Sunday, August 27, 2017

On Living Sacrifices

• Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
with Romans 12:1-8
www.FirstChurchBville.com  FirstChurchBville@gmail.com  @FirstUMCBville  @kerrfunk

This sermon is viewable at https://youtu.be/xe-FaXWU1y4

• From Chicken Soup for the Soul, circa 1994, though the story is older: An eight-year-old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia, and 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 could be the blood donor. They asked him if they could test his blood. He said sure. So they did and it was a good match. Then they asked if he would give his sister a pint of blood, that 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 put on a gurney beside his six-year-old sister. Both of them were hooked up to IVs. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then put in the girl’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?”
 Anecdotal to be sure, but truth. Living sacrifice.
• I am a blood donor, have been for 15 years pretty regularly. And I’m on a national bone marrow registry, www.BeTheMatch.org. And “organ donor” is on my license (it means nothing legally, though. Next of kin get to make the decision, so tell them before they have to decide).
It’s important to me to live my life in a generous way even with my body.
I get some of that from my Dad.
• My Dad was a blood donor until travel restrictions and medications disqualify him from donating. My Dad is the kind of person who will get up at 4 in the morning if you need a ride to the airport, and he’ll pick you up at any hour as well. Living sacrifice.
• Paul, in Romans 12:1: present your bodies as living sacrifices.
There’s been Love the Lord with all your Heart and Soul and Mind (HSM), now don’t neglect the use of your Body in loving and serving the Lord.
Body is a tool God can use, especially if it’s connected to HSM.
Our body divorced from HSM make for a lousy tool.
Our body, our willingness to give of ourselves, in connection with HSM: terrific tool.
• Present your bodies as living sacrifices. As Jesus did. Jesus’ incarnation is the ultimate living sacrifice. All in. Thy Will Be Done. You’ve given me body, I give it to you, I ask you to prioritize my life. You made me after all.
• Yesterday community meal, prep and service. 100ppl. Blessed. Working together.
Also yesterday: Hurricane Harvey. And www.UMCOR.org will be there, we can give today if we want. We can assemble cleanup kits and hygiene kits.  Eager to help.
Also recently: Heroin overdoses in 2017 higher than year end 2016 already.
Let us be eager to help there too. To be both a cog in the recovery network and personally open and available (presenting our bodies) to minister to addicts and their loved ones.
• Hymn 2253 I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me

Romans 12:1-8 (CEB)    
12 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies,  I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.

3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. 4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. 5 In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. 7 If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful. ò

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