Sermon Tone Analysis

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, it’s that time of year already.

The seasons seem to have made a dramatic shift.

The hats and gloves and heavier coats will probably be out this week.

You all seem so excited about that.

Thanksgiving meals (cooking, prep, packaging, delivering) this week!

Hanging of the Greens next Sunday.

Soup and Sandwiches

This evening - Our Community Thanksgiving Service - @ NIUMC 6PM

Youth Group will be going up …we’ll be meeting here at 5:30PM if you’d like to carpool, or just meet us up there and we’ll all sit together.

Shopping cooking traveling eating napping visiting family…This will be a week full of those things…but even moreso…maybe it will be a week full of gratitude.

Today we’re going to focus in on this thing called thankfulness…and what it truly is for a Christian…for one called a child of God.

A large dog walks into a butcher shop carrying a purse in its mouth.

He puts the purse down and sits in front of the meat case.

"What is it, boy?" the butcher jokingly asks.

"Want to buy some meat?" "Woof!" barks the dog.

"Hmm," says the butcher.

"What kind?

Liver, bacon, steak ..." "Woof!" interrupts the dog.

"And how much steak?

Half a pound, one pound ..." "Woof!"

The amazed butcher wraps up the meat and finds the money in the dog's purse.

As the dog leaves he decides to follow.

The dog enters an apartment house, climbs to the third floor and begins scratching at a door.

With that, the door swings open and an angry man starts shouting at the dog.

"Stop!" yells the butcher.

"He's the most intelligent animal I've ever seen!" "Intelligent?"

says  the man.

"This is the third time this week he's forgotten his key."

He wasn't thankful.

Contrast that to the story of Pam, who worked in downtown Chicago.

Every morning, she encountered a slumped over, middle‑aged woman in a shabby coat soliciting spare change in front of an old brick church.

She greeted everyone with a smile and a pleasant "Good morning."

Pam almost always gave her something.

After almost a year of this routine, however, the woman in the shabby coat disappeared.

Pam wondered what had happened to her.

Then, one beautiful day, she was in front of the church again, still wearing the same, shabby coat.

As Pam  reached into her purse for the usual donation, the woman stopped her.

"Thank you for helping me all those days," she said.

"You won't see me again because I've got a job."

With that, she reached into a bag and handed Pam a wrapped package.

She had been standing at her old spot waiting, not for a handout, but for the people she recognized so that she could give each of them a doughnut.

She was thankful.

And notice where her attitude of thankfulness was focused.

Not on the gifts she received over the time she stood in front of that old church…her gratitude was focused on those who gave to her…served her…loved her.

Today we’re going to be in the book of Luke chapter 17.

I love the account we’re going to look at.

It is probably one that is very familiar to you…and one that all of us have probably read over way too quickly.

Its really full of unspoken assumptions simply because some of us probably don’t know the context.

Some of you might and because of that you know how rich this little account is.

Luke 17:11-19 I’ll be reading from the Christian Standard Bible.

The NIV and New King James reads very similar.

The big principles are the same so we’ll read together now either from your own Bibles or from the screen.

Notes:

Between Samaria and Galilee …this area was an area where some Jewish people …when traveling…would have stayed away from.

There were for sure Jewish people living here, but also Samaritans.

These were what would have been called “half-breeds” back then.

They were Jewish and Pagan.

Their ancestry had both Jewish and foreign roots.

Way back when, in the Old Testament, when the Assyrians took over the Northern Kingdom of the Promised Land, the Assyrian king had people from other conquered nations brought to live in Samaria…along with the Jewish people he just recently conquered.

Well…now families from both groups of people started families and some even began mixing worship…worship of God and worship of idols.

So in the Jewish mind, these people were not pure.

But in this account, something very significant is noted by the Author Luke.

Leprosy: Itself is a horrible disease.

Could be anything associated with the skin…psoriasis, ringworm or what many of us would be familiar with, true leprosy.

Leprosy was and still is a horrible disease.

Leprosy can cause a person to lose fingers/limbs…become disfigured…it is just a horrible disease.

Many times, even today in other nations, there are what is called Lepers Colonies where those who have it live amongst each other.

In first century Jewish life…Lepers, had requirements.

They were considered “unclean” by the priests and therefore could not live in town or around others.

They couldn’t be with family friends or work.

They couldn’t go to the temple to worship.

And so many times you’d find them living together in outlying areas…caves…in the wilderness.

When they would be out and about …and might come near someone else…someone who didn’t have leprosy, they would loudly call out ahead of time…so that other person would be able to keep their distance.

It was so others wouldn’t become ill, but sill it was a very hard life.

pain, isolation, lack of freedom.

A very hard life.

Priests - They were not medical experts but they were experts at diagnosing whether someone was or wasn’t “clean”…they knew skin diseases, and were instructed what do with those who were ill through the law of Moses…Leviticus 13-14.

Jesus, at one point when being questioned about why He came said that He came to fulfill the law…so with that said, he wasn’t going to do anything outside the law.

For someone who was sick…and then healed…they needed to go to the priest for inspection and for an official ruling.

If they were considered “clean” again, they would then give an offering and sacrifice to God through the priests. 2 birds....one would be sacrificed symbolizing the death of the old self…the 2nd bird would be set free, symbolizing new life in freedom from what was ailing you.

What a picture right…especially when you realize what Jesus really says at the end of the account.

Jesus said....were not all clean?

Only one comes back?

One who isn’t fully Jewish?

One who is outside the family recognizes what has happened?

This Samaritan, recognizes not just that he’s been made well, healed, but that He’s also come into contact with someone special.

Now it never says that this former leper sees Jesus as the savior…but Jesus’ words give us a clue as to what he is thinking.

The words are…He approached Jesus…loudly praising God (no longer loudly announcing that a leper was approaching) and then he fell at Jesus’ feet.

Thanked Him.

Jesus then asks, “Where are the others?

Only this foreigner returned.

Rise and go…your faith has made you well.”

Well, saved, healed.

Some versions move this word around a bit…but to be honest there’s one word that works best for us.

In the early part of the account there are references to the word healing..healed…or cleansed.

The Greek language uses very specific words for specific meaning.

The word Jesus uses here at the end is the word saved.

The greek language would use this word for when someone escapes a dangerous situation.

Saved.