Sermon for November 20th, 2016 - Revision history

Iraneal at 05:49, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T05:49:20Z

Iraneal at 05:47, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T05:47:07Z

Iraneal at 05:26, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T05:26:22Z

Iraneal at 04:58, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T04:58:35Z

Iraneal at 04:18, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T04:18:43Z

Iraneal at 02:58, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T02:58:03Z

Iraneal at 02:53, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T02:53:38Z

Iraneal at 02:31, 20 November 2016

2016-11-20T02:31:00Z

Iraneal: Created page with "=Deuteronomy 26:1-11== 1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall..."

2016-11-20T00:05:43Z

Created page with "=Deuteronomy 26:1-11== 1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall..."

New page

=Deuteronomy 26:1-11==
1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

==A Commitment to Give==

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 When you make a commitment to give to the church, you are essentially setting a few extra places at the banquet table; inviting a few more people to the celebration.  That's probably a good thing to remember this week, of all weeks, as we prepare our Thanksgiving feasts with family and friends.
-As you sit down to the table this Thanksgiving, as you give thanks for all the blessings God has placed in your lives, I hope that First Presbyterian Church will be counted among them--its people, its mission, its work in the community and world these past 134 years, the faith we teach, the hope we proclaim, and the love we share.  For these things and more, give thanks.  And on behalf of First Presbyterian Church, thanks for giving.
+As you sit down to the table this Thanksgiving, as you give thanks for all the blessings God has placed in your lives, I hope that First Presbyterian Church will be counted among them--its people, its mission, its work in the community and world these past 134 years, the faith we teach, the hope we proclaim, and the love we share.  I hope you'll set a place for us, and give thanks.
+On behalf of First Presbyterian Church, happy thanksgiving--and thanks...for giving.
-−
-*************
-A one dollar bill met a 20 dollar bill and said, "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff, church, church, church."

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:47, 20 November 2016
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	The other group is the "aliens who reside among us." The poor, the destitute, the homeless, the mentally ill, and all of those who, for whatever reason, are unable to do, to be, to take advantage of the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. These are the people the church is called to take care of, the ones Jesus called "the least of these my brothers and sisters."		The other group is the "aliens who reside among us." The poor, the destitute, the homeless, the mentally ill, and all of those who, for whatever reason, are unable to do, to be, to take advantage of the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. These are the people the church is called to take care of, the ones Jesus called "the least of these my brothers and sisters."

		+	When you make a commitment to give to the church, you are essentially setting a few extra places at the banquet table; inviting a few more people to the celebration. That's probably a good thing to remember this week, of all weeks, as we prepare our Thanksgiving feasts with family and friends.
		+
		+	As you sit down to the table this Thanksgiving, as you give thanks for all the blessings God has placed in your lives, I hope that First Presbyterian Church will be counted among them--its people, its mission, its work in the community and world these past 134 years, the faith we teach, the hope we proclaim, and the love we share. For these things and more, give thanks. And on behalf of First Presbyterian Church, thanks for giving.

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:26, 20 November 2016
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	Verse 10: You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.		Verse 10: You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
		+
		+	The obvious answer is celebration. But couldn't you have done that on your own? If everyone kept all of their fruit, wouldn't it be easier to celebrate? Well, actually not for everyone. There are two groups of people mentioned in the very last verse: The Levites and the aliens who reside among you. These two groups are excluded from the requirement to bring first fruits, but then are included in the celebration at the end, the sharing of all the produce? Why is that?
		+
		+	The Levites are the temple priests, who gave up their inheritance in order to serve God, take care of the temple, and serve the people of Israel. The aliens are those who are guests, travelers, or refugees who live among the people but don't have the same rights as the people, including the right to own land or produce anything profitable.
		+
		+	So when you give to the church today, you are basically sharing with those same two groups: Pastors, missionaries, church staff who have all voluntarily laid aside the opportunity to seek personal profit, and instead use their skills and talents to serve God, the church and the community. Those are the modern-day Levites.
		+
		+	The other group is the "aliens who reside among us." The poor, the destitute, the homeless, the mentally ill, and all of those who, for whatever reason, are unable to do, to be, to take advantage of the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. These are the people the church is called to take care of, the ones Jesus called "the least of these my brothers and sisters."

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 So we give part of that back to God.  How much?  Deuteronomy just says "some."  Other parts of the Old Testament suggest 10 percent, and then there's that Jesus guy in the New Testament who suggests 100%.
 *************
 A one dollar bill met a 20 dollar bill and said, "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff, church, church, church."

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 The second man calmly replied, "You obviously don't get it. I make $100,000 a week, and every week I go to church, and I tithe--ten percent of that $100,000--to my church.  I'm not worried, because I know my pastor WILL find me!"
-Today is commitment Sunday.  Some of you brought your pledge cards and placed them on the table before worship began, some may do that after the service is over.  Some of you mailed in your pledge card to the office days ago, and some of you may be wondering, "What's a pledge card? What's a tithe?  What's commitment Sunday?"
+Today is commitment Sunday.  Some of you brought your pledge cards and placed them on the table before worship began, some may do that after the service is over.  Some of you mailed in your pledge card to the office days ago, and some of you may just be wondering, "What's a pledge card? What's commitment Sunday?"
-Let me answer those questions in reverse order.
+Commitment Sunday happens four times a year, each time with a different commitment.  This is a tradition here at First Presbyterian Church that dates at least back to the 1950s under the ministry of Rev. Bill Burroughs.  In the past decade, that tradition has slipped somewhat, but we're bringing it back.
 *************
 A one dollar bill met a 20 dollar bill and said, "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff, church, church, church."

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=Deuteronomy 26:1-11==
+==Deuteronomy 26:1-11==
 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 Today is commitment Sunday.  Some of you brought your pledge cards and placed them on the table before worship began, some may do that after the service is over.  Some of you mailed in your pledge card to the office days ago, and some of you may be wondering, "What's a pledge card? What's a tithe?  What's commitment Sunday?"
-Let me answer those in reverse order.
+Let me answer those questions in reverse order.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ==A Commitment to Give==
-Stewardship Sermon:
+The second man calmly replied, "You obviously don't get it. I make $100,000 a week, and every week I go to church, and I tithe--ten percent of that $100,000--to my church.  I'm not worried, because I know my pastor WILL find me!"
-A one dollar bill met a 20 dollar bill and said, "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff, church, church, church."
-Stewardship / Lost Sheep / Pastor
+Today is commitment Sunday.  Some of you brought your pledge cards and placed them on the table before worship began, some may do that after the service is over.  Some of you mailed in your pledge card to the office days ago, and some of you may be wondering, "What's a pledge card? What's a tithe?  What's commitment Sunday?"
-There were two men shipwrecked on this island. The minute they got on to the island one of them started screaming and yelling, "We're going to die! We're going to die! There's no food! No water! We're going to die!" The second man was propped up against a palm tree and acting so calmly that it drove the first man crazy. "Don't you understand?!? We're going to die!!" The second man replied, "You don't understand. I make $100,000 a week." The first man looked at him quite dumbfounded and asked, "What difference does that make?!? We're on an island with no food and no water! We're going to DIE!!!" The second man answered, "You just don't get it. I make $100,000 a week and I tithe ten percent on that $100,000 per week. My pastor will find me!"

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:31, 20 November 2016
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	==A Commitment to Give==		==A Commitment to Give==
		+
		+
		+	Stewardship Sermon:
		+	A one dollar bill met a 20 dollar bill and said, "Hey, where've you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff, church, church, church."
		+
		+	Stewardship / Lost Sheep / Pastor
		+	There were two men shipwrecked on this island. The minute they got on to the island one of them started screaming and yelling, "We're going to die! We're going to die! There's no food! No water! We're going to die!" The second man was propped up against a palm tree and acting so calmly that it drove the first man crazy. "Don't you understand?!? We're going to die!!" The second man replied, "You don't understand. I make $100,000 a week." The first man looked at him quite dumbfounded and asked, "What difference does that make?!? We're on an island with no food and no water! We're going to DIE!!!" The second man answered, "You just don't get it. I make $100,000 a week and I tithe ten percent on that $100,000 per week. My pastor will find me!"