tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3366077606512017522024-02-08T10:39:52.851-05:00Sonny'SideWelcome to my side of the story. I am starting this blog to share my thoughts on various topics. Some of these topics you may find interesting, others may bore you. Read at your own risk. The title comes from my recently given nickname by my brother and part of this blog’s feature will be making sure that his absolute power in the blogging world does not corrupt absolutely. Don’t look for your name, holiday greetings, or birthday wishes. After all…they are just another day on the calendar.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-35719895233618869252017-12-12T15:30:00.000-05:002017-12-12T15:30:02.234-05:00Retirement<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">One definition from dictionary.com is: the act of retiring or of leaving one's job, career, or occupation
permanently, usually because of age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So when should retirement take place? The age reason can be
looked at a couple of ways. One is that as we get older our skills diminish
which leads to a lack of production in whatever field of work we are in.
Another way age enters the equation is at some point we probably want to enjoy
what time we have left in this world without having to get up and go to work
every day. I want to focus on retirement from the standpoint of making a
decision based on factors other than just reaching a certain age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let’s look at the professional athlete. Age is usually a
determining factor only because as our bodies get older the physical skills
needed to perform at a professional level diminish. There is no set number that
athletes are required to retire when they reach that mark. 40 is an age that
gets looked at as a “time to hang it up” age. Then you have guys like Tom Brady
who reach that age and continue to perform at a high level with no real end in
sight. I’ve heard Mike Golic on the Mike and Mike show (now Golic and Wingo) on
ESPN say that some guys get to retire when they want to and other guys get
retired by not being able to find a team willing to employ them (something like
that). As fans we often want our great players to go out on top. Walk off the
field after winning a championship and ride off into the sunset. However,
sometimes it doesn’t happen that way. It is very difficult for a successful
athlete to walk away from a sport when they feel they are still able to have
success or at least help a team have success. A few greats that come to mind
are Willie Mays, Chipper Jones, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, John
Elway, and Brett Favre. Seeing Willie Mays finishing his Hall of Fame career in
a uniform other than the Giants just didn’t seem right. Same with Montana,
Rice, and Favre. It would have felt better to the fans if those guys would have
finished their careers with the teams that they were most successful with. On
the other hand, Chipper Jones, Dan Marino, and John Elway did retire with the
teams they were with that made them famous. Those situations just seem to have
a nice packaged ending. Of course Elway’s was the best of these because he left
after winning back to back Super Bowls. The point being that each of these
highly successful athletes retired when they thought it was time. That should
be the determining factor when it comes to retirement. When you get to make the
decision then it’s the right one. I haven’t mentioned anything about money. The
potentially millions of dollars that might have to be turned down in retirement
can’t be overlooked but putting that aside I am more concerned about when is it
“time” to retire. If Chipper wanted to find a team where he could bat 8<sup>th</sup>
and come off the bench and play a few games then more power to him. Once again,
we want our greats to retire at the right time, we just have to hope their time
and out time are in sync.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why even talk about retirement anyway. Well, it has come to
my attention that another blogger out there is contemplating retirement. Back
in the day when the newspaper was our main source of information you would have
reporters and columnists. The reporters were really supposed to just give us
the facts and leave their opinions out of it. After putting your time as a
reporter some exceptional writers would get the opportunity to write a column
which allowed for more of an opinion on a subject. Obviously truth was
important if you wanted to back up your point but you did have the freedom to insert
your opinions into the article. With the advent of the internet anyone with a
computer and a connection could become a columnist (blogger). In the newspaper
world there were editors who at least in theory were supposed to keep writers in
line. In the blogging world that position doesn’t exist. It becomes the reader’s
responsibility to filter through the junk and pull out the meaningful material.
My initial purpose for entering the blogging world was to help keep one certain
blogger in check. Spewing all kinds of venom on the internet cannot be allowed
to go unchecked. What I discovered is that it takes quite a commitment to post
your thoughts (no matter how ridiculous they are) on a regular basis. Since
widespread access to the internet is an invention that happened in my adult
life, it is hard for me to quantify what defines a successful run as a blogger.
If for instance, you have had a run of five or more years, 1500 posts, are
linked to multiple other blogs, and have a worldwide following, then perhaps that
could be considered a successful blogging career. Hall of Fame??? Maybe. Maybe
it’s time to retire, or maybe it’s time to bat 8<sup>th</sup> and come off the
bench occasionally. The demands of recognizing everybody’s birthday, anniversary,
or other special occasion can give way to just posting meaningful thoughts on an
as needed basis. Of course since we can be anybody we want to be on the
internet maybe a retirement followed by a rebirth as someone else would be in
order. All things to think about as retirement is considered. Either way, make
the decision that works for you, the fans can and will get over it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sonny</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-68687131064866774122017-05-12T12:00:00.000-04:002017-05-12T12:00:19.278-04:00Case for Brad<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">My first thoughts on this subject were developed about half
way through the college basketball season. While a lot has happened since then
my overall view has remained the same. The Brad I am talking about is Brad
Brownell, head coach of the Clemson men’s basketball team. He has come under
fire this year for the lack of victories on the court. At about the mid-point
of the season the shouts for his removal began to increase in volume. My
position then and is still now, that any decision on his future should be made
at the conclusion of the season and not during. At that time I believed that he
should be retained in spite of the number of losses that were beginning to
mount. Almost every loss this season was a close loss and in many of them the
Tigers had an opportunity to win on the last possession, either by making a
shot or defending one. Since the season has ended the athletic director has
already decided to keep Brownell as the head coach. I still agree with that
decision. Let me try to explain why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First, I find it very unfair when coaches are hired into
unfavorable situations and then let go just as things begin to improve or just
before they have had a chance to turn the tide. For instance, there are
countless examples of coaches being hired on the heels of the dismissal of a
coach for violations that led to program sanctions. I don’t think people
realize the effects that loss of postseason appearances and loss of
scholarships have on programs. It is difficult enough to recruit and compete at
a high level when everyone is on a level playing field. To win with sanctions
against your program is difficult. It takes time to recover from those years.
Too many coaches are fired after 3 or 4 years when their success on the field
hasn’t produced the number of wins deemed acceptable. When that happens you get
one of two results. Either the new guy comes in and has success, which points
to a firm foundation laid by the guy you just fired, or the new guy has to
start the process all over. If case number two is true then that guy better
watch out because he will be let go in 3 or 4 years also if he hasn’t reached
the number of wins required. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Brad’s case is one in which he inherited a program that was
on a firm foundation, but one that couldn’t advance deep into the tournament
even when they would make it. He took them to the tournament his first year but
since then it has been NIT bids or nothing at all. Littlejohn was just
renovated and the new facilities should help with recruiting which is where we
need to improve if we are going to improve on the number of wins on the court.
Clemson has always had a few exceptional players. The problem has been the lack
of them all playing on the same team. I find little value in the recruiting
services ratings of high school players. What catches my attention is who else
wants them. In football, for instance, I don’t really care about the number of
stars after the kid’s name but rather are they receiving offers from the
Alabama’s, FSU’s, USC’s, Ohio State’s of the college football world. There are
always players that aren’t highly thought of that Dabo and his staff get and
develop into NFL type players. Clemson basketball does that as well. The
difference is our guys are rarely listed with offers from Duke, UNC, Kentucky,
etc. New facilities and consistency in coaching staffs help when trying to
recruit top notch players. That is why I think Brad deserves more time to show
what Clemson has to offer and that these great players can achieve their goals
by coming to Clemson. Patience is a virtue. Always going after the hottest
young coach doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. Dabo is once again
a perfect example. While he was young he certainly didn’t have the “experience”
as a head coach or even a coordinator that one would think was a requirement
for a position as Clemson’s head coach. There are no Clemson people (especially
those who witnessed the ‘80s) who think Clemson is anything less than a top
football program. That sentiment was true even before last year’s national
championship. There is a history of sustained winning to back that up.
Basketball does not have that sustained history. There have clearly been
flashes of success but no one in their right mind would say we are the same
type of program as the Duke’s and UNC’s of the world. An acceptance of who we
are as a basketball program is not an acceptance of losing. It does require,
however, patience along the way to that greatness we all want. Having a guy
that runs a clean program, has players that are invested in the community, and
wants to be here is enough for me to extend his contract with the expectation
that just finishing in the middle of the pack in the ACC, while is still a good
accomplishment, is not the standard we want for our program. I think Brad
understands that and will continue to move us in the right direction. Just
remember this year’s Final Four. The school to the south would have had
overwhelming support to fire their coach after this season. Now they want to
extend his contract. Patience. If they can do it there is no doubt we can too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(This post was written over a period of about 7 weeks so it
is a little choppy but I think I get my point across.)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-27386732645957018242017-02-10T15:53:00.001-05:002017-02-10T16:28:33.913-05:00<h2>
goat or GOAT</h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, it’s been a while since I decided to post my thoughts on
a topic. In fact, it has been almost three years since I posted a copy of a
sermon I preached when our minister was away one Sunday. I guess it is time for
another mini-sermon. Quite honestly, it may be another three years before I
post again. I don’t know and I really don’t care if it is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The decade of the 1980’s was a great time in sports history.
My thoughts in this post are not necessarily about that decade as it compares
to other decades but that decade as the time in my life where it is arguable
that we are most impressionable. That decade saw me through middle school and
high school and the first couple of years of college, so it was a time where a
lot of my values and opinions were first established. Over time, life
experiences may have strengthened those values or changed them into something
different. Nevertheless, those years give me a frame of reference for how I
view things, sports in particular. For instance, when growing up if someone
asked me to come up with a list of goats, I would immediately think of players
like Bill Buckner, Scott Norwood, and Chris Webber. If you don’t remember those
names, Buckner was the first baseman for the Boston Red Sox in 1986 who let a
ground ball go through his legs in the World Series leading to a game seven
which the Mets won to take the crown. At the time, the Red Sox were the team
that hadn’t won a title since 1918 so the pain and suffering of losing was
compounded by how long it had been. Scott Norwood was the kicker for the
Buffalo Bills who missed a field goal that would have given the Bills their
first Super Bowl title. That happened to be the first of 4 Super Bowls in a row
for the Bills, none of which they won and the others were not even close games.
Chris Webber of the “Fab Five” Michigan basketball team infamously called a
timeout in the National Championship game against UNC. Unfortunately, Michigan
did not have any timeouts left so the ensuing technical foul essentially gave
UNC the title. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fast forward to just a few years ago when I heard the term
goat and Michael Jordan uttered in the same breath. Based on my 1980’s
education I almost had a stroke at the thought that there was someone out there
who thought MJ could have ever done something negative for his team, especially
at the magnitude of the aforementioned athletes. It was then that my teenage
son (or pre-teen depending on how long ago this was) educated me on the
definition of goat. It is actually an acronym GOAT – Greatest Of All Time. Who
knew? Apparently, every social media junkie since the first Facebook post,
Twitter tweet, and Instagram upload. Since I don’t participate in those
playgrounds of the devil, I missed the transition from goat to GOAT. Now every
day in the sports world of talk radio, Sports Center, and social media posts,
that term is attached to some retired or active player based on whatever whim
the poster or talk radio host wants to use. That is what led to me expressing
myself in this post. Let me explain…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tom Brady’s Super Bowl performance, Serena Williams and
Roger Federer’s recent Grand Slam victories, Lebron James and his current
success in the NBA all put these athletes in the discussion of GOAT. My
intention is not to support one of these over the others deserving
consideration, but to discuss the qualifications for the title of GOAT. I am
less concerned about what metric you want to label as the most important as I
am about the consistent use of whatever you deem important. Let me explain…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the upcoming NFL draft there are several QB’s who are being
rated to determine who should be drafted first, Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, and DeShone
Kizer to name a few. It is the raking of these quarterbacks, or at least the
discussion of them that “gets my goat.*” (hehe) They talk about the
“measurables” which usually means height, weight, and a list of other physical
measurements. There is mention of statistical accomplishments and that is
certainly considered as important. However, what seems to get just a passing
mention is the ability to WIN. Don’t tell me that the most important thing in a
quarterback when you are deciding whether or not to draft him is how tall he
is, arm strength, TD/INT ratio, total yards passing, etc. and then when the
discussion turns to the GOAT it becomes about “the rings.” Tom Brady has incredible
QB stats but what gets him in the discussion, and quite frankly now at the top
of that discussion, it the number of Super Bowl wins. He was drafted in the 6<sup>th</sup>
round while a guy like Dan Marino was a first round draft pick. I submit that
Marino is in the discussion as the GOAT but if you ever talk about him and his
outstanding, HOF career, it always comes down to, “But he didn’t win any Super
Bowls!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To all you draft room warlords out there, you better not
forget the 1998 NFL draft. That year a second place Heisman finalist who
happened to be a cerebral quarterback who could make all the throws and had a
history of winning was chosen over a highly touted “measurable” quarterback.
Looking back, can you believe there was actually discussion as to who was the
better quarterback, Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf? This year there is a second
place Heisman finalist (a whole other discussion on the ridiculousness of that
result) who is not only a cerebral quarterback who can make all the throws, but
also one who can use his legs…and WINS the big games. Those qualities
coupled with the character of the man make Watson the best choice for QB. I
don’t care if he is the first pick in the draft (I actually hope he isn’t
unless the Browns trade that pick) but he should certainly be the first QB
taken. For all you social media fanatics out there who can’t understand the
written word…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">#DW4 – Heisman, 1<sup>st</sup> QB pick, GOAT. Disagree? KMA</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>*Some would argue the
term is goad but there is at worst disagreement on which it is and at best
acceptance of either term. Goat is funnier in this context obviously.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-46533384834948088372014-03-30T12:30:00.000-04:002014-03-30T12:30:00.901-04:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A Heart for God<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1 Samuel 16:1-13<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>16 </b>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.” <b><sup>2 </sup></b>Samuel
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.’ <b><sup>3 </sup></b>Invite 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.” <b><sup>4 </sup></b>Samuel 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?” <b><sup>5 </sup></b>He
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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><sup>6 </sup></b>When they came, he looked on Eliab
and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” <b><sup>7 </sup></b>But
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.” <b><sup>8 </sup></b>Then
Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has
the Lord chosen this one.” <b><sup>9 </sup></b>Then Jesse made
Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this
one.” <b><sup>10 </sup></b>Jesse made seven of his sons pass before
Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of
these.” <b><sup>11 </sup></b>Samuel 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.” <b><sup>12 </sup></b>He 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.” <b><sup>13 </sup></b>Then
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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Word of the Lord<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Thanks be to God</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us begin today’s message by looking back at the history
of Israel up to this point. During the years leading up to the life of Samuel
the Israelites were ruled by a series of Judges of which Samuel was the last
one. Unfortunately, over the course of about 300 years they began to stray
further and further away from God. Their priestly leaders, who were charged
with the spiritual welfare of the people, were essentially becoming obsolete. The
people stopped coming to be cleansed and refused to turn from idols. The
priests were still in good standing with God; it’s just that the people no
longer sought God so the priests were no longer an effective means of
mediation.<a href="file:///C:/Users/horreskc/Dropbox/MISC/Church/Sermons/March%202014/A%20Heart%20for%20God.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
So Samuel’s role became one of prophet, the voice of God to the people, instead
of a judge. The first seven chapters of 1 Samuel tell the story of Israel’s
plunge into disarray. It is at one of the lowest points of the nation’s history
that the people begin to request a King, like the other nations around them. Up
to the point they were led by God through leaders like Moses and then governed
by the judges, but God was their “King.” They had already turned from God, but
this was a self-serving request by the people. Basically, they believed one of
them could do a better job of leading the nation than God himself. Samuel was
not too happy about this request. In chapter 8 we read, “Then all the elders of
Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, <b><sup>5 </sup></b>and
said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for
us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” <b><sup>6 </sup></b>But
the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.”
Samuel prayed to the Lord, <b><sup>7 </sup></b>and
the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all
that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me
from being king over them. <b><sup>8 </sup></b>Just as they have done
to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking
me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. <b><sup>9 </sup></b>Now
then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them
the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” So Samuel warns them that a
King ruling over them is not what they want but they insist anyway. Aren’t we
like that sometimes? We insist on getting our way with God. We might pray over
and over for something we want, and we might even try to convince ourselves
that it is what God wants, but ultimately, it is our will we are seeking, not
God’s. The Bible tells us that God grants Israel’s request and Saul is chosen
as their leader. The next few chapters tell us about the reign of Saul. There
are examples of times when God instructs Saul on what to do and he does it.
Then there are times when Saul alters God’s plan in order to accomplish
something for himself. The final straw, if you will, is when Saul refuses to
completely wipe out the Amalekites, a nation that has gone against God’s people
ever since they came out of Egypt. From that point on God rejects Saul as
Israel’s king. However, Saul is not immediately removed from power. That is
what makes Samuel’s next task so daunting. This is where out passage for this
morning picks up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We read that Samuel is instructed to anoint the next king of
Israel. Notice how the chapter begins. God is asking how long Samuel plans to
grieve over Saul. Remember Saul isn’t dead yet, Samuel just knows that God is
no longer with him. I imagine his grieving is probably both for Saul and also
for the people of Israel. So now God wants him to go and choose the next king
before the current one is dethroned. Now some of you are sports fans I know so
perhaps you have heard the term that has become popular over the last few years
known as “Head Coach in Waiting.” This has been used as a way to hire a top
notch assistant by promising the head job to him when the current coach
retires. This is generally used when the current coach is nearing retirement
but that date has not been set. In spite of all intentions to the contrary,
there has to be a sense of tension as one guy waits for his turn and the other
guy is holding on, maybe too long, to his. That tension certainly exists
between Saul and David later on so Samuel’s reluctance to be a part of this is
understandable. Nevertheless, Samuel after protesting for fear of his own life,
agrees to go to Bethlehem to anoint this son of Jesse as the Lord requests.
Even the elders of the town fear that something is wrong when they see Samuel
coming. Verse 4 states “…The elders of the city came to meet him <i>trembling</i> and said, ‘Do you come
peaceably?’” When Samuel states that he is there to sacrifice with Jesse and
his sons there must have been an audible sigh of relief. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Verse 6 begins the process that Samuel was sent to do in the
first place. It is also at the heart of today’s message. “When they came, he
looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before
the Lord.” When they came in, so at this point no one has spoken, no
interviews have been given, no references checked, just a first impression and
already Samuel has concluded that surely this is the man I am to appoint. How
must he have looked? He was tall, handsome, physically fit, perhaps facial
features that reflected some amount of wisdom. After all, he was the first of
seven sons about to pass before Samuel so he surely had a few years on him and
was by all accounts a perfect specimen for a king. Yet verse 7 goes on to tell us
what Samuel is missing. <b><sup>7 </sup></b>But 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.” Not
only is Samuel surprised that this isn’t the one, I would imagine that all
those gathered were shocked. Have no fear; however, Jesse has more sons to
present before Samuel. As each one approached and each one was rejected there
must have been questions swirling around everyone’s head. When finally the last
one in attendance gets rejected Samuel questions Jesse. “Are all you sons here?” I don’t believe that
Samuel knew there was one missing from the feast; I just think he knows God
sent him to anoint a king, a son of Jesse, and God certainly would not have
sent him only to reject each one. So Jesse tells him there is one more but he
is keeping the sheep. How should we look at that? Someone had to keep watch
over the sheep so the responsibility falls to the youngest. If the purpose of
this gathering was to anoint a new king then surely this young boy wouldn’t be
the one anyway so just let him stay out with the sheep. Now if this isn’t my
younger brother’s favorite Bible story then I don’t know what would be. Here we
have the oldest son being presented as the logical choice to be the next king
only to be rejected. And the youngest son, almost as an afterthought, left in
the fields while the rest of the family enjoys a feast and sacrifice actually
being the chosen one. Samuel tells Jesse to send for him and that “…we will not
sit down before he comes here.” When he does arrive and is brought in the Lord
said, “‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one’<b><sup>13 </sup></b>Then
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.” One thing about verse 12 intrigues me. David is described as ruddy
and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. A description like that almost goes against
what I was thinking. When we hear someone say God looks on the inside, we
assume that means the outside must be something not worth looking at. This
description, however, does not show that. Upon further review, it does make
sense to me though. Handsome wasn’t what God was looking for. If it was then
Eliab would have fit the bill and this process wouldn’t have taken so long. It
only proves that it was David’s heart that God saw and was pleased. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So God looks on the heart. The question posed by the title
of the sermon is, “Do we have a heart for God?” What exactly does that mean?
Let’s start with this example. I was watching Big Bang Theory the other night.
If you are not familiar with that show it is a very funny, though perhaps not a
church appropriate, show. One of the characters, Sheldon, has a mother who is a
Bible believing Texan and is not afraid to express that in the company of
others. Anyway, Sheldon’s roommate, Leonard, had just given poor advice to a
friend about how to treat a girl who he had recently been in a relationship
with. Leonard’s goal was to appear to be giving good dating advice to a friend
when all the time he was actually giving what he thought was bad advice so the
date would fail and he would get another shot at dating the girl himself. When
he verbalizes his regret over his actions Sheldon in classic form states, “For
what it's worth, my mother says that when we deceive for personal gain, we make
Jesus cry.” It probably isn’t too much of a stretch for any of us to think back
to a time when we intentionally gave bad advice. What makes it difficult for us
mortals is that we can’t see the heart like God can. Sometimes our outward
actions look the same but the inner intent might be totally opposite. For
example, let’s say you have a friend who asks you opinion on a new dress. You
answer the dress looks great. Now, let’s suppose that you really don’t think
the dress looks good, but that is how you answer. On the one hand she is your
friend and she just spent a lot of money on this dress, she’s real excited
about it and you don’t want to hurt her feelings so you tell a little white lie
and say the dress looks good. Perhaps that is a noble thing to do. It’s just
your opinion anyway. Maybe others will think it looks good. You are looking out
for your friend’s feelings. On the other hand, let’s say you know the dress
looks bad but you know if you say it looks good she will wear it out that night
and look ridiculous making you look better. On the surface the comment is the
same, but underneath the outward expression is an inner motive that might
escape your friend, but not God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We have to be careful when we make preconceived judgments on
outward appearance. Have you done that lately? Any thoughts like these ever
creep into your mind? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">She’s beautiful so she can’t be that smart. She
just gets her way because she looks good.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">He’s black, white, Hispanic, Asian, etc…so he
can’t be smart, must not be able to run fast or jump high, is taking American
jobs, can’t speak good English so must be illegally here. You fill in any
derogatory comment you want in here.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: -0.25in;">He is Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or even Baptist,
Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. so…</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Make no mistake; we all make judgments on first impressions.
You know the expression, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first
impression.” That whole first impression thing works both ways. Sometimes our
initial evaluation of someone is very positive only to find out later that
inside the person is really a mean person. Other times we get a bad feeling
about someone only to find out later (after we take the time to get to know
them) that they really do have a good heart. Regardless, what is usually the
first impression; the physical appearance. That is why we wear our best suits
to interviews. When we walk in the door the evaluation has already begun. It is
natural human instinct to look on the outside first. After all it is literally
the first thing we see. That is why Samuel thought he had the next king when
the first son came in. But God sees all. The challenge for us is two-fold. We
have to be careful not to look at others and base our impression of them solely
on that of appearance. Take the time to get to know that new co-worker or neighbor.
Perhaps you will find that they have a heart of gold. But not only that and
maybe more importantly, we need to make sure that when others see us, they see
a reflection of Christ in us. The only way that happens is for us to seek God
from the inside out. We need to develop our heart for God. If we do then the
rest will take care of itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/horreskc/Dropbox/MISC/Church/Sermons/March%202014/A%20Heart%20for%20God.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Steadman</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-89222527781030615892014-02-07T16:19:00.000-05:002014-02-07T16:19:25.913-05:00Super Bowl<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Time to update my link on I’m Just Sayin…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Super Bowl is over and a lot has been said about
individual players more so than each of the teams. Peyton Manning and Richard
Sherman, for instance, have gotten a lot of the press lately. For the record, I
like both of these players. I was watching the interview after the NFC
Championship game when Sherman went off on Michael Crabtree live as it
happened. My initial response was that is completely unnecessary. Incidentally,
Sherman after the fact, agreed. However, when you stick a microphone in the
face of an intense player after a game clinching (and Super Bowl berth) play,
what happened should not have been surprising. We ask these players to play
with a ferocious intensity between the lines, and then ask them to turn it off
when the game is over. That is exactly what Sherman does. Anyone who can
graduate from Stanford (in three years, I believe) ain’t no dope. His demeanor
off the field is very professional. Those who took to Twitter and other Social
Media to criticize him in a brutal fashion only show their own ignorance, that
same ignorance that they accuse Sherman of having. It is not unlike sticking a
microphone in the face of a Tony Stewart or other emotional driver right after
someone put them into the wall at 200 MPH.
“How do feel about almost losing your life?” Are we really surprised when
those drivers start dropping the F-Bomb? Well you shouldn’t be. What happened
with Sherman is EXACTLY what FOX, NBC, CBS, ESPN, etc. all want to happen. When
you wait to interview players and coaches in the pressroom after they have had
a moment to decompress, it takes some more prodding by headline seeking
reporters to get most of them to spout off at the competition or maybe the
refs. Get them in the heat of the moment and somebody better have their hand on
the 8-second delay dump button. Ratings, whatever it takes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now let’s talk about Peyton. When you try to decide who is
the greatest _______ of all time, you have to take into account many, many
factors. There are very few athletes in any sport who can without debate, be considered
the greatest of all time. Michael Jordan as the greatest NBA star of all time
is about as close as you can get. Maybe another day we will debate those other
sports, but right now I want to focus on football. I heard the analogy of the
greatest quarterbacks sitting at the table and trying to decide who should be
at the head of the table. If you don’t think that Manning deserves to be at
that table and at least in the discussion, you can stop reading now because
logic doesn’t apply to you. Championship rings do matter. But they are not the
only criteria to being a great quarterback. Dan Marino is widely considered one
of the greatest QB’s of all time; in fact he is often considered the greatest
without a championship. That was Manning’s tag until he won a Super Bowl. Now
it’s, one isn’t enough. I contend that Manning, like Marino before him, and Tom
Brady now, make their teams achieve more than they would have otherwise. Miami
hasn’t done squat since Marino retired. They can’t find the next Marino.
Manning not only set the season record for TD’s this year, but he did it by
having 5 different players catch 10 or more TD passes. Tom Brady wins with guys
we’ve never heard of. I still try and go by what I heard Joe Morgan say one
time about trying to say who was the greatest of all time. You really can’t
compare players from different eras. What you can do though is compare their
numbers to those who they played with and against. By that standard, what
Marino accomplished statistically, if not with championships, puts him in the
conversation. He put up numbers in a time when defense ruled the game, all but
his Miami defenses. Hence, no Super Bowl victories. And Peyton, only Tom Brady
is really in the same category as him. Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli
Manning, Aaron Rogers are all great QB’s and you could make an argument for
them, but what Peyton has done at this point of his career puts him right at
the top if not on top. Greatest of all time? Maybe, maybe not. But the abuse he
is taking for his playoff record and Super Bowl record is to me, a little
ridiculous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So rock on Richard Sherman and Peyton Manning. Both of you,
and your teams, had great seasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">By the way, my wife loves Peyton Manning. I think if he were
to walk into the room…wait a minute that gives me an idea. Does anyone have a Peyton
Manning jersey I can borrow?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-39836573561953299802014-01-13T18:07:00.003-05:002014-01-13T18:07:47.306-05:00MLB Hall of Fame<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you are a fan of baseball then by now you should be aware
that Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas have all been elected to the
MLB Hall of Fame. There is no real argument from anyone that those three
deserve to be enshrined. The system they use to determine who gets in and who
doesn’t is really a simple process. A number of reporters who are a part of the
Baseball Writers Association of America are sent ballots and they vote on
eligible retired players. If 75% of the people feel like they are Hall of Fame
worthy, then they get in. If less than 75% feel that way then they do not. That
sounds simple enough. The problem is in all the other rules. Deciding who gets
to vote is another issue that I may take up later but for now I want to focus
on the process. First of all a player has to have 10 or more years of
experience and been retired for 5 years. At that time they come on the ballot. Each
voter can only vote for 10 players in any one year. I don’t think there has
ever been a year where 10 players retired at the same time and were are all HOF
worthy. The problem is if the player doesn’t make the 75% cutoff, then they
stay on the ballot for 15 years or until they drop below 5% of the total vote.
Therefore, the ballot can get crammed. This has especially been an issue as
more and more “steroid era” players are coming up for election. Why? Because
some voters don’t think anyone in the steroid era should be eligible or at a
minimum feel like anyone accused should be kept out. Since there are others who
vote on them regardless, there are many who would otherwise be in that are
hovering in that 5% - 75% range. That means as more of these HOF worthy players
come up for election it makes it harder to vote for only 10. The most shameful
part about this year’s voting involves Craig Biggio. He missed the 75% cutoff
by 2 votes. He deserves to be in. I say that’s the most shameful thing but
perhaps it is that Greg Maddux was actually left off of some peoples ballots.
Are you kidding me? I will attempt to address these two issues in later posts.
For now I’ll just leave you with this little nugget. I have watched all three
of these inductees play in person. I saw Maddux and Glavine multiple times
while they were with the Braves and Thomas when he was at Auburn and they came
to Clemson to play while I was a student there. Yes, he was big and strong then
too. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-13781702558596639862014-01-06T10:15:00.001-05:002014-01-06T10:15:33.820-05:00New Year<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">With the new year upon us it is time for some new posts. I don't know what direction 2014 will take me but I will attempt to post on a more regular basis. Perhaps we can team up with I'm Just Sayin...again this year and give you a "Best of" series similar to last year's Greatest of All Time baseball list. We'll see...for now though I just wanted the link on his site to show a post more recent than "1 month ago."</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-70501268658478174572013-11-21T20:35:00.001-05:002013-11-21T20:35:54.956-05:00He counted on me to be passive…<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have to give credit where credit is due. It appears that I
have struck a nerve with our friends over at I’m Just Sayin’…It is hard to
argue with the events spelled out by Mr. I’m Just Sayin’… What he has failed to
tell you thought is the rest of the story. After his little rant about the “truth”
it went a little more like this:</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mr. I’m Just Sayin…:</b>
…Either way, I don't give a <i>damn</i> what you think you are entitled to!</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sonny:</b> Are you a
Communist Yankee sympathizer?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mr. I’m Just Sayin…:</b>
I pull for the team I …</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sonny:</b> Are you a
Communist Yankee Sympathizer?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mr. I’m Just Sayin…:</b>
You’re G**D*** right I am!</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since he rested his case it is now in the hands of you, the
jury. Mr. Foreman, have you reached a verdict?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He did erroneously point out that I said the darkest day in history
was the death of Apollo Creed. I said it was <i>one of the darkest days</i>. That might just put enough reasonable
doubt into his version of the truth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This just in…</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">At 7 o'clock this evening eastern time technology forces of
the Upstate of South Carolina launched a series of strikes against the
headquarters, terrorist facilities, and technology assets that support Mr. I’m
Just Sayin…’s…subversive activities. The attacks were concentrated and
carefully targeted to minimize casualties among the world wide web of people
with whom we have no quarrel. From initial reports, our forces have succeeded
in their mission.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Several weeks ago in Lake Oconee, GA, I warned Mr. I’m Just
Sayin…we would hold his regime accountable for any new terrorist attacks
launched against American citizens. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our evidence is direct; it is precise; it is irrefutable. We
have solid evidence about other attacks Mr. I’m Just Sayin… has planned against
the United States blogger installations and diplomats and even American NBA
fans. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mr. I’m Just Sayin…is not only an enemy of the Upstate of
South Carolina. His record of subversion and aggression against the neighboring
Bloggers is well documented and well known. He has ordered the slander of
fellow Bloggers in countless counties. He has sanctioned acts of terror in Pure
Joy, outbehindthewoodshed, and Our Life, as well as at Sonny’Side. Today we
have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again. It gives me no
pleasure to say that, and I wish it were otherwise. Before Mr. I’m Just Sayin…
seized power in 2009, the people of Google had been friends of the United
States. And I'm sure that today most Bloggers are ashamed and disgusted that
this man has made their passion for prose a synonym for barbarism around the internet.
The Blogging people are a decent people caught in the grip of a tyrant.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It must be the core of Southern policy that there be no
sanctuary for terror. And to sustain such a policy, free men and free nations
must unite and work together. Sometimes it is said that by imposing sanctions
against Mr. I’m Just Sayin…or by striking at his terrorist installations we
only magnify the man's importance, that the proper way to deal with him is to
ignore him. I do not agree.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Long before I started this blog, Mr. I’m Just Sayin…had
engaged in acts of international terror, acts that put him outside the company
of civilized men. For years, however, he suffered no economic or political or
military sanction; and the atrocities mounted in number, as did the innocent
dead and wounded. And for us to ignore by inaction the slander of American
civilians and American NBA fans, whether in person or online, is simply not in
the Southern American tradition. When our citizens are abused or attacked
anywhere in the world on the direct orders of a hostile regime, we will respond
so long as I'm writing this blog. Self-defense is not only our right, it is our
duty. It is the purpose behind the mission undertaken tonight, a mission fully
consistent with Article 51 of the Blogger Nations Charter.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We believe that this preemptive action against his terrorist
installations will not only diminish Mr. I’m Just Sayin…capacity to export
terror, it will provide him with incentives and reasons to alter his criminal
behavior. I have no illusion that tonight's action will ring down the curtain
on Mr. I’m Just Sayin…’s reign of terror. But this mission, violent though it
was, can bring closer a safer and more secure world for decent men and women.
We will persevere. This afternoon we consulted with the readers of blogs
everywhere regarding what we were about to do and why. Tonight I salute the
skill and professionalism of the men and women of our Technology Forces who
carried out this mission. It's an honor to be your Commander in Chief.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We Americans are slow to anger. We always seek peaceful
avenues before resorting to the use of force -- and we did. We tried quiet
diplomacy, public condemnation, economic sanctions, and demonstrations of literary
force. None succeeded. Despite our repeated warnings, Mr. I’m Just Sayin…continued
his reckless policy of intimidation, his relentless pursuit of terror. He
counted on Sonny to be passive. He counted wrong. I warned that there should be
no place on Earth where terrorists can rest and train and practice their deadly
skills. I meant it. I said that we would act with others, if possible, and
alone if necessary to ensure that terrorists have no sanctuary anywhere.
Tonight, we have. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you, and God bless you.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/41486g.htm">http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/41486g.htm</a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-12724837531825501822013-11-20T15:30:00.000-05:002013-11-20T15:30:01.529-05:00“If he dies, he dies.”<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It appears that the writer who claims the Nets (3-7) will
win the NBA championship is trying to get you to focus on a minor reason I was
shocked to hear he chose them this year. Their location and owner are just a
couple of the circumstances that have to be overcome to justify him pulling for
the Nets. Like any good politician, however, Mr. I’m Just Sayin’…is drawing
your attention away from his inability to satisfactorily respond to the
opportunity to justify his pick. Instead he wants you to think I am the one
acting irrationally. Let’s get a few things straight here. His argument that I
am contradicting myself by pulling for individuals from places like Michigan,
Indiana, and North Carolina is weak at best. Michigan and Indiana are Mid-west,
not north. It doesn’t matter how far toward Canada you go, the mid-west is
still the mid-west. Also, while I did appreciate their talent (Magic and Bird),
I did not pull for their respective teams (Lakers and Celtics). I did pull for
Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls which are, once again, mid-west. Also, at
that time there was not a current President from that city so I can’t be held responsible
for the events since then. As for what appears to be his only justification for
pulling for them, the fact that Kevin Garnett is on the team, doesn’t quite
hold up under more scrutiny. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mr. I’m Just Sayin’…, I know where Kevin Garnett’s high
school is. I coached against Kevin Garnett’s high school. I saw Kevin Garnett
play in person. Mr. I’m Just Sayin’…, you are no friend of Kevin Garnett.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Also, I did not room with a guy from New Jersey my last
couple of years in college…I roomed with THREE guys from New Jersey. I believe
that gives me the credibility I need to make such statements about that part of
the country. In fact, my influence over them was so great that had the Carolina
Panthers been in existence during my time in college, I would have had no
trouble converting them into Panthers fans from New York Giants fans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finally, no one from my generation will ever forget one of
the darkest days in history…the death of Apollo Creed. The title of this post
is from the Russian boxer who was indifferent to weather the greatest boxing
champion of all time (until Rocky beat him) would survive after his “exhibition
match.” To pull for a team that is owned by someone from a country who promotes
that kind of violence is inexcusable. Communism or no communism. Berlin Wall or
no Berlin Wall. The wounds are just too deep for me to overcome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mr. I’m Just Sayin’…, if your conscience is still clear then
let’s focus on the question at hand. Why
are you really pulling for the Brooklyn Nets this year?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-4585677831577197782013-11-15T15:30:00.000-05:002013-11-15T15:30:03.627-05:00NBA<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There has really been a lot to talk about when it comes to
the sports represented by these three organizations: the NBA, the NFL, and MLB.
I will begin with the National Basketball Association because I read on another
blog about how the Brooklyn Nets would win the title this year. That will not
happen. Before I tell you why let me begin by saying that over the last 3-4
years I have really become an NBA fan again. If you can look past the
overwhelming number of tattoos on the players you can really see some amazing
talent in the league right now. I grew up in the Magic, Bird, Jordan, etc. era
and when they all began to retire I began to lose interest in the style of play
in the NBA. I preferred the team effort that was so apparent in college
basketball over what appeared to be a more one-on-one game in the pros. As I
have watched more and more over the years I now have a greater appreciation for
the value of the rest of the team along with the super-stars. Speaking of
super-stars, the NBA is full of them again. There have always been several
greats of the game during the time since Michael Jordan retired, but the amount
of young talent right now is as high as I have seen it in a while. One such
talent is LeBron James. I am guilty of watching the ESPN special of him
announcing where he would sign a few years ago. I was really hoping he would
stay in Cleveland but didn’t really care where he went. Of course he went to
Miami which is why the Nets will not only miss the Championship Series, they
won’t get out if the Eastern Conference. LeBron has become such a complete
player that he not only can take the team on his back, but he has made those
around him better. All the great championship teams have had more than one
superstar because in the game of basketball, one guy can’t do it all every
night. LeBron has matured to the point now that he realizes the mistake he made
in broadcasting his desire to “take his talents to South Beach.” He has also
matured on the court to the point that his team will, for the foreseeable future,
be the team to beat. There is part of me that wants him to silence the critics
and win seven titles (one more than Jordan). However, there is also a part of
me that would like to see one of the other great super-stars of the game get
one for themselves. Chris Paul is right now the best point guard in the game so
he along with Blake Griffin could win with the LA Clippers. Kevin Durant, maybe
the second best player in the NBA deserves one. I would love to see one of the “local”
teams (Atlanta or Charlotte) win it all. The Hawks have a much better chance
than the Bobcats, but the Michael Jordan owned Bobcats would be a refreshing
upset. Indiana and Chicago probably have the best chance in the East to knock
off the Heat. San Antonio, Golden State, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Houston are
probably along with the Clippers, favorites out West. But to pull for a Russian
owned, former New Jersey team that has been relocated to Brooklyn New York,
team is mind-boggling. Perhaps the writer of that blog would care to expand on
those great reasons to pull for the Nets so he doesn’t lose credibility with
his South Carolina readers. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-954778345152606672013-10-27T12:30:00.000-04:002013-10-27T12:30:01.651-04:00October 27, 2013<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is the final sermon post for the month. We usually have a guest speaker during our service on the last Sunday of October. He comes and talks about the work the Gideon International group does. If you have every been in a motel and opened the night stand drawer, then you have seen the fruits of their labor. Because of his participation in the service my sermon is a little shorter. It also has some sentences scattered in there that are reminders for me in case I need to adjust the length of the sermon right before I begin so this one might not be written as well as some of my other ones. In any case, I hope you have received some measure of blessing from reading these posts this month. Each sermon I prepare is based on something I need to hear so if I need it, perhaps someone else out there does too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Current Conditions</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jeremiah 29:4-14<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">October 27, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><sup>4 </sup></i></b><i>Thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon: <b><sup>5 </sup></b>Build houses and live in them; plant
gardens and eat what they produce. <b><sup>6 </sup></b>Take wives and
have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in
marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not
decrease. <b><sup>7 </sup></b>But seek the welfare of the city where
I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for
in its welfare you will find your welfare. <b><sup>8 </sup></b>For
thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the
prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to
the dreams that they dream, <b><sup>9 </sup></b>for it is a lie that
they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>For
thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I
visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this
place. <b><sup>11 </sup></b>For surely I know the plans I have for
you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a
future with hope. <b><sup>12 </sup></b>Then when you call upon me and
come and pray to me, I will hear you.<b><sup>13 </sup></b>When you search
for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, <b><sup>14 </sup></b>I
will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and
gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,
says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent
you into exile.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Word of the Lord</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>(Thanks be to God)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Usually when we hear the term
“current conditions” we think about the weather. We might pull out our smart
phone and click on the weather channel app and check to see what the temperature
is outside. Just like it’s been cold here this weekend, so to were the hearts
of the people of Israel toward God during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. His
message was one of repentance initially but actually turned into a message of
destruction. God told Jeremiah in chapter 1 that he was chosen before he was
formed in the womb and that he was consecrated as a prophet even before his
birth. Jeremiah was warned that his message would not be popular but that God
would always be with him. So what was his message? That the nation would be
conquered and people would be sent into exile from their homeland. All this is
going to come about because of the actions of the people. The most heinous of
them was their pattern of idolatry. They had made offerings to other gods and
worshiped the works of their own hands. (Jer 1: 16) Because of this turning
away from God He was going to bring their enemies from the north down to
destroy Jerusalem and scatter the inhabitants. You can imagine that this was
not a popular message to hear. Jeremiah was severely scorned for telling the
people how bad they have been and how it is now time to feel the wrath of God’s
judgment against them. He was forced on a couple of occasions to hide in fear
for his life because the leaders of the nation were direct targets of
Jeremiah’s writings and they were not happy about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">How many of you would rather
turn on the TV and hear someone talking about how blessed we are to live in
this country and how we are blessed by God and everything is going great? All
we have to do is keep doing what we are doing and just believe in God and all
you troubles will disappear. Or would a message like we are sinning against the
Lord by worshiping things other than Him and our time is coming when we will no
longer be a nation and we will be conquered and sent from our homes be what you
would rather hear? That is what Jeremiah was up against. The people didn’t want
to hear his message. God had protected them in the past so they weren’t worried
about it. The problem is they had turned from God with their worshiping habits
so God was about to lift that protection from them. Jeremiah was letting them
know that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Edward Snowden is currently
seeking asylum outside of the US for his actions in leaking documents about the
US government. Now I am not comparing his actions with those of Jeremiah from
the standpoint of right or wrong, but what I want you to think about is what
Snowden is going through and how it compares to what Jeremiah went through.
Both had some scathing things to say about the leadership of their country.
Jeremiah very much loved his country and it pained him to see the people living
in such a manner that God saw it necessary to exact judgment on them. Yet, he
continued to deliver the message in spite of the dangers it posed to his own
well-being. Snowden, right or wrong, is running under the same kind of fear for
his safety because of his message. Jeremiah was a prophet of God. He was sent
by God to deliver a message directly to the people. I don’t believe that Edward
Snowden is a prophet of God. But you can get a sense of how Jeremiah felt when
his countrymen, friends, and even family began to turn against him because of
the destruction he was foretelling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our passage today contains a
very popular verse, “<i>For surely I know
the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not
for harm, to give you a future with hope.”</i> When we single out that verse
and focus only on it, it appears to give us a promise of a successful and pain
free life. I do believe that this verse contains a promise to us today but we
really need to look at it in the context of the rest of the writing to get a
true sense of what all that promise contains. Our selection this morning is
part of a letter written to the Jews in Babylon from Jeremiah contradicting
what Hananiah, a self proclaimed prophet of God, had recently told them.
Hananiah tells the people in exile that God is not going to leave them in this
foreign land for 70 years as has been prophesied, but that he is in fact going
to deliver them back to their homeland in two short years. He claims to be
speaking on behalf of God and has a message that certainly is acceptable to the
people. In the preceding chapter Jeremiah has an exchange with him over his
prediction. He basically says that I hope you are right and the displacement
only lasts two years, but I hate to tell you this, but that isn’t what God told
me. Hananiah, then in a powerful display breaks the wooden yoke that is around
Jeremiah’s neck and likens it to God breaking the yoke around the people that
Nebuchadnezzar has on them. Jeremiah’s response is that the wooden yoke will
now be replaced by a yoke of iron. He then goes on to predict the death of
Hananiah with in the year. The last verse of chapter 28 tells us that he did
die in the seventh month of that year. His death is the result of claiming to
speak for God when he did not. That had to be disheartening to the exiles
because their hope of a quick return appears to be dashed. So Jeremiah writes
the letter to the exiles telling them how to live. He tells them to settle
down, get married, marry off their children, and basically settle in for the
long haul. This means that there are those among them that will never see their
homeland again. 70 years is longer than most of them will live so put returning
out of your mind and make the best of your current situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Story of Joseph sold into
slavery as Biblical example of taken from homeland. It is all about
perspective. From God’s point of view this was a good thing for the Israelites
and Joseph came to understand that as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Speaking of perspective:
Illustration: It’s something like what Coach John McKay of Southern Cal said to
his team after they had been humiliated 51-0 by Notre Dame in 1966. McKay came
into the locker room and saw a group of beaten worn-out and thoroughly
depressed young football players who were not accustomed to losing. He stood up
on a bench and said, "Men, let’s keep this in perspective. There are 800
million Chinese who don’t even know this game was played." That’s what you
call perspective. <br />
(SOURCE: Steve Farrar, "Family Survival in the American Jungle,"
1991, Multnomah Press, p. 40.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Imagine if in you were
suddenly plucked from the United States and forced to live in Nazi Germany in
the 40’s, or the Soviet Union in the last half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century,
or now taken to an Islamic Middle Eastern country and told you would be there
70 years so you might as well make the best of it. Jeremiah even goes on to say
that the people should pray for Babylon and its success. <i>But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and
pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your
welfare.</i> These are not easy words to hear. Hananiah’s message was much
better. However, his message was not from God. Jeremiah goes on to warn them
not to listen to those diviners who claim to speak for God; they are deceivers
and are not sent by God. But all is not lost for the people of Israel. What follows
is that popular verse. <i>For surely I know
the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not
for harm, to give you a future with hope.</i> The promise is to the nation of
Israel that He will restore them to their homeland; that they will not cease to
exist as a nation. Individually, there will be heartbreak and suffering. But as
a nation they will rise again from their captors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In closing, how does this
apply to us today? One viewpoint is we are all exiles from that perfect
homeland called heaven. While we spend our time here on earth we are to make
the best of our current situation. If we look at it in more of a microscopic
view, our present situation, where we live and work, who we associate with; we
are in those positions because God has us there. We are to make the best of our
current condition until that time that God sees fit to place us somewhere else.
If you look back on your life and the journey you have embarked on, I think you
will see those times in your life that didn’t make sense at the time but now
have a clearer meaning because of where you are now. Sometimes there are things
we yet do not see their value but God will show us in His time. God does surely
know the plans he has for us and those plans are certainly for a future of hope,
but He requires of us to make the best of our current condition, through both
the good times and the bad times, until that time comes when we see His plan
fulfilled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us pray.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-29062551442491029712013-10-20T12:30:00.000-04:002013-10-20T12:30:01.911-04:00October 20, 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One of the
responsibilities I have during the month of October is to lead our church in
worship each Sunday. Our small church has a retired minister as our stated
supply (Presbyterian term) who takes a sabbatical during October (a well deserved
one I might add.) A few years ago he asked if I would speak in his absence and
the rest, as they say, is history. I am going to attempt to post my sermons for
this month here on this blog.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: What I am going to post is going to be a rough attempt at a
transcript of what I actually say. Now I am creating this transcript before I
speak so it isn’t really a word for word transcript. Also, when I write a paper
I try to use sentence structure and vocabulary and all those things you learned
about in school correctly. I do try and speak professionally as well but my
point is don’t grade this as a writing, but as a speech. Even then I hope you
get the point of the message and don’t get caught up in the grammatical issues.
Feel free to comment.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Charge My Account</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Philemon 1: 1-25<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">October 20, 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><sup>1 </sup></i></b><i>Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and
Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, <b><sup>2 </sup></b>to
Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in
your house:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><sup>3 </sup></i></b><i>Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.<b><sup>4 </sup></b>When I remember you in
my prayers, I always thank my God <b><sup>5 </sup></b>because I hear
of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. <b><sup>6 </sup></b>I
pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all
the good that we may do for Christ. <b><sup>7 </sup></b>I have
indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts
of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.<b><sup>8 </sup></b>For
this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your
duty, <b><sup>9 </sup></b>yet I would rather appeal to you on the
basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of
Christ Jesus. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>I am appealing to you for my
child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. <b><sup>11 </sup></b>Formerly
he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to
me. <b><sup>12 </sup></b>I am sending him, that is, my own heart,
back to you. <b><sup>13 </sup></b>I wanted to keep him with me, so
that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the
gospel; <b><sup>14 </sup></b>but I preferred to do nothing without
your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something
forced. <b><sup>15 </sup></b>Perhaps this is the reason he was
separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, <b><sup>16 </sup></b>no
longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but
how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.<b><sup>17 </sup></b>So
if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. <b><sup>18 </sup></b>If
he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my
account. <b><sup>19 </sup></b>I, Paul, am writing this with my own
hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own
self. <b><sup>20 </sup></b>Yes, brother, let me have this benefit
from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. <b><sup>21 </sup></b>Confident
of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than
I say.<b><sup>22 </sup></b>One thing more—prepare a guest room for me, for
I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.<b><sup>23 </sup></b>Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, <b><sup>24 </sup></b>and
so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.<b><sup>25 </sup></b>The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Word of the Lord</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(Thanks be to God)</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once upon a time in their marriage, a man did something
really stupid. His wife chewed him out for it. He apologized, they made up. <br />
However, from time to time, the wife mentions what he had done.
"Honey," the man finally said one day, "why do you keep bringing
that up? I thought your policy was 'forgive and forget.'" <br />
"It is," she said. "I just don't want you to forget that I've
forgiven and forgotten."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As I researched this book I discovered a couple of different
viewpoints on some of the details of the story. Things like Onesimus’ actual
relationship with Philemon or how he came to meet up with Paul. I decided to
take a particular approach which seems to be the most popular but no matter how
you deal with some of the details of the story, I do not think the message of
the book changes. As with all these Biblical stories whether they are actual
events or parables, the purpose of including them in the Biblical Cannon is
based on their inspiration and benefit to us as a guide to Christian living. So
as we look at this passage this morning do not get hung up on details of the
story but focus on the message of the letter. So what are some of those
details?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The book or letter to Philemon was written by the Apostle
Paul in or around 60 AD. It is considered one of the four prison epistles
written by Paul. (Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians are the other three.)
This letter is one of the letters attributed to Paul that most scholars agree
was written by Paul. Many of his other letters are disputed as to the
authorship, but not Philemon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We have three main characters in this passage. First we have
Paul, a leader in the Church who was currently in prison. As you know Paul was
once a devout Jew and Pharisee who was a chief persecutor of early Christians.
After his conversion, he became a great saver of souls and one of those he
converted to Christianity was Philemon. Philemon, by all accounts was a wealthy
man. He apparently had a house big enough to host the worship services of the
newly formed church in Colossae. He and Paul were brothers in Christ but there
was also that mentor-mentee relationship between them and therefore a great
deal of respect between them. In addition to his material wealth he also had
slaves. One of those was named Onesimus. Onesimus must have done something
pretty bad so he ran away from Philemon. Perhaps he stole money or at the very
least did something that caused Philemon to lose money. The letter never states
exactly what he did but according to Paul in verse 11, “<i>Formerly he was useless to you.”</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now that we know the main characters let us look at the
letter itself. Paul, after an introduction, begins to commend Philemon for the
work that he is doing in the church and how much joy it brings him to know of
his love for the work they are both doing for Christ. Paul spends the first
seven verses “buttering him up” for what comes beginning in verse eight. That
is not to say that Paul does not genuinely believe all those nice things he
said about Philemon, but they were strategically placed at the beginning of the
letter. Then in verses eight and nine he makes a very bold statement, “<i>For this reason, though I am bold enough in
Christ to command you to do your duty, <b><sup>9 </sup></b>yet I
would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old
man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” </i>Paul realizes that he is
in a position of leadership within the church and has the right to demand that
Philemon grant the request he is about to make. But instead, he appeals to him
on the basis of love and on the fact that he is an old man who is in prison for
doing the work of Jesus Christ. Even though he is not “forcing” Philemon to do
something he is making it awful hard for him to resist. But it is still the
choice of Philemon to make. As of yet, however, Paul has not even alerted him
to what this request is going to be. Then verse ten, “<i>I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have
become during my imprisonment.”</i> There it is. Onesimus. Imagine reading this
letter and from the beginning you are being told what a wonderful person you
are and how much you are appreciated. After that introduction Philemon was
probably thinking of course I’ll do what you ask Paul, as good as you have been
to me it is the least I can do. Then he reads that name and all those happy
feelings have now turned to anger. Here is a slave that caused him pain and
loss and now he is being called a child of your mentor. Any number of thoughts
could have gone through Philemon’s mind at the sight of that name and more than
likely they were not good ones. Yet here is his mentor calling this man his
son. Paul is not through. He realizes that this slave was once useless to
Philemon but now claims that he is useful to both of them. He is sending his
own heart back to Philemon. The question then becomes why is Paul sending him
back if he finds him so useful where he is now? He answers that in the next
verse. He could have pulled rank on Philemon and compelled him to free the man
into his service but he chooses to give the choice to Philemon because he
realizes how much more meaningful that would be. Think about it from the
standpoint of someone offering you an apology. When someone is genuinely sorry
for something and they come to you by their own accord, the apology just means
more. When people are forced to apologize for something they said or did it
loses some of its effectiveness. As a teacher I would much rather have a
student recognize a mistake, take ownership of it, and apologize to me than sit
in a parent conference and have the parent tell the child to apologize for
their behavior. Sometimes it is helpful to have someone to point out the
mistakes we have made so we then can seek forgiveness on our own. That is not
even really what Paul is doing here. It’s not Philemon that has done anything
wrong. In fact, it is his legal right to take back and punish the runaway
slave. What Paul is trying to do is give him the chance to reject his legal
right over Onesimus and recognize him as a brother in Christ. The letter never
goes into what Onesimus said by way of apology or if he came to Paul remorseful
or if Paul had to pull the confession out of him. Regardless of how it all
played out between Paul and Onesimus, Paul now thinks of him as a son so he
clearly believes Onesimus had adequately repented. Paul goes on to say in
verses 17-19, “<i>So if you consider me your
partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. <b><sup>18 </sup></b>If
he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my
account. <b><sup>19 </sup></b>I, Paul, am writing this with my own
hand: I will repay it.”</i> It was common for Paul and other letter writers to
have a scribe actually write for them while they would dictate the document.
Here Paul either has written this whole letter himself or maybe even more
powerfully just written that last statement in his own handwriting. Either way
Philemon would have recognized his handwriting and understood Paul was serious
about taking on this man’s debt. He begins to wind down the letter by saying he
knows Philemon will do even more than he asks and asks him to prepare a room
for him as he hopes to visit soon. Then the letter concludes by sending the
greetings of his other companions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That was kind of a brief overview of what this letter
contains and we could go into greater detail about each sentence if we wanted
to but there are a few main points I think this letter expresses and I would
like to address. One is the issue of slavery. Let me just touch on this topic
briefly as it relates to this letter. Many proponents of slavery in the past
used this letter as justification for the practice. Interestingly, many
opponents to slavery also pointed to this letter as a reason it should be
outlawed. Paul and for that matter Jesus never directly attempted to abolish
the practice of slavery. In the Roman culture during this time it was very
common for rich citizens to own slaves. Jesus, and therefore Paul after him,
did not take the approach of trying to end slavery by publicly admonishing it.
Rather they tried to change the culture from within. Christian principals teach
a lowering of oneself into service of others for the good of God’s kingdom.
When we truly take on a position of service in our hearts then the thought of
owning a person like a piece of property no longer seems like the right thing
to do. As we mentioned before, Philemon was by all accounts a good Christian
man and leader in the church in Colossae yet he had slaves. Since Paul is
sending Onesimus back it appears that Paul is endorsing slavery and rightfully
returning him to his master. But I think a closer examination of the text
reveals the opposite. Paul chooses to use his method of persuasion to try and
convince Philemon to forgive Onesimus and hopefully do more than that. What
more could he do but change his status from runaway slave to brother in Christ?
I believe we could have a much deeper discussion and theological debate on this
topic but that will have to be saved for another day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another underlying theme of this letter is the relationship
between two people and how that relationship affects a third person. Paul has
that mentor status with Philemon. I can think of many examples of how there are
people out there that have the kind of credibility with others that Paul has
with Philemon. Imagine how many young baseball pitchers would show up to a
clinic on pitching if the likes of a Clayton Kershaw or Justin Verlander were
to be there. (Or for you baseball fans my age and older a Greg Maddux or Sandy
Koufax.) How about a quarterback camp with Payton Manning or Tom Brady? (Dan
Marino and Joe Montana) If someone like Charles Stanley or David Jeremiah or if
you are not familiar with them, Billy Graham were to come and lead a Bible
study, how many would come to learn? Now imagine that you had a personal
relationship with one of those people and they came to you personally and asked
you to do something. Would you be able to refuse? Paul is appealing to
Philemon’s sense of respect for what Paul has done for him and even mentions
that he is responsible for introducing him to his new life in Christ. It’s
almost like he is making him an offer that he can’t refuse. But, he can. There
are no threats or consequences laid down by Paul if he refuses to accept
Onesimus back. He just presents a case so compelling and couple that with the
respect Philemon has for Paul, and you have a situation where it is nearly
impossible to deny the request. Think for a moment about someone in your life
that you hold in a place of honor such that if they made a request of you that
you would be willing to do it. Maybe it is a parent, grandparent, or other
family member. Perhaps you have a friend that has earned your respect to a
level that you would be willing to go against what appears to be popularly
accepted and do what is right in the sight of God. Maybe you have a mentor in
your professional life that showed you how to run a business or how to advance
within the company you both worked for. What about a coach who taught you more
than just how to play a sport, but about how to live your life? Or a music
teacher who instilled in you a love of music and not just the technical aspects
of playing an instrument? These are just a few of the possible relationships
that we can have that can positively affect our daily lives. What about from
Paul’s point of view? Are you a mentor to someone else? Have you earned the
respect of a family member, friend, or coworker to the point that you can have
a positive influence on their life? The relationship Paul has with Philemon
allows him to put into action the process of mending a relationship with a
mutual acquaintance. Paul lived his life in such a manner that he could build
the kind of friendships that helps advance the kingdom of God. Our challenge is
to emulate that kind of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Maybe the most important component of this letter is its
emphasis on forgiveness. Onesimus clearly did something wrong and fled as a
result. The fear of what would happen to him sent him far away from his master
Philemon. But look what happened on his journey. He runs smack into Paul. He
listens to his message about Christ and his offer of forgiveness and realizes
his own need for forgiveness. As Onesimus became closer to Paul he probably confessed
to him what he was running from. Imagine the look on his face when Paul informs
him that he knows Philemon very well. Onesimus has a decision to make. Does he
flee again or does he hope for the forgiveness that he heard Paul preaching
about? This is faith in action. He has faith that Paul’s relationship with
Philemon will allow him the opportunity to reconcile his differences. Paul is
even willing to assume his debt so all he has to do is throw himself to the
mercy of his master. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Last week we looked at a parable told by Jesus that dealt
with forgiveness but this is not part two of a series of sermons on
forgiveness. This is a completely different situation, one that actually
happened and is not just a story to drive home a point. Yet, the common thread
is the need to forgive. Paul in other letters that he wrote encourages us to be
imitators of Christ. He then goes on to say that if nothing else, imitate me
because I am spending my life in the pursuit of Christ-like service. Here is an
example of him doing just that. He tells Philemon to “charge that to my
account.” Paul is willing to assume the debt of one who has shown faith in the
message he has been preaching. Is that not exactly what Christ has done for us?
On the surface this letter looks like just a correspondence from one man to
another trying to reconcile differences with a third man. Why then is it
included in the Biblical cannon? Perhaps because it is a perfect representation
of what God does for us through Jesus Christ? We sin against our Master and
flee only to be drawn back to the one who is willing to take on our debts and
say, “Charge that to my account.” We’ve all been in Onesimus’ position where we
find ourselves in need of forgiveness. We try to run from the situation but end
up running into the Holy Spirit that draws us back to Christ. We’ve also found
ourselves in Philemon’s position; a position where we need to extend that
forgiveness to someone else. Sometimes we need the encouragement of a mentor and
sometimes we just need to be still and listen for the guidance of the Holy
Spirit. Either way we can rest in the knowledge that our faith in Christ gives
us access to the one, the only one, who is both willing and able to say before
the Father, “Charge that to my account.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us pray.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-24662146488716799182013-10-13T12:30:00.000-04:002013-10-13T12:30:01.181-04:00October 13, 2013<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One of the
responsibilities I have during the month of October is to lead our church in
worship each Sunday. Our small church has a retired minister as our stated
supply (Presbyterian term) who takes a sabbatical during October (a well
deserved one I might add.) A few years ago he asked if I would speak in his
absence and the rest, as they say, is history. I am going to attempt to post my
sermons for this month here on this blog.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: What I am going to post is going to be a rough attempt at a
transcript of what I actually say. Now I am creating this transcript before I
speak so it isn’t really a word for word transcript. Also, when I write a paper
I try to use sentence structure and vocabulary and all those things you learned
about in school correctly. I do try and speak professionally as well but my
point is don’t grade this as a writing, but as a speech. Even then I hope you
get the point of the message and don’t get caught up in the grammatical issues.
Feel free to comment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Parable of the
Unforgiving Servant<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Matthew 18:21-35<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">October 13, 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><sup>21 </sup></i></b><i>Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if
another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As
many as seven times?” <b><sup>22 </sup></b>Jesus said to him, “Not
seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. <b><sup>23 </sup></b>“For
this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to
settle accounts with his slaves. <b><sup>24 </sup></b>When he began
the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to
him; <b><sup>25 </sup></b>and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered
him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions,
and payment to be made. <b><sup>26 </sup></b>So the slave fell on his
knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you
everything.’ <b><sup>27 </sup></b>And out of pity for him, the lord
of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.<b><sup>28 </sup></b>But
that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed
him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what
you owe.’ <b><sup>29 </sup></b>Then his fellow slave fell down and
pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ <b><sup>30 </sup></b>But
he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the
debt. <b><sup>31 </sup></b>When his fellow slaves saw what had
happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their
lord all that had taken place. <b><sup>32 </sup></b>Then his lord
summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt
because you pleaded with me. <b><sup>33 </sup></b>Should you not have
had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ <b><sup>34 </sup></b>And
in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire
debt. <b><sup>35 </sup></b>So my heavenly Father will also do to
every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your
heart.” (NRSV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Word of the Lord<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>(Thanks be to God)</i>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“One of my favorite stories concerns a man who was bitten by
a dog, which was later discovered to be rabid. The man was rushed to the
hospital where tests revealed that he had, in fact, contracted rabies. At the
time, medical science had no solution for this problem, and his doctor faced
the difficult task of informing him that his condition was incurable and
terminal. ‘Sir, we will do all we can to make you comfortable. But I cannot
give you false hope. There is nothing we can really do. My best advice is that
you put your affairs in order as soon as possible.’ The dying man sank back on
his bed in shock, but finally rallied enough strength to ask for a pen and some
paper. He then set to work with great energy. An hour later, when the doctor
returned, the man was stilling writing vigorously. ’I’m glad to see that you’re
working on your will.’ ‘This ain’t no will, Doc. This is a list of the people
I’m going to bite before I die. Many of us live and die with that kind of list,
written in our minds, if not on paper.” [Gary Inrig. The Parables:
Understanding What Jesus Meant. (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1991) p. 63].
This parable helps us see why that way of thinking is against God’s will. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The parable really begins with verse 23 but verses 21 and 22
are what spark the reason for the parable. Peter questions Jesus about
forgiveness. Now a close examination of his question reveals something about
Peter’s thinking. The Phrases taught that you were required to give forgiveness
three times. Then, if the same person offended you a fourth time you were under
no obligation to forgive them again. This teaching was based on a passage in
the book of Amos. It was a misinterpretation of the passage but regardless,
Peter uses that as a basis for his question. He, however, comes across as being
an extremely forgiving person because he asks if seven times is sufficient. He
knows the teachings but asks in such a way that it makes it seem as if he
offers forgiveness seven times so wants to know if that is enough. Jesus’
response is the parable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When we look at these parables it is important to examine
the story from a literal point of view first so we can better understand the
meaning behind it. A king is ready to settle his accounts with his slaves. The
one brought before him owes him 10,000 talents. If you remember from the
parable of the talents we discussed last week a talent was worth about 6,000
denarii. Since one denarius was a day’s wage this slave owed what would amount
to over 2 billion dollars in today’s money, adjusted for inflation of course.
In other words, the slave owed more than he could possibly repay. His debt was
too great. This is not the same situation we looked at in the Parable of the
talents, though. There the master gave the man his money to take care of. Here,
this servant more than likely acquired his master’s money in an unethical way.
Perhaps he skimmed off the top. Or maybe he embezzled the money. Some of this
could have been from asking for and receiving a loan, but the king in this case
would not have loaned out this much money knowing it would be impossible for
the man to repay it. It really is not important how the debt got so big. This
is not a news story of what someone witnessed, it is a story Jesus is telling
to relate it to the Kingdom of Heaven. So when the king calls him forward to
account for his debt, then ordered that this slave and his wife, children, all
that he owned should be sold and payment made, the servant realizes what kind
of mess he is in and immediately asks for more time. Does he really think he
has the ability to pay this back? If he does then he has no concept of time and
money. If he realizes the severity of his debt then his asking for more time
signals that all he is doing is postponing the judgment that will surely come
eventually. Seeing the hopeless situation this man is in, the king has
compassion on the man. He does far more than give him more time to repay, he
cancels the debt. He does not reduce it or give him a grace period of a few
months or years, he eliminates it. A
couple of billion dollars, gone. I’m sure we have all at some time in our lives
been behind on a bill. We give the company a call and ask if they will give us
until we get paid again to pay our bill. When they agree not to turn off the
power, for instance, until next month, there is a great feeling of relief. A
burden is at least temporarily released. So imagine how you would feel if a debt
that would take a lifetime plus some was forgiven. You would think this slave
would be overwhelmed with gratitude. But what we find out as the story
continues is that “…<i>as he went out, [he] came
upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing
him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’”</i> A hundred denarii is what
this other slave owed him. If we use a similar money exchange rate we are
talking about a few thousand dollars. No small sum to be sure, but compared to
2 billion dollars it hardly seems significant. He proceeds to throw the other
man into debtor’s prison even after the man pleads for more time to pay just as
he had just done. This troubles the other slaves who know everything that has
just happened. They proceed to go back and tell the king of this servant’s
actions. Enraged that the man would not extend the same kind of mercy he
received, even when the debt was insignificant compared to his own debt, the
king hands him over, according to some translations, to be tortured until he
can repay a debt that he never will be able to repay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The lesson from the parable is stated in the last thing
Jesus says in verse 35, “<i>So my heavenly
Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or
sister from your heart.”</i>Our failure to forgive others results in
severe consequences. Other lessons we can learn from this parable is that we
are all God’s debtors. Not only are we all debtors but the amount we owe is
more than we are able to pay (Copeland). That is the key phrase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Since a question about forgiveness is what brings on this
parable we need to focus on that term forgiveness when we look for the deeper
meaning of this passage. The debt we owe to God is the sins we commit over and
over. The example of the man in financial debt is used to express just how much
we owe God for the sins we have committed against Him. The Bible teaches us
that God offers forgiveness for those sins through the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. We are also taught that we are to ask for that forgiveness and
it will be freely given. So why do we have the parable involving someone
getting forgiveness but not extending it? Well, we all just recited the Lord’s
Prayer and in it we asked to be forgiven in the same manner that we forgive
others. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” This is not saying,
“Ok, God. Let us off the hook for all the sins we commit against you and we
will forgive others of the small ones that didn’t really hurt that much
anyway.” We are asking to be forgiven by God following the same criteria we use
to forgive those who have wronged us. In Matthew 7:2 it states, “For with the
judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the
measure you get.” This measure of judgment we administer to others is the same
measure that will get used on us. If we are unable to forgive those who have
injured us, then we are asking God to treat us the same way and <i>not</i> forgive us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You have heard the phrase “forgive and forget.” I saw it
stated that the best way to begin the process of forgiveness is to first
remember…remember how much <i>you</i> have
been forgiven. The Law is the measuring stick for entry into heaven. Follow it
perfectly or the “wages of sin is death.” Our only method of redemption is
through Jesus Christ who takes those sins upon himself so we no longer pay the
price, a price we cannot afford. Once we remember that and truly accept that
gift of grace, we should be so grateful that the minor sins against us should
be easily forgiven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let’s talk about how easy or hard that really is sometimes.
You go to the drink machine at work and put in your dollar, think for a second,
decide on Dr. Pepper today and push the button. The drink comes out and your
phone rings. Well you don’t get good reception in the canteen so you place your
drink on the table and walk out in the hall to take the call. When you come
back the drink is gone. Someone decided that since it was there it must be for them.
Now the severity of this offense can vary. It was only a dollar. If that was
your last dollar or the last Dr. Pepper in the machine then that ups the level
of frustration, but in the grand scheme of things you probably could afford the
extra drink. In fact, you probably think to yourself, “I would have bought him
a drink if he needed one, why steal mine?” You have a choice. Do you forgive
the person or do you let it fester under your skin to the point that you become
obsessed with who did it and why? Your forgiveness of the sin does not mean you
endorse what happened or that it is ok that it did. It was wrong for someone to
steal your drink, but you can forgive them. How easy or hard it is to do that
is up to you. What if the person thought, “Well, I know this person makes more
than I do so I am going to take it?” Would that make it ok? How about the
person who takes home some extra office supplies because that big company can
afford to buy more? Is that ok? Have you ever found yourself in a situation
where you know you did something wrong and now you wanted the chance to make it
right? If you have not been in that situation before then you are a better
person than I am. Many times when we do something that hurts someone else we
don’t even realize it at first. It could have been a misunderstanding of
something we said, or an action we did not feel was bad but did hurt someone
unintentionally. I think if we were a part of that type of situation and were
told our actions or words were hurtful then we would ask to be forgiven. Or if
we were the one hurt and the other person had the opportunity to explain
themselves then we would be likely to grant that forgiveness. However, the real
test of our faith comes when something more egregious happens to us. When
something far more valuable than a bottle of Dr. Pepper gets stolen or damaged.
Are we then able to see there still is a great divide between that offense and
our own offenses toward God? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We have got to be careful about getting into the frame of
mind where we begin to think we are sinners, but…not as bad as he is. There
must be those out there that have a bigger debt than I do, right? This is not
some contest to see who gets into heaven and all I have to do is be better than
you. It reminds me of the joke about two guys talking about whether or not they
could outrun a bear. The one says to the other, “I don’t have to outrun the
bear; I just have to outrun you!” We do not want this to turn into a contest
where we try to determine which sin is worse than another and base our
forgiveness on that. Because when we do, remember, we are asking God to do the
same for us. And since we are unable to live the perfect life as required under
the law, we are going to need some forgiveness along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">According to Joseph Tkach, “Forgiveness does not mean that
we pretend like nothing ever happened. It does not mean trusting a swindler
with money, trusting a wife-beater to not get abusive again, or appointing a
child-molester to be a youth pastor. However, forgiving means that we do not
harbor grudges, we do not seek vengeance. It means letting go of our need to
get even. It means praying for our enemies. It means seeing ourselves in their
shoes, knowing that God has, for the sake of Christ, forgiven us all our sins
too. No groveling required. God does not want us to sin again, but his mercy
lasts forever.” Our actions have consequences. Sometimes we are not in a
position to pardon someone who has wronged us. But we can forgive them. Nobody
said it was going to always be easy, but that should be the goal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Withholding forgiveness hurts us as much as, if not more,
than the person who needs it. When we refuse to let go of something then the
pain never goes away. It is like ringing an old church bell similar to what we
have here in our church. When you pull the rope the bell starts to swing and
eventually begins to sound. Once you get that momentum going all you have to do
is tug on that rope and it will continue to ring. Even when we let go of the
rope the momentum will cause the bell to ring another time or two. The bigger
the bell, the harder it is to get it started but the longer the momentum keeps
it going. Grudges are like the rope. As long as we hold on to them it is like
pulling on the rope to keep the bell ringing. Forgiveness is like letting go of
the rope Sometimes the momentum keeps the pain alive for a while, but once we forgive
it takes away the momentum of the grudge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Too many friendships are destroyed. Too many families are
broken. Too many small businesses fail. Too many churches split or are
dissolved. Many times all because there is a grudge being harbored. For all you
NCIS fans out there, Rule #6 – Never apologize, it’s a sign of weakness. Actually
first used by John Wayne, makes for a good line in a movie or recurring line in
a TV show, but here in the real world, sometimes we make mistakes and need to
ask for forgiveness and other times we are injured and need to extend
forgiveness. You might be thinking that’s easy for you to say because you’ve
never had “this” happen to you. Fill in whatever you want to for “this” and you
may very well be correct. But ask yourself if you’ve ever been nailed to a
cross for doing no wrong. When you think about it that way it helps us appreciate how insignificant the sins against us are compared to those we commit
against God. Yet, he loved us so much that he gave us a way to get to him. And that
way came at a tremendous price that we helped drive up. All we have to do is
accept that grace and then in turn extend, by comparison, just a fraction of
that grace to others. “And forgive us our debts; as we forgive our debtors.” Pray
for the guidance and strength from God to forgive others even as God has forgiven
each of us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us pray.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Copeland, Mark A. Executableoutlines.com. http://executableoutlines.com/pa/pa_11.htm</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thach, Joseph. http://www.gci.org/bible/matthew/unforgiving</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-82639905027563413102013-10-06T12:30:00.000-04:002013-10-06T12:30:01.639-04:00October 6, 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One of the responsibilities I have during the month of
October is to lead our church in worship each Sunday. Our small church has a
retired minister as our stated supply (Presbyterian term) who takes a
sabbatical during October (a well deserved one I might add.) A few years ago he
asked if I would speak in his absence and the rest, as they say, is history. I
am going to attempt to post my sermons for this month here on this blog as I did last year.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: What I am going to post is going to be a rough attempt at a transcript
of what I actually say. Now I am creating this transcript before I speak so it
isn’t really a word for word transcript. Also, when I write a paper I try to
use sentence structure and vocabulary and all those things you learned about in
school correctly. I do try and speak professionally as well but my point is
don’t grade this as a writing, but as a speech. Even then I hope you get the
point of the message and don’t get caught up in the grammatical issues. Feel
free to comment.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Parable of the
Talents</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Matthew 25:14-30<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">October 6, 2013</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">14 ‘For it is as
if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to
them; <sup>15</sup>to one he gave five talents, to another two, to
another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. <sup>16</sup>The
one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them,
and made five more talents. <sup>17</sup>In the same way, the one who had
the two talents made two more talents. <sup>18</sup>But the one who had
received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his
master’s money. <sup>19</sup>After a long time the master of those slaves
came and settled accounts with them. <sup>20</sup>Then the one who had
received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying,
“Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more
talents.” <sup>21</sup>His master said to him, “Well done, good and
trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in
charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” <sup>22</sup>And
the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed
over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.”<sup>23</sup>His
master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been
trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter
into the joy of your master.” <sup>24</sup>Then the one who had received
the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh
man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter
seed; <sup>25</sup>so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the
ground. Here you have what is yours.” <sup>26</sup>But his master replied,
“You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow,
and gather where I did not scatter? <sup>27</sup>Then you ought to have
invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what
was my own with interest. <sup>28</sup>So take the talent from him, and
give it to the one with the ten talents. <sup>29</sup>For to all those who
have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who
have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. <sup>30</sup>As for
this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Word of the Lord<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(Thanks be to God)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us begin by looking at this
parable from a literal standpoint. A talent during the time this parable was
told by Jesus would have been worth 6000 denarii where one denarius was equal
to about a day’s wage. So we have a master getting three of his servants
together and then distributing these sums of money to each one. Notice the text
says that each one was given according to his ability. Ability to do what?
Perhaps it was each person’s ability to manage money. Maybe the first servant
had proven over time to be someone who was able to handle many levels of
responsibility. Knowing this the master decides to give him a greater share
than the others. Another thing to keep in mind here is that the master is
handing over <i>his</i> money. He is not
paying these men for work already done or even advancing them a salary for work
they are to do. They are slaves, servants after all. This money he is doling
out is his and he naturally expects it to be taken care of so he is not going
to give over more than each could handle. The first servant receives his share,
five talents, then the second one gets two talents and the third one receives
one talent. Now keep in mind that one talent is worth 6000 denarii so we are
talking about a sum of money that would have taken an average worker about 20
years to earn. We could do the math here and try and figure out how much that
would be in today’s dollars, but it really is not necessary in order to
understand the point of the story. The
facts are that each one was given something of value and it was not an equal
distribution of that value. One thought that came to mind while reading this
passage is how did each one react when they were given their talents? Jesus
never focuses on the reaction of the servants but it is worth considering how
each one may have responded or at least how each one felt about what just took
place. Some possible reactions from the first man might have been, “Wow! Look
at how much I just got.” “See, I’m a better person than you two because he
clearly likes me more.” Or maybe it was a more humble response like, “Wow! Are
you sure you want me to take care of this much of your money?” By contrast
let’s imagine how the third person might have reacted. Maybe his thought
process went something like, “Wow! You’re giving him 5 talents and only giving
me one?” Or “So, I’m only worth one talent while these two are worth more?” Or
maybe his tone could have been more along the lines of, “I don’t really even
deserve one talent so (as he turns to one of the other slaves) do you think you
could help me out so I don’t mess this up?” And finally, what about the man in
the middle? He might have been thinking, “Well, I’m not the favorite but at
least I rank higher than that guy.” Regardless of how each of them responded, remember
their immediate response is not recorded in the parable, what they do following
receiving these talents tells a whole lot about their character. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Verse 16 states that “The one who
received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five
more talents.” He recognized the incredible opportunity he had to please his
master and reward his trust so he went at once to take advantage of the
opportunity. I guess in today’s world he might have logged on to E-trade and
took advantage of all the resources that little baby tells us about every year
during the Super Bowl. Or maybe he just adopted a buy low and sell high method
of doing business while his master was away so that he could increase the
amount of money he was trusted with. There is no reason to think that this
increase was obtained in an illegal or unethical way. He simply went out and
doubled his money. Now the result may be simple in theory, but that does not
mean it was easy to do. We are told that the master was gone for a long time.
This was not some get rich quick, overnight scheme that this servant was able
to get in on. The fact that it very well may have been difficult to accomplish
this is an important point to consider. The second servant, we are told in
verse 17, “in the same way” doubled the two talents he was given. I do not think
it necessarily means that they both invested in the same exact way. He could
have used Scottrade and taken the advice of that guy that flies around in the
helicopter instead of the little baby. Either way, they both apparently went off
and immediately began the task of investing their master’s money. When the
master returns they are eager to greet him and show what they have done. Verse
20, “Master you handed me over five talents; see I have made five more
talents.” “See,” you can almost hear the excitement in his voice. Similar to
what a child might say as they bring home something they created in school or
Sunday school, “Look Mommy, look what I did today!” And just like an approving
parent might say, “Wow! That is a beautiful thing you have done.” The Master
says to his slave, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The second slave does
the same thing and gets the same response. Even though he started with less,
the master is just as pleased with what the second slave has done as he was
with the first slave. To me that is an important point to gather from this
story. The master is not more pleased with the first one just because he made
him more money. After all, he made five talents to the two talents the second
one made. Remember, though, the beginning of the story. The master gave each servant
talents according to their ability. In his wisdom he realized that entrusting
him with more than two talents might put him in a position to fail. They were
given an unequal amount of talents to start, but given an equal amount of
praise at the end. This is similar to what I have to deal with on a daily basis
as a teacher. We have a grading system in place, A, B…F, etc. I am just as
proud of some of my students who make B’s as I am of others who make A’s. When
people reach their fullest potential it is hard not to be pleased with those
results. It is when we do not reach our
fullest potential that there is frustration and displeasure, which is what we
get from the third servant. By his response we see that in his mind the master
is a hard man to work for. Verse 24, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man,
reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed.”
Out of fear the third man just buried the one talent he was given in the ground
and returned it as is to the master. To me, initially, that does not sound like
too bad of an idea. At least the man did not lose anything. However, the
master’s response to the third man is what really drives home the point of this
parable. “You wicked and lazy slave!” Clearly by comparison to the two other
slaves this guy really missed the boat. For him not to get in on the E-trade or
Scottrade action was bad enough, but he was too lazy to even take the money
down to the local Bank of America branch and just put it in a simple savings
account. The .5% interest it could have been drawing is far better than the
smell of earthworms from burying it in the ground. His punishment seams kind of
harsh at first. All he has is taken from him and he is cast out while his
talent is given as a reward to the other slave who was willing to work for the
betterment of his master. This consequence for inaction points to how difficult
it must have been for the other two slaves to make money. It is as if the
master understands the commitment it takes and realizes the third slave does
not have that commitment. But he did the worst thing he could do…nothing. Three
men, a lot of money, and consequences for their actions; is this really all
about the money?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The key word here is talent. In
Biblical times talent would have unmistakably been used as a measurement. Our
use of the word talent to mean the ability to do something adds a new
significance to the meaning of the passage. Let’s take a moment to explore some
possible additional meanings from this parable when we consider the English
definition of the word talent. So what are some talents? According to Reverend
Joseph Exell, time is a talent. Intellectual power is a talent. Moral capacity,
religious opportunities, and relative influence can be considered talents. He
goes on to say that the “secret of worldly success, is to set out at once to
make best use of whatever we have” (573). Then we have the athletic, musical,
speaking, writing, the ability to motivate people types of talent. We all have
at least one talent. This parable sets before us a scenario where talents are
distributed, but not equally. It gives us a Biblical example of how we are not
all the same people with all the same abilities and responsibilities. Why do I
think we all have at least one talent? Because I believe the Bible gives us
guidance on how we are to live our lives. If there were going to be those of us
who had not been given any talent, then I believe this parable would have had a
fourth slave in it who would have been given nothing. The fact that each of
them, representing all of God’s children, were given something with which to
work, tells me we all start with one or more. As Exell also states, “If Christ
has given you one talent, it is because at present He sees you cannot handle
more” (574). We should never be envious of those who we perceive as having more
talents than us. The stone and timber that was brought into Jerusalem for the
temple was marked so before it started its journey toward Jerusalem the
architect knew what place it should fit. Each stone and timber was an important
part of the completed temple. We should not complain if we are not the
foundation or the capstone in the temple God is building with our lives (Exell 575).
Take what God has given you and develop it into more. Do not wish you had the
talent to do something and since you do not, just sit around and do nothing.
Our talent is like the acorn. It starts small but grows into a huge oak tree.
It is better to have the one talent and use it for good than have five talents
and use them for evil (Exell 575). If you are given only one talent, be
grateful for the one talent but also be thankful that there are those that have
been given five. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just like an acorn does not become
a tree overnight, talent development takes time. If you were going to compile a
list of the greatest writers the world has ever known I think somewhere on that
list would have to be Shakespeare. His ability to use words to paint pictures
and illicit emotions is so impressive that students are still studying his
works hundreds of years after his death. Recently a more contemporary writer,
Tom Clancy passed away. His novels such as The Hunt for Red October and Patriot
Games were exceptional reads and were later turned into entertaining movies.
You know what you and I have in common with those two authors as well as the
countless others who have risen to the top of their professions? We all started
by learning our A, B, C’s. We then learned how to use those letters to form
words, then how to put those words into sentences, etc. They just took that
talent to another level, one you and I have not reached as of yet. Perhaps some
of you have been published or are writing something that one day will. The
point is we have to be willing to take action, even risk, if we want to develop
those talents we have been blessed with. One of my favorite movie lines comes
from the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot. In a powerful scene in which he reminds
his young sons what they have learned about shooting a rifle he asks, “What did
I tell you fellas about shooting?” They respond, “Aim small, miss small.” When we are given one or two talents, God
doesn’t expect us to accomplish the same thing as those with five. When we aim
beyond our means we tend to miss so badly that we end up doing more harm than
good. So you want to save the world? Start here at home. Start small and
develop the talent God has given you and you will see an increase in the
opportunities to use that talent. Some interpret this parable as just that,
opportunity. The talents we are given are not just the ability to do something
special, but the talent is the <i>opportunity</i>
to do something special for God. Some are given just the one opportunity to
glorify God and they waste it. Others are given multiple opportunities and they
take advantage of them all. How we use our opportunities is what leads to
getting more. The opportunity the third slave had was taken from him and given
to the other because the first proved the willingness to use that opportunity
for good and not waste it. Aim small, miss small. Target the use of your talent
so the possibility for success is greater. Then those small success stories
begin to pile up and before you know it you have accomplished far more than you
ever imagined from the beginning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We’ve talked a lot about the first
slave who was given five talents and the third slave who was given one. The
second one does not get as much attention yet he may be the one we all most
closely relate to (Exell 585). He represents the average man, the one in the
middle. The other two really represent the extremes. When we look at this in
terms of its original meaning, talents referring to money, I think we all
relate more to the man in the middle. In our own congregation we have different
levels of wealth. But when we really think about it, even the richest of us can
think of someone who has more and even the poorest of us can think of someone
who has less. When we extend our view to a more contemporary definition of
talent we can all see ourselves somewhere in between those extremes of five
talents and one talent. We are not called to compare our abilities to those of
others. Even the slave who disappointed his master never said because you gave
more to the others I will not work as hard as them. The other two never
compared what they had with each other, they just took the opportunity they
were given and glorified their master. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In closing, a very popular Bible
verse is Joshua 24:15. It says, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve
the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods
your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the
Amorites in whose land you dwell. <b>But
as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.</b>” Many people use that
verse to express their sentiment that they do not care what others do, but for
me I am going to serve the Lord. That is the attitude I think we need to take
with regard to our talents. We need to look around and say I do not care how
many talents you have been given, more than me or less than me. I am not going
to concern myself with what you do with however many talents you have been
given, but as for me I will serve the Lord by using whatever I have been given
to glorify my Master, my Savior, Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let us pray.</span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Exell, Rev. Joseph S. <i>The
Biblical Illustrator</i>. 23 vols. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Book House, 1973.
572-590.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-15256072582419923322013-10-03T15:28:00.001-04:002013-10-03T15:28:44.708-04:00October Baseball<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The AL and NL Series are now set and ready to begin tonight.
The Divisional round is a best of five game series with the higher seed opening
at home for Games 1 & 2 and then going on the road for Games 3 & 4 (if
necessary). If a Game 5 is needed then it will be back at the higher seed’s
home park. When we get to the
Championship Series it will be a best of seven.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Cardinals open their best of five tonight at 5:00 at
home against the Pirates. The Braves host the Dodgers in their opener at
8:30. The AL has Boston opening at home
against the Rays at 3:00 Friday afternoon and then the A’s host the Tigers at
9:30 Friday night. I’m looking forward to some great series this year. My hope
is the Braves and Cardinals win their series and the Rays and the A’s win theirs.
Then an Atlanta/Oakland World Series would be a great way to end the season.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-85031708429290304582013-09-30T15:30:00.000-04:002013-09-30T15:30:01.077-04:00162 Not Enough<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Apparently 162 games are not enough to decide who gets to
play in October. The AL Wild Card race is going to game 163 to decide whether
the Tampa Bay Rays or the Texas Rangers get in to face the Cleveland Indians in
the one-game WC playoff. The winner then gets to face the Boston Red Sox. The
Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics will battle it out to see who gets to
head to the ALCS to face the Red Sox (more than likely). However, if one of
those Wild Card teams will get hot, you never know.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On the other side of the bracket, the National League
settled their October teams in 162 games. The Pittsburg Pirates and the
Cincinnati Reds will face off in the one-game Wild Card playoff to see who gets
to face the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat out the Braves for best record in the
NL. That leaves the Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers to square off in the
first round beginning this week.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As we look back on this season there are a couple if
interesting things to take note of. The thing that jumps out immediately is
that the Braves did make the playoffs this year. They battled a lot of injuries
and used several different line-ups throughout this season to put themselves in
a good spot. They cruised through the NL East, a division that was supposed to
be Washington’s without a fight. The Strasberg Curse has reared its ugly head!
For Nationals fans I sure hope it isn’t on par with the Curse of the Bambino or
of the Goat in Chicago. Theo Epstein, general manager of the Cubs, put the
Curse of the Bambino to rest in Boston so we fully expect him to do the same
thing in Chicago. Just give him time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another interesting thing to take note of is the Wild Card teams
in the AL. While our pick of the Baltimore Orioles was based on sound baseball
(and southern) tradition, they did not make it while two of the remaining teams
(Rangers and Rays) were up for consideration for our team back in April. I’m
still happy we went with the Orioles. They came up short in way too many
one-run games this year. Last year that is what propelled them in to the
playoffs. If they get a touch more pitching this off season then they will be
right back in the thick of things next year.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Check back occasionally for some playoff updates as we pull
for the Braves to go all the way.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-32667616127124271082013-09-22T21:25:00.001-04:002013-09-22T21:25:20.711-04:00Stick a Fork in ‘em…They’re Done<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With what may go down as the biggest series of the year for
the Baltimore Orioles (81-74), they have come up terribly short. On Friday they
opened a four game series against the Wild Card Leading Tampa Bay Rays. This
was an opportunity to take over the Wild Card lead and they have already
dropped the first 3 games. This puts them 4.5 games out now. With three other
teams ahead of them fighting for one of those spots it just doesn’t look good. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the other hand, the Braves (92-63) clinched the NL East
this weekend. The Cubs (65-91) didn’t make it easy on them though. The Braves
won game three of the series to clinch the division. Hopefully they can get
their rotation set for the postseason and make a push to the World Series
again. The Cubs still hold a lead in the City Title race so we still have
something to keep an eye on for the Cubbies. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The season comes to an end this week and when it does I hope
to give my thoughts on this season and the fate of our chosen teams. Until then…</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-1922393619044601462013-09-20T15:29:00.002-04:002013-09-20T15:29:52.378-04:00It’s Getting Late<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Folks, another MLB regular season is about to come to an
end. The opportunity to make the playoffs is slipping away for the Baltimore
Orioles (81-71). They are still very much alive for one of the AL Wild Card
spots but they have officially been eliminated from winning the AL East. They
open a CRUCIAL 4 game series at Tropicana Field tonight against the Rays, the
team they are trying to overtake for a Wild Card Spot. After this series their
fate will almost certainly be decided. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (90-62) have reduced their magic number to 2 and
are in Wriggly right now facing the Cubs (64-89). It would be nice if the Cubs
would “take one for the team” (our Blog supported team) and allow the Braves to
go ahead and clinch the NL East this weekend. As I write this they are
cooperating. The Braves are winning 4-0 in the 3<sup>rd</sup> inning. The
Cubbies do hold a 4 game lead (in the win column) for the Chicago City Title so
a couple of losses to the Braves won’t hurt too badly. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While we have officially chosen to support the Braves, Cubs,
and Orioles we must put in a good word for the Cardinals. They are in a fierce
battle for the NL Central title with the Pirates and the Reds. They hold a 1
game lead right now but that race has gone back and forth all season.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-32619761691438865572013-09-09T15:23:00.002-04:002013-09-09T15:23:37.275-04:00September 9, 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well fans the Cubbies (60-82) are officially eliminated from
the NL Central Race. They are also guaranteed not to finish above .500 again
this year. One day the curse will be lifted and we can only hope it will be in
our lifetime. After all, the Red Sox were without a series win for nearly 100
years and they have overcome the “Curse of the Bambino” to take their place at
the top of the MLB world and they way things are going this year they may just
do it again. They are 9.5 games ahead of the Orioles (76-66) and look to be
firmly in control of the AL East. Baltimore just can’t seem to go on a long
winning streak right now. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and that just isn’t
going to get it done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (85-57) are no longer in possession of the best record
in baseball (Red Sox) but do still hold the best record in the NL, which is
what really matters at this point. They just got swept by the Phillies but
still hold a 12 game lead over the Nationals. Magic number is 9.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-20809747458113259142013-09-03T15:19:00.002-04:002013-09-03T15:19:55.401-04:0040-Man Roster<div class="MsoNormal">
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teams. Each team has a 40-man roster from the beginning of the season but only
25 of those are eligible to play from day one through August 31. As the month
of September begins those 40 players are all up with the major league team and
can be used during those September games. For some teams it gives them a chance
to rest players for the postseason and for others it gives them a chance to see
them play for next year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As we have mentioned already the Cubs (58-79) are playing
for next year. However, they are also playing for what we have called the City
Championship of Chicago. The White Sox (56-80) are 2 games from being
eliminated from their division race. The Cubs have a four game cushion from
being eliminated from the NL Central and hold a 2.5 game lead in the City race.
The Marlins and Astros have already been eliminated from possibly winning their
division. Hang tough Cubbies!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Orioles (73-63) are slipping in the AL East. They are
now 7.5 games behind the Red Sox and sit 2 games back in the Wild Card race. They
cannot afford to go on any kind of losing streak this month or we will be
talking about them in terms of next year as well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (84-53) still own the best record in baseball. They sit
comfortably ahead in the NL East by 15 games. That makes their “Magic Number”
11 over the Nationals. Any combination of Atlanta wins and Washington losses
that total 11 means the Braves win the East.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-51268522492463697592013-08-28T15:37:00.000-04:002013-08-28T15:37:32.998-04:00Greetings Baseball Fans<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well the Red Sox just will not fall into a long losing
streak…yet. They soundly defeated the Orioles (70-60) last night 13-2 to extend
their lead in the AL East. It drops the O’s to 6.5 games back. It’s looking
more and more like Baltimore’s best chance at the postseason this year is
through the Wild Card. They are still 3.5 back in that race but I have faith
that they will somehow squeak in. They have two games left with the Sox before
heading to the Bronx to take on the A-roid led Yankees this weekend.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (79-52, best record in MLB) really deserve some
credit this year. Freddie Gonzalez has done a remarkable job keeping the Braves
out front with a different lineup each night it seems. With all the injuries
the Braves have had to their “starters” it is truly amazing they are so far
ahead in the NL East. It goes to show the value of having a strong farm system.
Baring a complete collapse (like the one they just had a couple of years ago)
they should make the playoffs as division winners. However, they still have
plenty to play for. With the red-hot Dodgers continuing to play well, and the
tight NL Central race, they need to keep winning to secure the best record for
home field advantage. They host two more with the Indians before welcoming the
Marlins to town over the weekend.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Cubs (56-76) continue to build toward next year. While
they are 22 games out in the NL Central they do have more wins than the Astros
and Marlins. They also are not even the worst team in the city of Chicago. The
White Sox at 55-76 are ½ game behind the Cubs for the city title. What’s that
you say? The Cubs are in FIRST place. Holy Cow!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-76853497477016088972013-08-11T17:31:00.000-04:002013-08-11T17:31:15.815-04:00Scattered, Smothered, and Covered<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s been a while since I last updated you on the MLB races
and how our chosen teams are doing. I was going to update sooner but as they
say, you don’t mess with a winning streak.<span>
</span>Since the Braves had been unbeatable the past couple of weeks I have
decided to postpone my updates until they lost, which they did last night 1-0
on a wild pitch. They recovered to keep the losing streak to one by taking the
series against the Marlins this afternoon by a score of 9-4. Thanks to the
14-game winning streak, which included a sweep over the Cardinals, Rockies, and
Nationals, the Braves hold a comfortable lead in the NL East over Washington.
Their record is 72-46 (best record in MLB) and their lead is 15 games.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The AL East race has turned into a three team affair with
the Red Sox leading the Rays by 3 games and the Orioles (64-52) still in the
hunt 5 games back. The O’s made some trades before the deadline to try and bolster
their roster so they have not given up on their chances. The Cubs (52-64, 18
games back) on the other hand made some moves with an eye on the future. The
kind of miracle they would need to make the postseason this year doesn’t really
exist in the world of professional baseball. The NL Central is also a three
team race right now with the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates in the lead. While I
would like to see St. Louis overcome some of their recent struggles and win the
Central, having the Pirates in the playoffs would be good for baseball.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For those of you who may lead a sheltered life, the title of
today’s post is a reference to one of the many ways you can order your hashbrowns
24 hours a day, seven days a week at your local Waffle House. There is only one
Waffle House that isn’t open 24 hours and it is now located inside Turner Field
in Atlanta. Coincidentally, the Braves began their 14-game winning streak the
first night that restaurant opened. Naturally, they have been given credit for
the streak. You just can buy that kind of advertising! </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-80487837756456111092013-06-14T18:06:00.002-04:002013-06-14T18:06:36.073-04:00Flag Day Update<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Heading into this weekend our teams, the Braves, Cubs, and Orioles
are in different positions but this weekend’s action is going to be important.
Let’s get right to it…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thanks to my recognition of how well they were playing the
Braves (39-27) promptly allowed the Padres to sweep them this week. Their
reward, face the Giants in a three game series this weekend in Atlanta. The
good news is they still have a 5.5 game lead over the Nationals. Need to take 2
of 3 this weekend.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Cubs (26-38) did win last night against division rival Cincinnati.
Now they head to New York to face the Mets who are not doing too well.
Hopefully the Cubs can improve on their 12 game deficit and help out the Braves
at the same time. Let’s Go Cubs!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Orioles (38-29) have moved into second place in the AL
East. They trail the Red Sox by 2.5 games and are .5 game ahead of the Evil
Empire. They beat the Sox last night and now have a chance to take over the
lead with a sweep against them this weekend. Big series…Come on O’s!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By the way reader(s)…</span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some of the best things in life are <i>Medal of Honor
Recipients</i>, baseball, football, basketball, Country Music, America, long
walks on the beach, fishing on a mountain lake, dogs, tall people, fat people,
Rock & Roll, meeting new people, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, pizza, skinny
people, short people, The Die Hard movies, The Bourne Series, fried chicken,
boiled peanuts, sweet tea, Coca-Cola and <i>Free Bird</i>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The hardest ones to love are the ones that need it most.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Carry Me</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Papa Roach</i></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-72271713880919339252013-06-11T13:02:00.000-04:002013-06-11T13:02:07.611-04:00Update<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Summer weather is upon us. Hot one day and rain the next. Or
some weeks rain day after day followed by some hot weather for a brief moment.
One place it is definitely raining, at least symbolically, in is Chicago. There
really isn’t any good news coming out of the north side of Chicago right now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Cubs (25-36) have retaken the bottom of the NL Central.
They are 15 games out of first place and are percentage points behind the
Brewers. Losing 6 out of your last 10 isn’t going to allow you to gain any
ground in that tough division. I know it’s only June but unless the miraculous
happens, the Cubbies are playing for next year already.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Orioles (36-28) have been steady in the AL East lately. They
have pretty much stayed in third place 3.5 games out of first. The Yankees and
the Red Sox have been streaking a lot so they move up and down a good bit. Hopefully
the consistency the O’s have shown will pay off this summer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (39-25) have been consistently good as of late.
They have won 7 out of their last 10 and still sit 7 games ahead of the
Nationals. The Phillies were playing well for a while there and actually moved
ahead of the Nationals but have since slipped a game behind them. Hopefully,
the Phillies and Washington can just battle it out for second while the Braves
pull away. We’ll see.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336607760651201752.post-2325255940251006122013-05-31T14:11:00.000-04:002013-05-31T14:11:20.600-04:00School’s out for summer…<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Is May over already? It’s hard to believe that the second
month of the season is over after tonight’s action. Things are starting to take
shape but there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. The next three
months will be important to determine if the September call-ups are there to
help the team now or just to get experience for next year. Let’s hope our teams
are in the hunt come September 1st.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Orioles (30-24) are hanging in there. They sit 2.5 games
behind the Red Sox who have taken the lead in the AL East thanks to a 5 game
losing streak by the Yankees. The O’s have won 7 out of their last 10 and are
only ½ a game behind the second place Yanks. Tampa Bay has also been playing
well and is back in the hunt as well. Only three games separate the top 4 teams
in the AL East. Baltimore hosts Detroit in a three game set this weekend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Braves (32-21) are plugging right along. Thanks to some
help from Baltimore against the Nationals the Braves sit on top of the NL East
by 5.5 games now. That’s a good thing because the Nats are coming to town for a
three game set in Atlanta. Hopefully the Braves can keep up their winning ways
against Washington this weekend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Cubs (22-30) are on fire! They have won 4 in a row and
now sit only 12.5 games behind the division leading Cardinals. More importantly
right now is they have opened up a 3 game lead over the last place Brewers. Arizona
comes to town this weekend so maybe the Cubs can keep the streak going.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0