Tours of bld
Missionary here
Mozambique
sudanSermon 4-29-07 Romans 12:9-21 Distinctively Christian
We had a difficult thing happen on ….Monday april 16th
What was it?.................. Killing of 32
We grow callous to horror. Our life must go on
what is our response to those who hate us, to those who kill us?
We look for answers……why did this person…..maybe he wasn’t raised right, maybe he was treated poorly
What cho did is his responsibility. His choice
He made a series of bad choices…….first one……was to choose to hate
Conversely……jewish professor Liviu Librescu survives the holocost…..leans on door to block cho…..others live because of him
Distinctively Christian
People of ten ask, how is the wcc church different from other churches?
I sort of have an answer for that
What are the distinctive marks of the Christian faith?
We all build buildings, we all worship
The teaching of Jesus is centered on love.
God so loved the world that he gave
This is the distinctive sign of the Christian faith
It is the mark of Christ
They will know we are Christians by our love [song]
I am not saying today that evil people should not be punished
I am not suggesting that we all just lay down and let crazy people kill our children. We must do everything In our power to protect those in our care.
I believe that we do have a responsibility on the world stage
Most of us have little or no contact with national or global justice
We do have contact with our own world, our own daily justice……
In this realm where we do have power and control,
we must remember that God is love
God is love.
God is not the picture in the stained glass.
He is bigger than the idea that you get from the preacher
Bigger than the church, and what the church teaches about him.
When we think about him, he is beyond our comprehension
Isaiah 55:8-98 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
He takes in every corner of who I am……
God is love….
1 john 4:16-17 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment
if you want to have confidence at the pearly gates you need to know the god who is embodied in love
Shortest sermon in the world………..”love” and sat down
WWJD
Lets put this love into practice
Think of someone you like……..how do you feel about them
Think of someone you don’t like……….how do you feel about them
How do you feel about mr. cho
Imagine Jesus is standing by your side……looking at that person…..what will he see?
Jesus looked into peter and saw the good….upon this rock I will build my church
God looked at saul the murderer and saw paul the apostle
Love is no respecter of persons
Are you a person of love…r you a person of God r you a person of love
A loving person is like a rose………the fragrance goes out to all
A loving person is like a light on a hill…..the light goes out to all
It guides all, good and evil to a place of safety
We are all actors on the stage of life
those who choose evil have chosen their part, their role
each day that we live, we have the opportunity to chose our roles
at the end of the play, who is celebrated? The villains or those who love?
Love is an incredibly powerful force.
John 10: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
Pictures of Love……
Today I proclaim to you an inconvenient truth
Frederick Buechner, The love for equals is a human thing ... of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing ... the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing ... to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, the love of the common man for those who consider themselves the upper crust. The world is bewildered by its saints.And then there is the love for the enemy ... love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured's love for the torturer.This is God's love. It conquers the World.
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Ghandi…..the british must leave as friends
Abraham and the annoying beggar……..i have suffered him for many years, could not you put up with him for one meal?
The man wanted the monks horse…..the beggar on the side of the road………don’t tell anyone how you got my horse…..
abbot, monk and book
Abbot Anastasius had a book of very fine parchment which was worth 20 pence. It contained both the Old and the New Testaments in full. Once a certain monk came to visit Anastasius and, seeing the book, made off with it, so that when Anastasius went to read the scripture that day, he found that the book had gone and knew at once that the monk had taken it. But he did not send after him for fear that the monk might add the sin of perjury to that of theft. Now that monk entered the city to sell the book. He wanted 18 pence for it. The buyer said, “Give me the book so that I may find out if it is worth that much money.” With that he took the book to the holy Anastasius and said, “Father, take a look at this and tell me if you think it’s worth as much as 18 pence.” Anastasius said, “Yes, it is a fine parchment and at 18 pence it is a bargain.” So the buyer went back to the monk and said, “Here is your money. I showed the book to Father Anastasius and he said it was worth 18 pence.” The monk was stunned. “Was that all he said? Did he say nothing else?” “No he did not say a word more than that.” “Well,” said the monk, “I’ve changed my mind and don’t want to sell the book after all.” And then he went back to Anastasias and begged him with many tears to take the book back. But Anastasias said gently, “No, brother, keep it. It is my present to you.”
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