This was a sermon preached at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Forest, Virginia, on the occasion of the church's two-hundredth anniversary and in remembrance of one of their former members, Sheldon Vanauken... Years ago, motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar said, “It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude.” I believe that is true. I know from flying with my father as the pilot of a small plane that the attitude of the nose on a plane determines the altitude of that plane. Just so in life, our inner attitude determines how high we fly. The big question posed by our Gospel text for today is: what is our attitude toward others? Listen for God’s word to you from Mark 9:38-50…. John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me