April 26, 1998 - LESSON: Ephesians 1:17-23, NRSV

SERMON TITLE: The Integrated Life

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INTRODUCTION:
  1. "Fire: What to do. (1)

During a recent ecumenical gathering, a secretary rushed in shouting, "The building is on fire!"

The Methodists gathered in the corner and prayed.

The Baptists cried, "Where is the water?"

The Quakers quietly praised God for the blessings that fire brings.

The Lutherans posted a notice on the door declaring that fire was evil.

The Catholics passed the plate to cover the damages.

The Jews posted symbols on the doors hoping the fire would pass.

I know you may have heard this one before, but it is appropriate to our understanding.

The Fundamentalist proclaimed, "Its the vengeance of God>"

The Episcopalians formed a procession and marched out.

The Christian Scientists concluded that there was no fire.

The Presbyterians appointed a chairman who was to appoint a committee to look into the matter and submit a written report.

The Congregationalists shouted, "Every man for himself."

The secretary grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out.

    1. Every one for her/himself.
    2. I hope not.
      1. In the movie "Titanic," it was women and children first into the lifeboats.
      2. There were some men who wanted everything for themselves.
        1. They tried to force, sneak or bribe their way into a boat.
        2. This is the mentality of ever person for one's self.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. It is not every person for him or her self.
    1. It is more like "One for all and all for one."
    2. Recipe of the month, Chronicles, May 1998

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

4 eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped

1 small jar chopped pimiento

1-¼ cup buttermilk biscuit baking mix

½ cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon marjoram

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups grated zucchini

¼ cup sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients except zucchini and sesame seeds. Fold in zucchini and spread in well greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 350º until golden brown. Cut into squares when cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes around 12 appetizers depending on the size cut.

    1. We are the ingredients.
      1. We did not produce the recipe
      2. We have corrupted it.
  1. The source of the recipe is most important.
    1. The recipe does not produce Zucchini Squares
    2. It produces a life.
  2. The recipe for life comes from Jesus Christ.
    1. Christ is the head
    2. From the head you get intelligence.
      1. In this case intelligence is not the cognitive process.
        1. Although we do get this from God.
        2. God created us with the power to think and reason.
      2. Intelligence is information gathering.
    3. It is intelligence about life with all its components.
      1. It is information gathering that helps one to understand the parts of life and how they may be integrated into a cohesive whole.
      2. The parts of life consist of:
        1. Work
        2. Recreation
        3. Family relationships
        4. Personal relationships
        5. The spiritual and religious.
      3. It includes answers to the age old questions:
        1. Who am I
        2. Where did I come from?
        3. What is my purpose in life?
        4. Am I going?
    4. To make the Zucchini Squares you need all the ingredients.
      1. You can not leave anything out.
      2. They will not taste as good.
      3. You ought not to make substitutes
      4. They will not taste as good.
    5. To make the squares all the ingredients need to be integrated.
      1. That is blended together
      2. Combined into the whole.

ILL> No Man Is an Island, words and music by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, 1950.

        1. Based on the Meditation by John Donne, "And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
        2. It is this same passage which gave Ernest Hemingway the title for his famous novel, which begins, "No Man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."

No man is an island,
No Man stands alone,
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.

We need one another,
So I will defend
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.

I saw the people gather,
I heard the music start,
The song they were singing
is ringing in my heart.

  1. Christ is the head, we are the body.
    1. The body is made of many parts.
    2. We are not all one part.
    3. Therefore we also need one another.

ILL> A priest had a dream that he went to hell.

As he wandered around he looked into a room.

A feast was prepared and people were sitting around a large table.

People's face's reflected an intense frustration.

Attached to each person's hand was a large spoon.

It allowed them to dip into the exotic dishes that were prepared for them.

But the spoon was so long they could not get into their mouths.

They refused to assist one another.

The banquet was served.

They did not have the intelligence to enjoy it.

  1. Christ is the head, we are the body.
    1. We need Christ to provide us with intelligence
    2. We need Christ to provide us with direction.
    3. We need Christ to provide us with power so that we can truly function as the body.
  2. We need one another not in isolation from one another, but integrated into a cohesive whole.
    1. It is the only way that the body can function.
    2. It is the only way in which we can achieve the design for the body established and articulated by Christ.

      1. Maria Joan Smith, Grants Pass Or sent "Dear Abby," an item that it titled,

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