SPECIAL DAYS: Annual Church Picnic

July 14, 2002 - LESSON: Psalm 73

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Two brothers, one David and the other Michael, who are absolute and complete opposites. Michael was a successful businessman in New York while David took seasonal jobs at dude ranches, parks and resorts.

Concerned for David's welfare, the businessman from New York, Michael, tried to entice David with the so-called good life. He would send David photos labeled, "my new sound system," or "my new car."

The campaign ended, though, when Michael received a poster from David showing the breathtaking view of Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park and on the back, David had written, "my back yard." ⁽¹⁾

1. The back yard may not be what it used to be.
1. Pollution is prevalent
2. People appear to be unconcerned.
1. We can't do anything about it.
2. What difference does it make?
3. Who really cares.
4. Signs are posted on our highways declaring "Adopt-A-Highway".
1. The roadways have to be continually cleaned because they are continually being dirtied.
2. Huge landfills are necessary, but are really a blot on the landscape.

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MAIN BODY:

1. In the film Grand Canyon an immigration attorney breaks out of a traffic jam and attempts to bypass it.
1. His route takes him along streets that are progressively darker and more deserted.
1. The man's fancy sports car stalls.
2. He calls for a tow truck.
3. Before it can get there he is surrounded by 5 young street toughs
1. They threaten him.
1. They want his car
2. They want his valuables.
4. The tow truck shows up and the driver begins to hook up the disabled car.
5. The toughs protest.
6. The driver takes the leader aside and tries to reason with him.

Man, he says, world ain't s'pposed to work like this. Maybe you don't know that, but this ain't the way it's s'pposed to be. I'm s'pposed to be able to do my job without askin' you if I can. And that dude is s'pposed to be able to wait in his car without you rippn' him off. Everything is s'pposed to be different that what it is here.

2. In ain't supposed to be this way.
2. We have a vision of the world is supposed to be.
1. The world ought to be as God designed and intended it to be.
2. There ought to be a graceful transformation of creation and humanity.
3. This includes
1. The continual maintenance of the fertility and beauty of nature.
2. A deep and abiding appreciation of all of life, animal and human alike.
3. A peace that enriches and completes justice.
4. Mutual respect.
5. Goodwill
6. Deliberate and widespread attention to the public good.
3. What we see is something so vastly different as to create pessimism and despair.
1. In a film young toughs do surround a car and threaten bodily harm.
2. This is only a reflection of reality.
3. Taxes go up and nothing seems to change.
4. Streams are fouled
5. The air is polluted.
6. Disaster and disease strike without apparent cause or pattern.
7. It is easy to become discouraged, depressed or cynical.
4. There is a constant need to renew one's vision.
1. This was the need of the Psalmist.
2. He is in despair by what he sees and understands.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.

1. His world was technologically different, but not personally different.
2. Look at what he sees and understands

For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth. Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.

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3. He is in despair, yet still with some respect for others.

All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning. If I had said, "I will talk on in this way,"
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.

4. Will the way in which he resolved his need for renewed vision work for us?

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, to tell of all your works.

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5. There is a constant need to renew one's vision of one's self, God and the world.
1. As the Psalmist discovered this can only be done in the sanctuary of God, in the house of God, in the church.
2. It is not a building but a gathering.
1. It can be in a building.
2. It can be here in the open air as it was in the days of Paul.
3. It is here that we understand that we are the children of God
1. We are the recipients of all the promises God has to offer.
2. No matter what happens to us, nothing external to ourselves can change that.
4. It is here that we are enabled to see the world through God's eyes.
1. No matter that the present condition may be.
2. It was not what God intended.
5. It is here that we begin to catch a glimpse of God.
1. For God is constantly revealing himself to us.
2. If we take the time to see and listen we may understand so much more than we do.

CONCLUSION:

1. Hal Brady of First Church, Dallas, asks us to remember our Christmas rituals when we were children.
1. "I remember how it was at my house when the time came to put up the Christmas tree. My dad would always get the tree, usually a large one, string the lights and expect the rest of us to finish the task. And the rest of us Bradys would finish it. With all the excitement we could muster, we would put on the numerous colored bulbs, the tinsel, the icicles, and, of course, the star at the top. When we had finished with our decorating, we were all convinced that our Christmas tree was the prettiest tree in the world. We had decorated it.
2. "But, you know, God has a different way of decorating trees. Think about it. How does God decorate a tree? God decorates a tree by providing the sunshine and rain, and by placing food in the earth. Then the tree itself partakes of these blessings of God and thus develops a strong, healthy, vigorous life. First thing you know, some leaves or fruit appear on the limbs. But here's the key. God decorates the tree on the inside."
2. We can help God decorate trees and countryside.
1. Care and concern.
2. Cleanliness and beauty.
3. All it takes is a little imagination.
4. It's all worth it.

1. Dr. Ernest S. Duross, 19 March 1995, Naples, Fla.

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