PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACH

An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger-printed, and photographed, and then placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, “I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car!”

1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, ?How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.? 2Samuel said, ?How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.? And the Lord said, ?Take a heifer with you, and say, ?I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.? 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.? 4Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ?Do you come peaceably?? 5He said, ?Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.? And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

??????????????????????? 6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ?Surely the Lord?s anointed is now before the Lord.? 7But the Lord said to Samuel, ?Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.? 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ?Neither has the Lord chosen this one.? 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ?Neither has the Lord chosen this one.? 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ?The Lord has not chosen any of these.? 11Samuel said to Jesse, ?Are all your sons here?? And he said, ?There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.? And Samuel said to Jesse, ?Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.? 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ?Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.? 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

John 9:1-41

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, ?Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?? 3Jesus answered, ?Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God?s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.? 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man?s eyes, 7saying to him, ?Go, wash in the pool of Siloam? (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

??????????????????????? 8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ?Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?? 9Some were saying, ?It is he.? Others were saying, ?No, but it is someone like him.? He kept saying, ?I am the man.? 10But they kept asking him, ?Then how were your eyes opened?? 11He answered, ?The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ?Go to Siloam and wash.? Then I went and washed and received my sight.? 12They said to him, ?Where is he?? He said, ?I do not know.?

??????????????????????? 13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ?He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.? 16Some of the Pharisees said, ?This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.? But others said, ?How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?? And they were divided. 17So they said again to the blind man, ?What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.? He said, ?He is a prophet.? 18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, ?Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?? 20His parents answered, ?We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.? 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, ?He is of age; ask him.? 24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ?Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.? 25He answered, ?I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.? 26They said to him, ?What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?? 27He answered them, ?I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?? 28Then they reviled him, saying, ?You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.? 30The man answered, ?Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.? 34They answered him, ?You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?? And they drove him out.

??????????????????????? 35Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ?Do you believe in the Son of Man?? 36He answered, ?And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.? 37Jesus said to him, ?You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.? 38He said, ?Lord, I believe.? And he worshiped him.

??????????????????????? 39Jesus said, ?I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.? 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ?Surely we are not blind, are we?? 41Jesus said to them, ?If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ?We see,? your sin remains.

What does ?Sanctify? mean now? To us?

1: to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use : consecrate
2?: to free from sin : purify
3? a : to impart or impute sacredness, inviolability, or respect to
b : to give moral or social sanction to

4?:? to make productive of holiness or piety observe the day of the Sabbath, to sanctify it ? Deuteronomy 5:12 (DV)

What does it mean to be blind? Difference between physical and spiritual blindness

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/people-cured-blindness-see

In the Catholic Church, today is what is called ?Laetare Sunday.? It is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent and the term is derived from the opening words of the Latin Mass, “Rejoice (Laetare) Jerusalem” from Isaiah 66:10. This is connected to the call of the church to joyful anticipation of the victory to be won. This joyful theme provides a little bit of a break from the more serious send of reflection, examination, and seeking forgiveness emphasis during the season of Lent. It is also called ?Rose Sunday? and it is the only Sunday during Lent when flowers are allowed on the altar table and congregations wear rose-colored vestments and decorate the table differently. One of the things that was encouraged for preachers to look at today was to find opportunities to have fun and rejoice through the passages that we read today. So on this day, Laetare Sunday, let us rejoice in God?s word. (Adopted from http://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/laetare-sunday)

In order for us to do this, I am going to need 8 actors to help with todays? sermon. Thank you. Here are some cue cards for you to tell you a little bit about your character. Now, you will need to act like your character, as much acting as you are able to do in this very short time period.

A 24 year boy seeing out from the train window, shouted,? Dad look the trees are going behind?? Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old?s childish behaviour with pity. Suddenly he again said ?Dad look the clouds are running with us!? (http://moralstories26.com/father-and-son-in-the-train-story/)

The couple couldn?t resist and said to the old man, ?why don?t u take your son 2 a good doctor?? the old man smiled and said, ?I did it and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today?.