The Iridian Lord's Church.

[Silvanus314]

I am Silvanus I, head of the Lord's Church of Iridia. I felt inclined to provide a short sermon, and more can be found at the Iridian forums.

Abraham Tested

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

It is the truth, and we shall hold it in our hearts.

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Next, a reading from The Gospel according to Matthew, verse 10:

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil[a] spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

11"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

17"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,[c] how much more the members of his household!

26"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw-
36a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'[e]

37"Anyone who loves his father omother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

It is the truth, and we shall hold it in our hearts.

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22:11 And among men is he who serves Allah, (standing) on the verge, so that if good befalls him he is satisfied therewith, but if a trial afflicts him he turns back headlong. He loses this world and the Hereafter. That is a manifest loss.

22:12 He calls besides Allah on that which harms him not, nor benefits him; that is straying far.

22:13 He calls on him whose harm is nearer than his benefit. Certainly an evil guardian and an evil associate!

22:14 Surely Allah causes those who believe and do good deeds to enter Gardens wherein flow rivers. Allah indeed does what He pleases.

22:15 Whoever thinks that Allah will not assist him in this life and the Hereafter, let him raise (himself) by some means to the heaven, then let him cut (it) off, then let him see if his plan will take away that at which he is enraged.

22:16 And thus have We revealed it, clear arguments, and Allah guides whom He will.

22:17 Those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians and the Magians and the polytheists - surely Allah will decide between them on the day of Resurrection. Surely Allah is Witness over all things.

228 Seest thou not that to Allah makes submission whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars, and the mountains and the trees, and the animals and many of the people? And many there are to whom chastisement is due. And he whom Allah abases, none can give him honour. Surely Allah does what He pleases.

22:19 These are two adversaries who dispute about their Lord. So those who disbelieve, for them are cut out garments of fire. Boiling water will be poured out over their heads.

22:20 With it will be melted what is in their bellies and (their) skins as well.

22:21 And for them are whips of iron.

22:22 Whenever they desire to go forth from it, from grief, they are turned back into it, and (it is said): Taste the chastisement of burning.

It is the truth, and we shall keep it in our hearts.

Homily:

The passages today deal with fear of wordly things, fear that can feel all so real, yet, todays passages tell us that they are not so real. In the Genesis passage, we see that it is fear of the LORD that is "good" fear, because it leads us to do the right thing. And the Genesis passage also assures us that we need not be worried that the LORD shall lead us astray, for if we follow Him we find in the end that he will stop us from doing what is wrong, even as he tests us with it.

In the Gospel passage today, Christ reassures us that we need not fear wordly things, we need not fear violent men and women, for fear of the LORD makes us immune to them. We ought not fear those that can harm the body, but not the soul, Christ says, but rather He who can destroy the soul itself, but never would. No matter what is done to the body, the soul cannot be touched be any other than God.

And yet, those who harm us physically shall not go unchastised, as today's Qur'an passage reassures us. Though it may make us uneasy to hear "whips of iron", thus is the punishment for those who harm Allah's followers. Thus is the punishment for those who forget Him, and lead their lives contrary to His teachings. So remember, fear not your wordly enemies, but fear only the LORD Himself.

It is the truth, and we shall hold it in our hearts.

[Jess]

There is no gods! Only the Proletariate!

[hypatias mom]

There are many of us who disagree with that last comment. The Lord is very real and relevant to many of us in our daily lives.

[Vogelweidenwalther]

Proletariate + God = Benny Bunnyism!

[Kaiser Hasan I]

Prolitariate + God - self-determination = "Idiocracy"

[Vogelweidenwalther]

Self-determination isn't the end but it can be a new start.

[Silvanus314]

Capitalism = a happy people and a free exchange of ideas

God = God = God



+ + =

I like the method of argument on this board.

[hypatias mom]

The free exchange of ideas, presented respectfully, is always encouraged. It makes the forum richer, and stimulates learning and debate. And there are enough different ideas running around in Micronations to keep any readers and posters involved and interested.

[b3n|<3r|\|]

Capitalism = a shiny happy people

[Vogelweidenwalther]

Capitalism = a shiny happy people

No: shiny happy monsters in fact: http://www.youtube.com/v/zkHM8xG6i8o&hl=en

[b3n|<3r|\|]

I remember seeing that on TV when I was a wee bairn, could explain why I love REM so much now.

[Kaiser Hasan I]

REM are socialists...hmmm perhaps a post-revolution purge against counter-revolutionaries is in order...