The Keith Green version of the sheep and the goats is a dramatic adaptation to the parable that is written in Matthew 25.  If you want to listen to it again here is the website (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-QvSnHY–Q).  Like I said during the message, it brings a tear to my eye.  Firstly, the joy of Jesus welcoming the sheep and the surprise of the sheep to be welcomed into their rest.  Secondly, the anguish Keith uses to portray the painful betrayal of the goats toward Jesus.  Hearing what Jesus must feel when his children are neglected or treated so poorly by the goats gets me every time.  Not only does “the least of these” feel the pain but so does Jesus.  His love for the least is so great.  And finally, the excuses that the goats make are the kind that I sometimes find myself saying.  “Enough!!!”  We need to do what God has called us to do for all of God’s children.

Thank you to all the veterans who are reading this.  You service and dedication has kept this country free.  My only hope is that I can do my part to help keep it free.  I honor you today.

Get out and vote tomorrow.  Not only is it part of the freedoms we have as Americans, but it is also a duty of every Christian.  As we looked at last week, we all have been given “talents”- gifts and abilities that we are commanded to use for God.  And our vote is one of those talents.  Do not “bury” it in the ground.  Use it to express your beliefs and vote for the candidate you believe would lead this country in the right direction.

Are you faithfully working in God’s fields without complaining or wondering what you will get out of it.  God is faithful and he will reward you according to your work.

DON’T STOP PRAYING!!

Just got word that Pastor Marvin and Sue will not be moving this week as planned.  The plumbing in the apartment they were going to move into needs a bit more time to be ready for them.  So they will be sticking around until mid November now.  So if you did not get a chance to say goodbye to them on Sunday, you may be able to get another chance this month.

Sowers sow. What punctuation would you put at the end of that sentence? Is that just a statement with a period to you? Or would you put an exclamation point and make it a command?  Or is it still just a question in your mind?  How you answer that question tells me a lot about how you view the parable we looked at Sunday. So Sowers Sow.

You can be lost without knowing it.  You can be lost and do not know the way back.  You can be lost and ready to return.  And you can be lost and refusing to return.  Wherever you are at, God is looking for you.  He wants to be found.  Sometimes that means he will search diligently for you.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit will speak to you.  And sometimes God is just waiting with open arms ready to love you fully.  Do not turn your back on God.  Fall into his ever-loving arms and experience the grace that only he can give.  God loves and cares deeply for lost things.

Until this week, I never thought about how the parable of the Good Samaritan is a picture of Jesus.  Like the despised Samaritan, he was despised and rejected.  And he reached out to those who hated him and brought us back to health.  You see, Satan had robbed us and left us half dead.  And we would have died if left out on that barren road.  But along came Jesus and he took care of our needs and paid the price for our life.  So now when ever you read the story of the Good Samaritan, you can also thank God for our Great Samaritan- Jesus.