The Lighthouse Keeper

Greetings from Pastor Kerry, former pastor of Spring City UMC. This blog contains my sermon outlines and/or manuscripts from my pastorate among the people of Spring City PA, from 2006 to 2011. Pastor Dennis is now the lighthouse keeper. Come and worship on Sundays at 10:00 a.m.! www.springcityumc.org

Sunday, March 25, 2007

"What do you think about YOU?": Pride and Humility (7DS 6/7)

The sixth in a series on the Seven Deadly Sins

March 25, 2007
Fifth Sunday of Lent

from Luke 18:9-14 and Philippians 3:4-14

"In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." – Psalm 10:4


My sermon outline:

• Story of how pride led me to think I knew a shortcut

• Recap of series intro: Lenten series on 7 deadly sins. “sin breeds sin”, and that’s why these are deadly, cuz they lead to more sins. Fortunately for us, life breeds life.

Gluttony (faith/self-control)
sloth (enthusiasm/accountability)
envy (love)
lust (purity)
greed (generosity)

• Today’s deadly sin of focus is pride.
I’m the most humble person I know

Pride: the capital, the first, the deadliest from which the other sins come.
Pride: ultimately a kind of idolatry. Biblically often paired with arrogance or vanity.
The desire to be more important, higher than others.

• In the garden of Eden the devil appealed to pride when deceiving Eve: “You’ll be like God” (Gen. 3:5)

• Not surprising that the devil would appeal to pride, considering it’s pride that led to Lucifer’s being cast from heaven: See Ezekiel 28:12-18. ("Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor." - Ezekiel 28:17)

• 500 year old painting by Hieronymus Bosch, representing Vanity. A wealthy woman, surrounded by her abundant material possessions, stares into a mirror as she adjusts her headdress. She fails to recognize that a devil, sporting a similar cloth headpiece, holds her mirror. Pride is how the devil wants you to see yourself. It’s a distortion of the truth.

• Pride is literally self-centeredness, as opposed to God-centeredness.

• The self-righteous Pharisee and the tax collector

• Counter to pride is humility, seeing yourself accurately.
There is a God and you are not it.

• Schopenhauer: pride (esteem) comes from within (I know I’m good) vanity comes from comparison with others (I am better)

• Think neither too highly of yourself nor too lowly of yourself – it is not pride to say “I’m important”. Indeed, we’re all members of a body, designed to function together, we’re all important. Humility ≠ “I’m no good”

• There is no self-worth, but we have worth because of who made us, loves us, bought us, warts and all. The greatest of all is Christ (Philippians 3) everything else can be thrown aside. Not my will but thine. God help me see myself as you see me, motivated by your love.

• Have Thine Own Way, Lord (382)



- Pastor Kerry
This Sunday: xx in worship. Getting warmer!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

"One Great Hour of Sharing": Greed and Generosity (7DS 5/7)

The fifth in a series on the Seven Deadly Sins

March 18, 2007
Fourth Sunday of Lent

from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

"And Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” – Luke 12:15


My sermon outline:

• Recap of series intro: Lenten series on 7 deadly sins. “sin breeds sin”, and that’s why these are deadly, cuz they lead to more sins. Fortunately for us, life breeds life.

• We started last month with gluttony, the sin of overindulgence, countered by faith and by self-control. then we talked about sloth, identifying the mantra of the sloth as “I’ll get around to it later,” lifting up attitude plus action, enthusiasm partnered with discipline and accountability as counters to sloth. we looked at envy, (“It’s not fair”), pointing out that envy is osteoporosis to the body, and that its counter virtue is love as pictured in 1 Cor 13. Last week we spent some time with lust, talking about the snare of pornography and how to escape from it.

• Today’s deadly sin of focus is greed. Scripture was Prodigal Son (lectionary; "prodigal" = wasteful. If there were a poster for greed, PS could be on there, though he’d perhaps better be on lust, for his desire to satisfy the flesh) but there are many other scriptures that address greed, especially monetary greed. Nearly 1000 bible verses on money.

• Rich man with many possessions – went away sad.

• Man who tore down storehouses to build bigger ones – store treasure in heaven, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also

• George Carlin on a place for my stuff. Cycle of working harder so you can get more stuff then so you can get a bigger house to hold your stuff.

• Katrina relocatee who couldn’t go back because of the stuff she accumulated

• We’re greedy, we surround ourselves with stuff, we have made of $ a god

• can’t serve God and $$

• Don Miller interview: way he continually and intentionally focuses on God is tithe, specifically give enough away to make himself a little uncomfortable cuz if you’re comfortable you stop thinking. Says its important to live “in withdraw” as a way of forcing yourself not to rely on your own salt, lest you deceive yourself into thinking that you don’t need God’s grace.

One Great Hour of Sharing, help for the world.

• When the Poor Ones (434)



- Pastor Kerry
This Sunday: 75 in worship. Another snowstorm this weekend: neighbor church was closed, so we had some of their faithful.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

"The problem with porn": Lust and Chastity (7DS 4/7)

The fourth in a series on the Seven Deadly Sins

March 11, 2007
Third Sunday of Lent

from Isaiah 55:1-9 and 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

"A little carnal knowledge is a dangerous thing –
it'll eat a hole in the brain." – Michael W. Smith



My sermon outline:

• Recap of intro: Lenten series on 7 deadly sins. I read this past week that "sin breeds sin", and that’s why these are deadly, cuz they lead to more sins.

• Goal being to help you become victorious over them. If you do struggle with one or more of them it means you’re human and you’re in the right place. My prayer for us all is that we would allow ourselves to be led by God to examine our lives, our habits and our priorities, and that we would allow God’s spirit to work within us, purifying us of those things in our lives that do not lead to Life, but instead lead to destruction.

• We started 3 weeks ago with gluttony, the sin of overindulgence, countered by faith and by self-control. Then we talked about sloth, identifying the mantra of the sloth as "I’ll get around to it later," lifting up attitude plus action, enthusiasm partnered with discipline and accountability as counters to sloth. Last week we looked at envy, ("It’s not fair"), pointing out that envy is osteoporosis to the body, and that its counter virtue is love, and we celebrated the power of Christ to overcome as we broke bread together in Holy Communion.

• Today’s deadly sin of focus is LUST. (people joke, although Bishop William Willimon writes that it’s really the least of the DS cuz even animals can be prone to it, but they aren’t envious or greedy or proud or wrathful...)

• Jesus actually speaks about lust in Matthew 5:27-28: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." – Matthew 5:27-28

• Over years Christians turned this into the stereotypical Puritanical attitude that sex is bad. NOT TRUE. Sex is created by God, however like so many things, it is easily perverted into sin. Sin is the perversion of something good.

• Song by Christian singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith, in the mid-nineties: "A little carnal knowledge is a dangerous thing – it'll eat a hole in the brain." – Michael W. Smith.

• Some stats on pornography (I got these from www.xxxchurch.com):

worldwide porn industry: $57 billion a year,
$12 billion in U.S.

Greater than Exxon’s 2006 profits
Greater than ABC+CBS+NBC
Greater than pro basketball+baseball+football
Avg. first exposure to internet porn is at 11 years
largest number of consumers 12-17 years
40 million adults regularly view porn

Probably more than one person in this room viewed internet pornography in the past week.

• It is a problem, and it can be broken. If you are trapped, you are not alone or unusual or freaky or bad, you’re human, and you can get out. There are computer helps, you can find an accountability partner, I will help you.

• Porn is one common manifestation of lust; others include various kinds of abuse and assault. Fornication and adultery. I can think of no better way to say it that MWS: it’ll eat a hole in the brain.

• Fortunately there’s a way out: you may have heard the joke how do you get to Carnegie Hall? (practice practice practice). As sin breeds sin, life breeds life. Feed the good wolf. Run, don’t walk away from sins of body (1 Corinthians 6). There’s only one thing that satisfies (Isaiah 55)

• Psalm 119:9: "How can a young person stay pure? By feeding on your word."

• Psalm 119:11: "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I may not sin against you."

Be Thou My Vision #451


- Pastor Kerry
This Sunday: 65 in worship. Sunday of Daylight Saving Time. Getting warmer!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

"It's Not Fair": Envy and Love (7DS 3/7)

The third in a series on the Seven Deadly Sins

March 4, 2007
Second Sunday of Lent

from Luke 13:31-35 and Philippians 3:17-4:1

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." – Proverbs 14:30


My sermon outline:

• Recap: Lenten series on 7 deadly sins, somewhat dovetailing with Wednesday series on temptations of Jesus. Goes back to early church fathers (1500 years ago) talking about those sins or attitudes that we gateway sins, that would lead to other and various sins. Seven habitual sins that require serious change of heart to counter.

• Chances are you struggle with or at least identify with a few of these. Hopefully you’re victorious over them. If you do struggle with one or more of them it means you’re human and you’re in the right place. If you don’t then to whom much has been given much is required, and the rest of us are looking to you to help us overcome, and will also rely on your humility. My prayer for us all is that we would allow ourselves to be led by God to examine our lives, our habits and our priorities, and that we would allow God’s spirit to work within us, purifying us of those things in our lives that do not lead to Life, but instead lead to destruction.

• We started 2 weeks ago with gluttony, the sin that makes food or eating god. It’s a sin of excess, of overindulgence, countered by faith and by self-control. I lifted up how God provided for the children of Israel in the wilderness, not only feeding them their daily bread but teaching them to rely on God.

• Last week we talked about sloth, identifying the mantra of the sloth as “I’ll get around to it later,” deadly because as we read, “The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.” we lifted up the virtue of zeal (attitude plus action)... enthusiasm partnered with discipline and accountability as counters to sloth.

• Today’s deadly sin of focus is envy. Scripture tells us that envy is osteoporosis to the body: A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones (Proverbs 14:30). Deadly sins sap life from the body; Godly living promotes life. Envy’s fruit is decay. Envy is a distortion of truth, it’s improper focus, lack of trust and gratitude. Envy is jealousy taken to another level. The gateway mindset of envy is “It’s not fair.” If you find yourself frequently saying or thinking “It’s not fair,” you may struggle with envy.

• It is said that “All unhappiness comes from comparison.” Envy starts when you see what someone else has and you wish that you had it too. It starts there and it festers, distorting the truth and shifting focus. Radio commercial about a travel service, first guy back from vac, second guy asking about it – as the first guy goes on about the many exotic places they went, the second guy starts to stew about having been stuck in the office. Started out joyful that his friend had had a nice time, but then started distorting the first guy’s happiness into his own unhappiness. He gets jealous. By the end of the commercial, you get the feeling that the second guy not only no longer likes the first guy but you actually wonder if he wishes him harm, like the only thing that would make the second guy happy is if a piano fell on the first guy. The friendship apparently comes to an end because the second fellow envies the good fortune of the first.

• It’s tax season... maybe you find out about someone who got a tax break that you didn’t get, and rather than being grateful that they pay taxes (possibly more than you do) you cultivate bitterness against them because “it’s not fair” that they have gotten this break that you didn’t get.

• Maybe your envy comes in the form of inner satisfaction at the misfortune of another: someone with a fancy car has a car wreck, or their house is broken into or they just got the flu... a business competitor spills mustard on their outfit minutes before a presentation. Wishing for or even enjoying the misfortune of someone else, these are symptoms of the sin of envy. The book of James tells us that “If you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your heart,” that your motivation comes from the devil. “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (3:16)

• Envy delights in the misfortune of others, it distorts truth, and reveals a fundamental dissatisfaction for what you actually have, an ingratitude for what God has given you. It potentially ignores facts and inflates ego and entitlement: I deserve better than that person because I’m somehow better than they are.” Envy does not give life to the body, but rots the bones.

• I do have to say that there is a positive kind of envy, the kind of thing that motivates a person to work hard and do good, as Paul writes in Romans 11, sharing the gospel with non-Jews, hoping to “arouse some of my own people to envy, and save some of them.” Maybe they’ll be so upset that God is reaching out beyond their clan that they’ll repent and receive God’s grace. But that is not typical envy.

• From today's gospel reading, the Pharisees not warning Jesus in kindness but more giving a veiled threat, envious of Jesus’ authority, angry at how he exposes their hypocrisy. When Jesus stands before Pilate before he’s sentenced to death, the gospels tell us that Pilate knew it was out of envy that the Pharisees had brought Jesus to him.

• And Jesus’ response to those who sought his misfortune: compassion. Love. Not retaliation or revenge, but desire for wholeness and well-being. We read in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind, not envious or boastful, proud, rude or self-seeking. This love is the counter-virtue to envy. The love that does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. The love that is charitable, kind, even to those who want to hurt you.

• We read in the book of 1 Peter to “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.”

• We come to God in fellowship and worship, and come to his table today to be built into spiritual houses, fed by his saving food, tasting that the Lord is good.

• God has given us wonderful gifts of love: (hymn 408).



- Pastor Kerry
This Sunday: 75 in worship. Communion Sunday. Luncheon. chilly and windy.