"The Bentover Woman"

(Originally written 22 August 1998)

U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris

CP Walker, Taegu South Korea

BIG IDEA: HUMAN NEED PERIODICALLY OVERRIDES CHURCH WORSHIP.

PROTAGANIST: THE BENTOVER WOMAN

REFERENCES: Genesis 1:24-26 (And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.); Acts 3:7 (The man at the gate whom Peter and John healed …); Luke 8:27 (And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs …);Luke 19:9 (– Zaccheus after his conversion was a son of Abraham); Exodus 20:8-10 (Ten Commandment: Reference to The Sabbath – Keep It Only); Psalms 146:8 (The Lord raises them that are bowed-down …); Psalms 38:6 (… raises them up …); 2 Kings 4:12, 15, 36 (call this Shunamite … take up thy son …); Proverbs 17:22 ( A merry heart doeth good like a medicine but a broken spirit drieth the bones; James 5:16 (The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man ...); Matthew 18:19-20 (Again I say unto you, if any two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven ...);

I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: LUKE 13:10-16

II. THE LARGER CONTEXT:

NOW, BEFORE WE BEGIN, ALLOW ME TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME HISTORICAL TRUES REGARDING THIS BOOK OF THE GOSPEL. For example, in The Book of Luke , we find the narrative of Luke (the physician) inscripted to Theophilus – a Roman Ruler – for the purpose of giving him an ORDERLY ACCOUNT OF THE ACTIONS OF CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY.

In fact, Luke begins with a PROLOGUE (which is very similar to that of MATTHEWS) in Luke 1:1-4, and ends with the disciples being filled with joy - PRAISING AND BLESSING GOD IN THE TEMPLE IN LUKE … CHAPTER 24.

III. THE SMALLER CONTEXT:

NOW, IN OUR PARTICULAR TEXT, THIS AFTERNOON, LUKE (BRIEFLY) SHARES WITH US THE ACCOUNT OF JESUS ATTENDING PUBLIC WORSHIP ON THE SABBATH … AND HEALING A WOMAN.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, LUKE conveys to US THAT EVEN BODILY INFIRMITIES, unless very grievious, SHOULD NOT KEEP US FROM

PUBLIC WORSHIP because God can heals us beyond our expectations.

In other words …. Luke tells us (this afternoon) that this BenTover Daughter of Abraham, after 18 YEARS OF SUFFERING both spiritually and physically … FINALLY … HEARD THE CALL, AND looked beyond her circumstantial conditon to CHRIST. AS A RESULT, JESUS RELIEVED HER OF HER SPIRITUAL AND BODILY INFIRMITY. In fact, the scripture reads:

IV. READ THE PERICOPE: LUKE 13:10-16

V. READ THE TEXT: Luke 13:15-16 (The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo,

these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the

sabbath day?).

VI. PURPOSE: To motivate the HEARERS to affirm to others that (AS CHRISTIANS) COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE MUST BE SHOWN FIRST BEFORE WE SHOW COMPASSION TO ANIMALS OR LESSER THINGS.

VII. SERMONIC THEME: “…The BenTover Woman …”

VIII. Proposition: Christians should adhere to Jesus’ teaching to show compassion for human beings before showing compassion for animals.

*************************TAKE 5 BEATS****************

INTRODUCTION:

Help Wanted

A local business was looking for office help. They put a sign in the window, stating the following: "HELP WANTED. Must be able to type, must be good with a computer and must be bilingual. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer."

A short time afterwards, a dog trotted up to the window, saw the sign and went inside. He looked at the receptionist and wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it and whined.

Getting the idea, the receptionist got the office manager. The office manager looked at the dog and was surprised, to say the least. However, the dog looked determined, so he lead him into the office. Inside, the dog jumped up on the chair and stared at the manager.

The manager said, "I can’t hire you. The sign says you have to be able to type." The dog jumped down, went to the typewriter and proceeded to type out a perfect letter. He took out the page and trotted over to the manager and gave it to him, then jumped back on the chair. The manager was stunned, but then told the dog, "The sign says you have to be good with a computer."