div>
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Staupitz looked at his student and uttered these words, “Say
to God, I’m yours; save me.” </div>
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In deed arguably Luther’s entire catalogue can be reduced to
these five words, uttered from the depths of self-inflicted darkness. </div>
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So, is a little faith enough? I think so. The kids sing this
song, <i>This Little Light of Mine</i>, and
our faith is often as small as that. We sing, <i>don’t let Satan blow it out</i>!</div>
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Like a kid lost in a store, like grown men shaking at the
indifference of the sea, Luther repeated these words over and over. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBAzWoPiG6-_ZW3xoGRHoD_7tXB3bLveuczYx98iMFpy24YuAGMfxA9DwuYq14WRPjIIvyErQhqxFr3BpH8yU4df9BZAX5c_73-L4mJCTW7Ktlahb-B0JDV0howl2rwEftmv3gvQkTF8L/s1600/download+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBAzWoPiG6-_ZW3xoGRHoD_7tXB3bLveuczYx98iMFpy24YuAGMfxA9DwuYq14WRPjIIvyErQhqxFr3BpH8yU4df9BZAX5c_73-L4mJCTW7Ktlahb-B0JDV0howl2rwEftmv3gvQkTF8L/s1600/download+(1).jpg" /></a>Sometimes that thing that looks like a Ghost is really Jesus
walking on water. And even when our fear gets the best of us, a little faith
can put us in the same boat with our messiah. </div>
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I’m yours. Save me. </div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-34308797708994197222014-07-30T12:09:00.001-07:002014-07-30T12:09:23.369-07:00The Kingdom of Weeds: A sermon about the Mustard Seed <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">This sermon is from the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, from <a href="http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=152#gospel_reading" target="_blank">Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Fe-NL59UVRewvVQifoIdtuGTD0UteeLmu_N8HQu45xVhmG6VTxKYK6Ogfqr1SyEsaSiFVjotTgQgjPevhbvWuPHBvJP_MNMWa8ryik11NDEO2flVRbiLg-oIOq-0RT7XuAQda_ePUhbc/s1600/1206040001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Fe-NL59UVRewvVQifoIdtuGTD0UteeLmu_N8HQu45xVhmG6VTxKYK6Ogfqr1SyEsaSiFVjotTgQgjPevhbvWuPHBvJP_MNMWa8ryik11NDEO2flVRbiLg-oIOq-0RT7XuAQda_ePUhbc/s1600/1206040001.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/seventh-sunday-after-pentecost-2/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">For the Audio version click here</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asks his
disciples. Too overwhelmed to process any more parables they answered simply,
“Yes.” But I doubt they understood any of these five parables with much depth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We all know the Sunday School version of the Mustard seed.
This idea that there is something small, it is the smallest of all seeds. And
when it grows up it becomes a shrub and then a tree, and it’s this message that
big things come in small packages and how small things can yield to become big
things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That’s the Sunday school answer. But let’s push it a little
bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gf6FTbQeciHPPQqnm4coj7g9KIbfQG8yhcSCgU0PwV1KOcR3QX1aet-l82juN0FosCCUS1MjXAA7qU6Ggtz3s0qBdujakbimwlmVxSKg2zsXX5gpzwg5hwx7HFzUfXh84l-7lnMTckT/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3gf6FTbQeciHPPQqnm4coj7g9KIbfQG8yhcSCgU0PwV1KOcR3QX1aet-l82juN0FosCCUS1MjXAA7qU6Ggtz3s0qBdujakbimwlmVxSKg2zsXX5gpzwg5hwx7HFzUfXh84l-7lnMTckT/s1600/download.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">Imagine that you’re in High School and you’re going to write
a paper on it. And you do a little bit of research- not a lot- to get by. Is
the mustard seed the smallest of all seeds? No. Does it grow up to be a tree?
Never! A shrub never grows into a tree. Never. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then you get to college and your dust off that old paper
and you’re going to write it again. And you dig a little bit deeper and you
realize that there are all of these laws. There are 613 laws in the Torah- the
law- which are the first five books of the Old Testament. And those laws
suggest that mustard is actually a weed not a plant. Which means that you would
never ever plant it in a field because it is considered unclean. The laws of
Leviticus 19:19 say that you would never plant more than one crop in your field
at a time, and you would never plant a weed as your one crop. So why- oh why-
would Jesus tell his disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a weed? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In your college research you go to the next parable. And
hear a story about a woman who takes yeast that when added to three measures of
flour, and makes leaven, which makes bread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But you dig deeper and you realize that that yeast is really
mold. And it too is ritually unclean. It is something that you would stay away
from in the Hebrew world because it would make you unclean. And if you touched
it you would not be able to do anything for the whole rest of the day until
sundown because you were unclean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why- oh why-would Jesus of Nazareth speak about the kingdom
of heaven like it was weeds and mold? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then you would go to seminary. And you would take that
same paper that you wrote in college and now you can dig even deeper. Now you
know Greek, now you know biblical criticism, and you can really study it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And you realize that Jesus isn’t really just talking about
weeds and mold. He’s talking about subverting the power structures that
be. He’s talking about looking at those
613 laws and say, ‘something has gone wrong here’ See the Hebrew people started
these laws for good reason- they were all very practical when you kill a calf
you needed to eat the meat within three days. Why? Because if you didn’t, you
would get sick. If you’re plowing a field, you can sow crops for six years but
on the seventh year you need to let it lay fallow- why? Because it cannot yield
year after year. These are the laws- these are the things that made sense to
them. If you have two different types of clothing don’t sew them together into
one garment because it will pull apart. If you have mold on the side of your
house you need to clean it for seven days- all of these were practical rules to
live by. The problem arose when they made these laws. And once they made them
laws, they became <i>Judge, jury and executioner</i> over anyone who broke them.
Insert into that a revolutionary, a <span style="color: #38761d;"><i>counter-cultural crazy rabbi </i></span>who breaks
every one of these laws- virtually. Who heals people on the Sabbath, who tells
parables about how a man is lying in a ditch and two priests pass by on the
other side and one man defiles himself to help him. This rabbi heals a woman
who has been bleeding which was definitely unclean, a man who goes around
eating with tax-collectors and sinners; a man who is so counter-cultural that
everything he says makes them want to kill him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRY-_rN_dbjLje1vXbiq8k-41fr8DGSIj1jJ38gMZD6Osdhxsou-aRoQufyPj3BF-v9zox7DdhjYochf4XczjDs85qZsQYaOYWKHvnbyER5jouAaAx9XDuCPlVkj01hTD_xjJZIXsqz-uR/s1600/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRY-_rN_dbjLje1vXbiq8k-41fr8DGSIj1jJ38gMZD6Osdhxsou-aRoQufyPj3BF-v9zox7DdhjYochf4XczjDs85qZsQYaOYWKHvnbyER5jouAaAx9XDuCPlVkj01hTD_xjJZIXsqz-uR/s1600/house.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">My wife Ashley and I were working in our yard yesterday to
sort of try to keep up with the neighbors just a little bit. And we were
working to pull weeds and she asked me to pull up a weed near me. I looked
around but didn’t see one. “I don’t see it” I said. She told me to look again
and finally came over and pulled on one of the sprouts of the weed and said,
“this, this is the weed” I said, “you mean this huge plant here?” “Yes,” she
said, “that’s a weed.” To which I said, “who gets to decide what is a weed and
what is a plant?” So I looked it up, and apparently there is no difference. A
weed is simply an unwanted plant. In fact, one person’s weed could be another
person’s plant. We are arbitrators over
what makes a plant and what makes a weed. We judge for ourselves what is clean
and good and what is unclean and bad. And when we give ourselves too much
authority to decide not just about plants and things, but when some people are
clean and some people are unclean, we go against the kingdom of God. That is
what Jesus is talking about when he compares the kingdom of heaven to weeds and
mold. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have lived in our house for a little over a year now, and
before we moved in, we noticed that the house had beautiful- looking ivy
growing up the side of it. Now we realize that we kind of hate ivy. Because
every time we met a neighbor at an adjoining yard they would tell us that Mrs.
Barbara who had the house before us planted that ivy and that it had spread to
their yard. And every time we met someone we were the people in the house that
brought ivy to the neighborhood. And we thought this ivy that looks beautiful
doesn’t just stay there. Ivy grows everywhere and you can’t fight it. One day I
was out in the back yard, cursing under my breath, hacking at the ivy with my
axe for chopping firewood, and my neighbor came out and said to me, “you
fighting that ivy?” “Yeah” I said. “He said you want to know how to beat the
ivy? “Yes, please, I asked.” “You move” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6hnOL9RcoalnpYBBvHInc7Id7qTQcs1jMZ7Xl6vAkwWrkF9aJ0DjUbB9fJ-1m-8gMHAhBRCvSpSQqQT9la-ggo_0NhH-m0NPMSkZyIPpf6-d7FSMgp8-lIIgnlCccJqLdQDFDNor9Zz_/s1600/luther+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6hnOL9RcoalnpYBBvHInc7Id7qTQcs1jMZ7Xl6vAkwWrkF9aJ0DjUbB9fJ-1m-8gMHAhBRCvSpSQqQT9la-ggo_0NhH-m0NPMSkZyIPpf6-d7FSMgp8-lIIgnlCccJqLdQDFDNor9Zz_/s1600/luther+quote.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">You know the thing about weeds is, even when you try to keep
them down, they come back. And that’s a good lesson for us to hear that <i>we are
simply not in control of our lives</i>. And the sooner we realize that, the sooner
we embrace the fact that we are not in control of our own garden of our lives,
the <span style="color: #38761d;"><i>better </i></span>and <span style="color: #38761d;"><i>happier</i></span> we will be. As a parent I find myself constantly trying
to “stay on top of things” whatever that means. Trying to make sure that my
kids are perfect, that everything goes right, that they are not lacking in any
school subject, that they are riding their bike on time, that they never wear
the same socks two days in a row, that they go to bed on time, get up early,
have brain food and vitamins, and that everything would be perfect. But by the
time our third child came along we realized that this was not a good plan for
success. So we have decided to admit that we are not always in control and we
could give our lives up to God. And it is so much better. Rather than trying to
control all the weeds in the garden why don’t we spend time <i>enjoying the fruits
that we have</i>? Rather than trying to be in control of everything why don’t we
<i>let go and let God</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The reading from Romans 8 flows perfectly from the Gospel.
Paul reminds us that we are convinced that neither death nor life, nor angles
nor rulers, no height nor depth, nor things present nor things to come- NOTHING
can ever separate us from the love of God. You want to know why the kingdom of
God is like weeds? It’s because nothing stops it, nothing gets in the way of
it, and nobody else can tell God how to rule God’s garden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are not in control. We have not been tasked with judging
who is in and who is out. Paul continues, “It is God who Justifies. Who is to
condemn?” <i>It is not our job to judge
others</i>, <b>period</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The power afforded those who were judging who was clean and
who was unclean came to a head when this man who was walking around talking
against their laws- and they looked at him and it didn’t take long for them to
say, ‘that’s a weed and he needs to be plucked up.’ So they took him, put him
on a cross, and killed him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyI1_wLAxxnM2C81wERSjwyyvPcX5exKO812NZjKK7hCEeblCfNrTajAvUBpjpw3noHFYpec4ajHYeX1WUA990K2K3S8iROWxdBTQ-srqjlo1Iakjxtf-bQv94kX2RiQbKdJ2241-qLnXw/s1600/new-creation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyI1_wLAxxnM2C81wERSjwyyvPcX5exKO812NZjKK7hCEeblCfNrTajAvUBpjpw3noHFYpec4ajHYeX1WUA990K2K3S8iROWxdBTQ-srqjlo1Iakjxtf-bQv94kX2RiQbKdJ2241-qLnXw/s1600/new-creation.jpg" height="320" width="316" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b> </b>three days later,<b> </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> that ‘<b><i>weed</i></b>’ came back. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> Amen. </span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-14867707910523371142014-04-16T07:56:00.000-07:002014-04-16T07:58:17.013-07:00My encounters with the Woman at the Well: A personal sermon on John 4<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmolnKlHMkeoBbYCEvS5wYDK7M30w6cU1pa_Tg9ZAHrNDGzhE3PWQoE18Z2Dlh22zqQzls4owNA5VzhLY0YsAPit_wsUIn16wh8zILkkGRcWDVyTYVxgubFl6Js8aLuAVzXWTUBehj9gd/s1600/well+wordle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmolnKlHMkeoBbYCEvS5wYDK7M30w6cU1pa_Tg9ZAHrNDGzhE3PWQoE18Z2Dlh22zqQzls4owNA5VzhLY0YsAPit_wsUIn16wh8zILkkGRcWDVyTYVxgubFl6Js8aLuAVzXWTUBehj9gd/s1600/well+wordle.png" height="261" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The audio for this sermon can be found <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/third-sunday-in-lent-2/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace and Peace-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These women are
seeking microloans from <a href="http://kiva.org/">Kiva.org</a>. We will get back to these two women in a
moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the last 2.5 years, I have served on the Justice
for Women Consulting Committee of the ELCA. Twice a year I go to Chicago where
we strategize and prayerfully consider how women are treated in our church and
in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A little over a year ago I was approached to write a
study guide about a Documentary called <a href="http://film.missrepresentation.org/" target="_blank">Missrepresentation</a>, a film that catalogs
the various ways that women are mistreated in the media. <a href="http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/A_Study_Guide_For_The_Film_Miss_Representation.pdf" target="_blank">That study guide</a> will
is going through final editing and will be published and distributed to every
synod office in the country in the next few months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now if you’re asking, “Why is he, a white male,
writing for Justice for women” you’re not alone- I ask that question
frequently...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Most pastors have something of a “call”
story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">If I had to pick one text, it would be
this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The woman at the well story has been the
single most influential text in my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">As many of you know, my Mother is a
Pastor. When I was a young teenager, my mother was thinking about going to
seminary and I was trying to deal with the biblical texts against women being
preachers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">And even though women not being allowed
to be preachers didn’t affect me because I’m not a woman, I can tell you that
my conscience would not have allowed me to go to seminary if my mother wasn’t
allowed in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">So, in the context of that story, I want
to show you how my reading about the woman at the well has changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I love the woman at the well story
because of the surprising nature of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoSTI_Kh_oJMynrMLoAEy0j1X_Wjdz8JMyQKPE0UZXSNUXFf04zTxu2tl3JyL0Uw01vHkW2qz9BryyZdyN__dITAOOxhLhXxZ2_AHE1eNdEXB2KCYxvQIoh849h6JuiqquHh20BM1DAs1/s1600/Woman-at-the-Well.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoSTI_Kh_oJMynrMLoAEy0j1X_Wjdz8JMyQKPE0UZXSNUXFf04zTxu2tl3JyL0Uw01vHkW2qz9BryyZdyN__dITAOOxhLhXxZ2_AHE1eNdEXB2KCYxvQIoh849h6JuiqquHh20BM1DAs1/s1600/Woman-at-the-Well.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">It sounds bad- t</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">he text tells us that she has been
married 5 times- and the man she is with now is not her husband. Women weren’t
allowed to divorce their husbands. A man could divorce his wife for two
reasons:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">If she were barren<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">If she were unfaithful</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">In both cases she would go back to her
father’s house (or maybe be killed), but in neither of those cases she would never be married again.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The most likely reason that she had been
married five times is because her previous four husbands had died. It was
customary that if the oldest brother died that she would remarry the second
brother. And if he died, she’d marry the third, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">And the man she’s with now won’t marry
her because he is superstitious about what happened to the other five. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">And yet, perhaps none of us were taught
that kind of information about this woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The day that I was confirmed at Good Shepherd
Lutheran church, I was dealing with all of these issues surrounding my future
call and my mother’s call as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">And on that day I was given this verse,
“The water that I give will become in you a fountain, welling up to eternal
life”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">But I don’t understand why he would give
me a scripture verse of something Jesus said to such a deplorable woman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The pastor told me that he thought that
when was older that people were going to listen to me, that I would be a
leader, and that I would have to be careful what I say because others would be
listening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61zej9llIYGNUOb8vG5j8O0ixfxacNasC88GOJMYvugOQJAAYPEzE6aEAUsILMU0hvaQ1yQwFmfdhVhzwEoWXM-Y5gP8j-JQbHu7vk9o0e-T0dDPSEifdcov9ABws9JdEQ4w1FKF6ol54/s1600/rlc-360-intro-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61zej9llIYGNUOb8vG5j8O0ixfxacNasC88GOJMYvugOQJAAYPEzE6aEAUsILMU0hvaQ1yQwFmfdhVhzwEoWXM-Y5gP8j-JQbHu7vk9o0e-T0dDPSEifdcov9ABws9JdEQ4w1FKF6ol54/s1600/rlc-360-intro-small.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">At the same time, my confirmation was
our last Sunday at GSLC, as Mom had taken a position as a Deaconess at an LCMS
church in Cary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The next week, my family and I were
standing in front of our new congregation, in a beautiful new church building,
with a beautiful marble baptismal font. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">And as I was leaning on the font I
noticed a verse etched into the front of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">It was from John 4:14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> “The water that I give will become in you a
fountain, welling up to eternal life”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">This verse is following me! I thought to
myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I went home and prayed. I prayed that
God would give me some clarity not only for this verse, but in my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">That sense of self-discovery took more
than 10 years. Several years later I found myself in a wooden chair of an ELCA
seminary classroom a little after sunrise. My eyes were tired. We were learning
Greek and our professor called on me to translate a verse. I looked down were
reading this passage of John chapter 4, and the story of the woman at the well.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally I came to terms with this verse.
For the water that I shall give will become in you a spring of water, welling
up to eternal life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus isn’t condemning her, he’s
identifying with her. When we read the text, we can plainly see that the woman
is excited by Jesus revealing her intimate story. <b><u>Twice after meeting Jesus she goes to people </u></b>and says the
English words, “He told me everything I had ever done” but in greek, it would
read more like, “He told me my life’s story” “or, he told me everything I had
ever gone through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">This woman isn’t a harlot, she’s just a
poor, sad, woman who was previously invisible. She was lost, and now she’s been
found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John 3- Nicodemus coming to Jesus as night. For God
so loved the world- those who believe <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Renowned John scholar- and Dean of Wake Forest
Divinity- Gail O’Day says that this woman is the world’s first Christian
theologian! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She believes. And she goes to tell everyone about
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Compare that to Nick in Chapter 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nicodemous, whose actions are forgettable, has a
name- but the woman at the well- she remained anonymous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I called my mom to share with her what I had learned
that day. We vowed to teach the woman at the well story, not as a woman shamed
or even forgiven- but as a woman with a brain who had value and purpose! We
also vowed to look out for when women were being marginalized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was a vicar I was in the same city as my
mother. We saw each other once a month at our conference meetings. And I was
amazed at how often my mother would go overlooked- one time every person in the
room was asked their opinion except her. Forgotten, marginalized. Invisible. As
a vicar and a son, I didn’t know my place. But now, as a theologically trained
ordained pastor and feminist advocate, things have changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The woman at the well story reminds us that Jesus
sets us free. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Before she met Jesus, every day she
traveled to this well to get water to survive. Her life was as stagnant as the
water at the bottom of the well. But the well they met at was steeped in the
tradition of Jacob and patriarchy. The rules of that patriarchal system said
that this woman was destined to lose. Never getting to choose whom she married,
forever dealing with the trauma of losing five husbands and not being able to
be seen during the daytime for ridicule that she was now living with someone
who wouldn’t marry her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7kj-voElQF3WD7kLfbDlsDSxUp004bxqq4W0pxdkQBv9Et2ULXs-A_SDSRB6P9LsOxBcw25Oi6hi16xtmpeqGcHvV2TIS5ngRbg0lRYXpGVx7J_7sY7b8PhRIala3cxl42Qqqo96Uwh8/s1600/boone+to+winston.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7kj-voElQF3WD7kLfbDlsDSxUp004bxqq4W0pxdkQBv9Et2ULXs-A_SDSRB6P9LsOxBcw25Oi6hi16xtmpeqGcHvV2TIS5ngRbg0lRYXpGVx7J_7sY7b8PhRIala3cxl42Qqqo96Uwh8/s1600/boone+to+winston.png" height="187" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The she met the Son of Man who just HAD
to go through Samaria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s like saying in driving from Boone
to Winston that he HAD to go through Charlotte<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">He had to go through Samaria because he
knew she would be there and he needed to talk with her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The well is deep, she tells Jesus- and
you don’t have anything to get a drink from. And you’re not supposed to be
talking to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Again Jesus refuses to play be the
rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Then the verse that changed her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">For the water that I shall give shall
become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">If you’ve ever been to a poorly
circulated pond you know that stagnant water is no good. It can make you sick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The ancients knew that moving water- or
living water- they called it- was clean and you didn’t have to go to it- it
came to you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">When Jesus starts a conversation with a
woman and tells her about a life of purpose she leaves her pitcher of stagnant
water behind and goes to town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">My mom and I share this verse as our
favorite part of scripture, and not just because of what it does for women in
ministry. <u>But this text, above all others, shows us that Jesus knows our
story, and in spite of how bad it seems, he calls us to something greater than
our story</u>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">He calls us to mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">God gives us the purpose to spread the story
even when we are </span><span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 24.533334732055664px;">anonymous</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Over time this story made me wonder- who
else in our world have been overlooked, judged wrongly and stuck with stagnant
water. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> These
pictures are of women seeking microloans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I put up a link on our facebook page to Kiva.org. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPugmUyWmbur1KCIx8nVRrDCid6didDmZk3bSXi92DGxDPkghXt5PfSE5q6NoNX20tnbR4FXlPlYlr1JQopHSA-AnoWrZkdhl5X_o-y73a1i40K3i3Io2yv7-EYrAKBJAX6c04RWY3Hxrj/s1600/The+bible+scene+with+Jesus+at+the+well+with+the+Samaritan+woman+shows+signs+of+damage+and+peeling+of+paint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPugmUyWmbur1KCIx8nVRrDCid6didDmZk3bSXi92DGxDPkghXt5PfSE5q6NoNX20tnbR4FXlPlYlr1JQopHSA-AnoWrZkdhl5X_o-y73a1i40K3i3Io2yv7-EYrAKBJAX6c04RWY3Hxrj/s1600/The+bible+scene+with+Jesus+at+the+well+with+the+Samaritan+woman+shows+signs+of+damage+and+peeling+of+paint.jpg" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Microloans they have been growing in popularity in
large part because ¾ of them are given to women with small businesses all over
the world to the tune of about $38 billion annually. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given to women for lots of reasons? Women were found
more deserving of investment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Men have been found more likely to ask for a loan
bigger than they need, to work independently, to invest in riskier endeavors,
more likely to lie and cheat, more likely to default, and more likely to act
violently when the bank comes to collect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In every measurable category- paying on time, the
size of the loan, working collaboratively, default rate, return on investment-
every category women outshine men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My mom and I starting lending money through kiva, in
large part, because of the woman at the well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus didn’t have kiva in his day, but somehow still
knew that this woman were more deserving
of his investment than Nicodemus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I pray for you today is that you may be inspired to
action because of Jesus’ encounter with the world's first anonymous Christian
theologian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-15019085138427060792014-03-24T12:14:00.003-07:002014-03-24T12:39:54.881-07:00Nicodemus: What are you afraid of?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl_ZN1CgW-vP9zcXi0IEMqUsLR_NrcH0Uy1M5-So8mOYcmOQyfkckT6plg_QXjVtKM0x2GJpDkb-93tga04Q5ZotFOYfNJxA64LoLt-kuQcUDgPxrsscbHNCf8TTPHi0TbDrNM7X_M6F2/s1600/nicodemus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl_ZN1CgW-vP9zcXi0IEMqUsLR_NrcH0Uy1M5-So8mOYcmOQyfkckT6plg_QXjVtKM0x2GJpDkb-93tga04Q5ZotFOYfNJxA64LoLt-kuQcUDgPxrsscbHNCf8TTPHi0TbDrNM7X_M6F2/s1600/nicodemus.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A sermon written on the story surrounding John 3:16. Written for our daughter Avery Kathleen Pugh, on 3/16, the day she was baptized.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSkE20mFAvKGTAXGp0-Q2Ti72GODMzq_0TDaNa5HIBfCO_Xcx5o8Skmf9vrLt7YHl1Z94I75PunjKD1C86dSuVmR3f6BCYL6hAw4hk5sW2RLl5cpm50gwcHhOKR74knc8MCXmLXHa_p3A/s1600/baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSkE20mFAvKGTAXGp0-Q2Ti72GODMzq_0TDaNa5HIBfCO_Xcx5o8Skmf9vrLt7YHl1Z94I75PunjKD1C86dSuVmR3f6BCYL6hAw4hk5sW2RLl5cpm50gwcHhOKR74knc8MCXmLXHa_p3A/s1600/baptism.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
The audio is found <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/140316_Sermon_dpugh.mp3">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Two nights ago Jacob and I are lying on his bed in the dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Jacob: Dad, have you ever stayed up all night?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Ashley and I have made promises to not lie to our kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Me: Yes, Jacob, I have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">More than once? He asks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Yes, more than once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Dad, what did you do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Mostly we got in trouble, I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I do not think I want to do that, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I know. But you will, I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">There is a saying in our house that Nothing Good ever happens after 2 am? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Two phrases have dropped out of my vocabulary over time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">What do you have to lose? What are you afraid of? As a young man these two questions got me in plenty of trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">But as time has gone on- that same Litmus test doesn’t work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">What am I afraid of? Lots of things. What do I have to lose? Everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWFurlI2_pwxDqKmC-iHtSD5Aq1g0J1wIEpZ64G_SN6rCTyxUpJHNjkaJVH2EVfEEcNLn9sqwMexUa7anlsXQzMdah_4xXrvVY_NDE194Q6PuhYyVp5pLnhef0Jf8i_r_dVTd8cb80ENd/s1600/mother_praying_with_daughter_1778074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWFurlI2_pwxDqKmC-iHtSD5Aq1g0J1wIEpZ64G_SN6rCTyxUpJHNjkaJVH2EVfEEcNLn9sqwMexUa7anlsXQzMdah_4xXrvVY_NDE194Q6PuhYyVp5pLnhef0Jf8i_r_dVTd8cb80ENd/s1600/mother_praying_with_daughter_1778074.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I always say, I do not know how anyone raises kids these days without having someone to pray to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">And when I get in bed I offer this prayer, “Lord, watch over my children when I can’t.” Some nights I sleep better than others. The darkness is sometimes overwhelming. Darkness can smell fear. Suddenly I’m breathing in darkness, filling my lungs with pure fear. Fear for my kids. For Ashley, my house, my purpose in life, fear that the uncertainty of the future and the missteps of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I’m a pretty rational guy, but fear ain’t rational. We all have it. My worst fear, the one that finds me in the utter darkness, is that God isn’t really there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Some say God is angry or dead or doesn’t exist- I envision it more like darkness, like a closet or a cave. Without God there can be no true joy- just synapses and impulses and dopamine. All life is a meaningless illusion. A void bigger than a black hole. Inescapable Darkness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">That is my worst nightmare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">In my tired and dark moments I turn to scripture. Though where I do not want to turn the light on- for fear of waking someone else up- someone who isn’t struggling with deep metaphysical darkness, instead I close my eyes and read the bible verses I have memorized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Luther liked to say that bible is the cradle the holds baby Jesus, and inside the gospel,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">He also said John 3:16 is the gospel in a nutshell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">A psychologist might tell you that all phobias ultimately boil down to one: the fear of death. This is the very promise that Jesus aims to make- whoever believes shall not perish, but have life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Beautiful passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE9EPvEXnfk5oFOSbQ3bJ3qjVcDgMYJbIbpQqQWdjU2fOlbnwVGAmnSKafLMw0qs5f4FFOjXxoyA6nuMPxG47RfUXWVfXGO4aUp69m68Qrg3hIuZjXHLF7OJKu0mlQ0Rz-Ki9gW_Jv7uT/s1600/john316wig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE9EPvEXnfk5oFOSbQ3bJ3qjVcDgMYJbIbpQqQWdjU2fOlbnwVGAmnSKafLMw0qs5f4FFOjXxoyA6nuMPxG47RfUXWVfXGO4aUp69m68Qrg3hIuZjXHLF7OJKu0mlQ0Rz-Ki9gW_Jv7uT/s1600/john316wig.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">It belongs as the heart of a great speech, a sermon on the mountain or plain in the sun high in the sky and where Jesus is reaching thousands. Belongs on the front page of every gospel, on the front of the bible, on bill boards, written in the sky and written on signs held by disturbed men wearing rainbow wigs at football games..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">But it’s not in a great speech. There is no great crowd, no cheers after receiving it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">The great John 3:16, when first uttered, falls on the deaf ears of a Nicodemus, a man who wasn’t ready to hear it, in the middle of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">It’s dark. And not just because the sun is down. Nicodemus is stumbling in the dark, tripping on his own system of laws, unable to sleep, and afraid to be seen in public at the foot of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Nicodemus is over educated. Rather than the college student he’s more like the professor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Jesus has no formal training. He’s a carpenters son who got baptized by an eccentric Zealot. For anyone witnessing Nicodemus going to see Jesus in the middle of the night might just think- this is the blind leading the blind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Under cover of darkness, Nicodemus opens the conversation with no question, but rather tries to tell Jesus who he thinks he is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Not prophet, not Lord, not savior, not messiah, not Christos- just a Rabbi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Jesus responds. Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Born again? Nicodemus asks. Like in a womb?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Same word born again/above<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Jesus: No, born of water and the spirit. Do not be astonished. It’s like the wind, the Spirit blows where it blows, and you can’t see it, and you do not know where it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Jesus is playing with him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQU7SAOkov610o1DvpB7rLHZyUvnLb3bYt3_EoFedyaLex5FpnwosMUjh0j3Wmwz1XZdKzjUhxWt1SCG_2bpMBSB1PL0Uo7et0ztGnlN_DAehMYUiyDj2ZQGcsv8eTpH1jHECm1ZReUbt/s1600/jesu21b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQU7SAOkov610o1DvpB7rLHZyUvnLb3bYt3_EoFedyaLex5FpnwosMUjh0j3Wmwz1XZdKzjUhxWt1SCG_2bpMBSB1PL0Uo7et0ztGnlN_DAehMYUiyDj2ZQGcsv8eTpH1jHECm1ZReUbt/s1600/jesu21b.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;"><b>How can these things be?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Nicodemus, like all of us, imagine the order of things to be a certain way. And a couple of times in our lives, all of a sudden everything we thought we knew comes crashing down around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">It’s hard to pick up the pieces of your life falls apart. It is hard to answer the question eating at our souls, “How can these things be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">We lose our job, or a pet. We ask, how can these things be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">We look at new self- which looks more like an old self and we ask, “How can these things be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">The doctor tells us we need surgery and when we wake up, a part of our body will be gone forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">“How can these things be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Mom calls. She says Dad’s had a heart attack. And all we can think to say is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">“How can these things be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">The darkness fills our lungs and all of a sudden, the same God we worship by day we curse by night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Nicodemus goes home bruised and limping like Jacob, from his wrestle with the living God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">But his story isn’t over. In chapter 19 he applies his knowledge of Jewish law to properly prepare the lifeless body of Jesus for burial. I imagine him uttering those same words but with different meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">This man was supposed to be the messiah. I finally believed in him and now he’s dead. He promised eternal life. How can these things be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I heard a definition of Faith that I really like. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Faith is believing in promises that have been made to you. Like John 3:16.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Those nights of darkness fear and doubt fill our lungs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">So I have a challenge for you. For a whole week, instead of confessing our sins, lets us try to confess our fears. Confess your inability to trust in things unseen, your struggle to hold onto God’s promise in the dark times of our life. Confess that we want to trust ourselves rather than God. Confess that we do not believe and we do not see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">What are you afraid of? What do you have to lose?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">I’d like to read for you a poem called the Conversation of the Unborn twins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">he conversation of a set of twins in the womb of their mother ...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_FrVLbXj0EP1oJ9O1mc1mpe6PokYhGNutGD3fWeQRHk2HfuvM9mcLLjV2GFQNbysp1b5V1IadtPugDn4ZcIMqhj-xUi2kzIam0C5BrK1lZJT_yljHpgkKXNYVJ94jTmXVAcWRL_xG5L2/s1600/2011-09-Rem-twins-in-womb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_FrVLbXj0EP1oJ9O1mc1mpe6PokYhGNutGD3fWeQRHk2HfuvM9mcLLjV2GFQNbysp1b5V1IadtPugDn4ZcIMqhj-xUi2kzIam0C5BrK1lZJT_yljHpgkKXNYVJ94jTmXVAcWRL_xG5L2/s1600/2011-09-Rem-twins-in-womb.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Say, do you actually believe in life after birth?” the one twin asks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Yes, definitely! Inside we grow and are prepared for what will come outside,” answered the other twin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I believe that’s nonsense!” says the first. “There can’t be life after birth—what is that supposed to look like?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I do not exactly know either. But there will certainly be much more light than in here. And maybe we will be walking about and eat with our mouths?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I’ve never heard such nonsense! Eating with the mouth? What a crazy idea. There is the umbilical cord that nourishes us. And how do you want to walk about? The umbilical cord is much too short.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I am sure it is possible. It’s just that everything will be a little bit different.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“You are crazy! Nobody ever came back after birth. Life is over with birth. That’s it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I admit that nobody knows what life after birth will look like. But I do know that we will see our mother then, and that she will take care of us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Mother???? But you do not believe in a mother, do you? Where is she?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“She is here, all around us. We are and we live within her and through her. Without her we couldn’t exist at all!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Nonsense! I’ve never sensed a mother, consequently she doesn’t exist.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Yes, sometimes, when we are very quiet you can hear her sing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">—Author Unknown<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Today we baptize our baby girl, Avery Kathleen Pugh, as a child of God, whether she likes it or not. I am so excited to baptize our baby girl I can’t stand it. She is a symbol of God’s promise to give life to the world. Of God’s love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">Baptism is a great reminder that God acts first. There are some who would say that we ought to wait to baptize, until the person can speak for themselves and profess their own faith. But God does not ask our permission to love us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">So when you’re in the dark, when the fear and doubt fill your lungs, remember that sometimes the greatest thing to happen after 2am is the breaking of the first light, and the promise of a new day. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-30797252083899789252014-01-06T07:57:00.001-08:002014-01-06T08:12:30.653-08:00A Sermon on Broken Families and Posing for Christmas Cards<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The audio version can be found <a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/fourth-sunday-of-advent/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace and Peace to You!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a Dad, I find myself expecting more and more of
my boys as they grow older and more capable. I expect them to be in their best
behavior when company is over, I expect them to always tell the truth, to clean
their room, and treat each other with respect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have high expectations of my children, they’re
Pastor’s Kids, after all. And I get from them my share of eye-rolls and
tantrums. My expectations sometimes go unmet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I’m often amazed when I pick my kids up from
school or a baby sitter when they tell me how well behaved my children were in
their care. My children? I ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When my expectations aren’t met, I don’t recoil or
recalculate. I don’t lower my bar. I sit them down and ask this question,
“What’s your plan?” How do you expect to get the results you want from the
behavior you are exhibiting? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I find something they want and I ask them to work
for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know they have high expectations of me as your
father to not yell at traffic or football games. I am a pastor, after all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two weeks ago, while posing for our Christmas photo,
I was fussing at the boys to behave, focus, and look happy between clicks of
the camera. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My son said to me, though grinned teeth, “What’s your
plan, Dad?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I laughed, shocked. And then I smiled and we got the
photo we wanted. I love that my kids push me to be a better father and human
being. I love that they don’t lower their bar for me either. They’re tough but
fair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Matthew doesn’t paint a warm picture, but tells the
story of the baby by way of the man who raised him, Joseph. The gospel starts
with a lineage as long as a whole page with two columns. The names of famous
people are peppered in for flavor- <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kings and adulterers, women famous for a certain
reason, and their children. As a whole this litany of 28 generations looks
impressive and regal. But under the microscope we see a family full of
dysfunction. Joseph is declared the son of David. But David’s wife isn’t named
only as “the wife of Uriah” meaning that the family tree and it’s most famous
ancestor wasn’t without his skeletons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ultimately this is just another dysfunctional family
portrait. No amount of golden-flecked pages are going to hide that. And to make
matters worse, the centuries of royalty and nobility come to a screeching halt
because of the main character of Matthew’s first chapter: Joseph, son of Jacob,
descendant of David and Abraham. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">See, Joseph isn’t exactly sure how his fiancée got
pregnant, but he knows for sure he didn’t do it. Standing on the shoulders of
his “righteous” ancestors, he has no choice but to save his name for another
who is more worthy. Mary was a poor girl anyway, he shouldn’t have to lower his
standards for her. He decides to take the high road, to dismiss her in secret
so that she will forgo trial and probable stoning. The Jewish courthouse should
have a sign that says, “Innocent until proven pregnant.” She’s definitely
pregnant. Joseph is embarrassed. The family has fallen on hard times. Given his
status, he should have his pick of eligible teenagers, but he is no noble, just
a carpenter. A handy man. A laborer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph has made up him mind, not like he had a
choice. If his grandparents only knew the shame he felt they’d rise from their
graves like Ezekiel prophesied. Them bones them bones them dry bones…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Isaiah had a prophesy too. A messiah would come.
From his lineage. Not from a peasant girl with a wandering eye. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ancients didn’t know what we do about fertility.
They believed that father supplied all ingredients for a child and that women
merely carried it. This means the child wasn’t half Mary’s, it 100% belonged to
someone else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph made up his mind. He knew his plan. He’d cut
bait and try again with someone more deserving. Tough but fair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then an angel visited Joseph in a dream. He was,
after all, named after his great-great grand uncle Joseph the great dreamer.
But enough name-dropping. An angel came to visit him. Probably Gabriel given
his lineage. Only the best for the best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The angel told Joseph that his fiancée was telling
the truth and that the baby was made by the holy spirit and was the messiah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph awoke, probably with a million questions-
like the ones we ask today. Wait, if he’s the messiah, then why did the prophet
say that it would come from my lineage, if I’m not the father. Don’t you know
that the books will tell my family history and leave the reader guessing why
after 4 times the perfect number 7 of generations the story ends with me only
to start seconds later without me? Joseph must feel like the extension cord
that comes up two inches short of the Christmas lights on my mailbox: He’s
going to have to find another power source. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then he probably contemplated how-exactly God plans
to grow a child in a human womb that is not of a human father. Only once, the
first man was made by God without a mother. Is this supposed to be the New
Adam? Is the lineage supposed to end with me? Is this some sort of fresh start?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The angel told me to name his Jesus, well, in Hebrew
Yeshua, which means God saves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two problems here for Joseph- the prophesy said “<b><u>you</u></b> shall call him Emmanuel” but
the angel says, “they shall call him Emmanuel which means, ‘God with us’” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph knows what the name means. He knows the
prophesy, so why name him something else?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The second problem Joseph would have is that the
name Yeshua is not in his family tree, it’s a common name, like John or Bob.
It’s a local’s name, a poor person of Nazareth. Why not David or Abraham or
Jacob? This naming of someone else’s child a name that belongs to lesser beings
is another slap in the face. Joseph must have fought the urge to run from this
tornado of disaster. But Gabriel is a family friend. The decision doesn’t add
up, but despite his better judgment Joseph follows the voices in his head, the
visions in his dream. He weds the woman and settles in for another 28
generations of regret and waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The question that remains unanswered in my mind, is
what level of choice Joseph thought he had. Did he have any agency in this? Imagine,
just for a second, if Joseph followed the law and turned Mary in. The saint and
the Christ child would never have been, and all of Israel would have to have
waited who knows how many more generations before God would try again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He almost said no. He almost turned down the savior
of the world in order to save his family’s good name. But I wonder if Matthew
didn’t post the lineage of screwballs and harlots on the first page of his
gospel to give Joseph some hope. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, The wife of Uriah, are all
wildcards. Each known for using what God gave them, all gentiles and not Jews,
all outspoken and kind of awesome. Matthew could have left them out, substituting
instead Rachel, Sarah, and Rebecca.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But this is a family of heroes not do-gooders, and
well behaved women rarely make history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Matthew leads us to assume that Joseph decided to
father the child BECAUSE of his crazy family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God works in mysterious ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, Joseph had a choice. We know that because God
always gives us a choice. God is powerful and can be wrathful. God would have
good reason to wipe out humanity and start over for the 3<sup>rd</sup> time,
with no one left on earth to remember the promise of the rainbow to Noah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But God doesn’t come to us this time in the name of
wrath, but in the name of love. The one that is to be called “God saves”
doesn’t arrive with a wand and a book on sorcery, but is born like a human
being is born- tiny and helpless. He comes to us as vulnerable as a newborn
baby so that we may learn to care and love God as He cares and loves us. If he
had come with a sword he would have been met with shields of hatred. But he
comes in the innocence of a helpless, lovable creature that makes grown men let
down their guards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I imagine my boys saying, “God, what’s your plan?”
How do you expect to get the results you want from the behavior you are
exhibiting? God’s plan seems far-fetched and ill-fated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> But it works
on the hard-heartedness of Joseph. In times where paternity of a child is in
question, whoever names the child is legally the father. By naming the child,
Joseph acknowledges Jesus as his own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And Joseph lives into God’s plan, not by naming his
son from the heroes of the past, but names him for the hero of the future.
“Jesus” which means “God saves.” And a nuclear family is joined together Mary,
Joseph, and the Savior of humanity. I imagine receiving their Christmas card in
my mailbox, they’re all smiles for the camera. Fortunately the smell of the
stable doesn’t translate to the photo. There is no question that the first
Christmas literally stunk. But we don’t usually focus on that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m glad today that we have Matthew’s Gospel. It
isn’t the pretty version- no- we save Luke’s version for Christmas Eve. But
Matthew’s version wonderfully real. It’s not a posed portrait, it’s a snapshot
of real life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two years ago we posed for our Christmas Card photo
on the park that overlooks the golden gate bridge. It took too long to get the
kids ready, so by the time we got there the sun had moved to directly behind
us, making a shot of the bridge behind us impossible. So we turned around and
with the Berkeley hills behind us, we shot 200 or so images to find one that
was passible. We had to adjust because Jacob had a broken arm, so we put that
hand behind us. We couldn’t get Thomas to smile, he had a cold, and two days
later would be taken to the ER for an asthma attack on Ashley’s Birthday. And
he’d go back the night after that. 4 trips to the ER in 30 days. But darn it,
we were going to get our Christmas card. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S_BTFYoefxjFQ8Mcrydi3Y6swXk1DNPuM-cRtNxxUidKPsPz86qjvLA-Bp2e5rFMb0VuQc0wji1roSc1HcfrsROCRenvHoU4PZXVB9lywlcvRz87KGchDsyZK-7G1dmCCYqC6FCJFeLt/s1600/IMG_4572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S_BTFYoefxjFQ8Mcrydi3Y6swXk1DNPuM-cRtNxxUidKPsPz86qjvLA-Bp2e5rFMb0VuQc0wji1roSc1HcfrsROCRenvHoU4PZXVB9lywlcvRz87KGchDsyZK-7G1dmCCYqC6FCJFeLt/s1600/IMG_4572.JPG" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We worked hard for that picture, the
stress of life hidden behind our eyes and lying though our exposed teeth. A
year ago we blew that picture up and placed it over our fireplace, to remind us
of the beauty of our family in good and bad times. People come over and they
comment on the beautiful picture, but I can’t look at it without seeing the
broken arm, the nights spent screaming in pain, the birthday Ashley spent in
the ER. It wasn’t until about a month ago that Ashley told me she spotted, in
the upper right hand corner of the picture the blue port-a-potty. We went for a
posed portrait and left with a snapshot of real life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This Christmas, that photo hangs proudly above the
mantle that holds the manger scene and Christmas stockings, including the
stocking for our baby girl who knows nothing yet of this world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Church, along with her parents, will help her grow, asking her “What’s
your plan”, and holding her to high standards out of love. She, in turn, will
hold us to high standards, out of the same love. However you picture it, it
will be full of love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes the truth even more beautiful than the
story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-89241049956744468342013-10-08T12:41:00.004-07:002013-10-08T14:23:39.021-07:00Govn't still resting on the 7th day: A call to prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNKvcQLVmwkOlsUhN0bgfkqddq8jb00iI0E-7rJlESwQMJBFylx6JA6jbGAK4vWmm69GZ23A676cQB4HqYNqT3F6dfEzL-wyoqRKY_O2pc9MUjAt-fIUeXJ1DnNzNCXpoAahcM6QJNDIL/s1600/creation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNKvcQLVmwkOlsUhN0bgfkqddq8jb00iI0E-7rJlESwQMJBFylx6JA6jbGAK4vWmm69GZ23A676cQB4HqYNqT3F6dfEzL-wyoqRKY_O2pc9MUjAt-fIUeXJ1DnNzNCXpoAahcM6QJNDIL/s400/creation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3>
The Hebrew creation poem states that on the 7th day God rested; and it was good. </h3>
But our government is not working after 7 days of nothing, and for millions of Americans that's bad. If you aren't concerned about that for yourself, you should be for the millions of people who can't eat, sleep, or work because of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-_4cPOvlKySR9jeQhRcz_nx3qul2eky9QgYlOO4Qf-ZfKaaSDkIVOuiQ5HsPy0lhA_Ir_pz1wf41n-PGll48xmDJfNL5oBkUC_IxTWxWr-ux0i3AKY0FoixjAc11fsPDZknW1lx4V_50/s1600/WIC+Peaches.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-_4cPOvlKySR9jeQhRcz_nx3qul2eky9QgYlOO4Qf-ZfKaaSDkIVOuiQ5HsPy0lhA_Ir_pz1wf41n-PGll48xmDJfNL5oBkUC_IxTWxWr-ux0i3AKY0FoixjAc11fsPDZknW1lx4V_50/s400/WIC+Peaches.png" width="400" /></a></div>
My wife Ashley works for the WIC Clinic, a government program that gives vouchers to Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to purchase HEALTHY foods in the grocery store. Next trip to the grocery store, keep your eye out for little tabs like this one- they will be where you find bread, fruit, milk, and beans.<br />
The purpose of WIC is to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society (the children) get the nutrition they need. It works like gangbusters for the people who need it. The women, babies, and children get the food they need to function and stay happy and healthy members of society. Whenever I talk to someone about what my wife does, <i>I almost always get push-back from the person I talk to about how government programs get abused.</i><br />
In speaking with a church member today on the subject (let's call him Jim), he told me a story of when he saw a woman over-flowing her cart with more milk than she can possibly drink. The story struck Jim as odd so he told it to someone else who told him that the WIC Clinic gives out vouchers to buy milk. He and I assumed that she took the milk and sold it for cash. Now we can assume all kinds of things about what she did with the cash, but more often than not she went to great lengths to sell the milk at a discount because she really needed the money to keep the lights on, or pay the rent, or pay for child care so she could work.<br />
<br />
Whenever we talk about government aid agencies, it seems like the conversation always turns to abuse of the system. I think this is for two reasons: (1) many of us have few encounters with government assistance, so our limited ones stand out to us. This is the one that Jim fits in- someone else explained to him what he saw. And (2) we stand to benefit from assuming that abuse is pervasive. The more abuse, the more we can justify defunding. The more abuse, the more we can otherize those receiving aid.<br />
<br />
Look- I work at a church- I've been scammed plenty of times. But by pregnant women? Not mostly. By babies and children? I wish. <br />
<br />
I've got a saying that I hope you can remember-<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Plural of Anecdote is Not Data</span></b></div>
<br />
A story of abuse does not mean most people are abusing, just the opposite. It wouldn't be a good story if it was normative. Social programs being shut down is the story.<br />
<br />
Most of us reading this will never know poverty. We will never get our power shut off or our children taken away for negligence. We will never consider using the services of WIC, or food-stamps, or government assistance because we can do better.<br />
<br />
These aren't posh services- they are bare-bones care.<br />
<br />
And right now, they are not there. Since I started writing until now, I received a phone call from my wife saying that there are only enough vouchers until the end of the day. She told me this to say that she will be home late in order to fill as many orders as they can, and that now her job is in jeopardy. But this isn't about her job- that is a secondary concern. You should be concerned, as they are, because they know what will happen if their mothers can't get food and formula: the children will go hungry. Maybe more moms will try to breastfeed. But, please, for the ones who can't- pray for them. For them, formula is impossibly expensive. For them as of 5pm today, their support in the WIC program is offline...<br />
<br />
Two days ago our church participated in a Poverty Simulation. I played the role of a 21 year old who should be thinking about college. But my character had to drop out and beg for a job to keep the family afloat.<br />
It sounds ridiculous, but even me, a<b style="font-size: x-large;"> Pastor, finally learned that poverty doesn't end with the homeless and the jobless. </b><span style="font-size: large;">The working poor represents millions in our society, and they need our help. </span><br />
They work through the Sabbath just to make ends meet. They work the jobs we would never, and they live lives that we can't imagine. Pray for them.<br />
My church is full of prayer warriors. One woman I visit, Martha, despite her own health issues, always asks me to pray for the children in the world. This time I'm taking Martha's advice. Prayer is free. Prayer is powerful. We are called to pray. Pray for the babies. Pray for moms and moms-to-be. Pray for health and safety of those most oppressed. Pray for compassion. Pray for school children. Pray for leadership. Pray that God looks down on creation and says, "It is good."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KNSyqRgzyYAS438gyVv7se5uJfrDw0vkPV-0mlHNVJfjYAo5oKVo48GxFtt8pVoux3is6XP5-giCZjgFqLp2ZQaNcpA8cwTDrFBykuypc4nGECszTdummAz1w648DM1uDTJp-slD76cG/s1600/closed-sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KNSyqRgzyYAS438gyVv7se5uJfrDw0vkPV-0mlHNVJfjYAo5oKVo48GxFtt8pVoux3is6XP5-giCZjgFqLp2ZQaNcpA8cwTDrFBykuypc4nGECszTdummAz1w648DM1uDTJp-slD76cG/s400/closed-sign.jpg" width="400" /></a> The sad truth is, millions of people are suffering needlessly. I find it ironic, however, that if the government shuts down for more than a month and my wife gets furloughed, even we would qualify for government assistance. Not that there would be anyone there to grant it...<br />
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-80131027942155009132013-08-07T12:23:00.002-07:002013-08-08T08:09:35.717-07:00Science and Religion: A fair fight?<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
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<span class="heading" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Explanation of Hiatus</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have been on hiatus for a number of reasons. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">We bought a house, moved, and discovered that Ashley is pregnant for the third (and final) time! </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In addition the boys are home for the summer. This means that I am expected to be more entertaining than usual. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But I've been studying and reading a lot this summer- and I have several blog posts in the writing stage. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Most of my work has been trying to understand the world of science. Specifically I'm exploring the fields of particle physics and dabbling a bit in Neurobiology and human consciousness. While I'm nothing of an expert in these fields, in talking to experts I find a great deal of wealth that they have in the conversation.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzqeN76F3dz91SxpSyH4bUA8WorWpEhNS4HItUCYpiw1-L79wGrJKjJPHiede7q-tkB3YHrS0jVV9L60DRGMVPzumTiMQRVx7n1S1eRb0g8Mgr4NYhWizVJigFsNKAY9uQxo6Hoi_qau5/s1600/creation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzqeN76F3dz91SxpSyH4bUA8WorWpEhNS4HItUCYpiw1-L79wGrJKjJPHiede7q-tkB3YHrS0jVV9L60DRGMVPzumTiMQRVx7n1S1eRb0g8Mgr4NYhWizVJigFsNKAY9uQxo6Hoi_qau5/s320/creation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="heading" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="heading">You know what I love about science? With every theory or discovery- the big bang, evolution, the God particle- what we now know is always outweighed by our new questions. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy535gy7TEvbqG7pRNoMAL31jOmqiaQHHOdM-a5lV9Wr6yxZWKc3NX0UDkgsV3fG-njTrr9C7soOCTait5z5l4fLsVl1t-glIL-AwOs0eoWnsqflJOZ94Iij9Jw1GaKO2qDmTFaItE_Q4m/s1600/images+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy535gy7TEvbqG7pRNoMAL31jOmqiaQHHOdM-a5lV9Wr6yxZWKc3NX0UDkgsV3fG-njTrr9C7soOCTait5z5l4fLsVl1t-glIL-AwOs0eoWnsqflJOZ94Iij9Jw1GaKO2qDmTFaItE_Q4m/s320/images+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="heading" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One year ago the so called "God particle" was discovered in Switzerland. Since then, we haven't heard much about it. Why? Two reasons- one, the Large Hardon Collider is offline for repairs; and two, this one proof of the Higgs Boson particle proves the existence of the Higgs Field, which will change the way we look at physics. And thus; we have more questions than answers. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6U84PGtLpGnUAzlEp_DkQr3CkWUNxfmaqD5Iu0cWO3nsJyVi8gVCYploVfzkeNvZus8gb3ej9YdusB0jSIP9gxjTqO6Dlu6vJTaN5AqwAyxMnUpAuzZUyxDXS8DFfUjmu8dWOkgXSwxv/s1600/Higgs+ex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6U84PGtLpGnUAzlEp_DkQr3CkWUNxfmaqD5Iu0cWO3nsJyVi8gVCYploVfzkeNvZus8gb3ej9YdusB0jSIP9gxjTqO6Dlu6vJTaN5AqwAyxMnUpAuzZUyxDXS8DFfUjmu8dWOkgXSwxv/s320/Higgs+ex.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="heading">Something I didn't know was that lots of Scientists hate that anyone has called it the "God Particle" because while the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle is really cool, the bigger find is the Higgs field, the (until now) theory that everything in the universe moves through and is effected by this field. The particle known as the "God particle" is a basic building block of the universe that has properties unlike anything else known to humanity. If you speak particle physics you'd say that it is</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boson" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Boson">boson</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"> with no </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(physics)" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Spin (physics)">spin</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_charge" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Electric charge">electric charge</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">, or </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_charge" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px;" title="Color charge">color charge</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">. It is also very unstable, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_decay" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Particle decay">decaying</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"> into other particles almost immediately. </span> </span><br />
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<span class="heading" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, rather than being limitless and universal, the 'God particle' is obscure and freakishly weak. Hmmmm. I'm not sure I'd name it after God. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="heading">The scientist who is credited with calling the Higgs-Boson particle the 'God particle' is </span><span style="line-height: 1.2em;">Leon M. Lederman who had this to say about it:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This boson is so central to the state of physics
today, so crucial to our final understanding of the structure of matter,
yet so elusive, that I have given it a nickname: the God Particle. Why
God Particle? Two reasons. One, the publisher wouldn't let us call it
the Goddamn Particle, though that might be a more appropriate title,
given its villainous nature and the expense it is causing. And two,
there is a connection, of sorts, to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis" title="Book of Genesis">another book</a>, a <i>much</i> older one...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">—p. 22<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-lt22_5-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_God_Particle:_If_the_Universe_Is_the_Answer,_What_Is_the_Question%3F#cite_note-lt22-5">[5]</a></sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That other book is the one that I know something about. We all love to talk about what the book of Genesis talks about and what it doesn't. I feel compelled to point out that <b>Genesis deals with the foundations of our world- but not the universe.</b> The passing attention Genesis gives to the "lights in the sky" was so that humans could chart seasons and cardinal directions. Genesis chapter one is a poem, a prayer honoring Yahweh, who is the God of all that we know. All the Hebrews know was that God created the world. They had no idea that the earth was round, and that the moon was not a star, and that stars were distant suns. They only knew about their world, the small patch of dessert between Egypt and the Far East. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>What they didn't know could fill a warehouse. </b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQBL_4ypEHjcKjV7TbRZ0nxp0T9bNloKwyU9LkKZaSqsFq2DHUFMXrL4FDc94uv64e1992FB9bO4ZauzX5CFLUK9sQjtAyIG_3wN6G3fLrObms6xcksUmYnhqUsuJhEcxbgvoUMdL5mkb/s1600/Higgs_Boson_Michelangelo_Cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQBL_4ypEHjcKjV7TbRZ0nxp0T9bNloKwyU9LkKZaSqsFq2DHUFMXrL4FDc94uv64e1992FB9bO4ZauzX5CFLUK9sQjtAyIG_3wN6G3fLrObms6xcksUmYnhqUsuJhEcxbgvoUMdL5mkb/s320/Higgs_Boson_Michelangelo_Cartoon.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They didn't know that there were different types of blood, that rain forests held cures, that diseases come from bacteria and genetic chromosomes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They couldn't tell you how to harness energy or predict the weather (although I'm still not convinced we can do that!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But they weren't afraid to write poetry. They weren't afraid to give order and meaning to their lives. </span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">They weren't afraid to believe.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So often we lose our place in history. We champion our own time over the past without humbling ourselves before the future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lederman (the 'God-particle' guy) points to the Higgs Boson as crucial to the future of physics. Think of it this way; radio waves were once considered "only interesting in the lab" with no practical function. Now they run everything from satellites, to wireless internet, to cell phones, and let's not forget, <a href="http://www.npr.org/" target="_blank">NPR</a>. This Higgs Boson could change everything we know about physics over the next 100 years. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0mLUjn1bTN3ZGc6HQRd4b4Y4g4ReDgx0mo-wVCOdzdIrHRSyeI4Ud-pk7DSqTehtlyl0GmpEqc7_5N5aDTX7t2bcg-kh5V0iVSNEYdJf-FxEkITbteik7xjAsxozurckC_qJEkbbqf9D/s1600/jpgImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0mLUjn1bTN3ZGc6HQRd4b4Y4g4ReDgx0mo-wVCOdzdIrHRSyeI4Ud-pk7DSqTehtlyl0GmpEqc7_5N5aDTX7t2bcg-kh5V0iVSNEYdJf-FxEkITbteik7xjAsxozurckC_qJEkbbqf9D/s320/jpgImage.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But we still won't know it all. We will still look like unevolved monkeys to future people. Our knowledge will seem so trivial, our science so basic, and our discoveries so unsatisfying. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Theology will rage on. We will be no closer to appreciating what exists and why it exists, no further in our quest for human perfection, and no longer able to deny that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_gratia" target="_blank">grace alone</a> is practically the only good answer to life's mysteries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If there is one thing I don't like about science it is the perception among many that religion is an out-dated waste of time. Many within science portray their best minds against religions dumbest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A newspaper headline could read, "Local pastor thinks baby born with third nipple is possessed by Satan; Local doctor disagrees."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is not a fair fight, and certainly not one that would pass a scientific test. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another common misconception is that all Christians- or even most- believe the bible in the inerrant word of God, true to the last drop, and wholly against science/evolution/big bang/higgs boson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We ain't all that way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We have evolved in our theology, just as others have in science. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My doctor doesn't use the same medical practices from 1517, and neither do I use all the same theological ones. It saddens me that many intellectuals still compare modern science to ancient theology- but not because they underestimate me or others like me: It saddens me because they underestimate the value of <b>modern</b> theology in the conversation with <b>modern </b>science. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The next book I'm reading comes from a Theologian and Physics teacher named Phillip Clayton, who is the Dean at Claremont School of Theology in Southern CA. I have met Clayton several times and each time I've been entranced with his work. He is continually searching for a conversation among intellectual equals in both science and religion. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eJ-hIjmSqTIKGOs_ty_64pYvKtsDjix8X60DTMFFbuk198_-z3eqWCE9bUskjp3xixkbt6_qXsqb16SZ_bDWSdmDbLmgt-JJSluyy8rca4O8GfpS8NpKvcCf3-V-AyIo0u0u8XlonC-v/s1600/luther+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eJ-hIjmSqTIKGOs_ty_64pYvKtsDjix8X60DTMFFbuk198_-z3eqWCE9bUskjp3xixkbt6_qXsqb16SZ_bDWSdmDbLmgt-JJSluyy8rca4O8GfpS8NpKvcCf3-V-AyIo0u0u8XlonC-v/s320/luther+quote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The truth is that it is easy to look down one's nose at others. It's much harder to ask them what they know/think/believe.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Like the ancient Hebrews, I'm looking for God in the unknown, not because I don't believe in science, but because there will always be mystery, and that's just the way I like it. </span><br />
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-77779547472493775802013-03-27T06:56:00.001-07:002013-03-27T08:26:37.256-07:00Hungry for God's creation<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHqlE1YCSwLKyPogXtlbEvtN8Huo3kg8yQcBDqR81EV8-qfCzLDUWSCFegrr545Wq2c2VbALuIcGKCPjVYQK2z0DDTpcchOqBOusxoXcJstrou37zGnXFw8aAOysrGNVAMwwIfK3hVDFM/s1600/13397328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Ashley and I wanted to do something for Lent this year to both test our resolve and help the environment. As former hippies in Berkeley, we've heard a lot about concerns for God's creation can be acted out in one's daily lives.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAqZrFERZj3xmWf_IDbrEY_yUj0QcKdVDkzB3p0H0g3J0exV5X8ZWr1wz83T5GLHUkreU3WXQiIbbF1kKAN43OiTuCRXMepNihNozaQhyJkp2GjKbs6nWNNNjGqSQB14emZdicWTrAEvt/s1600/1283958390_8ffa979c65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAqZrFERZj3xmWf_IDbrEY_yUj0QcKdVDkzB3p0H0g3J0exV5X8ZWr1wz83T5GLHUkreU3WXQiIbbF1kKAN43OiTuCRXMepNihNozaQhyJkp2GjKbs6nWNNNjGqSQB14emZdicWTrAEvt/s320/1283958390_8ffa979c65.jpg" width="320" /></a>We <a href="http://www.target.com/p/suncast-tumbling-compost-bin/-/A-13397328?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=|13397328&CPNG=Patio+Garden&kpid=13397328&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=13397328" target="_blank">compost</a> our food scraps and we recycle; and we try to use products that don't create a lot of trash. We have become more aware of the gas we use and drive more sparingly. Once, after reading<a href="http://www.sustainer.org/dhm_archive/index.php?display_article=vn321diapersed" target="_blank"> how much diapers go into landfills</a>, Ashley researched cloth diapers and we've used them ever since. From reusable zip-lock bags, grocery bags, sandwich bags, produce bags, and even smoothie pouches, we've made a dent into our carbon footprint.<br />
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But like many Americans, we were less aware of how exactly our diet impacted the environment: specifically our meat consumption. Saying nothing of the treatment of the animals we consume, we negatively effect the environment every time we eat meat. In an <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/vegetarianism-save-planet-environment" target="_blank">excellent article</a> in The Guardian, John Vidal writes that the "combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were about 18% of the global total – more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together."<br />
<br />
I read that <span style="font-size: large;"><b>"a Vegan driving a Hummer does more for the environment than a meat-eater driving a Prius."</b></span><br />
<br />
I find that to be shockingly profound. I think it would shock a lot of people to realize that the meat they eat is as bad- or worse- than the gas the use.<br />
<br />
Perhaps equally shocking is that the world consumes twice as much meat as it did 30 years ago. Twice!<br />
<br />
Not only does this effect green house gas emissions, but it also takes more of the Earth's resources. Let me explain. Corn is good. It grows in lots of places and has nutritional value. It's also part of a balanced diet for cows, who eat 8-14 lbs of "cow food" each day. They are killed when they reach three years old, and for argument's sake weigh 1000lbs, 400lbs of which is turned into edible meat. 10lbs a day for three years is 10,950lbs of food for 400lbs of meat in the grocery store.<br />
<br />
Vidal writes, "other academics have calculated that if the grain fed to animals in
western countries were consumed directly by people instead of animals,
we could feed at least twice as many people – and possibly far more – as
we do now."<br />
<br />
And that's just food consumption- not water or land.Land is perhaps the biggest problem that we face. Again, Vidal,<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh4EfjpDL-AoMXUEcc8KUtjDSCnjdiSkjV8xacCDDaNuLZLLXIp_LVit5Wn2H6w9MoWQoj9boq_m6nBoF379wb0vARVG7TPUHMUuqS8E3K_SH6aXYPTiBB5MsfBaWGwLN9r7nWTMI_8Os/s1600/save-our-planet.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh4EfjpDL-AoMXUEcc8KUtjDSCnjdiSkjV8xacCDDaNuLZLLXIp_LVit5Wn2H6w9MoWQoj9boq_m6nBoF379wb0vARVG7TPUHMUuqS8E3K_SH6aXYPTiBB5MsfBaWGwLN9r7nWTMI_8Os/s400/save-our-planet.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">"A Bangladeshi family living off rice, beans, vegetables and fruit may
live on an acre of land or less, while the average American, who consumes around 270 pounds of meat a year, needs 20 times that."</span><br />
<br />
20 acres of land to support my eating habits. I feel ashamed. It was then I realized this simple logic: the bigger the animal, the more land they need, food they eat, water they drink, and methane gas the release.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NOQZq-OqWO75V8H7nEnKO1Gd_rwB25ZNmrmpmxdogoDfulgS8JgvNYAf0pmUKQtDxg-kddgmSiIW2NhUsQMWI0IWihiDmi0TzolmSDbSPvmfw4QdHUIoPfS5gqoWMVwaSkCO_MKxskD-/s1600/forest-trees-grass-green-summer-sun-glare-nature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NOQZq-OqWO75V8H7nEnKO1Gd_rwB25ZNmrmpmxdogoDfulgS8JgvNYAf0pmUKQtDxg-kddgmSiIW2NhUsQMWI0IWihiDmi0TzolmSDbSPvmfw4QdHUIoPfS5gqoWMVwaSkCO_MKxskD-/s400/forest-trees-grass-green-summer-sun-glare-nature.jpg" width="400" /></a>That's why Ashley and I gave up beef and pork. I haven't lost any weight, gained more energy, or lowered my blood pressure. It wasn't about myself. It's about God and our charge to care for God's creation.<br />
<br />
Too often we operate out of a "what's in it for me" mentality. Our hotels boast a greener initiative to save money on laundry. Cleaning products boast greener solutions in order to sell more soap. This half-hearted view of saving God's creation will get us no further than a marginally deserved pat on the back.<br />
<br />
But if each of us does something as simple as reduce our intake of beef and pork with the conscious intention of helping to save the planet, then we can begin to call ourselves stewards of God's creation.<br />
<br />
This is the first step toward a sustainable future. And it's as simple as making more side dishes or ordering a smaller sandwich. Only you can prevent Climate change. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mOV2zA-LL0o7YX1klpG_6lKtEjhDhyekQ4_1SZUKFPFd7f0cMb_1zeJ_KPl8opz6MDlk0SSo5SnNGTUjoAGwMqqx4yhHQBRbqO2RD3CSdpFSzzoJVU4eNMmc9-iKXGPOc3TVSbb-QKic/s1600/smokey_bear_climate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mOV2zA-LL0o7YX1klpG_6lKtEjhDhyekQ4_1SZUKFPFd7f0cMb_1zeJ_KPl8opz6MDlk0SSo5SnNGTUjoAGwMqqx4yhHQBRbqO2RD3CSdpFSzzoJVU4eNMmc9-iKXGPOc3TVSbb-QKic/s320/smokey_bear_climate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-78223928210550338302013-03-12T13:23:00.002-07:002013-03-14T11:44:36.036-07:00Life's Not Fair<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A Sermon inspired by the story of the Prodigal Son parable in Luke 15</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.augsburglutheran-ws.org/sermons/fourth-sunday-in-lent/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To listen to this sermon, click here. </span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs74vv0gAwH8N1tj1qXSlQX6NCKiRLoF7w5s2CRYPt1Qwn5VYCuJvOdpuoc9DqTbAddGaR99Ec07mo85OLcSEKqicJuxHzHfia03hhcUOAisZMUAocxZxHj7fxksEqdkqfJERFRAm9HOk/s1600/18prodigalson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs74vv0gAwH8N1tj1qXSlQX6NCKiRLoF7w5s2CRYPt1Qwn5VYCuJvOdpuoc9DqTbAddGaR99Ec07mo85OLcSEKqicJuxHzHfia03hhcUOAisZMUAocxZxHj7fxksEqdkqfJERFRAm9HOk/s320/18prodigalson.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m Lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maybe you can help me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I always thought that God was fair- the kind of
ruler whose Judgment is spot on- never to harsh or to lenient- but perfect. God’s
decision making skills, God’s leadership, and God’s authority are all never
wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But this story- the one from Luke- this “parable” -
is about a dad who is a wimp- and about two kids who grew up with a wimp for a
dad. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People have been trying to say what this story is
about for forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Each time someone “figures out” what the story is
about, they change the title. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For example, we call this the story of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the prodigal son</b>. But some bibles title
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">prodigal son and his brother</b>,
some, this as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the forgiving father</b>-
and still others, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the father and his two
sons.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What does this tell me? That we don’t exactly know
what this story means. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s why I’m lost. Maybe you can help me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When Ashley and I were in premarital counseling, we
took the Myers Briggs personality test. The same one that I had to take before
going to seminary, and the one that Pastor Rinn and I talk about almost daily
when we are talking about how to pastor to all of you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In that test, Ashley and I came out as exact
opposites. Like many clergy before me, I am an ENFP. Like many science-minded
people before her, Ashley came out ISTJ. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The pastor who did our counseling encouraged us to
go home and- question by question- analyze our differences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is one question that still to this day that we
still talk about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You ready? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Would you rather have a boss who is fair or kind?
Think about it- </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At its core, this is a fundamental difference in
thinking. On the one hand, a boss who is fair, keeps stability in the office by
treating everyone equally all the time. On the other, a boss who is kind,
treats every situation and difference as a case unto its own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ultimately, the answer about the boss question is
really about you- not your boss. Are you fair or kind? Hopefully you lean
toward one of those. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we dig deeper on this self-understanding- we find
another truth-</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do
you generally treat all people the same, or all differently? </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtJfn0VI4lEQ-ft3bJQlx0E54VCh_aO5tXqVtq5NjroYLRiAvuAkDOAWDTZpA7gbaEXVKxslwiPYg8hA8sk-iBEPl7lmfv9R56YPfpmdOf_PorGt9HdnpqwsCmSDR78iV5nrFzoxQ0kt6/s1600/Finalist3-700413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtJfn0VI4lEQ-ft3bJQlx0E54VCh_aO5tXqVtq5NjroYLRiAvuAkDOAWDTZpA7gbaEXVKxslwiPYg8hA8sk-iBEPl7lmfv9R56YPfpmdOf_PorGt9HdnpqwsCmSDR78iV5nrFzoxQ0kt6/s320/Finalist3-700413.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are
you the scientist, grouping people and ideas into categories to insure order
and stability, or are you the artist who refuses to be defined by limits, rules,
or laws?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are
you the goody-two-shoes or the prodical?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are
you an older brother or the younger?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And,
once you’ve answered that one: think about this- which one is God? </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ultimately,
God can’t be both. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the core problem in the story of the prodigal
son- of the forgiving father, or the father and his two sons- however you
define the parable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are two sons. The youngest- the one who is
entitled to less- takes his share of the inheritance and leaves. He loses it
all. The older son, stays, works hard, and assumes that he will be his father’s
favorite because he assumes that his father is like him- fair- not kind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The younger son- who lives- and indeed- <i>thrives</i>- on
the kindness of others- finds himself penniless. So he finds someone in a faraway
land to give him a fair job- go feed the pigs. The younger son says- I will go
ask for forgiveness, and perhaps I can be a hired hand- not a son, not a slave-
but dad’s kindness for me will get me somewhere in the middle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He goes home. His father runs to him. The father-
who gave his son the inheritance BEFORE he died, now welcomes the deadbeat back
home, BEFORE the son ever apologizes. The father is a chump. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If I were putting titles on this chapter- I’d be
inclined to call it, “The enabling father” or “Two generations of chumps.” <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/12/living/dumb-dad-stereotype" target="_blank">As a father myself</a>, I am appalled by this guy’s laissez- faire parenting style. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That older brother- that one who worked the fields-
he wanted his father to be fair to both brothers, regardless of the
circumstances. And that’s not what he got. He got –for lack of a better word-
screwed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NOT ONLY did his brother leave him in charge of the
house, the fields, the animals, and their aging father, but NOW his brother
comes home, his father welcomes him back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So that’s why I’m Lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maybe you can help. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If I really think about it- if I let my anger at the
unfairness fester- I realize that everything that is left on the farm now,
contractually, belongs to the Older son- so when the father tells the servants
to kill the fatted calf, he’s going into the Older brothers life savings! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s one thing to enable the dope, but throw him a
party? The greek word for party is euphraimo- like euphoric. Over a dead beat
son who came home without an apology? I agree with Craddock when he says</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, let the younger son return home. Judaism
and Christianity have clear rules to allow sons to return home, but where does it
say that the return should include a banquet with music and dancing? Yes, let
the prodigal return, but to bread and water, not fatted calf; in sackcloth, not
a new robe; wearing ashes, not a new ring; in tears, not in merriment;
kneeling, not dancing. Has the party canceled the seriousness of sin and
repentance?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m lost, maybe you can help me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand this story. Honestly- I want to
give up. This is the most ridiculous parable I’ve ever heard. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y318K2Ry53e2RrA3-lZsstVZiq-r8JQQO4BXf_XvLfto1I4mv9HicMBsO1RYA4vyZqVV6tEE3tqSj90f7SKGIwVdvXhutg8IjISRLR-gIykyEtxpxIIZ7d83DD2RI_VNHrbsQAwy8tIA/s1600/2455227144_e866a372f5_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y318K2Ry53e2RrA3-lZsstVZiq-r8JQQO4BXf_XvLfto1I4mv9HicMBsO1RYA4vyZqVV6tEE3tqSj90f7SKGIwVdvXhutg8IjISRLR-gIykyEtxpxIIZ7d83DD2RI_VNHrbsQAwy8tIA/s320/2455227144_e866a372f5_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Actually- there’s another parable that bugs me. You
know the one about the lost sheep- and the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to look
for the one. What is that about? Is it FAIR to risk the safety and security of
99 to find one? Of course not! Isn’t one sheep within the margin of error? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The idea of this parable- I think- is that the shepherd
is driven by his emotions. In an effort to be kind to the 1, he is irrational
and unfair to the 99. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Obviously, these parables are supposed to help us
reflect on God, and how God treats us. But I find myself thinking that God does
not usually reward the ones who do all the hard work. In this story, God- the
father- rewards the opposite- bad behavior- the same thing with the 99 sheep-
he rewards stupidity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the problem that Paul writes about to the
early church. The people hear that grace is free, so they keep on sinning. God’s
a sucker. Everyone gets grace who wants it. We can take our inheritance,
squander it- and recant on our death bed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems to me- that we should all be under the same
rules- or laws. And that anyone found guilty before God should have to pay
their consequences. Period. End of Sentence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But that’s just what <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">think</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s not what I <b>know</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that if God were fair, and treated us
all the same, we would be condemned, because the law always condemns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that if I got what I deserve, I might
as well enjoy the fatted calf now because it will be the last happy moment of my
existence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that I am the sheep that wandered
away. Lost and confused, I got what I deserved. Going after me is to seemingly reward
stupidity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is the terrible truth about all of
humanity. We all want to believe we’re the righteous brother. But we’re all
wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">We
are all prodigal. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know- wretched man that I am- is that I need
someone to deliver me, to welcome me, even when I don’t deserve it, and even
when I’m not fully repentant. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that I cannot by my own reason or
strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBR-T9saQvJWIFAcF3829I4WHqEL32QiJJVpoSrHdtH96KN_biG7CEhXhyislChtiOlhBxhsiHjn7Wma1CzbKpp1frAkfFWJrJjN32TjdfcIGne8Se08rRuJNpfVxsLHbS0w6RuNGMUqa/s1600/perfection-depression.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBR-T9saQvJWIFAcF3829I4WHqEL32QiJJVpoSrHdtH96KN_biG7CEhXhyislChtiOlhBxhsiHjn7Wma1CzbKpp1frAkfFWJrJjN32TjdfcIGne8Se08rRuJNpfVxsLHbS0w6RuNGMUqa/s320/perfection-depression.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that I’m not, no will I ever be,
worthy of Christ’s sacrifice for my sake. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I know is that I’m lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Only God</b></span> can help me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-14868242039368486912013-02-20T13:31:00.001-08:002013-02-20T17:51:56.642-08:00A Dissapearing GodI hate sounding old.<br />
<br />
I mean, I REALLY hate it,<br />
but some things just need to be said. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIYzRc4HxTGv2xPvCLCXV6Qii8a8NQx7lZEUj8dgWJDY1vKpWfSn13vWk5WZKFRh-LX-a03hZic4Yz4AcW4fZlcb-6-rVWLOCsGn2TlNqNo7NvU73OGyjPHLp8KqyuSFQLEAymyqrJmDS/s1600/wwe0052l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIYzRc4HxTGv2xPvCLCXV6Qii8a8NQx7lZEUj8dgWJDY1vKpWfSn13vWk5WZKFRh-LX-a03hZic4Yz4AcW4fZlcb-6-rVWLOCsGn2TlNqNo7NvU73OGyjPHLp8KqyuSFQLEAymyqrJmDS/s320/wwe0052l.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
I am becoming more convinced that we are a nation of followers, and not in a good way. 10 years ago, there were movies, songs, and TV shows that featured God prominently. Now there are next to none. God is not dead, just extinct in pop culture. <br />
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It all started for me a couple of months ago, when a friend of mine (another pastor) called me laughing hysterically. In between laughing, he tells me that a women from his church had gone into his office professing CREED to be her new favorite band. She made him listen to three songs from the late 90s band, despite his insistence that he remembered the band clearly. For those of you who don't remember the late 90s, Creed was this intense, loud, guttural band that unabashedly sang songs about God. And they were popular. <br />
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This song, "Higher" was a top 40 hit:</div>
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<i>So let's go there <br />
Let's make our escape<br />
Come on, let's go there<br />
Let's ask can we stay? </i>
<i><br />
Can you take me Higher?<br />
To a place where blind men see <br />
Can you take me Higher? <br />
To a place with golden streets</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXcy5-5I0OECEoH5C9DyFfPIJh-rvgocdGoJND1kF0dqt79hrYmn0IkQcdbgdm-XTFhQ9BCDAWGaW6_80p7XtzartNa3zDpqZhSGCjSydpOT_fSekWj3kKp2J-5tJ5nvT45qsDe9XT2Lx/s1600/pod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXcy5-5I0OECEoH5C9DyFfPIJh-rvgocdGoJND1kF0dqt79hrYmn0IkQcdbgdm-XTFhQ9BCDAWGaW6_80p7XtzartNa3zDpqZhSGCjSydpOT_fSekWj3kKp2J-5tJ5nvT45qsDe9XT2Lx/s1600/pod.jpg" /></a>Here's the thing- music young people listen to today is mostly terrible. Music we listened to 10 years ago was mostly terrible too, but at least it had a message. Creed was mediocre at best, but at least the world was talking about God.<br />
And they weren't the only ones. Six Pence, Lifehouse, POD, Reliant K, Switchfoot- all of these were big bands with big hits, and all started out in "christian rock."<br />
<br />
<br />
Those songs are relegated to the "Mix" radio station, aka the station for people who liked the music 10 years ago.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
On a top 40 station, you're likely to hear this: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s" id="line_29">Today I don't feel like doing anything</span><span class="line line-s" id="line_30"> </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s" id="line_30">I just wanna lay in my bed</span>
<span class="line line-s hover" id="line_31"> </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_31">Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone</span> </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything</span></span></i></div>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Not exactly inspirational. It's no wonder why churches aren't packed when there are social messages floating around in people's brains like that one. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Before you all go quoting <a href="http://www.azlyrics.com/m/mumfordsons.html" target="_blank">Mumford and Sons</a> in the comments section, music isn't the only genre I find lacking. TV and Film are easily as agnostic. </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHhJijvBg6V63XfpcII-gGFiPnmTYTGxZpnjnLuZSF20_1DZKFj4V7SJaRT6x21vwrVGI3urajzjzPx93BAUyOxo8z_wS6_X7H9G_GbNO1mzoMXKbVu3pUzYaXIL_VYCYLLKDavdfv-xv/s1600/newgirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHhJijvBg6V63XfpcII-gGFiPnmTYTGxZpnjnLuZSF20_1DZKFj4V7SJaRT6x21vwrVGI3urajzjzPx93BAUyOxo8z_wS6_X7H9G_GbNO1mzoMXKbVu3pUzYaXIL_VYCYLLKDavdfv-xv/s320/newgirl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Here's a list of shows I watch today: </span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">How I Met Your Mother</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Big Bang Theory</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Modern Family</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">The New Girl</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">The Office </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">The Walking Dead</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Mad Men</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Girls </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"></span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Not a one of these shows has a main character who actively believes in God, Christ, church, or prayer. And yet nearly all of these shows try to portray American youth culture. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Emphasis on the word <i>try. </i></span></span></div>
<br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><i> </i><a href="http://religions.pewforum.org/reports" target="_blank">According to the pew research poll</a>, "</span></span><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion." </span></span><br />
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<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">When asked the question, "Do you believe in God," nearly 96% of all Americans answered "yes". Atheists and Agnostics make up only 4% of the US Population. </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Why isn't God talked about anymore? Call me an old-timer, but I remember TV shows amd Movies that regularly developed plots on faith and religious culture. Remember The Simpsons, Joan of Arcadia, Touched by an Angel and *7th Heaven? Are there any prime-time shows like this anymore? How many crime scene shows have replaced them? Cold Case, Bones, The Following, Breaking Bad, and Dexter- these are not social upgrades!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAmCIIV7FvISSPQrpd_xkFIZQrYsubxwf4vJ3yzkjlsJuAuejZCQEmZ1zzNZLrho8mdFGswxJUeiBthgEPzUvTQS_yYXx2-2EoHeSB_sgtnkkKbCLG1aIO96C14fj9YqVzp3k30P-2q7t/s1600/dogma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAmCIIV7FvISSPQrpd_xkFIZQrYsubxwf4vJ3yzkjlsJuAuejZCQEmZ1zzNZLrho8mdFGswxJUeiBthgEPzUvTQS_yYXx2-2EoHeSB_sgtnkkKbCLG1aIO96C14fj9YqVzp3k30P-2q7t/s200/dogma.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Remember films like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120655/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Dogma</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171433/" target="_blank">Keeping the Faith</a></span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"></span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315327/" target="_blank">Bruce Almighty</a>, Angels in the Outfield, All Dogs go to Heaven, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350028/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast" target="_blank">Raising Helen</a> (I remember that one because Kate Hudson falls in love with Pastor Dan)? A main-stream movie like this hasn't been made in 10 years- since The Passion of Christ. </span></span><br />
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<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">It's like Mel Gibson scared everyone away from the genre.</span></span><br />
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<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">Pop culture has lied to you by telling you that religion is not important to people. By the most conservative estimates, 20% of the US population attends worship every week. But look for one in five characters on television who fit that description, and you'll be up all night. We like to say that we water down religion in pop culture to not</span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> offend people and not be controversial, but by doing so we have made our characters less interesting, less dynamic, and less relate-able to the billions of people who believe in God. TV characters are more likely to be two dimensional, blown over by whatever whim or impulse their quarter-life-crisis interrupted their trip to the mall. </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">What's worse- in order to make up the gap in interesting people, </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">we turn our dials to<span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Serial Killers</span></span><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">because they have <span style="font-size: x-large;">depth</span>, </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">because they<span style="font-size: x-large;"> believe in something</span>. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU0yMKBsaDJ7-tSPo1EE0kSmQv_Z7ZsKLOS6DXSSZY-drl-yxv3xxkzp1w3WQRF12SH8smrM5nvb-JcWGbXWTYwfZ8CTRG9_ffosJ1Ng9FkO1Imjl5qXQmGs8kU9TECgizsyzcf7TiMz0/s1600/Dexter-dexter-26095020-1280-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU0yMKBsaDJ7-tSPo1EE0kSmQv_Z7ZsKLOS6DXSSZY-drl-yxv3xxkzp1w3WQRF12SH8smrM5nvb-JcWGbXWTYwfZ8CTRG9_ffosJ1Ng9FkO1Imjl5qXQmGs8kU9TECgizsyzcf7TiMz0/s400/Dexter-dexter-26095020-1280-800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">If the goal was to not offend people's religions beliefs, consider it a failure. I'm offended. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">I never thought I would miss <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Stapp" target="_blank">Creed</a>, and I still don't, but I miss feeling like there is a place for me in popular culture. </span></span><br />
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<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">If you agree, slap on your WWJD bracelet and let's get people talking about God some more. </span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32">-Rev. Daniel Pugh</span></span><br />
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"><br /></span></span>
<span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Lyric"><span class="line line-s hover" id="line_32"> </span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-82146219583534484242013-02-06T10:00:00.004-08:002013-02-06T12:10:48.540-08:001 Corinthians 13, Valentines Day, and Boy-bands<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3424533598494716692" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="font-size: large;">What is <b>real</b> Love? </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1CzuSBCuNF9TgMJ_WxOxlfUekxev-6SbCL-ofmIQ8mE5Tkl6tUfyYAmUgoQvuPrrNLuKg8ppOOYR0_VOkPtR3pinaJCJD-6kliF70zvp6TWlMU7JvfbeJlIr4FJtMyqUcqovbh8NU6OQ/s1600/frog-kisses1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1CzuSBCuNF9TgMJ_WxOxlfUekxev-6SbCL-ofmIQ8mE5Tkl6tUfyYAmUgoQvuPrrNLuKg8ppOOYR0_VOkPtR3pinaJCJD-6kliF70zvp6TWlMU7JvfbeJlIr4FJtMyqUcqovbh8NU6OQ/s1600/frog-kisses1.jpg" /></a>Poets, philosophers, screen-writers, psychics, preachers,
tabloids, and every boy-band of all time <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have all be searching for language to
accurately describe and define real love. </div>
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And in the next eleven days, millions of men will pay
Hallmark to help them find the words. Save your money, guys, and listen up. </div>
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1<sup>st</sup> Corinthians 13. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many of us have heard this at weddings? </div>
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Love is patient and love is kind. These are sweet words from
Paul. Aren’t they???</div>
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<br /></div>
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They remind me of a wedding of a young woman named Sophie. </div>
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She and her boyfriend started dating in high school youth
group. They <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dated through college and he
proposed their senior year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wedding
was beautiful, the pictures beautiful, the bride was beautiful. The words of
1st Corinthians 13 were read, and they were read beautifully. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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A few short years later, however, Sophie fell out of love.
She sat her husband down and asked for a divorce. Sophie severed communication
with many people in her life. <b>She said that she didn't feel like she was being
"true to herself" anymore.</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Her husband was distraught. He sat in a lonely apartment and
started boxing up his things. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took
the wedding photos off the walls, and as he did, he thought about those sweet
words of 1<sup>st</sup> Corinthians. <b>What happened? Wasn't love enough?</b> Where
were those sweet words of 1st Corinthians when times got rough? </div>
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He went back and looked at those words. He studied them and prayed.
He asked for discernment, and read what others say about love. Here's the
answer that he got.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When you put these words back into the source of the letter,
you realize that Paul has a much different tone than we are used to.The people in Corinth
were struggling to love each other.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmNixH4Uzx0_wm-y-64Yd8tuTdsF4aPK1MYe50fBem6LA6SdDdLUrwn9z0mjEaPDEwsfcN_xyZ50SBcuFNP1o89RbkrXt5WXYueEJ9YuYv0FfRo-uy_SRhHwBBX_lFaPgR-9K0WRNr1Vg/s1600/jfa1964l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmNixH4Uzx0_wm-y-64Yd8tuTdsF4aPK1MYe50fBem6LA6SdDdLUrwn9z0mjEaPDEwsfcN_xyZ50SBcuFNP1o89RbkrXt5WXYueEJ9YuYv0FfRo-uy_SRhHwBBX_lFaPgR-9K0WRNr1Vg/s320/jfa1964l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It’s important when reading a newspaper to realize what
section you’re reading. You wouldn’t read the front page, the cartoon, and the
editorials all the same way. </div>
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The same can be said about scripture. Paul is not writing a
psalm. He is writing a letter. This is advice. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>It’s not cutesy love. It’s tough
love. </b></div>
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It should read to us as tough advice. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Love is patient. Love is Kind. Love is not envious or
boastful or arrogant <span style="color: #999999;">5</span> or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; <span style="color: #999999;">6</span> it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices
in the truth. <span style="color: #999999;">7</span> It bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things...</div>
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<br /></div>
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There is no easy answer for why some relationships endure
and others do not. </div>
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<br /></div>
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But we can say this: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Love
is tough.</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, we have one choice to make. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Either we allow God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, so that our soul
can be aligned with God, or else we will always have a spot that is empty, that
is searching</b>. And when your soul is empty, you're going to want to <u>fill </u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it with passing emotions. Love comes in many
forms. Eros, or romantic love, is fleeting. Agape, which is God's version of
love, is eternal. </div>
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----</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let's make a distinction between authenticity and integrity. <b>Authenticity is being true to yourself. Integrity is being in tuned to God. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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When I was a youth director I would take my guitar with us
to Mexico.
And during the trip, what started out as a perfectly tuned guitar would get a
little out of tune. Without a tuner, all I could do was tune the guitar to
itself. The chords sounded OK. Every day I'd tune the guitar to itself again,
and we got through worship and praise just fine. But by the time I got home,
the guitar sounded ok, but flat. After I tuned it, I struck a chord again. This
time the sound was pure. It was perfect. It was in tune with it's destiny. The
sound was heavenly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting a guitar in tune is like being filled with the Holy Spirit.
It's having integrity that doesn't come from itself, but aligning itself with a
higher power.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1st Corinthians 13, is talking about aligning itself with
God's <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Agape</i>.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Patience, kindness, non-resentfulness, truthfulness,
endurance: each of these by itself would be a tall order to fill. Each would
take training and stamina, like that of an athlete or a champion. As far as I
know, there has only been one who <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has
been able to champion these words, and He is champion of the world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Luke 4, Jesus Christ enters his home congregation after
being tempted by the devil. He is now <u>filled</u> with the Holy Spirit. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Which brings us to our Greek word of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You Greek word is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pleroo</i>,
it is translated <u>fulfilled/filled</u>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus is <u>filled</u> with the Holy Spirit. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I talk to young people, I make a distinction between
authenticity and integrity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus has been preaching and gathering a buzz. He goes to
his hometown and delivers a whopper of a sermon. He sits down, and says,
“today, this has been <u>fulfilled</u> in your hearing.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After worship, Jesus is going to leave, and the people
wonder why. Jesus tells them that he is called to be with all people. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNVQpDy7IB33DmgtePU4mKshEW1oJTXafJXd6XtMBAkmqDvbYYBxoTvNsOC5gtC78lDKhaQ8SUUNEHTdTmMJji4t6jlwHD3Ba3UY9MRzMdZPhpQSrcbV_BXCqY-klkCINc80-7NF2saIZ/s1600/my-precious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNVQpDy7IB33DmgtePU4mKshEW1oJTXafJXd6XtMBAkmqDvbYYBxoTvNsOC5gtC78lDKhaQ8SUUNEHTdTmMJji4t6jlwHD3Ba3UY9MRzMdZPhpQSrcbV_BXCqY-klkCINc80-7NF2saIZ/s320/my-precious.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you seen that movie (there are several) where <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some person discovers something that is
powerful, and instead of sharing it with the world, they keep it to themselves? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s what the Nazarenes want Jesus to do. They want to
keep him for themselves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is as if
they are saying, "If you just stay here Jesus, you can be our preacher.
You can get those people who don't come to worship very often, and maybe they
will believe and come every week" -(This is not a new problem, by the way).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are problems in Nazareth and Jesus could be a good parish rabbi. But that is not what he is called to. And when he explains that, they are <u>filled</u> with rage.
<b>Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are filled with rage. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Jesus refuses to stay, the Nazarenes decide that they
are going to throw him off a cliff because if they can't have him, then they nobody can. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what I call <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"a toddler’s version" of love. A
toddler might say that if you “really” loved me, you’d let me have another
piece of cake. Or if you "really" loved me, you wouldn't go to work
today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The is operating from the empty place. It's the sort of
thing that Paul is a talking about when he says, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"If I speak with the tongue of angels, and have not
love, I am just a noisy gong or a clanging symbol." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or- if I may add- an out-of-tune guitar.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, similar to a
toddler, when they don’t get what they want, the Nazarenes are <u>fu</u>ll of
rage. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The kind of love Paul writes to the Corinthians 13 about
being patient and kind are about the farthest thing from their mind. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNKvcQLVmwkOlsUhN0bgfkqddq8jb00iI0E-7rJlESwQMJBFylx6JA6jbGAK4vWmm69GZ23A676cQB4HqYNqT3F6dfEzL-wyoqRKY_O2pc9MUjAt-fIUeXJ1DnNzNCXpoAahcM6QJNDIL/s1600/creation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNKvcQLVmwkOlsUhN0bgfkqddq8jb00iI0E-7rJlESwQMJBFylx6JA6jbGAK4vWmm69GZ23A676cQB4HqYNqT3F6dfEzL-wyoqRKY_O2pc9MUjAt-fIUeXJ1DnNzNCXpoAahcM6QJNDIL/s320/creation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we think about love in its purest form, we think about
God. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C.S. Lewis writes, “God creates the universe, already seeing
the flies buzzing around the cross, and He does it anyway. God is love. God
creates out of love.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our prayers, our ministries, and indeed our lives are in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">response </b>to God's love for us. God
loved us first. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you are <u>filled</u> with the Holy Spirit, we are
given the stability that it takes to be vulnerable to love others. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So whether you are getting married, about to purchase a
valentines card, or thinking of starting a boy-band, consider these words again
from Lewis, “One of the miracles of love is the power to see through love’s
enchantments without becoming disenchanted.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuning your heart to Agape love will help you to walk like
Jesus. And His are big shoes to <u>fill</u>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Pastor Daniel Pugh </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-32924252415815752702012-12-20T12:40:00.001-08:002012-12-22T12:02:12.874-08:00Tragedy, Mental Illness, and Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi047CuVEN7s_wYARZ00jjhNoLrpyeBdQt-nYurSndZWFNK5akNv7oU8-Bp3sqSkb19BpM1_8OfTbWDuiwPC8fmGIJ_opQTqV1XgT3ywPDMAzs-UVXRywCX3h5ydtytdGn7yyUDF-NJj7yD/s1600/candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi047CuVEN7s_wYARZ00jjhNoLrpyeBdQt-nYurSndZWFNK5akNv7oU8-Bp3sqSkb19BpM1_8OfTbWDuiwPC8fmGIJ_opQTqV1XgT3ywPDMAzs-UVXRywCX3h5ydtytdGn7yyUDF-NJj7yD/s320/candle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">My initial response was to not to comment on the tragedy of the shooting of twenty elementary school students and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut. I decided in the beginning that part of being a responsible blog owner is knowing when to lay off an issue when it doesn't pertain to your area of specialty. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">This blog is a pastoral response. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">The gospel reading for church this weekend is based on Mary's song of praise, after finding out that she is pregnant with the Messiah. She sings, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior." I'm preaching on this text in a few days, shortly followed by Christmas Eve services where we celebrate the birth of Jesus who is Christ the Lord. It's a happy time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Jesus has come. Jesus has died. Jesus has risen. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">But tragedy still finds us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">I have friends who like to put the phrase "post" in front of everything. We're "post"modern, "post"christian, "post"9/11. The idea of "post" is that life is new now, that we have become self-aware of how wrong modernism/Christianity/9/11 was. "Post" means we want to define ourselves in a new way. It means that whenever we experience something, we learn, and adapt our behavior so that we do not make the same mistakes of the past. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Every generation is "post" the previous generation, destined to <span style="font-size: small;">succeed</span> where others have failed. But for every two steps forward, we fall one step back, because self-awareness does not lead to perfection. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Call it sin, imperfection, or brokenness- but the human condition is like a piggy bank that has been smashed and hot-glued back together over and over again. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The problem of human suffering is called Theodicy. It is often posed like this: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">God is all powerful</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">God is loving</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Human suffering exits. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The theological puzzle is to have more than two of these statements be true. If God loves us, and can do anything, then why not stop people from suffering? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">There are volumes written about the problem of Theodicy. You ought to be weary of anyone willing to give you the easy answer. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf81E2lufe5PE3zsZv5V6A_yqJVa7U6jneehlElg78W6ZCVekaFwC2-CuYDkIdAQ_HeMOpgIdPVHpmDqzrIdZnvGVjx7zSF354DsWEJYrmaBwntsgtz1djAmowDQmAkzsxYdlZiURo9494/s1600/Christ-the-Redeemer-Statue-Overlooking-Rio-de-Janeiro.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf81E2lufe5PE3zsZv5V6A_yqJVa7U6jneehlElg78W6ZCVekaFwC2-CuYDkIdAQ_HeMOpgIdPVHpmDqzrIdZnvGVjx7zSF354DsWEJYrmaBwntsgtz1djAmowDQmAkzsxYdlZiURo9494/s320/Christ-the-Redeemer-Statue-Overlooking-Rio-de-Janeiro.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">But here's a hard answer. Do we really know what it is like for God to love us? We imagine God as a grand parent, who, will spoil us any chance He gets. Without <span style="font-size: small;">repercussion</span>, God coddles us, spoils us, and <span style="font-size: small;">yields</span> to us for all of eternity. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Is that love? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In your version of heaven, are we all consumers taking holy handouts?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> Or is the greater love the love of a parent, who video tapes us while we walk for the first time only to watch us fall. In the long run, giving us free will is showing us the greater love. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The shooting of beautiful children of God by a mentally ill child of God is just about the worst thin<span style="font-size: small;">g</span> I can think of. </span><span style="font-size: small;">This is a time when the whole notion of free will seems like a failed experiment. Tragedy of this magnitude is so horrible that the desired response is to react quickly to <span style="font-size: small;">e</span>nsure it will never happen again. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We must fight the notion to become "Post" Sandy Hook by buying weapons, beefing up security at elementary schools, or shielding our children from all people with mental illness.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We will never fully get over this. Just like we were never "post" Columbine, or 9/11, or Oklahoma City, or the Holocaust. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We must remember to breathe. We must be committed to each other's humanity for the long run. We're all in this together. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Look at the outline of human history: the journey from learning how to use tools, to building pyramids, to establishing currency, to the evolution of medicine, to the beginning of democracy, to the end of slavery, to the end of the cold war, to the rise of the internet. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We're getting better and better at a lot of things. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">But human suffering still remains. Sometimes <span style="font-size: small;">t</span>hose with Mental Illness know <span style="font-size: small;">only suffering. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">As my favorite theologian Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr says in his letter from Birmingham jail, "The arc of history bends toward justice" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Do you know who Dr. King was writing the letter from Birmingham Jail to? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Clergy who opposed the Civil Right movement. Even clergy sometimes fail to see the justice that we are being called to.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The world is united in the 21st century in a way that it never was before. Lives change quickly as we move on to the next big thing. We are never really "post" anything, because the past is never really gone. We carry the memories of the past forward as we continue to love each other for the long haul. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> Building the Kingdom of God is a marathon, not a sprint. <span style="font-size: small;">This Christmastime and every time, we weep with those who weep, and <span style="font-size: small;">we rejoice with those who rejoice. <span style="font-size: small;">We live in ho<span style="font-size: small;">pe. We love in<span style="font-size: small;"> hope.</span></span></span> </span></span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-9388674539947683132012-12-05T07:53:00.000-08:002012-12-22T12:02:28.895-08:00Santa Claus is coming? There I was opening my big fat mouth in a recent Sunday School class designed for parents with young children.<br />
As a pastor I have a certain credibility because God and I are close. As a parent, I'm less experienced than many of the other parents in the class. But that didn't stop me from talking too much about what to do about Santa.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6rEKCsrtE4QUQ8cbJsui503JjQjaS71uM8kyXQB5SMS7Vn5ppWlCYIf_b55hi1mZtkfQxqfgxpr9XiB50OKrJw1Z3uy2A09egxjUWLh9PmDL9TiVC1ufaWkPgUW4z8rMY4esRIKWXmHY/s1600/funny-santa-and-reindeers-cartoons-image4-445x299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6rEKCsrtE4QUQ8cbJsui503JjQjaS71uM8kyXQB5SMS7Vn5ppWlCYIf_b55hi1mZtkfQxqfgxpr9XiB50OKrJw1Z3uy2A09egxjUWLh9PmDL9TiVC1ufaWkPgUW4z8rMY4esRIKWXmHY/s1600/funny-santa-and-reindeers-cartoons-image4-445x299.jpg" /></a><br />
I don't believe that parents ought to perpetuate the lie of Santa Clause. Realizing that your parents lied to you is awful. Then turning right around and lying to your own kids is just plain cruel. So, I spoke with some authority about what I think parents ought to do.<br />
<br />
Here's what I said:<br />
"Don't spread the lie. Tell them that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas" target="_blank">Saint Nicolas was a real person</a>, a really good person, and one we ought to emulate. But he died. When we lie about Santa being real, and that lie is revealed, it causes our children to question if Jesus is real, too. If your kids already believe, help them realize on their own that Santa is a myth"<br />
<br />
My wife Ashley was sitting next to me. She is my biggest critic, especially in public. Sure, she loves me without ceasing and in the privacy of our home tells me how much she enjoys my sermons and is my biggest supporter. But she doesn't put up with BS. After my Santa smear campaign, Ashley grabbed my arm as if to get me to shut-up, and said politely to the group that we
have not talked about this much as a couple and still haven't had to
make up our minds on the idea of Santa and our kids, as if to soften the blow of my anti-Santa stance. She was perhaps right to do so.<br />
<br />
<br />
Most people aren't on board with killing Santa. Maybe I'm not either. Santa can be fun and magical. I just don't like lying to my kids. I'd like to think that I could let my kids down about Santa honestly and sincerely, and then tell them that we're going to go on pretending just the same.<br />
<br />
But what will they think about how we should view Jesus? I dare say there are many Christians who treat Christ in a similar fashion.<br />
<br />
<br />
We talked in code in the car on the way home: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbFW1z60PjjjS89E-81dFLucLbachOHX4iSIRusfj84NxVzXIFMbHKZAeS0Pv-9eUbIOK0YDB4-lKQ8TPQ99WBxNCqjcCYIumNPELd-oUYlau4mcwAUkJNUAeDthGDUo5qLmhVmdIPonD/s1600/funny-santa-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbFW1z60PjjjS89E-81dFLucLbachOHX4iSIRusfj84NxVzXIFMbHKZAeS0Pv-9eUbIOK0YDB4-lKQ8TPQ99WBxNCqjcCYIumNPELd-oUYlau4mcwAUkJNUAeDthGDUo5qLmhVmdIPonD/s1600/funny-santa-cartoon.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Ashley: Our kids already believe.<br />
Me: Not because of me.<br />
Ashley: So what- they learn about it from kids at school, still they believe.<br />
Me: Let's call him St. Nick. At least that way there's a historical figure.<br />
Ashley: Is he alive?<br />
Me: No.<br />
Ashley: Good luck with that. <br />
<br />
Later that night my son Jacob asks me a question to check my resolve on the issue of Santa. He's always a critic:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Daddy, what if Santa dies before Christmas? How will I get my presents?"</span><br />
<br />
Ashley looks on with the grin on her face, and offers up support for Jacob, "Yeah Daddy, how can you answer that?"<br />
<br />
Before I give my answer, I'd like to point out that I've had solid motives here. I don't want to perpetuate a lie only to disappoint my kids later. I also don't want to disappoint them now, only to have them be the ones to ruin "the magic" for all the kids at their schools. Imagine the phone calls that would come pouring in if<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Jacob's dad-</span> <i><span style="font-size: small;">the Minister-</span></i> <span style="font-size: small;">ruined Christmas for everyone...</span></span><br />
<br />
So, I caved- but just a little.<br />
<br />
I said; "I can't tell you what would happen if Santa died, but I can tell you that Mommy and Daddy would make sure you got your Christmas presents. Do you believe that?"<br />
<br />
He said, "I know. I was just wondering. Thanks, Dad." And then he hugged me, unprovoked. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nailed it. </div>
<br />
<br />
The fact of the matter is, each parent has to negotiate their own traditions with their kids. It wouldn't be helpful to set your child as counter-cultural. They'll have plenty of time to do that in their angst-y teen years. But here's where I think I have firmer footing: <span style="font-size: large;">We don't have to always give our children answers.</span> The number one thing that happens when you grow up is learning how few things in life have easy answers. When you're a kid, the world can seem simple. But the older I get, the simple things- like how eating gives you energy- have become extraordinarily complex answers. <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Imagination is a good thing and arguably a dying art in our culture.</span><br />
So I say this: Resist the impulse to give answers to mystery. When your child asks you how Santa can be at every mall at one time, or how reindeer fly, or how Elves survive north-pole winters, or how Santa reaches people who don't have chimneys, ask them to imagine it. I've even heard it said, "Well, how do you imagine it?"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OFp3juS-ieeCmuAI5lDLcJFZCAfR7lEZ4Zknfxfwh-ZqfOIUB_z2-6dYEUFJKeQI5nu-b2Wtj8ndMoUjRgxKjPnDWa97uMDm1Bs8ZwjUTWgZHlPRCpQMu1e2HAdS63IzUnTkY-qCwSPg/s1600/santa_claus_church_497315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OFp3juS-ieeCmuAI5lDLcJFZCAfR7lEZ4Zknfxfwh-ZqfOIUB_z2-6dYEUFJKeQI5nu-b2Wtj8ndMoUjRgxKjPnDWa97uMDm1Bs8ZwjUTWgZHlPRCpQMu1e2HAdS63IzUnTkY-qCwSPg/s320/santa_claus_church_497315.jpg" width="228" /></a>If you have to say something about Santa, why not use the words, "The story goes" or even better "The legend goes" to preface your explanation. <span style="font-size: large;">Because that's what it is: A Legend. </span>We don't use legends much because our culture demands that we take a harsh stance on the historicity of everything.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/" target="_blank">The Real</a><a href="http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/" target="_blank"> St. Nicolas</a> was a wealthy man who felt convicted to give all his money to the poor after reading Jesus say, "sell all of your possessions and give your money to the poor." He was later made a Bishop at a young age, and eventually went on to be a the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea" target="_blank">Council of Nicaea</a> in 325 AD, where they wrote the Nicene Creed and established a universal church that believed in the trinity and the divinity of Jesus. Because of this council, they were able to have another council in 333, which decided the books of the Bible. <br />
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The Legend of St. Nick usually involves a story of a man and his three daughters. The legend says that the man could not afford the dowry for his daughters so that they may get married. Hearing of this tragedy, Nicolas came at night and tossed a purse of gold coins in the window for the first daughter to get married, on the night before she came of age to get married. He returned the night before the second daughter came of age and tossed another purse of gold coins, which landed in the stocking of the daughter that was hanging to dry above the fire place. The father wanted to know who the benefactor was, so he stayed up all night before the third daughter came of age. On that night- the legend goes- Nicolas climbed up on the roof and dropped the coins down the chimney so as to go unseen.<br />
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This story is great on so many levels: a minister living up to his vows, daughters who get the life they could not afford, and a parent in distress who is aided by a Saint. Does it have to be true down to the last detail to send the message of near miraculous intervention by one of God's agents?<br />
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The reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of the Messiah. The spirit of the season is to spread peace and goodwill to all.<br />
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The real St. Nick died on December 6th, 343 AD. His spirit lives on in our imagination.<br />
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So my advice regarding jolly old St Nick.<br />
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1. Tell children about the real St. Nick.<br />
2. Let their imagination be their guide- not you.<br />
3. Learn to love legends again.<br />
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Merry Christmas to All, and to all a Goodnight. <br />
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<br />DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424533598494716692.post-70764912119161304542012-11-08T08:40:00.003-08:002012-11-12T10:39:17.164-08:00The Reformation Sermon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lutherans<span style="font-size: x-large;">:</span> Smart-al<span style="font-size: x-large;">e</span>cks <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span></span>or Christ.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cZuozzTZ4eBnb2qUbWyNkwPbT8rZrq-En_7N-lD2obT8WVcB9LivFeuMH7nBVpQbEsC7EbzjRDO2ehh0jyBO05Z8FsgDgRu6clZtYOCR8W30fUxZL5vDoV4lU6VIUJKeKVFtL6qIQ6ql/s1600/Luther+church+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cZuozzTZ4eBnb2qUbWyNkwPbT8rZrq-En_7N-lD2obT8WVcB9LivFeuMH7nBVpQbEsC7EbzjRDO2ehh0jyBO05Z8FsgDgRu6clZtYOCR8W30fUxZL5vDoV4lU6VIUJKeKVFtL6qIQ6ql/s400/Luther+church+door.jpg" width="400" /></a>Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. And Might I add, happy reformation day. The one day
of the year when even the proudest Norwegian might have just a little bit of
German in them. And why shouldn't they. Reformation day is the day that we can
proclaim boldly those words that Martin Luther made famous: Here I stand, I can
do no other. And on this day we have been given brilliant texts to communicate
this occasion. Each of them contain a beacon of light for the people who they
were written for. It starts in Jeremiah 31, which is one of my favorite texts
in all of scripture. No longer shall you turn to your brother and say, 'Know
the Lord' for all shall know me" From the least of them to the greatest. For
I shall make a new covenant with them. I will forgive their iniquity and remember
their sin no more. Just a great verse. 500 years before Jesus we hear these
words of forgiveness and new covenant. </div>
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And then there's Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and
strength. An ever present help in our times of trouble. Though the mountains
shake in the heart of the sea... we shall not fear." These words of
comfort came from captive Jews, who had to believe in the hope of the future,
believe in a God who was big enough to follow them to Babylon. These words
formed their sense of freedom in the face of captivity. </div>
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And of course we have these great words from Romans chapter
3, words that Martin Luther used time and again, <span style="font-size: large;">"Since all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God, they are now justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption that is Christ Jesus." </span>This becomes the center
point of martin Luther's argument against the catholic church and the selling
of indulgences. Because he starts using these words "Solo Gracia" by
grace alone we can be saved. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It's all
what God does for us. </div>
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And of course these words from John, chapter 8. This
discourse between the Jews and Jesus. They say they have never known slavery, because
they are children of Abraham. Really? And Jesus says, "all who sin are
slaves to sin. But the knowledge of the truth of God will set them free. These
are all great texts, and each of them deserves their own sermon. And, put
together, they are really a sermon of themselves, so, we could just sing A
Might Fortress and go home. </div>
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But these texts have so much to offer us, and what I want to
get across to you today, is that the Reformation ought to be as alive today as
it was nearly 500 years ago. As we said with the Kids, we should be asking the
questions. We should be working on our tradition. We should be forming it
around these wonderful texts that have been past down to us. </div>
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I want to tell you my favorite story of the reformation that
you've probably never heard. Do you remember a man by the name of John Tetzel?
Tetzel, like pretzel with a "T" He was the man who was hired by the
catholic church to go from town to town selling indulgences. He would go into
the town square and talk to the crowds. He was known for two things. First, he
would scare people. He would take his hand, and put it over an open flame. And
he would talk about the evils of hell, and how there your flesh would burn, and
he would put his hand into the flame and burn his own flesh. And the putrid
smell of burning flesh would permeate the air and the people there would react
out of fear for what he would tell them next. Tetzel's second famous thing was
the catch phrase, "When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory
springs."<br />
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This meant that if you gave money to the church, you would
receive an indulgence that would move a loved one from purgatory to heaven.
This one of the biggest offenses that Martin Luther was against. He would use
things like we have here in Romans 3, and he would say, "<span style="font-size: large;">No, no, no ,no.
There's nothing you can do to earn it, it's a gift.</span> A gift is free! There is
nothing you can do to earn salvation, it is given to you. Well, anyway this
man, John Tetzel goes around selling indulgences, as the Reformation is
building. And Martin Luther keeps writing, and Gutenberg invents the printing
press- you learned all of this in eighth grade history- right? Gutenberg starts
printing Luther's works, and the documents proliferate German culture, and
Luther translates the bible into German- the language of the people- for the
first time. People can read it for the first time. And people start asking
questions for the first time. And you get this rise of what I like to call,
"Lutheran Smart-aleck" and they start showing up to John Tetzel's
organized activities. And they start heckling him at his rallies, and booing
him. And one man even goes up to Tetzel and asks, "can I buy an indulgence
for a sin that I haven't committed yet? And Tetzel sells it to him. And later
that day, the man and his friends jump Tetzel and beat him up. When Tetzel goes
to press charges, <span style="font-size: large;">the man shows up with his indulgence, signed by Tetzel
himself</span> on the same day saying that he is forgiven of his sin, and the man
walks away a scot-free. This is what I mean by Lutheran smart-alecks. A couple
of us are descendents of them. </div>
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So, things don't go well for John Tetzel. As the protest
reformation grows and swells to an overwhelming amount of support, the catholic
church has not choice but to scapegoat John Tetzel. They start blaming him for
everything and they say, "it was all his idea, that not really our
theology, what we meant was something closer to this, but John Tetzel, he did
that all on his own, that wasn't done out of our jurisdiction, he was doing his
own thing. And they excommunicate him. And they hid him deep in a monetary,
away from the public eye, and his health starts to fade very quickly. And he's
on his death bed- and on his death bed, John Tetzel receives a letter from Martin Luther. We don't know the contents of that letter, but if it's anything
like everything else he wrote, it probably mentioned Romans chapter 3. He imagine it said, "John, don't you know that by grace that you have been
saved, and there is nothing you can do to earn it. Don't you know that this is
the gift given to you. Don't you know that this idea that you go to purgatory
for your sins- that's bogus- don't you know that God gives you the gift of
salvation and there is nothing you can do to earn it. </div>
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We do know the last line of that letter. Martin Luther
writes, "I know that [this movement] has another father." Which is
his way of saying that I know that you're not to blame, I know that you got scapegoated.
<span style="font-size: large;">You are forgiven</span>. Tetzel died shortly after receiving this letter from Luther. </div>
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And I promise you he didn't spend a single day in purgatory.
And it wasn't because he bought anything. </div>
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I love that story because it shows a Martin Luther who lives
what he preaches. It tells a story of a guy who went out of his way to love his
neighbor. </div>
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See, Luther has this idea of sin. He says sin is the heart
curved in on itself. Luther says that sin is when we receive this gift of god
and we try to horde it, we try to keep it, and hide God from the world. the<span style="font-size: large;">
heart is not meant to be curved in on itself, it is meant to be open</span>. And when
your heart is facing out, Luther says, your neighbors will see it and know it,
and the will see in you God's grace that fills your life. </div>
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Luther says, now that we have nothing to do- we ought to
love our neighbor. Now that we know there is nothing we should do or can do to
earn salvation, we ought to turn our attention onto our neighbors and share
with them the story that has been given us. </div>
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When I was 15 and 16, I started hanging out with these Christian
friends. We would meet for bible studies at lunch, and after school. We got
together to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which made little sense to any of us. But
we tried it, all the same. And I started to realize that every time that we
started to talk about salvation that I was sort of at odds with the group, and
I realized that they were all Baptist or non-denoms and I was Lutheran. And we
would talk about infant baptism, and they would say, how can you believe that
you can be saved before you have faith, and you're just sprinkling water,
you're not even dunking. And then one day they said, Daniel <span style="font-size: large;">we're worried about
you</span>. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior? can you
tell me about the time that you converted, and you came to Jesus? And I became
really worried about my own salvation. I felt like I was speaking a different
language. </div>
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And one day I came in and said, "I have recently been
confirmed in the Lutheran church and there's a scripture passage that I would
like to share with you and it's Ephesians 2: 8-10, it is by grace that we have
been saved through faith, and not of works, so that no one can boast."</div>
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And would you believe it, one guy said to me, "I think
you've got that backwards, I'm pretty sure that it is by faith that we have
been saved through grace." So I said, "let's look it up." </div>
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Ephesians is clear, "by grace you have been
saved," It ain't backwards. That's the way it is. God saves us before we
do anything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's the point. That's
the central narrative of Christ's life, death and resurrection.</div>
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A few days later this question came up again. We were at my
house, it was around one or two in the morning. "Daniel, when were you
saved? When do you come to Jesus."</div>
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I said, "Guys, I don't know what to tell you. I'm
Lutheran. <span style="font-size: large;">I didn't come to Jesus, Jesus came to me</span>." Some of that Lutheran smart-aleck quality shining through there. </div>
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And I don't mean to make light of anyone else's faith, all I
can do is tell my own story. </div>
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Jesus Christ came to me. I didn't go to him. That's the
beauty of Lutheran theology that has been passed down to us for 500 years. </div>
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And I can tell you this. Of that group of guys, most of them
went to seminary. And each of them, in turn, called me to say, "I just got
a hold of Martin Luther's Basic Theological Works... I just read Freedom of a
Christian for the first time... I just read Babylonian Captivity.... I just
read Martin Luther's commentaries on Galatians... I just read his sermon on
Ephesians, and I understand better Lutheran theology.</div>
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And I'm not saying that any of those guys converted to
Lutheranism, but I am telling you this: </div>
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500 years later, Luther is the only theologian that you
cannot do without if you are going to study theology. <span style="font-size: large;">Luther is indispensable
because of Solo Gracia</span>, the idea that we are saved before we do anything. </div>
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And I want to say to you that I think our society needs more
of that. I think we live in a <b>meritocracy</b>. What we think we earn is stuff that
has been given to us by God. We live in a society that we think we earned it, whatever
we have we earned using our own gumption and hard work. And I'm here to tell
you Romans 3 and Ephesians 2, there is nothing we can do to earn the only gift
that matters. I think our world could use a little more of that. So I want you
to take your bulletins home with you to equip you in these conversations. The
John text today says, <span style="font-size: large;">"the truth will set you free" </span></div>
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If you need to have a conversation with someone, have it.
You can say, I just want you to know, these are the texts I look to when I
build my theology. </div>
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Just remember the difference that all of these writings made
to the people they were written for. </div>
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Just as Jeremiah and the Psalmists were freeing to the
Hebrews in captivity, and just as </div>
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Paul's writings were freeing to the Ephesians and the Romans,
and just as</div>
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Luther's writings were freeing for John Tetzel, myself, and
my friends,</div>
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who will your writings be freeing for? What will your good
news look like? </div>
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When we continue to tell the story, others can find freedom
in our truth. And that is the calling that we have as Lutherans. Because, let's
be honest- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we are the reformers, we are
the ones who are called to be smart-alecks, to ask the tough questions. </div>
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And we know this: <span style="font-size: large;">God's grace isn't just for keeping-<span style="font-size: large;"> i</span>t's
for sharing</span>. </div>
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Amen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
DanielPughjrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984936958122305191noreply@blogger.com1