The Least of These (64kb)

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The Least of These

Our presenter today is Sandi Gustafson, a member of Saint Luke's. I've titled her talk The Least of These

The notes below expand on Sandi's presentation.

Matthew 25:35-45

[Jesus said,] "for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me."

"Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?'

"The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothersand sisters, you did it to me.' Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn't give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn't take me in; naked, and you didn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'

"Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn't help you?'

"Then he will answer them, saying, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you didn't do it to one of the least of these, you didn't do it to me.'"*

The Golden Rule

Luke 6:31
[Jesus said,] "As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them"*

.

MATTHEW 22.39

[Jesus said,] "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."*

CONFESSION

Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;

we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of you Son Jesus Christ,

have mercy on us and forgive us;

that we may delight in your will,

and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your Name. Amen. **

WWJD

What Would Jesus Do?

EXAMPLES (referenced in Sandi's presentation)

• A FAMILY IS BURNED OUT OF THEIR HOME


• YOU ARE ASKED TO TEACH SOMEONE TO READ


• A CHILD NEEDS A MENTOR


• SOMEONE TRIES TO "TALK YOUR EAR OFF"


• SOMEONE OBVIOUSLY DEJECTED


• A NEW PERSON AT CHURCH (POORLY DRESSED, SPEAKS WITH AN ACCENT, LOOKS "FUNNY")


• THE DRIVER AHEAD OF YOU IS GOING 20 MPH

OBSTACLES

• TIMIDNESS


• PERCIEVED INADEQUACY


• TOO BUSY


• IT'S JUST BOB, MY DAD, THE PAPERBOY.


• DON'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED


• LACK OF MONEY

Resource



A 3-disk set from the NPR series "This I Believe". Sandi really enjoyed listening to them. She thinks that she enjoyed Albert Einstein's best. You can find out more about the discs and the hard cover edition by going to The NPR Shop

Sandi also read a great book entitled
The
Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the Worldheight="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
You can order it by clicking on the link.

* from the World English Bible

** from the Book of Common Prayer

Our music is The First Sunday by Jeff Wahl available at magnatune.com

Attitude of Gratitude

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The Voice of the Winged Oxpresents Attitude of Gratitude. Mother Susan invites us to keep a gratitude journal. Here's why.

You can read
the lessonshere.

For an article about the gratitude study, see this article.

Dr. Emmons has written a book about health and gratitude. You can order
Thanks!:
How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make you Happierborder="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

Our music is by Josh Winiberg, Dawn, available from beatpick.com

Mystery and Simplicity

In today’s world, many of the conflicts we see are shaped, at least in part, by religion. Differences between religions and even within religions cause a variety of problems at home and abroad. Here at St. Luke's we are exploring our own core beliefs as Christians and Episcopalians. Listen in as we ask ourselves how our beliefs shape our values and our actions. Over the coming weeks we will hear from a variety of people about the intersection of their faith and life.

The Voice of the Winged Ox presents Mystery and Simplicity by Jay Phillippi.  

Jay Phillippi is the youth missioner for the Episcopal Church in Western New York

Our music is The First Sunday by Jeff Wahl available at magnatune.com

Exaltation and Humility

The Voice of the Winged Oxpresentsour seminary intern. Paul preaches on exaltation and humility. Jesus lived in a complex world of social customs. Jesus' counsel is to act with humility.

You can read the lessonsfor today's sermon here.

For more information on the social customs in first century Palestine, you may order The
Social World of Luke-Acts

Our music is by Josh Winiberg available at beatpick.com

Some More Info

If you would like to download a copy of Interior Castle, you can do this. The Christian Classics Etherial Library is a great source for public domain works.

If you would like to read more about revmerrill and Elwood, her Seeing Eye dog, and their adventuresyou can visit her blog.

Having a Personal Relationship with God

The Voice of the Winged Ox presents Father Eric and revmerrill at the Labyrinth Cafe in conversation about Having a Personal Relationship with God. We hope to make these conversations a regular feature on our podcast.

You can read the article Hitchens Takes on Mother Theresa here.

You may order Interior
Castle by Theresa of Avila here.