Sermon
: August
22, 2004
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Sermon peview
for SUNDAY August 22, 2004
THE SERVICE IS ONLY BEGINNING
August 22, 2004
Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalms 117:1-2; Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13;
Luke 13:22-30
" There are those now last who will be first, and those now first who
will be last"
(Luke 13:30).
A man had arranged to pick up his wife at Church one Sunday
...
When he arrived, he noticed the sign outside which listed the Gospel
text for that day's sermon: "THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE SERVED,
BUT TO SERVE."
Then the man went to the
Church door and asked, "Is
the Service over?" An usher, who apparently had grasped the
implications of the sermon, replied, "The worship is over, but
the service is only beginning."
When the worship is over your service is only
beginning. And, if you don't know where to begin, try your own family.
Then listen to the
Master Teacher. He will tell you all you need to know about loving
God; all you need to know about loving your family; all you need
to know about loving your neighbor. Listen carefully:
"
The greatest among you must be your servant" (Mt. 23:11). "
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. And the man who humbles
himself will be exalted" (Lk. 14:11).
And, as we read in today's Gospel Lesson:
"
There are those now last who will be first, and those now first who
will be last" (Luke 13:30).
Abraham Lincoln was fond of quoting a verse from a poem, which begins
...
" O, why should the spirit of mortal man be proud?"
The poem is a
reflection of the folly of human pride in the face of human mortality.
The world's population turns over in quick succession.
Life is short. We come and we go. But mankind is proud of its achievements
and of its uniqueness in the creative order of things. In Shakespearean
language, "What a piece of work is man," That is why the
Psalmist, in praising God, celebrates man, saying:
"
What is man that You should spare a thought for him? You have made
him little less than a god." (Ps. 8:4).
"
A little less than a god?" Even so, there is the danger of excessive
pride.
Pride becomes destructive when man forgets that his magnificent capabilities,
his power of achievement, his exalted position in the creative order,
his very life, are gifts of God.
When man forgets this, he
raises himself up against God, and attempts to define himself as
the source
of all wisdom and knowledge and truth.
In so doing, man loses sight of the responsibilities entrusted
to him by God.
In Mark's account of Jesus'
Baptism, we are told of a dove descending on Jesus and a Voice from
Heaven saying, "You are My Son, the
Beloved. My favour rests on You" (Mk. 1:11).
Indeed God's favor
rests uniquely on Jesus. And for us to experience our share of the
favor God rests on Jesus, we must accept our share
of the responsibility God entrusted to Jesus.
To be the "salt
of the earth" and the "light of the
world," to be servant of the people, even suffering servant,
these are our responsibilities.
If, as a Christian People, we are serious
about our responsibility to be a light to the nations, we will make
a difference.
"
Let the greater among you be as servant." As to these responsibilities,
Jesus does not mince words on how to . . .
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