• Living Wisely, Ephesians 5:15-20    (see below)
  by Rev. Randy L. Quinn 
   

• Be Careful What You Wish For!, I Kings 19:1-8, Ephesians 5:15-20, by Rev. Frank Schaefer
   

• Bringing out the Best in Us at the End of Life, 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, by Rev. Thomas Hall
   

• The Bread of Life, John 6: 51-58, by Rev. Simon Rundell
   

• Now the Feast... John 6:51-58, by Jim from B.C.
   

• Fugitive or Pilgrim? I Kings 19:1-8; Psalm 34:1-10, by Leslie

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Living Wisely
a sermon based on Ephesians 5:15-20
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn

I came into my office on Wednesday morning and found a note from MerriLou. It was attached to my first draft of the bulletin for this morning.

MerriLou knew that Ronda and I had spent all day Monday and all day Tuesday in Seattle where Melissa underwent a full evaluation at the University of Washington.

Her note said simply, "how did you find time to do this already?"

The question made me remember other times in my life when I had been even busier and still managed to find time for things. I remember, for instance, when I was serving three small churches in Kansas and I met Ronda. Somehow, in the midst of my full calendar, I found time to date her. I found that I could get by with less sleep and still keep up with things.

Or I think of some of you. How do you keep going at work while keeping up with your kids? Even those of you who are retired: I am amazed at the things you fit into your days and weeks. I get tired sometimes thinking about it all.

Of course we all know the answers to the riddles, don't we? It's simply a matter of priorities.

When Tonya was in High School she played basketball one year. Ronda and I found time to attend all of the 'away' games as well as the home games. We couldn't make all of the home games the previous year and we only got to one game the following year.

Priorities. Pure and simple.

We make time for the things we think are important. And the rest of the stuff is simply left undone.

So, if I were to ask you how you spent your time this week, what priorities would your schedule reveal to me? What would mine reveal to you?

Do you, do I, do any of us, live our lives according to the priorities that we would profess?

Each of us lived the past week our own way. Each of us had the same seven days, the same 168 hours, the same 10,000 minutes (actually 10,080). How wisely did you spend yours?

My own calendar reflects a variety of well-spent time, wasted time, and some time spent on the wrong (or at least less important) issues.

I can name some things I did; I can and will report much of what I did to the Pastor/Parish Relations Committee this afternoon. In fact, I will be asking them for help in determining some of my priorities.

But who do you report to? Who helps you set priorities for your time and energy?

We come to church; we come to Bible Study; we read our Bibles; we take time to pray. And how does that all affect our time management? Is it simply an intellectual pursuit that brings us here or are we seriously seeking transforma­tion and conversion?

That’s when it may be important to hear what Paul might say to us.

It's easy at times to think that our world is moving much too fast to keep up with. It's easy to think that the 21st century are somehow different from all other times in human history.

But Paul suggests to me that we are not all that different from the people he knew and addressed. They too needed to live their lives wisely and make the most of the time. He understood then and tells us now that we must keep alert lest we foolishly let time slip past.

He even suggests some ways to live our lives wisely.

First off, he says we must live soberly.

Now I want to make it clear, he didn't say "somberly." There is a difference that is too often forgotten. Living soberly means living in full control of our lives, not allowing drugs, alcohol, or emotions to drive our actions or make our decisions. It does not mean living with a frown on your face, because there is great joy that comes when we know who we are and are serving God in all that we do. [continue]