Sermon No. 6

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

– Hebrews 11:3, KJV

Our faith is the fuel of all hope in the world. With our faith, our prayers Angels bring the Word of God to the downtrodden, those ensnared by despair. They are reminded that no matter how tall of a mountain their troubles are, the blessings of God form an even bigger mountain. 

Our blessings are many and splendid. Sometimes we can count our blessings with the fingers on our hands. Sometimes we are given only one blessing. It might appear small and insignificant. But sometimes the smallest blessing is the brightest one we bear witness to. Small, but brilliant.

Yet, God may heap blessings upon blessings on a person. Yet, for each blessing we receive from God we must give thanks for it. For each one. However, some people receive the blessings and give no thanks for receiving it or them.  For this reason, I wonder if we have in fact received too many blessings and not shown enough appreciation to God for them.

For what rewards do we get if use our blessings from Heaven to live life? And what happens to our souls if we use our blessings to live a life of sin? How do we live a life worth living if our blessings are stripped from us with each sin we commit?

Sometimes we must lose our blessings to be reminded that to appreciate them, we must give thanks to God for them. Sometimes we are reminded that in helping others remember that God is there for them, He is there for us as well. And that when we embrace our blessings, we embrace God as well.

Sermon No. 5

Shane A. Saylor,

Minister

But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: 

[He is] their strength in the time of trouble.

~ Psalms 37:39

I have been told that sometimes God lets us hit rock bottom, not just to teach us, but remind us that God IS the ROCK. This is not a manifestation of our religion, but our faith. Why? Because it is not just our faith in God, but faith in God’s plan for us. And He has plans for each one of us.

We ask God to grant us salvation. We pray to Him for it. But, we all forget that sometimes our salvation is not always given freely. Sometimes we find salvation mingled with another concept: redemption. Why is this? Because some of our sins against others or ourselves or crimes against others are so great, we need to seek redemption before we can receive or embrace salvation.

As redemption and salvation are two different paths, we all walk different paths. Some paths are harder, others are easier. Also keep in mind that in our youth our path may be hard to navigate, yet it gets easier as grow in age because we have traversed the path and know the right way to navigate the path. This knowledge comes from experience.

Salvation is not tethered to our good deeds alone. But to spiritual practices as well. Our daily devotions, prayers for those who are sick. Or in harm’s way.  We assume that salvation is the prize. It is not. Salvation is the journey as we travel in faith with God protecting us.

Salvation is a spiritual thing. It is not nor has ever been a treasure to be reaped. It is and always has been a gift to the worthy given by God in Heaven.

Sermon No. 4

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of 

the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

~ James 1:6

We all pray. We do it together, we do it alone, but we pray. It doesn’t matter how long we pray, or how loud. We pray, and the LORD hears us and is pleased. 

Our faith in the LORD and His begotten son Jesus Christ, fuels our prayers. We can pray all we want. We can pray for what we want. Or need. But the LORD is wise. We may pray for what we want. But will not always get it. But to teach us a lesson, God may grant us what we want. But only to show us it is not what we need.

And we must understand one thing: the LORD gives us what we need to live a life on the path of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Not so we can live a life of SIN. It is the will of God for us to follow the path of His holy word. But we must trust in the LORD as we trust in ourselves and our neighbors.

The ordained priest of God is our Shepard as we are their flock. It is our duty that if the Shepard leads us astray, we must pray to the LORD for His priest to get us back on the path of RIGHTEOUSNESS. For we must acknowledge that the LORD will not abandon us if we are faithful and devout in our prayers.

But what happens when our Shepard lives a life of sin? And turns their back on God? And refuses to return to their duties? As the flock of God, we must trust in the LORD to send us a new Shepard to lead us in a life faithful and devout service to God.

How do go on if no new Shepard comes? We must trust the LORD to guide us back onto the path of RIGHTEOUSNESS and a new Shepard awaiting their new or first flock to lead.

Prayer. With God at our side, our prayers can move mountains, heal the sick and care for the infirm. Anything and everything is possible. Embrace Him. But more importantly, TRUST Him.

A Prayer for a Friend Recovering from Heart Surgery

I wrote this for a supervisor recovering from heart surgery. In the prayer, I used his full name. But since I am posting it here, I will use his first name only.

We pray to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We pray for our co-worker Edwin.  For him we ask "Have compassion on my Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony." ~Psalm 6:2 And "The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health." ~Psalm 41:3 We pray for a quick recovery from his operation. For this we are reminded: "LORD, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!" ~ Isaiah 38:16

Sermon No. 3

Shane A. Saylor,

Minister

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye.

~ Colossians 3:13, KJV

Today, I am talking about not just healing, but healing and forgiveness. I am not

talking about physical healing, but emotional, interpersonal healing. Forgiveness is a state of grace that can be hard to reach. Or achieve. Forgiveness is not just tied to our emotions only, but to our very souls!

There are times when we cannot find the words to ask forgiveness. Sometimes

we must rely on actions, or good deeds. This can be done by donating blood, or bone marrow or caring for another’s child or children or a beloved pet while that person is in the hospital or away attending to a sick or dying family member.

But. Despite what they have done, it can be easy, or incredibly hard to forgive

ones own kin (family). Once have sought forgiveness from our friends and/or family, only then can we heal. But healing can only begin when forgiveness is given. But, forgiveness is like communication. It is a two-way street between the parties or individuals involved.

And yet, we must become the bigger person to apologize first. While it can be a difficult choice to admit wrong-doing, it shows responsibility on your part. And it may give the other person the courage to do the same.

Yet, sometimes words can be the catalyst for forgiveness which then triggers the healing. Those words are “I am sorry “or “I’m sorry”. And with those words the healing can begin. Sometimes the healing is accompanied by tears.

Now, turn to those around you and apologize to them, even if they have not wronged you in any way.

With the insert in the program, and recite the prayer printed on it:

Dear Lord, I thank You for the power of forgiveness, and I choose to forgive everyone

who has hurt me. Help me set [name anyone who has offended you] free and release them to You [Romans 12:19]. Help me bless those who have hurt me [Romans 12:14]. Help me walk in righteousness, peace, and joy, demonstrating Your life here on earth. I choose to be kind and compassionate, forgiving others, just as You forgave me [Ephesians 4:32]. In Jesus’ name, amen.

- Debbie Przybylski

Sermon No. 2

Shane A. Saylor,

Minister

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

~Psalm 34:18

Our mother is dead, and our souls grieve. Yet we struggle to rise above grief and

break the fetters it has placed upon us. Yet once the fetters of grief have been broken, we

find that those who seek to help us, has placed yet more fetters upon us. And yet I now

know why the caged bird sings. For at any given time, we are 7all that bird, crying for freedom we are all heard but not freed.

But our hearts are seized by our grief. As we struggle to comprehend the reality of our emotions on this cold November day, letting go of our mother. Our mother who was our friend, caregiver, teacher, guidepost. The reality is hard to recognize because it is unknown to us. We weep not because of misery, but because our beloved mother has left us to ascend to Heaven.

And as her four surviving children and three granddaughters and their fathers gather to honor not just her life, but her memory, we celebrate everything that made Faye Delores Saylor everything that she was.

Sermon No. 1

Shane A. Saylor,

Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.

~ Proverbs 15:18

We are all quick to temper, and we shrink from confrontation when our tempers

flare because it can scare us because we never expect it to erupt the way it does. With

the eruption comes noise. This noise can come before, during or after the eruption.

Sometimes it comes in all three. The noise can be fists pounded on table tops or counter

tops. But almost certainly it is spewed forth in the form of loud or raised voices.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 

~Psalm 19:2

Yet, we never really learn the lesson. The lesson that the quietest of us are also

the loudest of us. Not because we have nothing to say, but because we feel we must

have our voices heard. Do not mistake our silence for submission, for we are silent so

we might learn. Yet our education is forever continual. Forward and onward to greater

knowledge and understanding.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

~Psalm 34:18

The mother is dead, and our souls grieve. Yet we struggle to rise above grief and

break the fetters it has placed upon us. Yet once the fetters of grief have been broken,

we find that those who seek to help us, has placed yet more fetters upon us. And yet I

now know why the caged bird sings. For at any given time, we are all that bird, crying for

freedom we are all heard but not freed.

Intro

Welcome to The Book of Shane. The Book of Shane is a blog about my journey as a ordained Universal Life Church (ULC) Minister. Traditionally my family is Lutheran. But I am a pagan who is a member of both The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) and Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF).

Yet, I am tolerant of all religions. And I welcome an open dialogue about other religions to help one understand the practitioners point-of-view. I am exploring my duties as a ULC minister due to my mother having passed away in August of this year. And because of this, without taking any classes or read any books on how to write a SERMON. Yet, I have in fact written three such sermons. I will be posting these to the blog tonight or sometime this weekend.

Thank you for reading my blog. May you have a blessed day.