Blood Donation

In her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott recounts a story told by Jack Kornfield of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. it’s about an eight-year-old boy whose younger sister was dying of leukemia. He was told that without a blood transfusion she would die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatible with hers and, if so, he would be the blood donor. They asked him if they could test his blood. He said, “Sure.” They did and learned it was a good match. They asked if he would donate to his sister a pint of his blood because it could be her only chance of living. He said he would have to think about it overnight. The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to donate the blood. So they took him to the hospital where he was placed on a gurney beside his six-year-old sister. Both of them were hooked up to IV’s. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then eventually transferred to his sister’s IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood dripped into his sister, until the doctor came over to see how he was doing. Then the boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to die?”

What Abraham Could Not Hear

(as preserved by Dennis Kinlaw)

Henry Clay Morrison used to describe this scene in a powerful way. He would say:

I thought I heard a conversation on Mount Moriah. It wasn’t between Abraham and Isaac, it was between the first Person of the Trinity and the second Person of the Trinity. The second Person of the Blessed Trinity said to the first of the Blessed Trinity. “Father, this is not the last time we’re coming to this mountaintop, is it?”

And the Father said to the eternal Son, “No, Son, this is not the last time we’re coming to this mountaintop. It will be about two thousand years and we’ll be back here.”

“Father, when we come back the next time, it won’t be one of them on this altar, will it?”

The eternal Father replied, “No, Son, when we come back the next time, it won’t be one of them on this altar; it will be one of us.”

“It will be me, won’t it?”

And the Father said, “Son, yes, it will be you.”

The eternal Son looked into the face of the eternal Father and he said, “Father, when we come back the next time, and it’s me on that altar, and the knife’s raised or the spear is raised, and they’re ready to push it in, are you going to say, ‘Don’t touch the lad’?”

“No Son. We never ask them to do in symbol what we are not willing to do in reality.”

For Love

 I once knew a woman . . . she asked her son to shine her shoes

She put a quarter in each one . . . cause she thought that was his due

But he returned the money . . . and when she asked him why that was

He said, “Mom, I’m old enough to know by now . . .

You just do some things  . . . for love”

 

song lyrics “You Give it All Your Heart” by Bill Mallonee

Father God

 I read about a small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing.

At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father’s full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed.

The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy’s plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew to be a man, he said, “All my life I’ve known what God is like by what my father did that night.”

J. Allan Peterson

https://bible.org/illustration/father-god

4-Year-Old Girl Only Survivor of Plane Crash

From Max Lucado, God’s Story, Your Story (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 86.

On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashed after taking off from the Detroit airport, killing 155 people. The lone survivor was four-year-old Cecelia from Tempe, Arizona. Rescuers found her in such good condition that they wondered if she’d actually been on the flight. Perhaps she was riding in one of the cars into which the airplane crashed. But, no, her name was on the manifest.

While the exact nature of events may never be known, Cecelia’s survival may have been due to her mother’s quick response. Initial reports from the scene indicate that, as the plane was falling, her mother, Paula Cichan, unbuckled her own belt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter, and wrapped her arms and body around the girl. She separated her from the force of the fall . . . and the daughter survived. 15

God did the same for us. He wrapped himself around us and felt the full force of the fall. He took the unrelaxed punishment of the guilty. He died, not like a sinner, but as a sinner—in our place. “By a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s but ours.”16

15. Cited in Bryan Chapell, The Promises of Grace: Living in the Grip of God’s Love (1992; repr., Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 142. Note: This report was disputed by some authorities.

16. Martin Luther, quoted in Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978), 1:148.

Also see: AP article on New York Times

Go and Serve Jesus: A Dialogue

Reading
Scripture Matthew 10:24-39

Reader 1:
Ha! The preacher thinks we should go and serve Jesus. Does the preacher have any idea what that means, you know, leaving the comforts of home. People won’t understand what we are doing. They will think we are nuts! Even our own families won’t get it! Go and serve Jesus? Not me.

Reader 2:
Well, now, the preacher has got it right. If we sit here, or stand here, and proclaim our faith, and sing the great songs, but do nothing we are just spitting in the wind. We really need to do something. People don’t have to understand. God understands. That’s what’s really important. You’re not doing this for the approval of people; you are doing this for God.

Reader 1:
Yeah, right! Listen, God has lots of do-gooders to get things done. What makes you think you can do something special? Are you better than everyone else?

Reader 2:
No, I’m not better than anyone else. I just want to serve God. I want to act on what I say. I know it won’t be easy. That doesn’t matter. I just want to serve. You are welcome to serve also.

Reader 1:
Not me. I can’t serve. I won’t serve. My service is coming to church once a week. That’s all I have to give.

Reader 2:
Perhaps that’s enough for now. Just wait and see. Don’t close the doors to service.

from Cokebury's Worship Connection for Year A, Sixth Sunday after Pentecost June 22, 2008

Myth vs. Jesus

I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES
3B. Eyewitnesses

The writers of the New Testament either wrote as eyewitnesses of the events they described or recorded eyewitness firsthand accounts of the events.

II Peter 1:16
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”

They certainly knew the difference between myth, legend and reality. A professor of a world literature class in which I was speaking asked the question, “What do you think of Greek mythology?” I answered with another question, “Do you mean, were the events of the life of Jesus, the resurrection, virgin birth, etc., just myth?” He said, “Yes.” I replied that there is one obvious difference between these things applied to Christ and these things applied to Greek mythology that is usually overlooked. The similar events, such a the resurrection, etc, of Greek mythology were not applied to real, flesh and blood individuals, but rather to mythological characters. But, when it comes to Christianity, these events are attached to a person the writers knew in time-space dimension history, the historic Jesus of Nazareth whom they knew personally.

The professor replied, “You’re right, I never realized that before.”

S. Estborn in Gripped by Christ explains further the above. He relates that Anath Nath “studied both the Bible and the Shastras. Two biblical themes in particular deeply engaged his mind: first, the reality of the Incarnation, and second, the Atonement for human sin. These doctrines he sought to harmonize with Hindu Scriptures. He found a parallel to Christ’s self-sacrifice in Prajapati, the Vedic creator-god. he saw too, a vital difference. Whereas the Vedic Prajapati is a mythical symbol, which has been applied to several figures, Jesus of Nazareth is a historic person. ‘Jesus is the true Prajapati,’ he said, ‘the true Savior of the world.’” 6/43

J.B. Phillips. cited by Blaiklock, states, “I have read, in Greek and Latin, scores of myths but did not find the slightest flavour of myth here. Most people who know their Greek and Latin, whatever their attitude to the New Testament narratives, would agree with him . . .

“A myth may be defined as ‘a pre-scientific and imaginative attempt to explain some phenomenon, real or supposed, which excites the curiosity of the mythmaker, or perhaps more accurately as an effort to reach a feeling of satisfaction in place of bewilderment concerning such phenomena. It often appeals to the emotions rather than the reason, and indeed, in its most typical forms, seems to date from an age when rational explanations were not called for.’” 3/47
(p.5)

from Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell.

“Let’s Get to Work”: Sermon Outline by Keith Badowski

“Let’s Get to Work”: Sermon Outline by Keith Badowski

Matthew 21:28-32 (NIV)
Matthew 5:41-42 (NIV)

1. So, does my title suggest I’m talking about “works theology”? Doing hard labor on earth to earn our way into heaven?

Once there was a company that put out an instant cake mix. You only had to add water. It didn’t sell. Market research showed that people thought it sounded TOO EASY; it couldn’t be any good. They reformulated the mix so the instructions were to add water and one egg. It sold fine after that.

Some people are tempted to believe that God’s plan of salvation is to easy too.

2. Ephesians 2:8-9 “By grace you have been saved through faith . . ., it is the gift of God, not of works.”

God’s formula is not about to be changed.

Works do not earn salvation. Works show gratitude, devotion, willingness to yield yourself to God who blesses you whether you work or not. (Of course, chances are if the message of Jesus’ free gift has penetrated your heart and you are grateful for his forgiveness of your sins, you’re going to WANT to work—to express your return of the love God first extended to you.)

3. Did it ever occur to you that if you trust Jesus for your salvation/ forgiveness of your sins/ eternal life . . . you ought to maybe trust him to direct the way you live now?

Isn’t it possible that what he asks (not demands) has your own best interests at heart?

4. Serving others, as many can attest, feels good! Nothing gives the same satisfaction.

Albert Schweitzer was quoted as saying, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

5. Jesus wants WILLING workers who chose Him FREELY, VOLUNTARILY do His work in the world. He doesn’t resort to guilt trips or any kind of manipulation to get us up and out of our seats.

Well, sometimes He can light a fire under us to get us moving. . .

6. Once there was a member of a motorcycle gang who a couple days earlier became a believer in Jesus. The only thing he knew to do was to go to church. As he made his way to sit in the 2nd row, the people of the congregation stared at him as he passed. They whispered to each other about his burliness, his leather chaps, his nose ring. As he sat down, the pastor announced, “We need a helper in to work in the nursery this morning. Can I get a volunteer please?” No one came forward, so the pastor asked again, “We really need a helper in the nursery this morning. Please step forward if you can help out.” Meanwhile the biker was praying, “Lord, I don’t know if you want me to help out, but I will take it as a sign from you that I should if he asks a third time.” The pastor made the third request when no one responded to the first two, so the biker raised his hand, stood up and started walking to the front . . . followed by 50 mothers who suddenly rose to their feet.

7. God shouldn’t have to send a burly biker to get us involved and on our feet.

Why not a motive of gratitude? A desire to show the world in action who Jesus is—the one who acts to help others, who sets himself aside for our well-being.

8. Jesus calls us to enact his grace and love by how we respond to the needs of others.

He wants us to pay no mind to whether the recipient DESERVES love and grace. That’s hard to do at 1st.

Jesus always asks his disciples to do tasks that 1st seem hard, unpleasant.

9. Sacrifice time. As if it’s “OUR time.”

Hard effort, physical strain at times.

Outside our comfort zone.

If we see such difficulties ahead we might delay our choice to serve.

“If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice” –Rush

10.
"Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad,
who came to a sign at the fork of the road.
He looked one way and the other way too
The Zoad had to make up his mind what to do.
Well, the Zoad scratched his head,
and his chin, and his pants—
and he said to himself “I’ll be taking a chance.”
If I go to place One, that place may be hot,
so how will I know if I like it or not.
On the other hand, though, I’ll feel such a fool
If I go to Place Two and find it’s too cool,
in that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So Place One may be best and not Place Two.
“Play safe!” cried the Zoad.
“I’ll play safe, I’m no dunce.
I’ll simply start off to both places at once.”
And that’s how the Zoad who would not take a chance
went no place at all with a split in his pants."

--Dr. Seuss

11. Option: remain indecisive when Jesus calls us to serve.

Like the Second son, say “Yes” but do “No”.

Sit quietly and hope he’ll forgot the whole conversation.

Opportunity: be like the First son. He may have said “No” fearing it was too hard or just not for him. But 5 minutes or 2 years later, we can CHANGE OUR MIND.

12. . . . get to work, give the mission to serve our best try.

Realize that God supplies wisdom, power, resources, guidance—to accomplish what it is He asks. God acts through us—He must because what He asks is too HARD to do without Him.

13. Hard Requests:

Someone strikes you, insults, snubs, or criticizes you, FORGIVE THEM. Be vulnerable, risk another stab in the back, love your enemies.

Be GENEROUS, even when the world is take, take, take.

Someone pressures you to work for them, look for EXTRA things you can do for them, go beyond their demands, showing God’s generosity and grace by working HARDER and doing MORE.

14. Be open handed with your resources, not just your leftover pocket change, but your checkbook, your car, your skills, and know-how, your tools, any of your possessions. YOURS? They don’t actually belong to you. They’re on loan from the Creator. Use what you “have” to improve the situation of another person.

15. I know of 3 Christian men who have loaned or given vehicles to needy individuals who are unlikely to ever pay them back. I know 3. I wonder how many Jesus knows. I wonder how many Jesus wants?

16. Jesus has given us a free gift of salvation. Jesus demands no works, no payment. He sets us free because he loves us. He hopes we will seek his directions, his instructions to devote ourselves to working on his behalf.

The Price of Significance

“Would you be willing to give your life to save the world if no one ever knew your name? If anonymity was the price you would have to pay for significance, would it be too great a price? To live a life of courage is not a guarantee of prestige or adulation, but there is a freedom in humility. It doesn’t matter anymore what anyone else thinks or what others say. It only matters if you live and die fulfilling the mission you were born for.” (p.62-63)

--From Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus